Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
If you drink water, pay a water bill, or watch the news, you’ve undoubtedly heard or seen (but were likely unable to pronounce) the acronyms for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), two of the most recognized compounds within the family of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Known as PFAS compounds, they were used …
The U.S. Supreme Court on June 15 issued a unanimous reversal of a lower appellate court, and in which, ruling against the federal government, struck down a Department of Health and Human Services rule significantly reducing Medicare prescription reimbursements to hospitals traditionally serving low-income patients. Although the 2018 rule did not, on its face, seem …
The Center for Law, Energy, and the Environment (CLEE) at Berkeley Law last month, in conjunction with the Emmett Institute on Climate Change and the Environment at UCLA Law, issued Driving Equity, a new reportaimed at presenting important policy solutions to make California’s switch to electric vehicles more realistic for lower income citizens. Topping their …
In a study published last week, researchers at the University of Canterbury in New Zealand identified microplastics in freshly fallen snow samples collected from 19 different sites across the Ross Island region of Antarctica. According to the authors, this finding, which is the first evidence of microplastics in Antarctic snow, “adds to the growing body …
On June 3, 2022, the New York State Senate passed the first bill in the country that bans certain cryptocurrency (crypto) mining operations. This bill, passed by the New York State Assembly in April 2022, now goes to Governor Kathy Hochul for her signature. The bill imposes a two-year moratorium on crypto mining operations that “require proof-of-work authentication methods to validate …
A few weeks ago, our blog reported on a number of complaints filed against some of the most recognizable fast food chains, arising from alleged PFAS-containing food wrappers. The alleged concern is that PFAS contained in the wrapper, for example, will migrate into the food itself, creating exposure through consumption of the food. Now, a …
In April, various California communities moved one step closer to holding energy companies liable for damage to public infrastructure allegedly caused by climate change. The communities claimed this damage occurred due to the companies’ use of and advocacy for fossil fuels despite the companies’ understanding of those fuels’ negative environmental impacts. Local governments argue that …
If you aren’t toting a reusable water bottle, bamboo straw, or canvas grocery bag, news of a plastic-eating enzyme may not resonate as revolutionary. Nevertheless, plastic waste ranks up there as one of the most pressing environmental problems we face today. There has been little hope in sight of how to shrink the colossal amount …
On May 19, 2022, a Colorado federal district court judge, the Honorable Marcia S. Krieger, issued an opinion and order remanding action, preventing—for now, at least—an expansive fracking plan in Western Colorado from going forward even though it had previously been approved by the United States Bureau of Land Management, United States Department of the …
Ohio, along with sixteen other states, sued the Environmental Protection Agency on Friday last week, over its March 14, 2022 decision to reinstate a waiver allowing the nation’s most populous state California, under its Advanced Clean Cars Program, to enact tougher vehicle emission standards than those set by the federal government.[1][2] In 1966, California enacted …