Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of the Columbia Circuit, in a 2-1 vote on Sept. 2, ruled a lower court lacked jurisdiction to hear a case brought by non-profit groups awarded $20 billion in grants under the prior administration’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund Program (GGRFP). The GGRFP was established as part of …
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency this week announced new guidance on New Source Review (NSR) preconstruction permitting requirements “to provide much needed clarity for the buildout of essential power generation and reshoring of manufacturing.” The action, according to the agency, “provides flexibility to begin certain building activities that are not related to air emissions, such …
With the rapid and exponential advancement of modern technology, there is a corresponding increase in demand for the foundational raw materials that enable such progress. Contemporary innovations, including electric vehicles, smartphones and other high-performance electronics are critically dependent on specific mineral resources such as cobalt, nickel, lithium and copper. These materials serve as indispensable components …
Earlier this summer, as part of the state’s annual budget deal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that alters how the existing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) would apply to certain housing development projects in the Golden State. A landmark law signed in 1970 by then-governor Ronald Reagan, the CEQA was intended to reduce environmental …
The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Aug. 21 ordered the federal government to refrain from sending additional detainees to the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and to begin transferring detainees to other facilities within 60 days. The court further ordered that once all detainees are transferred, the facility must be dismantled, including the removal of all fencing, lighting, and generators. The court sided with tribal …
On August 18, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Sommerville v. Union Carbide Corp., reversing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the plant owner defendants. In the case, the lead plaintiff, on her own …
On July 25, the District Court for the Northern District of New York in Mulhern Gas Co. v. Mosely ruled that New York has the power to enact the All-Electric Building Act (AEBA). The decision clears the way for the AEBA to take effect in 2026, making New York the first state to require (most) …
U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 7 issued a temporary restraining order to pause construction on the controversial detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” for two weeks pending argument on the underlying preliminary injunction action. Plaintiffs – which include the environmental non-profit groups, Friends of the Everglades, Inc. and the Center for Biological Diversity …
While shifting political winds don’t literally blow through the trees, their force and impact can cause environmental policy to lurch back and forth. For instance, in 2020, during the final quarter of the first Trump administration, the White House Counsel on Environmental Quality (CEQ) took steps to change the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by …
California – as part of effort to reduce the environmental impact of maritime shipping, particularly within vulnerable port-side communities – has implemented one of the most ambitious port-emission control programs to date. California’s At-Berth Regulation (ABR), implemented in 2007, is a key environmental policy created to reduce air pollution from nonvehicular sources. Since 2014, the …