Stoel Rives Summer Associate Maya Ward co-authored this post.
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals placed the challenges to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) risk management regulation on hold for 120 days while the EPA reconsiders the concerns raised by challengers. Order, Oklahoma v. EPA, No. 24-1125 (D.C. Cir. July 30, 2024). The
Stoel Rives Summer Associate Jessica Wright co-authored this post.
We want to bring to your attention a recent development involving the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of air pollutants. In the case Ohio v. EPA, the Supreme Court issued a stay on the enforcement of the EPA’s Federal Implementation Plan (FIP), halting the EPA’s ability
On April 19, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a pre-publication notice regarding its designation of two per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (“PFAS”) compounds, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), as “hazardous substances” under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. EPA’s rule, for the first
On April 4, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) published an Order Issuing Stay of rules promulgated on March 6, 2024 requiring registrants to provide certain climate-related information in future registration statements and annual reports (Final Rule). The stay responds to litigation filed in the Fifth and Eighth Circuit Courts of Appeals seeking
UPDATE [4/5/2024]: The Commission has determined to exercise its discretion to stay the Final Rules pending the completion of judicial review of the consolidated Eighth Circuit petitions. Click here for more information.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC or Commission) finalized its climate change disclosure rule on March 6, 2024, reducing the final disclosure obligations from the initial proposal after thousands of comments from stakeholders. The final rule requires comprehensive and standardized climate-related disclosures, including disclosure on governance, business strategy, targets and goals, GHG emissions, risk management, and the effects of climate change on financial metrics. This additional disclosure is intended to help investors assess material risks in climate-related reporting and facilitate comparisons across firms and over time with respect to climate-related metrics.
For issuers subject to the new disclosure requirements, compliance with the final rule will present practical challenges, such as coordination among internal and external subject matter experts in the legal, accounting, science, and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) fields; data tracking, collection, and verification; reconciliation of data reported to satisfy mandatory disclosure requirements and voluntary reporting commitments, like those covered by sustainability reports; and oversight to ensure disclosures satisfy both the new SEC rules and the increasing non-regulatory scrutiny from investors and watchdogs, like International Shareholder Services (ISS). These challenges will necessitate significant additional costs to prepare compliant disclosures.Continue Reading The New SEC Climate Disclosure Rule Will Drive Risk Mitigation and Value Creation
Consider these three statements: I experience odor or discoloration in my tap water, English is not the primary language spoken in my home, and I live near industrial activity.
Now, consider these statements: The organization that I work for can access environmental subject matter experts, the organization that I work for has influence in the
On June 22, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Arizona v. Navajo Nation, No. 21-1484, limiting the federal government’s obligation to affirmatively secure water for federally recognized Indian tribes. The Supreme Court held that the 1868 treaty establishing the Navajo Reservation (the “Treaty”) “did not require the United States to take
The State Water Resources Control Board (“State Water Board”) is in the final stages of developing a revised Statewide Construction Stormwater General Permit (“Construction Stormwater General Permit” or “Permit”). The State Water Board is currently accepting public comments on a limited set of revisions to the draft Construction Stormwater General Permit, has noticed one last public workshop to discuss the contents of the proposed Permit, and has scheduled a hearing to consider adoption of the proposed Permit. Important dates are as follows:Continue Reading State Water Board to Consider Adoption of proposed Statewide Construction Stormwater General Permit at September 8, 2022 Meeting
The State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) is now receiving public comments on certain components of its revised proposed statewide National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (“NPDES”) Construction Stormwater General Permit (“Construction Stormwater General Permit”).
The first draft Construction Stormwater General Permit was released by the Water Board on May 28, 2021, following Staff’s preliminary draft released in November 2020 and consideration of public comments raised in public workshops held in December 2020. A revised proposed draft Construction Stormwater General Permit was released on March 30, 2022. Water Board Staff is now accepting comments on the following items in the revised draft Permit:
Last month, the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Central Valley Region (“Central Valley Water Board”) published a Food Safety Project White Paper (“White Paper”) on the use of oil field produced water for food crop irrigation. The White Paper did not find any evidence that using produced water for irrigation creates an elevated threat to human or crop safety.
Continue Reading White Paper Finds No Evidence of Elevated Threat to Human or Crop Safety from Use of Oil Field Produced Water to Irrigate Crops
On June 10, 2021, the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) issued a Revised Public Notice that changed certain dates noted in our June 2, 2021 blog post. The Water Board’s public hearing to receive public comments on the draft Construction Stormwater General Permit reissuance is now scheduled to occur at 9:00 a.m. on