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Environmental
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March 21, 2024
FERC Nominees Carefully Walk Climate Line In Senate Hearing
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission nominees on Thursday told a U.S. Senate panel that the agency isn't a climate change regulator, but they didn't close the door on FERC ever considering climate impacts in its decision making either.
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March 21, 2024
Feds, Green Groups Say Campbell's Is Polluting Lake Erie
The United States and two environmental groups brought separate complaints on the same day accusing a Campbell's subsidiary of violating the Clean Water Act by polluting Lake Erie and the Maumee River with wastewater from its northwestern Ohio canning facility.
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March 21, 2024
8th Circ. Wins SEC Climate Rule Litigation Lottery
The wave of cases against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recently finalized climate disclosure rules will be consolidated and proceed in the Eighth Circuit, the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation ordered Thursday, after the agency requested a random draw.
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March 20, 2024
Justices Ask How Texas, NM Can Cut Water Deal Without Feds
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Wednesday questioned whether Texas, New Mexico and Colorado can settle their dispute over Rio Grande water rights without the approval of the federal government — which is arguing the deal could leave the water systems in those states high and dry.
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March 20, 2024
Gas Buyers Want Judge Recused From Shale Cartel Suits
A would-be class of gasoline buyers pursuing antitrust claims against a string of shale oil producers told a Nevada federal judge on Tuesday that her admitted ownership of stock in Exxon Mobil Corp. required her to recuse herself from presiding over the litigation.
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March 20, 2024
SEC Proxy Roundup: Verizon, UPS Escape ESG Proposals
Verizon and UPS may exclude from their proxy statements shareholder proposals on social policy and climate change matters, according to U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission staff, who also denied various other requests from corporations looking to escape separate social and politics-related proposals.
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March 20, 2024
EU Insurers Warn Regulators Of Gaps In Greenwashing Rules
European insurers have urged the bloc's insurance and pensions watchdog to be consistent and clear with its greenwashing rules for investment products, pointing to discrepancies between jurisdictions and inconsistencies with other sustainability frameworks.
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March 20, 2024
How The Supreme Court Could Narrow Chevron
After hours of oral argument in a closely watched administrative law case, it appeared that some U.S. Supreme Court justices could be open to limiting the opportunities for lower courts to defer to federal agencies' legal interpretations in disputes over rulemaking — and legal experts said there are a number of ways they could do it.
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March 20, 2024
EPA Tightens Auto Emissions Rules But Relaxes Timetable
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule that requires reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans through 2032, although automakers, labor unions and dealers convinced the EPA to relax its timetable.
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March 20, 2024
Breaking Down Each State's Climate Priority Policies
Forty-five states have now completed climate action plans outlining how they'll advance federal climate goals through policy and programs in coming years, with most focusing at least in part on real estate development as a way to reduce emissions.
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March 20, 2024
Feds Didn't Consider LNG Rule's Impact On Tribe, Court Told
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians has fired back at the U.S. Department of Transportation's defense of a rule permitting bulk rail transport of liquefied natural gas, telling the D.C. Circuit the agency failed to engage in meaningful dialogue during the rule's development.
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March 20, 2024
Law360 Announces The Members Of Its 2024 Editorial Boards
Law360 is pleased to announce the formation of its 2024 Editorial Advisory Boards.
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March 20, 2024
US Chamber's Litigation Funding Concerns Spur 2 State Laws
Amid concerns from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce about third-party litigation funding, including from potentially hostile foreign entities, state legislatures in Indiana and West Virginia have recently passed bills imposing restrictions on the practice.
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March 20, 2024
DA Says Greenhouse Suit Interferes With Code Enforcement
The San Bernardino County district attorney is asking a California federal judge to throw out a suit from a Native American-owned company aiming to block the DA from abating and removing equipment from greenhouses that was used in an illegal cannabis operation involving a prior owner.
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March 19, 2024
Feds, NY Residents Spar Over Congestion Pricing Battle
Federal and New York transportation agencies have told a Manhattan federal judge that local residents waited too late to file lawsuits trying to block congestion pricing, but the plaintiffs countered that the agencies have admitted that they'll have to reevaluate the environmental harms the new tolls would have on communities.
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March 19, 2024
La. Green Groups Urge Petrochemical Plant Permit Probe
A coalition of environmental groups urged Louisiana's Supreme Court to wade into their dispute with the state concerning permits that would allow a plastics manufacturer to construct a major petrochemical facility within the state's "Cancer Alley."
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March 19, 2024
Feds, Mich., City Escape Black Residents' $600M Pollution Case
A Michigan federal judge has dismissed a $600 million lawsuit brought by Black residents of Kalamazoo claiming a local company, the city, the state and the federal government did nothing about polluted air in their neighborhood because of their race.
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March 19, 2024
Wash. Hydro Co. Says Dam Removal Plan Follows Court Order
A Washington hydroelectric company insists it is not disobeying a court order to remove part of a temporary rock dam that harms migrating fish, telling a federal judge that a tribe's alternative is not structurally sound and cannot be permitted.
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March 19, 2024
Hydro Co. Asks FERC To Redo Tribe Opposition Permit Denial
A Massachusetts company pursuing hydroelectric projects on Navajo Nation land is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to revisit an order that denied preliminary permits because the nation opposed them, maintaining it has secured support from tribal entities to show otherwise — an assertion the nation's attorney general disputes.
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March 19, 2024
Texas' Border Buoy Argument 'Flummoxes' Austin Judge
A Texas federal judge said Tuesday that he "can't imagine" Congress would agree with the state's position that a federal statute governing navigable waters doesn't authorize actions against Texas over its anti-migrant barrier, and suggested the case is likely headed for the U.S. Supreme Court.
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March 19, 2024
Think Tanks Say Wind Turbine Project Would Harm Whales
A group of conservative think tanks, including those with a history of opposing government climate change initiatives, want a D.C. federal judge to block a wind turbine project off the shore of Virginia, saying federal agencies failed to properly analyze and take steps to prevent the project's likely harm to endangered North Atlantic right whales.
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March 19, 2024
Mining Co. Faces Investor Suit After Turkey Landslide Losses
Colorado-based SSR Mining Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action from an investor alleging the company understated the likelihood of a February landslide at its Turkish mine that left nine miners missing and led to the country's government to revoke some of the company's environmental licenses.
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March 19, 2024
SEC Gambles Climate Rule Fate On Circuit Court Lottery
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday asked the U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation to consolidate legal challenges to its climate disclosure regulations before a single federal circuit court, leaving the fate of the hotly debated rules in the hands of a randomly selected appellate panel.
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March 19, 2024
Biden Administration Updates EV Fuel Economy Estimates
Federal energy regulators on Tuesday issued changes to the outdated way they calculate the fuel economy equivalent estimates for electric vehicles, a move conservation groups cheered as a way to make automakers improve overall vehicle fleet efficiency.
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March 19, 2024
Fishers Angle For Justices' Attention With New Monument Suit
Two fishermen are challenging a 5,000-square-mile offshore national monument in a lawsuit that sets up a fight over the extent of presidential power under the Antiquities Act, an issue that has already drawn the attention of U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Expert Analysis
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How 2 Cases Could Undermine The Anti-ESG Movement
A decision from a federal court in Texas and another case currently making its way through Missouri federal court signal an emerging judicial recognition of the link between environmental, social and governance considerations and maximizing financial returns, say Amy Roy and Robert Skinner at Ropes & Gray.
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EPA's Final PFAS Rule Greatly Expands Cos.' Reporting Duties
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recently released final regulation requiring reporting by entities that have manufactured or imported products containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances will require considerable time and attention from affected companies — including many that have not previously faced such obligations, say Lawrence Culleen and Judah Prero at Arnold & Porter.
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EPA Report A Reminder That Fuel Credits Are 'Buyer Beware'
A recent report from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Inspector General is a reminder that fraud risk in the renewable fuel identification number market remains, and that purchasers are ultimately responsible for ensuring the validity of credits they buy, say David McIndoe and Nick Hillman at Eversheds Sutherland.
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Extreme Weather And Renewable Project Insurance Coverage
Excerpt from Practical Guidance
The regularity and severity of extreme weather events driven by climate change are putting renewable energy projects increasingly at risk — so project owners, contractors and investors should understand the issues that can arise in these situations when seeking recovery under a builder's risk insurance policy, say Paul Ferland and Joshua Tumen at Cozen O'Connor.
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Series
ESG Around The World: Japan
Japan is witnessing rapid developments in environmental, social and corporate governance policies by making efforts to adopt a soft law approach, which has been effective in encouraging companies to embrace ESG practices and address the diversity of boards of directors, say Akira Karasawa and Landry Guesdon at Iwata Godo.
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How And Why Your Firm Should Implement Fixed-Fee Billing
Amid rising burnout in the legal industry and client efforts to curtail spending, pivoting to a fixed-fee billing model may improve client-attorney relationships and offer lawyers financial, logistical and stress relief — while still maintaining profit margins, say Kevin Henderson and Eric Pacifici at SMB Law Group.
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A Case For The Green Investment Regime Under The ECT
The EU and U.K.'s potential plans to exit the Energy Charter Treaty, which has been criticized as protecting fossil fuel investments to the detriment of energy transition, ignore the significant strides taken to modernize the treaty and its ability to promote investment in cleaner energy forms, say Amy Frey and Simon Maynard at King & Spalding.
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Opinion
Judicial Independence Needs Defense Amid Political Threats
Amid recent and historic challenges to the judiciary from political forces, safeguarding judicial independence and maintaining the integrity of the legal system is increasingly urgent, says Robert Peck at the Center for Constitutional Litigation.
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ESG Accountability: From Reactive To Proactive
As more standards bodies and regulators develop and release their rules for sustainability and climate disclosures, organizations have an opportunity to establish leadership and unlock opportunities by making proactive commitments to tracking and reporting on environmental, social and governance issues, says Anthony Campanelli at Deloitte.
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How Law Firms Can Use Account-Based Marketing Strategies
Amid several evolving legal industry trends, account-based marketing can help law firms uncover additional revenue-generating opportunities with existing clients, with key considerations ranging from data analytics to relationship building, say Jennifer Ramsey at stage LLC and consultant Gina Sponzilli.
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Opinion
Science On Human Health Effects Of PFAS Is Still Inconsistent
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances have soared to the top of environmental regulatory agendas, and dominated environmental news headlines — but scientific research into causal relationships between PFAS exposure and adverse human health effects is still unclear and inconsistent, say Jeffrey Dintzer and Samantha Van Winter at Alston & Bird.
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Leveraging Municipal Bonds For Green Energy Finance
The U.S.'s transition to renewable energy will require collaboration between public and private capital sources — and that means that lawyers used to working in corporate finance must understand how the municipal bond market functions differently, due to its grounding in the U.S. Constitution, says Ann Fillingham at Dykema.
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Mitigating Costs And Delays In The Energy Transition
Achieving net-zero will require constructing a massive amount of new wind, solar and energy storage infrastructure — and while cost overruns and delays are to be expected, contractors and owners can proactively address these problems in their project documents, say Christopher Ryan and Jesse Sherrett at Shearman.
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AGs' Distaste For Food Bill May Signal Other State Issues
States' recent opposition to a proposed federal law that would block them from regulating out-of-state agricultural production could affect issues beyond this narrow debate, such as the balance of state and federal regulatory power, reproductive rights post-Dobbs, and energy production and water use, say Christopher Allen and Stephen Cobb at Cozen O'Connor.
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Strategic Succession Planning At Law Firms Is Crucial
Senior partners' reluctance to retire, the rise of the nonequity partner tier and generational differences in expectations are all contributing to an increasing number of departures from BigLaw, making it imperative for firms to encourage retirement among senior ranks and provide clearer leadership pathways to junior attorneys, says Laura Leopard at Leopard Solutions.