Environmental

  • April 24, 2024

    EPA Floats $1B In School Bus, Truck Electrification Grants

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday said it would offer approximately $1 billion in grants to fund the electrification of school buses, garbage trucks and other heavy-duty commercial vehicles, another part of the Biden administration's efforts to decarbonize the U.S. transportation sector.

  • April 24, 2024

    Bradley Arant Gains Real Estate Pro In Dallas From Gray Reed

    Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP continues to expand in the Lone Star State, adding a real estate and environmental law partner in Dallas from Gray Reed & McGraw LLP.

  • April 24, 2024

    Solar Panel Co. Loses Calif. Appeal Over PAGA Arbitration

    A California appellate panel sided with a lower court as it ruled in a published opinion that a carveout in a home solar panel company's employment agreement did not require a former worker to arbitrate his individual Private Attorneys General Act claims, keeping his suit in court.

  • April 24, 2024

    Samsung Unit Says Exclusion Doesn't Apply To Storm Losses

    A Samsung unit seeking coverage for more than $400 million in damage to its semiconductor manufacturing facility related to Winter Storm Uri in 2021 asked a Texas federal court to rule that power loss during the storm did not trigger the policy's so-called lack of services exclusion.

  • April 23, 2024

    Ex-Auditor, County Prosecutor Win Pennsylvania AG Primary

    The race for Pennsylvania's next attorney general will pit an academic who was the state's fiscal watchdog against a Navy veteran serving as a county's top prosecutor, early primary election results showed Tuesday evening. 

  • April 23, 2024

    Sharper Sustainability Rule May Strengthen Bid Protests

    A new regulation for more environmentally friendly government purchases puts teeth into a long-standing requirement for sustainable procurement, and is likely to strengthen businesses' arguments in bid protests as agencies wrestle with the full scope of the rule.

  • April 23, 2024

    Sierra Club Sues EPA Over NY Aluminum Plant's Air Pollution

    The Sierra Club slapped U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan with a complaint in D.C. federal court Tuesday accusing the agency of failing to require the state of New York to cut sulfur dioxide emissions from a 112-year-old aluminum smelting plant.

  • April 23, 2024

    Florida Loses Bid To Stay Ruling Nixing Its CWA Permit Power

    A D.C. federal judge on Tuesday declined Florida's request to pause his ruling that stripped the state's federally delegated authority over a Clean Water Act permitting program, finding that the Sunshine State had not shown it was likely to succeed in its appeal of the ruling.

  • April 23, 2024

    $12M Chicago Toxic Demolition Settlement Receives Final OK

    An Illinois federal judge gave his final blessing to a group of Chicago residents' $12.25 million settlement with a developer and several contractors that allegedly covered a neighborhood in potentially toxic dust during a smokestack demolition.

  • April 23, 2024

    Judge Allows $956M Atty Fees In 3M, DuPont PFAS Settlements

    A South Carolina federal judge on Tuesday signed off on attorney fees totaling more than $956 million in settlements with 3M and DuPont over so-called forever chemicals in firefighting foam that contaminated drinking water, saying that another group of lawyers may not have been able to reach the same outcome.

  • April 23, 2024

    EPA Tells 5th Circ. To Sink Texas' Ozone Plan Challenge

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urged the Fifth Circuit to reject Texas' attempt to challenge the agency's denial of its revised plan to control ozone in the Dallas and Houston metropolitan areas, saying the Lone Star State's arguments "do not withstand scrutiny."

  • April 23, 2024

    Blue States Leap To Defend EPA Vehicle Emissions Rule

    California and 21 other blue states, along with a smattering of cities and the District of Columbia, have told the D.C. Circuit that they want to help the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defend its rule requiring reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks and vans from legal attack by red states.

  • April 23, 2024

    NJ Appeals Court Backs State's Siting Regs For Solar Projects

    A New Jersey state appeals court on Tuesday upheld project-siting requirements under a Garden State law encouraging new solar development, rejecting a renewable energy industry group's argument that the requirements are unlawfully strict.

  • April 23, 2024

    EPA Finishes Stronger Chemical Risk Evaluation Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday announced stronger and broader regulations to assess chemicals' health and environmental risks, completing a process that started when the Ninth Circuit struck down parts of the initial rule as too weak.

  • April 23, 2024

    $45B DOE Deal Backed By Common Sense, Contractor Says

    A U.S. Department of Energy contractor urged the Federal Circuit to restore a $45 billion deal it won, saying the department was allowed to award the deal despite the contractor not being continuously registered in a federal award management database.

  • April 23, 2024

    Cleveland-Cliffs Execs Say US Steel-Nippon Deal Is 'Dead'

    Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. executives said Tuesday that U.S. Steel is "denying reality" as it continues to pursue its $14.9 billion sale to Japan's Nippon Steel, suggesting that the deal is effectively "dead" following President Joe Biden's opposition to it and that the Ohio-based steel manufacturer remains the only viable buyer.   

  • April 23, 2024

    Hunton Hires Martin Marietta Assistant GC In San Francisco

    Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP said Tuesday it is growing its environmental team by bringing in a land use and mining expert as a partner in the firm's San Francisco office from building supply company Martin Marietta Materials Inc., where he was assistant general counsel.

  • April 22, 2024

    4 Biggest Takeaways From New EPA 'Forever Chemicals' Rule

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's new rule listing two "forever chemicals" as hazardous substances under the Superfund law will introduce costly new cleanup requirements at polluted sites — that is, if the rule survives probable legal challenges targeting its novel legal foundation and the accuracy of asserted health risks.

  • April 22, 2024

    Los Angeles Sues 3M, DuPont Over 'Forever Chemicals'

    The city of Los Angeles is the latest to sue 3M, DuPont and other chemical companies over contamination caused by "forever chemicals," saying the substances from firefighting foam leech into the environment and that the companies "should pay to help clean up the mess that they created."

  • April 22, 2024

    Businessman Seeks OK On $44M Dominican Republic Award

    A Jamaican businessman has asked a D.C. federal court to enforce a $44 million arbitral award he won against the Dominican Republic following a dispute over a landfill, saying the country is improperly seeking to vacate the award.

  • April 22, 2024

    Texas, Mo. Seek Full Vacatur Of DHS Border Wall Plan

    Texas and Missouri on Monday urged a Texas federal court to fully vacate the Biden administration's plans to redirect border wall construction funds, saying the plan adopted an overarching policy the court had declared was unlawful.

  • April 22, 2024

    USW Says EPA Asbestos Ban Doesn't Protect Workers Enough

    The United Steelworkers and the nonprofit Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization called on the D.C. Circuit to review the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent ban on the most prevalent variety of asbestos, with the union arguing the ban falls short by failing to provide certain interim protections.

  • April 22, 2024

    NC Chemical Biz Wants Help Covering $5M Site Cleanup

    A chemical company asked a North Carolina federal court on Monday to force other chemical makers, including a Koch Industries subsidiary, to contribute to the roughly $5 million cleanup of a contaminated site, contending the other companies owned or operated parts of the site for years.

  • April 22, 2024

    E-Truck Maker Rivian Faces Investor Suit Over Sales Slump

    Electric-vehicle manufacturer Rivian Automotive Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action alleging it misled investors by overstating the demand for its products and downplaying the impact historically high interest rates were having on its customers' shopping habits.

  • April 22, 2024

    With Power Rules On Deck, EPA Awards $7B In Solar Grants

    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday said it awarded $7 billion in grants to boost residential solar energy development in low-income communities, kicking off a climate change-focused week in which the agency is expected to release pollution control rules for the power sector.

Expert Analysis

  • Series

    The Pop Culture Docket: Judge D'Emic On Moby Grape

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    The 1968 Moby Grape song "Murder in My Heart for the Judge" tells the tale of a fictional defendant treated with scorn by the judge, illustrating how much the legal system has evolved in the past 50 years, largely due to problem-solving courts and the principles of procedural justice, says Kings County Supreme Court Administrative Judge Matthew D'Emic.

  • Series

    Performing Music Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    The discipline of performing live music has directly and positively influenced my effectiveness as a litigator — serving as a reminder that practice, intuition and team building are all important elements of a successful law practice, says Jeff Wakolbinger at Bryan Cave.

  • Green Tech And IP From Obama Through Biden: What's Next?

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    J. Douglas Miller and Matthew Dills at Shumaker consider how positions on the environment have shifted along with the last three U.S. presidential administrations, how these shifts have affected investment in sustainable green technologies and intellectual property strategies, and how the future might look.

  • What US-Canada Critical Minerals Collab Means For Cos.

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    Recent announcements from U.S. and Canadian officials indicate closer collaboration between the two governments on procurement of critical minerals for electric vehicles and other advanced technology — and companies on both sides of the border may have access to new opportunities as a result, say John Lushetsky, Matthew Simpson and Paul Dickerson at Mintz Levin.

  • Breaking Down High Court's New Code Of Conduct

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    The U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted its first-ever code of conduct, and counsel will need to work closely with clients in navigating its provisions, from gift-giving to recusal bids, say Phillip Gordon and Mateo Forero at Holtzman Vogel.

  • High Court's Chevron Review May Be A Crypto Game-Changer

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    The outcome of the U.S. Supreme Court's review of the Chevron doctrine in its pending Loper v. Raimondo case will potentially usher in a paradigm shift in cryptocurrency regulation, challenging agency authority and raising hopes for a recalibrated approach that favors judicial interpretation, says Sylvia Favretto at Mysten Labs.

  • How New Expert Rules Are Already Changing Court Decisions

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    Though not formally effective until last week, some courts have been relying for several years on amended federal rules clarifying judges’ gatekeeping role, so counsel should be prepared to justify their expert witnesses’ methodologies and expect additional motion practice on expert testimony admissibility, say Colleen Kenney and Daniel Kelly at Sidley.

  • IRA Monetization Energizes Clean Power Tax Credit Market

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    Recent large sales of clean energy production tax credits reflect an environment in which the Inflation Reduction Act's provisions for monetizing such credits via direct transfer — bypassing slow, costly tax equity transactions — offer opportunities for both developers and investors, says Andrew Eastman at Husch Blackwell.

  • Opinion

    Legal Profession Gender Parity Requires Equal Parental Leave

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    To truly foster equity in the legal profession and to promote attorney retention, workplaces need to better support all parents, regardless of gender — starting by offering equal and robust parental leave to both birthing and non-birthing parents, says Ali Spindler at Irwin Fritchie.

  • Business Takeaways From Biden's Global Labor Rights Memo

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    President Joe Biden's recent memorandum on protecting worker rights is one of the most expansive statements the administration has made regarding international labor rights policy, and reflects several points of which businesses should take note, including the government’s interest in working with the private sector on these issues and a notable focus on the transition to clean energy, say Tom Plotkin and Pegah Nabili at Covington.

  • Superfund Site Reopenings Carry Insured Risk, Opportunity

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    The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's reported plans to reopen certain Superfund sites citing the presence of per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances raise notable liability concerns, but may also present unique opportunities for policyholders under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, say attorneys at Haynes and Boone.

  • Legal Lessons From Past World Cups To Keep In Mind For '26

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    The 2022 World Cup in Qatar and the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand set new standards for sustainability, human rights and sponsorship — and with those new standards come new challenges for those involved in the planning of the 2026 World Cup in North America, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

  • New Regs Will Strengthen Voluntary Carbon Offset Market

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    Voluntary carbon offsets are a vital tool for organizations seeking to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions — and recent efforts by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of California and others are essential to enhancing the reliability and authenticity of carbon credits, says David Smith at Manatt.

  • Series

    Writing Thriller Novels Makes Me A Better Lawyer

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    Authoring several thriller novels has enriched my work by providing a fresh perspective on my privacy practice, expanding my knowledge, and keeping me alert to the next wave of issues in an increasingly complex space — a reminder to all lawyers that extracurricular activities can help sharpen professional instincts, says Reece Hirsch at Morgan Lewis.

  • Unpacking Long-Awaited Clean Energy Tax Credit Guidance

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    Recently proposed Internal Revenue Service regulations provide welcome confirmatory guidance on the application of investment tax credits as reworked by 2022's Inflation Reduction Act, prevailing wage and apprenticeship rules that are largely consistent with market expectations, and broader eligibility criteria that should please the wind power industry in particular, say attorneys at Morgan Lewis.

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