On July 20, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) sent a letter to Brownfield Cleanup Program (BCP) applicants, consultants, and attorneys that provides an update regarding 2023 Certificate of Completion (COC) milestones and affordable housing deadlines. With respect to BCP submittals, the letter emphasizes the importance of applicants making the submittals necessary to obtain COCs in a timely manner, and warns that failure to do so could result in insufficient time for the NYSDEC to issue COCs by the end of the year. Pursuant to the letter, applicants must meet the following milestones:

Two years ago the South Coast Air Quality Management District (“SCAQMD”) adopted its Warehouse Indirect Source Rule – Rule 2305. SCAQMD regulates air quality in areas of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, and San Bernardina counties.  The rule requires warehouse operators to account for truck trips to and from their facilities and mitigate…

Renewables with Hydrogen

As we previously covered in our blog last week, both the Federal and certain State governments are proposing legislation to subsidize or otherwise enhance the use of hydrogen as an alternative fuel to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from selected “hard to abate” industrial sectors such as heavy industry, transportation and marine shipping.  Last week’s blog…

As the objectives gain traction, they are meeting state resistance in court.

By Robin M. Hulshizer and Malorie R. Medellin

The US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) strategic plan for 2022–26, released in March 2022, added a new foundational principle to the agency’s mission: the advancement of environmental justice and equity. Since unveiling its strategic plan, EPA has taken a number of actions to make good on its mission, aggressively furthering its environmental justice goals and objectives. As recently as April 2023, EPA awarded $177 million to open 10 Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers to improve accessibility to federal grant funding for communities with environmental justice concerns.

Most prominently, EPA has (1) increased its scrutiny of, and investigation into, claims under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act; (2) pushed for cumulative impact analyses for permits; and (3) initiated emergency actions under Section 303 of the Clean Air Act to restrain emissions. Numerous corporations and state agencies have been implicated in these efforts, and some are pushing back.