A coalition of 21 trade associations and commodity groups has filed a complaint seeking to enjoin enforcement of portions of California’s SB 343, also known as the “Truth in Recycling” law, which sets restrictions on how manufacturers and sellers can communicate recyclability information in California. Among other things, the statute prohibits the use of the
The Conclusion of the Sustainability Omnibus Process
The Sustainability Omnibus has led to substantive amendments to the EU CSRD, EU CSDDD, and EU Taxonomy, bringing clarity on next steps.
By Michael D. Green, Betty M. Huber, David Little, James Bee, and Toon Dictus
On December 2025, after months of negotiation, the EU finalised Directive 2026/47, also known as
When CEQA Litigation Becomes “One Battle After Another”: First District Holds Res Judicata Precludes Third CEQA Action Challenging Caltrans’ Richardson Grove State Park Highway Improvement Project Where Petitioners Sought to Relitigate Issues Necessarily Resolved By Unappealed Final Orders Discharging Two Earlier Writs
In an important published opinion filed March 26, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 2) affirmed a trial court’s judgment denying the third CEQA writ petition filed over the last fifteen years challenging Caltrans’ EIR for a project to improve a one-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 101 running through Richardson Grove State Park in Humboldt County. At issue in each action filed in the serial CEQA litigations – which the Court described as a “labyrinthine” “15-year litigation odyssey” – was the legal adequacy of the EIR’s analysis of the project’s impacts on adjacent old-growth redwood trees and their root systems. Bess Bair et al. v. California Department of Transportation et al. (2026) 119 Cal.App.5th 579. After an extensive procedural and legal analysis, the Court held the last petition was properly denied on res judicata grounds following the trial court’s discharge of peremptory writs in the two earlier actions by final orders that were never appealed.
State and Federal PFAS Litigation – 2019 to Q1 2026
PFAS-related litigation continues to climb and to diversify as to claims and parties. See the attached graphics, updated through the first quarter of 2026. We will continue to update these graphics on a quarterly basis
The Pit Bull Still Bites: District Court Cuts Down Recent (And Potentially Future) Endangered Species Act Regulatory Amendments
A March 30, 2026, decision from the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, in Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Department of the Interior, vacated key provisions of the Endangered Species Act (ESA) regulations, including several regulations from 2019 that were revised and/or reissued in 2024. This ruling arrives amid a swirl of potential changes to implementation of the ESA, and signals that courts will be closely scrutinizing forthcoming regulations for consistency with a statute that has long been labeled the “pit bull” of environmental statutes.
CARB Advances SB 253 Rulemaking, Flags Key Issues for 2027 Emissions Reporting
CARB has unveiled preliminary GHG reporting concepts under California’s SB 253; potentially regulated entities should consider reviewing the proposals and may wish to submit comments before April 13, 2026.
US Forest Service and USDA Take Action to Modernize Regulations Governing Hard Rock Mining
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) and its sub-agency, the US Forest Service (USFS), have taken two significant steps to modernize the regulatory framework governing hard rock mining on National Forest System (NFS) lands. USFS has proposed an overhaul of its locatable mineral regulations, while USDA has finalized updates to its NEPA implementing procedures, together
NJDEP Granted More Time to Support the 3M and DuPont PFAS Settlements
As we have previously reported here and here, the New Jersey Department of Environment Protection (NJDEP) announced settlements with 3M and DuPont and its related companies (the DuPont Entities) valued together at $2.5 billion to resolve state-wide PFAS claims. NJDEP moved to enter the settlements, embodied in Judicial Consent Orders (“JCOs”), in November 2025
Toxic Substances Control Act in Transition: EPA, Courts, and Congress Race to Define TSCA’s Future
As EPA works to finalize a new existing chemicals risk evaluation framework rule, pending Fifth Circuit decisions and legislation introduced to amend TSCA could complicate the Agency’s plans.
By Julia A. Hatcher, Tom Lee, and Hunter J. Kendrick
For the third time since the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 6 was amended
Cal/OSHA’s Proposed “Walkaround Rule” Welcomes Unions into Private California Workplaces: Key Takeaways for California Employers
Seyfarth Synopsis: The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) has issued a proposed regulation (Section 331.8. Representatives during the Inspection) that allows employees to designate a representative, including another employee, a third party, or the collective bargaining representative, during workplace safety inspections conducted by Cal/OSHA.
The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health