For traditional manufacturers, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) offers a mixed bag of carrots and sticks to support its green energy goals.
Signed by President Biden on Aug. 16, 2022, the bill includes numerous tax credits and other incentives promoting clean energy investment. One of the IRA’s stated purposes is to incentivize and
Another Year In The Books – OSHA’s Top Ten Safety Violations for Fiscal Year 2022
By James L. Curtis, Adam R. Young, Patrick D. Joyce, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: The National Safety Council (NSC) released an update to its annual list of OSHA’s top-ten cited standards. The list provides a starting point for employers to review their own safety programs on an annual basis.
Residential Development Project Consistent with Specific Plan Found Exempt from Further CEQA Review
In Citizens’ Committee to Complete the Refuge v. City of Newark (2021) 74 Cal.App.5th 460, the First District Court of Appeal affirmed the trial court’s ruling that a residential project in a specific plan area in the city of Newark fell within Government Code section 65457, a statutory exemption under CEQA for residential development
New York State Proposes to Establish Drinking Water Maximum Contaminant Levels for Four Additional PFAS
New York’s drinking water standards for emerging contaminants are among the most stringent in the country, including standards issued in 2020 for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) at concentrations of 10 parts per trillion (ppt). See N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 10, Section 5-1.52. Consequently, it should come as no
PFAS in Focus: Forever-Engineering With Trent Stober, HDR
HDR Utility Services Director Trent Stober joins Dave and Anna to close out their PFAS miniseries, focusing on the real-world application of regulatory developments in the water sector. Trent provides perspective on how engineering consultants advise their water and wastewater utility customers on risk management, integrated planning, and other response strategies to the developing PFAS regulatory framework.
Environmental Justice in Focus: Why EPA’s New EJ Office and EJ FAQs Guidance Are Important
The Biden-Harris administration is taking new steps to put some teeth into its emphasis on addressing environmental justice. Two recent developments are worth noting given the potential impact on projects and communities. One, EPA announced on September 24, 2022 that it is launching its new Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR or EJ Office). Two, in August 2022, EPA’s Office of General Counsel issued a guidance document entitled Interim Environmental Justice and Civil Rights in Permitting Frequently Asked Questions that outlines EPA’s current views as to how federal, state, and local permitting agencies can meet the requirements of civil rights laws when they are administering environmental permitting requirements.
Net Zero Risks as a Source of Opportunity
We appreciate the fast evolving and changing dynamic between law and science in this space where calculating net zero remains ill defined, unregulated, and complex
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of October 24, 2022
National Energy Policy: Department of Energy Oil Sale and Repurchasing Policies Announced
On October 18, 2022, a fact sheet posted on the White House website announced a Notice of Sale by the Department of Energy to release up to 15 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR), beginning on October 19, 2022.
Understanding the Basics of Crop Insurance
On October 21, 2022, from 12 noon – 1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Business Development Center presented another webinar in our educational series, “Understanding Agricultural Law.” This session in our series is entitled, “Understanding the Basics of Crop Insurance.”
Farmers are known
China Publishes Draft List of Key New Pollutants under Pollutant Control Action Plan
We have been monitoring the progress China’s Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) has been making on the goals set in its New Pollutant Control Action Plan, released in May 2022. One of the goals of the Plan was to release a list of key “new pollutants” for regulation and control, the categories of which would include persistent organic pollutants; endocrine disruptors; antibiotics; and microplastics, in 2022.
Just recently, the MEE released a draft list of key new pollutants and is soliciting public comment on the list by October 28, 2022. Instructions for making a public comment are available in the Notice. The complete list can be found here in Mandarin and here in English.