The Standells may “love that dirty water” according to their 1966 hit song, but the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) New England region is hoping to reduce stormwater pollution running off industrial, commercial and institutional properties “down by the banks of the river Charles” and throughout three Boston area watersheds. After prodding from the Conservation
OSHA Healthcare COVID-19 Rule Takes Priority over Heat Illness, Workplace Violence
By Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, Patrick D. Joyce, Brent I. Clark, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: While completing the healthcare COVID-19 standard continues to be the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s top rulemaking priority, Doug Parker, U.S. DOL’s Assistant Secretary of Labor for Occupational
When to Challenge the Denial of an Interest Expense Deduction in Louisiana
Louisiana Department of Revenue income tax auditors are increasingly proposing large assessments by misapplying a formula in a Department regulation (La. Admin. Code 61:I.1130(B); the “Regulation”). The Regulation is based on a statute designed to prevent deductions related to allocable and nontaxable income and contains a formula that purports to determine a percentage of a
EPA Files Motion to Dismiss ACC Petition for Review of PFOA and PFOS HALs and Reports Proposed MCLs are Expected in 2022
On September 15, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) filed a motion to dismiss the American Chemistry Council (“ACC”)’s petition for review challenging EPA’s interim Lifetime Health Advisory Levels (“HALs”) for PFOA (0.004 ppt) and PFOS (0.02 ppt). EPA asserted in its motion that was filed with the US Court of Appeals for the
EU to Make Changes to Its Sustainability Reporting Rules and Impose New Obligations on Non-European Companies
EU law requires certain large companies to disclose non-financial information on the way they operate and manage social and environmental challenges. The current disclosure regime was introduced in 2014 by Directive 2014/95/EU. Recently, the European Commission conducted a review of the NFRD rules, which showed strong support for mandatory sustainability reporting standards but also highlighted
European Parliament Adopts Position on Deforestation Regulation
The adopted position would mean that financial institutions fall under the remit of the regulation, requiring them to conduct additional due diligence on both established and new customers.
By JP Sweny, Michael Green, James Bee, and Vanessa McLellan
On 13 September 2022, the European Parliament voted to adopt its position in relation to the European Commission’s proposed regulation on deforestation-free products. The European Parliament’s position would widen the scope of commodities and products covered by the regulation, and subject financial institutions to additional due diligence requirements to ensure that their activities do not contribute to deforestation.
Brook Duer Joins Podcast Agriculture of America to Discuss Glyphosate and Dicamba
On September 27, 2022, Brook Duer was invited as a guest to the podcast, Agriculture of American. In this episode, he joins host Mike Pearson to talk about the recent EPA actions on glyphosate and dicamba.
A full description of the episode can be found on the Agriculture of America
EPA UIC Class VI Program Administration Creates Potential Weak Link in Climate Adaptation Strategy
The Biden administration has enormous climate and carbon management goals, which rightfully include the geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide as a core part of its climate adaptation strategy. The administration, to its credit, has worked with Congress to provide tax credits and billions of dollars of new funding for programs targeting the transportation and sequestration
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—Week Ending Sept. 16, 2022
Pesticides/Herbicides: Federal Court Hears Proposals for Resolving Multidistrict Roundup Litigation
On September 1, 2022, representatives of Plaintiffs’ leadership group and Defendant Bayer (as successor in interest to Monsanto) filed a Joint Case Management Statement in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California in the multi-district litigation (MDL) captioned In Re: Roundup Products
Warehousing and Logistics: New OSHA Emphasis Program Brings Promise of Aggressive Enforcement
By Adam R. Young, A. Scott Hecker, Patrick D. Joyce, James L. Curtis, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA’s Region III issued a Regional Emphasis Program (REP) instruction (CPL 2022-01 (CPL 4)) for Warehousing Operations, that went into effect on August 3, 2022 and “establishes policies and