Our team at Squire Patton Boggs continues to track environmental justice matters as the landscape evolves according to Biden Administration executive orders. We have previously posted on environmental justice considerations in affordable housing and have updated readers on environmental justice initiatives under the Biden Administration. This post explores how environmental justice considerations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI) can impact environmental permitting decisions and, at times, business viability.
EPA Proposes to Designate PFOS and PFOA as CERCLA Hazardous Substances
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of a Proposed Rule to designate PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA or Superfund). This marks the next step in a trend of increasing regulation of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a class
ESG: What is it, and Why Does it Matter to Mayer Brown?
In a timely episode of Tools of the Trade, Mayer Brown Chair Jon Van Gorp and Management Committee member Sally Davies take on a topic of increasing importance: environmental, social and governance principles, commonly referred to as ESG. Their primary guest, David Carpenter, is one of three co-leaders (with Mark Uhrynuk and James Whitaker) of
US NAIC Summer 2022 National Meeting Highlights: Collaboration Forum on Algorithmic Bias
At the Summer 2022 National Meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”), the Innovation, Cybersecurity, and Technology (H) Committee and its Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (H) Working Group held their first Collaboration Forum session on the topic of algorithmic bias. The Collaboration Forum was established at the Spring National Meeting as a
New Allegations in World-first Lawsuit Over Clean Energy and Zero Emissions Claims
On 25 August, 2022, the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (“ACCR”) expanded its case against the Australian gas company, Santos Ltd. (“Santos”), with new and more detailed allegations around greenwashing.
Last year, ACCR filed a consumer protection lawsuit with the Federal Court of Australia regarding certain misleading or deceptive statements Santos
UN Human Rights Assessment of Uyghurs by China Drives ESG
Often when businesses have considered modern slavery they have not included forced labor imposed by state authorities
Housing Accountability Act Only Applies to Multi-Unit Residential Projects
In Reznitskiy v. County of Marin (2022) 79 Cal.App.5th 1016, the First District held that the Housing Accountability Act, Government Code Section 65589.5 (HAA), does not apply to a project consisting of one individual residential unit. In unpublished portions of the opinion not further discussed in this summary the Court also held that equitable estoppel
CEQA Lawsuit, Latest in Decades of Local Opposition Delaying Marin County Housing Development, Met with Judicial Rebuke: “Something is very wrong with this picture”
In Tiburon Open Space Committee v. County of Marin (2022) 78 Cal.App.5th 700, the First District Court of Appeal considered the adequacy of an EIR certified by Marin County (County) for a residential development. The Court rejected a number of arguments raised by opponents, most prominently the argument that the EIR erred in recognizing limits on the County’s discretion under two prior federal court stipulated judgments, and upheld the EIR. The opinion concludes with an acknowledgment that CEQA is manipulated to be a tool for obstruction of housing projects, and that the record in this case revealed extreme delay combined with local government animus, vindicating the worst fears of Supreme Court jurists and CEQA commentators.
Humane Society v. U.S. Department of Agriculture: Has the D.C. Circuit Done More Than Protect Midnight Rules?
Beginning with the inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1983, each newly inaugurated president from a different political party than his predecessor has ordered the withdrawal from the Office of the Federal Register (OFR) of all pending regulations that have not yet been published. 86 Fed. Reg. 7425 (Jan. 28, 2021) (Biden); 82 Fed. Reg. 8346 (Jan. 24, 2017) (Trump); 74 Fed. Reg. 4435 (Jan. 26, 2009) (Obama); 66 Fed. Reg. 7702 (Jan. 24, 2001) (Bush); 58 Fed. Reg. 6074) (Jan. 25, 1993) (Clinton); 46 Fed. Reg. 11,227 (Feb. 16, 1981) (Reagan). The incoming presidents have used this approach to advance their policies as opposed to being constrained by the policies of their predecessors reflected in such “midnight rules.” The D.C. Circuit, in Humane Society v. U.S. Dept. of Agric., No. 20-5291 (D.C. Cir. July 22, 2022), has limited the rules that can be withdrawn under this long-standing approach.
OSHA Focuses on Temporary Worker Employer Responsibilities and Guidance
By A. Scott Hecker, Adam R. Young, James L. Curtis, Benjamin D. Briggs, and Craig B. Simonsen
Seyfarth Synopsis: OSHA is highlighting those employed through staffing agencies, generally called temporary or supplied workers, on its homepage. “Temporary workers” are workers supplied to a host employer and paid by a