In recent years many employers have implemented mandatory arbitration agreements to require that legal disputes with employees be decided by a neutral arbitrator, rather than by jury trial. Arbitration agreements are coming under scrutiny as unfairly preventing employees from having their “day in court” and having access to jury trials – most recently with the
GT’s Energy & Natural Resources Practice, Attorneys Recognized in Chambers USA 2022 Guide
The Energy & Natural Resources Practice of global law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP is recognized in the 2022 Chambers USA Guide. The guide, which is researched by UK-based Chambers and Partners and is based on thousands of interviews with practicing lawyers and clients, names two GT energy practices along with nine energy attorneys as
WEBINAR | Renewables Mid-Year Check – M&A, Tax Equity and Finance Markets
Please join Greenberg Traurig Co-Heads of Energy Project Finance Jeff Chester and John Eliason for an insightful mid-year discussion on the state of the renewable energy market, trends, and what to expect for the rest of 2022. The webinar, co-hosted by GT and CohnReznick Capital, will take place June 28, 2022 from 12 p.m. to
Celebrating World Ocean Day
The ocean covers 71% of the planet and holds nearly 97% of the Earth’s water, and about 40% of the world’s population lives within 100 kilometers of the coastline. As reported in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, “[t]he ocean is essential
California Air Resources Board Releases Draft Scoping Plan Update (Part 4)
CARB addresses California’s increasingly severe climate impacts.
By Joshua T. Bledsoe and Kevin Homrighausen
On May 10, 2022, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) released its Draft 2022 Scoping Plan Update (Draft Scoping Plan) for public review and comment. Assembly Bill 32, the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, requires CARB to develop and update every five years a scoping plan that describes the approach California will take to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve the goal of reducing emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. Senate Bill 32 subsequently strengthened the state’s GHG emissions reductions target to at least 40% below 1990 levels by 2030.
Latham & Watkins’ first post in this series discusses CARB’s Proposed Scenario to achieve the state’s GHG targets, which adopts a carbon neutrality target for 2045. The second post discusses how the Cap-and-Trade Program features in the Draft Scoping Plan. The third post discussed how California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Program factors into the state’s GHG reduction goals and how the LCFS Program may be amended in the near future. This fourth and final post describes how the Draft Scoping Plan responds to some of California’s most significant climate impacts, like wildfires, drought, and extreme heat.
Important New U.S. Supreme Court Opinion Holding Prejudice No Longer Required To Show Waiver Of Arbitration Agreements
In the recent unanimous United States Supreme Court opinion, Morgan v. Sundance, Inc., No. 21-328, 2022 WL 1611788 (2022), issued May 23, 2022, the Court abrogated existing case law and held that prejudice is not a condition of finding that a party, by litigating too long, waived its rights to stay litigation or compel
Heavy Duty Regulatory Update: CARB & US EPA Proposed Rulemaking for NOx Heavy-Duty Offroad and Onroad Truck Standards
Our team at Squire Patton Boggs continues to track recent regulatory developments for the heavy-duty vehicle and engine sector. In our last blog post on this topic, we covered US EPA’s Cleaner Trucks Initiative, the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB’s) heavy-duty engine and vehicle omnibus regulation, and CARB’s Advanced Clean Trucks Regulation.
US EPA Heavy-Duty Highway Vehicles Proposed Rule Comment Period Ends
For the on-road heavy-duty trucking industry, US EPA finally issued its long-awaited proposed rule on March 7, 2022 for heavy-duty highway vehicles and engines beginning in MY 2027. Heavy-duty highway vehicles are generally those in weight categories ranging between 8,500 lbs to greater than 33,000 lbs GVWR. The comment period recently ended on May 13, 2022. This rule, entitled Control of Air Pollution from New Motor Vehicles: Heavy-Duty Engine and Vehicle Standards, 87 Fed. Reg. 17414 (March 28, 2022), is the first step in EPA’s “Clean Trucks Plan.” As identified in President Biden’s Executive Order 14037, Strengthening American Leadership in Clean Cars and Trucks, EPA intends to issue a series of regulations over the next three years to reduce pollution from trucks and buses and to advance the transition to a zero-emissions transportation future.
Storm Sewers and Impervious Cover in Maryland: A Further Update
The Maryland Department of the Environment has for many years sought to meet its obligations under the Clean Water Act and the Chesapeake Bay Total Maximum Daily Load in part by imposing obligations on municipal separate storm sewers (MS4s) beyond the statutory minimum imposition of control to the “maximum extent practicable” or “MEP.” Specifically, it
EPA’s Clean Water Act Certification Proposal to Significantly Impact Hydropower Licensing
On June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its proposal to re-write the Clean Water Act Section 401 rule (Certification Proposal), which, if finalized, is expected to have far-reaching impacts on hydroelectric licensing and relicensing. The Certification Proposal is intended by EPA to replace the version of the rule finalized under the Trump administration in 2020 (2020 Rule). While the Certification Proposal maintains some aspects of the 2020 Rule, it differs in some significant areas and in many ways reverts back to the 1971 regulations.
EPA’s Clean Water Act Certification Proposal to Significantly Impact Hydropower Licensing
This article was republished in Pratt’s Energy Law Report (Vol. 22-10, November-December 2022).
On June 1, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of its proposal to re-write the Clean Water Act Section 401 rule (Certification Proposal), which, if finalized, is expected to have far-reaching impacts on hydroelectric licensing and relicensing. The Certification Proposal is intended by EPA to replace the version of the rule finalized under the Trump administration in 2020 (2020 Rule). While the Certification Proposal maintains some aspects of the 2020 Rule, it differs in some significant areas and in many ways reverts back to the 1971 regulations.