One area of EU law which is developing rapidly relates to improving the circular economy. There are a number of legislative proposals in the pipeline, but with the prospect of the UK leaving the EU in the next few years, what are the implications for these circular economy initiatives, and could there be opportunities for the UK to move ahead in any respects?

What is meant by Circular Economy?

The circular economy is “an alternative to a traditional linear economy (make, use, dispose) in which we keep resources in use for as long as possible, extract the maximum value from them whilst in use, then recover and regenerate products and materials at the end of each service life.”

The circular economy affects all stages of the supply chain, from design for recyclability and reuse, through more efficient production and pricing to reflect recyclability, to increased recycling and recovery, and more use of secondary raw materials. There are widely acknowledged benefits for consumers, businesses, the environment and the economy.

Boosting the circular nature of the economy entails adjustments to legislation in a variety of policy areas. In the EU, this is being led through the so-called Circular Economy Package.

A coalition of environmental and conservation groups have given US EPA notice of their intent to sue over the Agency’s failure to timely review Ohio’s and Michigan’s biennial impaired waters listings. Under §303(d)(2) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), US EPA is required to approve or disapprove a state’s proposed list of impaired waters not meeting water quality goals within 30 days of submission.  The Integrated Reports containing Ohio’s and Michigan’s impaired waters listings were sent to US EPA well over 30 days ago, with Ohio’s being sent on October 20, 2016 and Michigan’s on November 10, 2016.

As part of its implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Public Law 114-182E reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), EPA recently published two proposed rules, including a proposed rule that would govern the process for active/inactive designations and a proposed rule that would establish the procedure for prioritizing chemicals for risk evaluation.  Notably, although EPA has released a pre-publication of a third rule – proposing the process for performing a risk evaluation – that proposal appears to have been caught up in the Administration transition and has not yet been published in the Federal Register.

Disability access lawsuits have become a cottage industry and they have found their way into Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas.  Most are brought by the serial litigants working with same law firm.  These plaintiffs visit a business for the primary purpose of discovering an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility violation and then file a federal…

As his administration drew to a close, President Obama invoked his executive authority to set aside large swaths of the Western US and the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans from future development.  On December 28, 2016, President Obama established the Bears Ears and Gold Butte National Monuments in Utah and Nevada, respectively, setting aside nearly 1.5 million acres under the Antiquities Act of 1906.  During his presidency, President Obama invoked the Antiquities Act 29 times—more than any other president—to expand or create national monuments.  President Obama also protected the largest area of any president, with designations totaling 266.5 million acres—more than double any prior president.

In addition, on December 20, 2016, President Obama withdrew about 115 million acres of the US portion of the Arctic Ocean and about 3.8 million acres of the US portion of the Atlantic Ocean from mineral leasing under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.  The drilling ban does not affect existing federal leases and also does not apply to a 2.8 million-acre area of the Beaufort Sea near the Alaskan coast next to existing oil and gas infrastructure.  Nevertheless, the ban represents the first time any president has used the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which was passed in 1953, to indefinitely withdraw such a large coastal area from mineral leasing.

Republicans and industry trade groups have already threatened to challenge President Obama’s use of the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.  However, any effort to undo the recent designations will likely require the help of Congress.  While both the Antiquities Act of 1906 and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act expressly delegate to the president authority to withdraw public lands and coastal areas, neither statute delegates to the president authority to undo the withdrawals of a prior administration.

In late December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together, “the Services”) issued the final revised joint Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (HCP Handbook).  81 FR 93702.  The original HCP Handbook was issued in 1996 and later revised in 2000.  Most recently, the Services held a 60-day comment period on draft revisions to the Handbook in June 2016, during which 54 public comments were submitted.

As expected, with the inauguration of President Trump all Obama Administration content on the White House website has been replaced with content of the new Administration. The new content includes “An America First Energy Plan”, the entire focus of which is national security and job creation benefits of the Administration’s “embrace” and promotion of…