Effective February 3, 2025, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) adopted amendments to the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS), N.J.A.C. 7:9C. The amendments updated the groundwater quality criteria and/or practical quantitation levels (PQLs) for 73 constituents, the vast majority of which became more stringent. For example, groundwater quality standards for tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and vinyl chloride were changed from 1 µg/l to 0.4 µg/l and 0.035 µg/l, respectively. Of note, the decrease attributable to vinyl chloride is by more than an order of magnitude – a significant and regulatorily meaningful change. NJDEP also amended its rounding protocols to round new or revised groundwater standards to two significant figures rather than one. The amendments enable NJDEP to update specific groundwater criteria for constituents with corresponding Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) when NJDEP determines the weight of evidence approach would more appropriately address risks posed by such constituents than the health-based levels used to establish MCLs.
Litigation Over PFAS MCLs on Hold for Now
A federal appeals court has granted the Environmental Protection Agency’s request for a 60-day abeyance in litigation challenging the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for six PFAS chemicals.
In a February 7, 2025, decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily halted a lawsuit brought by the American Water Works Association and others.
Keeping Track of the Trump Executive Actions
President Trump hit the ground running, issuing more executive orders, memoranda, and other actions on Inauguration Day than any previous president. Agencies are already working to implement those actions. Many of the actions are interrelated, so Troutman Pepper Locke’s Environmental + Natural Resources team has put together the following resource to help assess the impact of these actions on environmental policy, and how the various actions fit together.
Brazilian National Council of Justice Recommends Parameters for Quantifying the Climate Impact of Environmental Damages
The Brazilian National Council of Justice (CNJ) has recently issued Recommendation No. 156/2024, advising all branches of the Brazilian Judiciary and judges to adopt the second scope of the CNJ’s Protocol for Judging Environmental Lawsuits (Protocol). This second scope provides guidelines for quantifying the impact of environmental damages on climate change. In 2023, the CNJ
Environmental Health and Safety Changes Anticipated Under the New Administration
As President Trump begins his second term, companies should prepare for significant shifts in environmental health and safety (EHS) regulations and enforcement. This alert outlines key anticipated changes, including leadership transitions, potential staffing impacts, using executive orders to change agency priorities, and regulatory rollbacks.
1. Leadership Changes
Department of Labor (DOL): The DOL is
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—February 11, 2025
Webinar Next Week—Feb. 18, 2025, Quarterly Dairy Legal Webinar: HPAI in Dairy Cattle: Regulatory Measures Thus Far
Local Agricultural Policy: Pennsylvania Governor’s Proposed 2025–26 Budget Appropriates $255 Million for Agriculture
On February 4, 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro presented his proposed 2025–26 state budget and enabling legislation, which includes $255 million for agriculture, down
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of February 10, 2025
Pipelines: FERC Issues Order on Remand Reinstating Certificate and Abandonment Authorization to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company
On January 24, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order reinstating the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company’s (Transco) “certificate and abandonment authority . . . for the REAE Project.” The order, which detailed that the
Court Order Hobbles Challenge to California’s Climate Disclosure Laws
Companies following the ongoing legal challenge to California’s climate disclosure laws in hopes that the court would strike down or limit the scope of these laws will be disappointed by the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on February 3, 2025. The order dismissed constitutional challenges levied against SB 253, which requires large companies “doing business” in California to annually report their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and SB 261, which requires disclosure of climate-related financial risks. The ruling clears the path for the California Air Resources Board (CARB) to develop implementing regulations for SB 253, which are statutorily required to be issued by July 1, 2025.
The First Wave: U.S. Imposes Tariffs on Canada (or not?), Mexico (or not?), and China (well, yeah, probably so)
On February 1, 2025, President Trump issued three executive orders imposing tariffs on nearly all imports from Canada[1], Mexico,[2] and China.[3] However, on February 3, the President said on social media that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be suspended for one month while the countries discuss potential agreements to reduce or rescind the tariff imposition.[4] A subsequent federal register notice provides details of the China tariffs.[5]
A Hard Look at CEQ’s Hard Luck: North Dakota Court Decision Accelerates NEPA Regulations’ Rapid Fall
This past Monday, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued its ruling in the closely watched case of Iowa v. Council on Envtl. Quality, 1:24-cv-089 (D.N.D. Feb. 3, 2025), vacating the Biden administration’s Phase 2 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rule on the grounds that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) overstepped its authority when it first promulgated NEPA regulations in 1978. This decision was just the latest in a series of falling dominos over the past three months that have completely upended NEPA practice both inside and outside of the federal government.