The Diamond Alkali Superfund site in Newark, New Jersey, which includes the 17-mile Lower Passaic River Study Area, may be one of the country’s most expensive and hotly contested Superfund Sites. The remedy for the dioxin-contaminated river may cost as much as $2 billion when it is completed. The Newark site has been the subject
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—December 20, 2024
Agribusiness: Federal Court Enjoins Corporate Transparency Act Ownership Reporting Requirement, January 1, 2025 Deadline Paused
On December 3, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a memorandum opinion and order granting a preliminary injunction enjoining the federal government from enforcing the Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) and its Beneficial Ownership Information
California Prop 65’s Short-form Warnings Will No Longer Be Short – Summary of Amendments to Short-form Warnings under California Proposition 65 – Effective January 1, 2025 with Three-Year Grace Period
After what has amounted to a multi-year rulemaking process, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) finalized amendments to the short-form warnings under Proposition 65 on December 6, 2024. The amendments (outlined in full here) require that short-form warnings include at least one chemical name, along with other options for safe
What Should the Environmental Regulatory Phoenix Look Like?
The Nov. 5 election was not a good day for supporters of the current structure of environmental regulation. While I doubt that the burdens of environmental regulation figured prominently in the decision of many to vote for Republicans that day, one cannot doubt that at least some within the incoming national administration would like to
Trump Administration: Major Changes May Be Coming in the Federal Government’s Posture Toward Electric Vehicles (EV’s)
Automotive manufacturers, regulators and consumers face considerable uncertainty on how the incoming Trump Administration will attempt to reshape the automotive industry when President Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20, 2025. Significant changes are on the horizon, with President Trump’s major campaign themes, including protectionist trade policies and an “all of the
The EPR Obligations of the New Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive: Key Questions and Next Steps for Member States
The European Union has recently published a new (recast) Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (“UWWTD”) in the EU’s official journal. The UWWTD imposes important new Extended Producer Responsibility (“EPR”) obligations that will have a significant financial and administrative impact on companies marketing human medicines and cosmetic products in the EU. Member States must implement
California Air Resources Board Issues Enforcement Update for Climate Disclosure Laws’ Implementation
On Dec. 5, 2024, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued an enforcement notice (Notice) regarding Senate Bill (SB) 253, the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act. In the Notice, CARB stated it will not enforce penalties against entities acting in good faith for “incomplete reporting” violations in the first reporting cycle.
California Air Resources Board Solicits Stakeholder Feedback on Implementation of Climate Disclosure Laws on the Heels of New Enforcement Advisory
On Monday, December 16, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) issued an information solicitation inviting feedback on the implementation of SB 253 and SB 261. Comments are due by February 14, 2025. This information request arrives on the heels of a new CARB enforcement advisory focused on SB 253.
CARB Solicits Public Input on Greenhouse Gas and Climate Risk Disclosure Laws
On December 16, 2024, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) requested public feedback to “help inform its work to implement” the Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB 253) and the Climate-Related Financial Risk Act (SB 261) (see our summary of these 2023 laws here). The “information solicitation” was issued shortly after California State Senator Scott Wiener and Senator Henry Stern, who authored the bills, penned a letter to CARB expressing their frustration with CARB’s apparent lack of momentum in advance of a July 2025 statutory deadline to adopt regulations governing the greenhouse gas (GHG) and climate risk disclosures that large entities “doing business in California” must make beginning in 2026. CARB is accepting comments in response to the solicitation for 60 days, through February 14, 2025.
U.S Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes to List the Monarch Butterfly as Threatened, Seeks Comments on Developing a Final Rule
On December 12, 2024, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (the “Service”) published notice in the Federal Register of a proposed rule to list the monarch butterfly as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The proposed rule designates proposed critical habitat for the monarch in California and includes an ESA section 4(d)