On Feb. 12, 2026, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule (published at 91 Fed. Reg. 7686) rescinding the 2009 Endangerment and Cause or Contribute Findings for Greenhouse Gases Under Section 202(a) of the Clean Air Act, 74 Fed. Reg. 66496 (Dec. 15, 2009) (Endangerment Finding) and all subsequent federal greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for vehicle and engine model years 2012 and onward that relied on the Endangerment Finding.
The US Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced it is “exercising its enforcement discretion to no longer pursue criminal charges . . . on allegations of tampering with onboard diagnostic devices in motor vehicles” under the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act). According to DOJ, this exercise of discretion not to criminally prosecute is based
Since its first day in office, the current administration has taken steps to curtail the development of renewable energy, and wind energy in particular. Just over a year in, the administration’s intentions do not seem to have changed, but there are signs that legal challenges are affecting implementation of its policies toward renewable energy development.
The second half of 2025 was marked by the Cour de cassation’s recognition of a general duty of vigilance in environmental matters.
More precisely, by two decisions published in its official report (Cass. civ. 1st, 24 September 2025, no. 23-23.869; Cass. civ. 3rd, 13 November 2025, no. 24-10.954), the Cour de cassation endorsed the principle
On February 17, 2026, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a final rule adopting a new airworthiness directive (AD) for certain Bombardier Inc. airplanes. This new AD requires locking features to be installed on applicable network interfaces to prevent unauthorized network access. FAA seeks 45-day public comment on any written data, views, or arguments associated
The recently announced stockpile represents significant opportunities, but much of that depends on unresolved details that companies must continue to monitor.
By Charles E. Carpenter, Joshua W. Marnitz, and Austin J. Pierce
Key Points:
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Pesticides/Herbicides: EPA Announces Dicamba Approval for 2026, 2027 Growing Seasons
On February 6, 2026, the
In late 2025, the EU postponed the application of the EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR) for the the second time. Under Regulation (EU) 2025/2650, the EUDR is now scheduled to enter into application on December 30, 2026. This Legal Update discusses the likelihood of re-opening of the EUDR for further simplification. We also address other
In a partially published opinion filed on February 2, 2026, the First District Court of Appeal (Div. 3) addressed a “weighty issue . . . affecting the CEQA responsibilities of local governments throughout the state” in reversing the trial court’s judgment granting a writ petition challenging the adequacy of the Town of Tiburon’s (“Town”) program EIR for its general plan/housing element update. The Committee for Tiburon LLC v. Town of Tiburon (Sierra Pines Group, LLC, Real Party in Interest) (2026) 118 Cal.App.5th259. Applying CEQA tiering principles in the context of the Town’s update of its general plan and housing element site inventory to comply with state housing law, the Court held “that a program EIR for a local agency’s general plan need not include a site-specific environmental analysis of a site identified in its housing element where . . . no housing project has been proposed for the site.” It reasoned that “[w]hen a housing project has not even been proposed, the lack of project-specific details precludes an informed review of environmental impacts and mitigation measures, and deferral of such a review to a site-specific, project-level EIR analysis is appropriate.”
On December 22, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued short and nearly identical lease suspension orders that halted construction on five utility-scale offshore wind projects off Virginia, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts, alleging new and classified national security threats. These suspensions sparked an immediate wave of litigation as the affected developers sought court orders that would allow them to resume work and keep to their carefully scripted construction timelines. Six weeks later, the dust has settled on a clean sweep for the offshore wind industry: all five projects won injunctions from four different judges in three different jurisdictions, appointed by one Democratic and two Republican presidents. Now that all construction of these projects is back on track, what lessons can we learn from this episode?