Avian Influenza: USDA Confirms first HPAI in Swine
On October 30, 2024, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) announced that the agency had confirmed the first detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI/H5NI) in swine in the United States, located in an Oregon non-commercial backyard farming operation. According
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 18, 2024
Environmental Impact Studies: Environmental Assessment Completed for Drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge
On November 6, 2024, the Biden administration, through the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), released the final environmental analysis for proposed oil and gas drilling in the Arctic Wildlife Refuge, in northeast Alaska. This comes after the Trump Administration’s 2017 Tax Cuts
Offshore Wind in the Second Trump Administration
The offshore wind space in the U.S. is set for a period of uncertainty following the re-election of Donald J. Trump on November 5th. While there is still a lack of clarity around his future plans and potential outcomes, Trump’s rhetoric on the campaign trail and, importantly, actions undertaken during his previous administration, suggest that development in the space could be headed for a slowdown due to executive action, instability due to the threat of such action, or both.
COP-29: Progress in the Operationalization of the International Carbon Credit Market
On November 11, 2024, one of the first substantive outcomes of the 29th Session of the UN Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) was approved. The President of COP19 introduced a draft decision of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the
Mexican Constitutional Amendment Reforms Electric Energy and Other Strategic Sectors
Reshaping Mexico’s energy sector’s legal framework, on Oct. 31, 2024, President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo enacted a decree amending several articles regarding strategic areas and enterprises. The decree amends i) the fifth paragraph of Article 25, ii) the sixth and seventh paragraphs of Article 27, and iii) the fourth paragraph of Article 28 of the Mexican
Fight On! After Grant and Transfer, Second District Holds Upon Reconsideration that Resident Noise Does Not Preclude CEQA Class 32 Infill Exemption for USC Area Housing Development Project; But Also Holds City Must First Find Project Consistent With Redevelopment Plan Incorporated Into Zoning Before Granting Exemption
In a partially published opinion filed October 31, 2024, the Second District Court of Appeal (Div. 1) held, in light of AB 1307 and the Supreme Court’s decision in Make UC a Good Neighbor v. Regents of University of California (2024) 16 Cal.5th 43 (”Make UC II”), that noise from residents congregating on a USC-area residential housing project’s rooftop decks “do[es] not constitute a significant environmental effect impeding application of the Class 32 exemption[,]” including through attempted invocation of the unusual-circumstances exception. West Adams Heritage Association et al. v. City of Los Angeles (Robert Champion at al, Real Parties in Interest) (2024) 106 Cal.App.5th 395. The Court held that reversal was required for another reason, however, as the City failed to determine the project’s consistency with an applicable redevelopment plan, which the City had by ordinance incorporated into its applicable zoning, prior to granting the exemption. (In the unpublished portion of its opinion, which won’t be further discussed in detail here, the Court also rejected appellants’ CEQA challenges to the infill exemption based on alleged significant traffic safety, historical resources, and cumulative impacts.)
Litigation Over California’s Climate Disclosure Laws Continues to Discovery Phase
In-scope entities should keep preparing for compliance with Senate Bills 253 and 261 as the lawsuit proceeds past an initial summary judgment motion.
By Joshua Bledsoe, Betty Huber, Nicole Valco, and Matthew Green
On November 5, 2024, in Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America et al. v. California Air
European Parliament Votes to Postpone Deforestation Regulation to 2025 and Proposes Additional Amendments
The vote follows the European Commission’s proposal to delay application of the regulation by one year.
By Paul A. Davies, Michael D. Green, and James Bee
On 14 November 2024, the European Parliament (Parliament) voted in favour of the European Commission’s (Commission) to postpone the implementation of the European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by one
Three Decades of Sustainability: The Impact of LEED on the Built Environment
A Look at the Past, Present, and Future of Green Building
Federal Court Grants Nationwide Relief from Biden Administration Overtime Rule
Employers nationwide can breathe a collective sigh of relief. On Friday November 15, 2024, District Judge Sean D. Jordan of the federal district court for the Eastern District of Texas granted a motion for summary judgment finding that the Department of Labor’s 2024 Rule – that would have increased the minimum salary level required to