Dave Ross, a partner in Troutman Pepper’s Environmental and Natural Resources Practice Group, was interviewed in the InsideEPA.com article, “Ross Says Long-Term Focus Shaped Water Policies During Trump EPA.”
Update: State Water Board Adopts Final Winery General Order
At its January 20, 2021 Board meeting, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB” or “Board”) adopted its final General Waste Discharge Requirements (“WDRs”) for Winery Process Water (“Winery Order”) and associated Resolution for the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”) Mitigated Negative Declaration.
As a brief background, on July 3, 2020 the SWRCB released a
EPA Information Collection Request
EPA is accepting comments on an information collection request (ICR), NSPS for Municipal Solid Waste Landfills, submitted to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Comments will be accepted until March 1, 2021 and should be submitted online using www.regulations.gov or by email to [email protected] referencing Docket ID Number EPA=HQ-OECA-2020-0203.
What Automakers Should Expect From Biden’s DOT
Under the Biden administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation is likely to be more active in setting federal standards for vehicle safety, fuel economy and emissions, and to return to more robust safety enforcement, so automakers should update compliance programs and foster constructive relationships with regulators, write Patricia Doersch in this January 25, 2021, article
Considering ESG? Three Ways Lawyers Can Help
A recent poll, conducted by the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance, found that interest in ESG ratings—that is, an organization’s performance on environmental, social, and governance measures—is rising among asset managers and the broader financial community against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Increasingly, even entities outside the financial sector—particularly those in
President Biden Signs Executive Order on Protecting Worker Health and Safety
On Thursday, January 21, President Joe Biden signed an Executive Order that directed the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to issue guidance to employers on protecting workers from COVID-19, including protecting workers from COVID-19 under the Occupational Safety and Health Act and protecting other categories of workers from COVID-19. In this alert we outline
FERC’s Clean Water Action Section 401 Waiver Analysis Continues to Evolve
In 2019, the D.C. Circuit in Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC held that the plain language of Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 establishes a bright-line maximum period of one year for States to act on a request for water quality certification and that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission) was arbitrary and capricious when
FERC Issues Order Proposing Substantial Penalty for Licensee in Michigan Dam Failure
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has issued an order proposing a $15 million civil penalty in response to the failure of a licensee to respond to FERC dam safety orders in the wake of the failure of the Edenville dam and downstream FERC-licensed Sanford Dam (Project No. 2785) in Michigan in May 2020 (see
Hydropower Advocates and Environmental Groups Reach Historic Agreement
On Tuesday, October 13, the National Hydropower Association (NHA) announced its partnership with American Rivers, the World Wildlife Fund, and other environmental groups in a “Joint Statement of Collaboration on U.S. Hydropower: Climate Solution and Conservation Challenge.” The Joint Statement, which was facilitated over the last two and a half years through Stanford
ESG in the First 100 Days?
Over the past several years, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) initiatives have gained popularity among investors, but have gained less traction in federal law. ESG are a set of criteria that investors use to evaluate the environmental and societal impacts of a business. Some European countries require that companies report their ESG metrics, but ESG