On November 4, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the “EPA”) proposed to amend the 2015 coal combustion residuals (“CCR”) rule. The proposal is part of a multi-step effort by EPA to address CCR, including a second proposal announced on the same day addressing effluent guidelines coal-fired power plants. The EPA has already drawn sharp
Environmental Impact Statements: Which Effects of an Action are Impacts that must be Considered?
The recent decision by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Center for Biological Diversity v US Army Corps of Engineers, 2019 WL 5690619 (Nov. 4, 2019) concluded that impacts of an action that are “at most, tenuously caused” are not impacts that must be considered in preparing an environmental impact statement. The case arose
Transatlantic Trade Sensitivities Come to the Fore with Regulatory Divergence on Pesticides
More than a quarter of pesticides used by U.S. farmers are banned in the European Union. Atrazine which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimates to be the most widely used herbicide in the U.S., for instance, was banned in the EU in 2003 due to concerns that it is a groundwater contaminant. In April 2018,
Thumbs Up for Energy Storage: FERC Approves PJM and SPP Proposals Implementing Order No. 841
On Oct. 17, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) gave PJM Interconnection, L.L.C. and Southwest Power Pool the green light to implement their energy storage proposals to comply with FERC’s Order No. 841. FERC found that these proposals reduce barriers to market participation by storage resources by allowing them to be compensated fairly when delivering
Think Inside the Box(es)
Imagine how early you could retire if you had a dollar for every time someone told you to “think outside the box.” Personally, I can’t count the number of times I’ve heard this charge in my educational and professional life. But what if I told you that the real money can be found by thinking
Dennis Toft and Bozena Diaz to Share Insight on Opportunity Zones at Brownfield Listings’ OZ Boot Camp & Pitch Competition
Dennis M. Toft and Bozena M. Diaz will participate as panelists in the Opportunity Zone Boot Camp & Pitch Competition at the New Jersey Institute of Technology in Newark, NJ. Bonnie will cover tax considerations during the 9:00-9:50am panel, “Redevelopment 102: Real Estate Redevelopment in Opportunity Zones” – and they will serve together on the 1:30-2:20pm “Redevelopment 300:
The new Registry Regulation for Phase IV of the EU ETS. Are you ready?
A new registry regulation for Phase IV of the EU emissions trading system (ETS) has been published recently, and will replace the current registry regulation from 1 January 2021. Among other changes, the new registry regulation will accommodate allowances originating from the Swiss Emissions Trading Scheme, recognise EU allowances as financial instruments, and make administrative
Waste and the circular economy: French government proposes to increase liability for waste
Our EU law environmental and product regulatory teams have been following the passage of a significant new law through the French parliament: ‘the Anti-Waste and Circular Economy Bill’ (Projet de loi relatif à la lutte contre le gaspillage et à l’économie circulaire) (the Bill).
Key features of the Bill include:
Introduction of new ecodesign measures for energy related products in the EU
The European Commission has recently adopted a range of new mandatory ecodesign obligations, which include ecodesign and energy efficiency requirements for energy related products in the EU, pursuant to the EU Ecodesign Framework Directive (Directive 2009/125/EC).
Groundwater Contaminant Regulation in California: State Water Board Lowers Notification Levels and Announces First Step Towards Developing an MCL for Certain Compounds
In June of 2018, the California State Water Resources Control Board (State Water Board) Division of Drinking Water (DDW) provided recommendations for PFOA and PFOS notification levels. On July 13, 2018, the State Water Board released guidelines based on DDW’s recommendations for testing and reporting on two PFAS compounds—PFOA and PFOS. The interim notification level