A coalition of environmental and conservation groups have given US EPA notice of their intent to sue over the Agency’s failure to timely review Ohio’s and Michigan’s biennial impaired waters listings. Under §303(d)(2) of the Clean Water Act (CWA), US EPA is required to approve or disapprove a state’s proposed list of impaired waters not
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The Pros, Cons and Quirks of Arbitration
By Kean Miller
By the Kean Miller Construction Team
Conventional wisdom holds that arbitration is a more preferable mechanism for dispute resolution than full-blown litigation in the court system. Knowing nothing else about the particulars of a particular dispute, if arbitration is available as an alternative to state or federal litigation, we generally advise our clients to arbitrate.…
EPA Begins to Implement TSCA Reform; Delays Possible with Transition to New Administration
As part of its implementation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, Public Law 114-182E reforming the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”), EPA recently published two proposed rules, including a proposed rule that would govern the process for active/inactive designations and a proposed rule that would establish the procedure for…
ADA Access: “Drive By” or “Google” Lawsuits and the Americans with Disabilities Act?
By Brian Carnie & Michael Lowe
Disability access lawsuits have become a cottage industry and they have found their way into Louisiana, Texas and Arkansas. Most are brought by the serial litigants working with same law firm. These plaintiffs visit a business for the primary purpose of discovering an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility violation and then file a federal…
Agencies Instructed to Withdraw 2 Regulations for Every 1 Proposed in Executive Order
During the campaign, President Trump promised to remove two regulations for every new one enacted. On Monday, January 30, 2017, he sought to make good on that promise by signing an Executive Order (EO), titled Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs.…
President Obama’s Public Land and Coastal Drilling Withdrawals; Could They Be Overturned By The Trump Administration?
As his administration drew to a close, President Obama invoked his executive authority to set aside large swaths of the Western US and the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans from future development. On December 28, 2016, President Obama established the Bears Ears and Gold Butte National Monuments in Utah and Nevada, respectively, setting aside nearly 1.5…
Final Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook Issued
In late December, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together, “the Services”) issued the final revised joint Habitat Conservation Planning Handbook (HCP Handbook). 81 FR 93702. The original HCP Handbook was issued in 1996 and later revised in 2000. Most recently, the Services held a 60-day…
New Administration’s “America First Energy Plan” Touts Fossil Energy Production; Omits Plans for Electricity Sector
As expected, with the inauguration of President Trump all Obama Administration content on the White House website has been replaced with content of the new Administration. The new content includes “An America First Energy Plan”, the entire focus of which is national security and job creation benefits of the Administration’s “embrace” and promotion of…
Successor Local Authorities May Be Liable Under the UK Contaminated Land Regime
The recent decision of the High Court in Price and Hardwicke v Powys County Council determined that a local authority may acquire potential liability under the contaminated land regime (“CLR”) from its statutory predecessor, notwithstanding that the CLR did not enter into force until over 5 years after the transfer of liabilities took place.…
CMS Recovery and Reporting Thresholds
By Tyler Kostal
CMS issued an Alert on November 15, 2016, concerning 2017 Recovery Thresholds. On December 12, 2016, it issued another Alert regarding 2017 Reporting Thresholds. CMS also updated its NGHP User Guide on January 3, 2017.
The effect of the Alerts:
Reporting Threshold: $750.00 for liability insurance (including self-insurance), no-fault insurance, and workers’ compensation payments.
- Liability:
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