The recent flooding of the Baton Rouge and surrounding communities has ravaged property, devastated lives, and impacted businesses. Much of the legal discussion surrounding the flooding in Louisiana will inevitably involve the ins and outs of flood insurance and FEMA assistance. However, there are other legal implications of the floods that need some consideration, such
Earlier this year, Senate and House Republicans introduced the “Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016.” On July 12, 2016, the House passed the bill by a vote of 240-171, largely along party lines.
The legislation would fundamentally alter a cornerstone of administrative law: Chevron deference. Chevron deference describes a doctrine articulated by a unanimous US Supreme Court in its 1984
On Aug. 1, 2016, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued its Final Guidance for Federal Departments and Agencies on Consideration of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and the Effects of Climate Change in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Reviews. CEQ issued the guidance in an endeavor “to provide greater clarity and more consistency in how agencies
On June 9, 2016, Governor John Kasich signed House Bill (HB) 512, a multifaceted law that the Governor has said “puts Ohio in front” and makes Ohio “the leader in the country” in dealing with the problem of lead contamination in drinking water. After the crisis in Flint, Michigan sparked a national inquiry and events in
Following a referendum which has polarised the nation, the people of the UK have voted to leave the European Union. Stepping away from the political rhetoric and posturing, it is worth reflecting on some of the more practical issues which will arise from this decision, such as how it could affect our environmental law landscape.
In the recent Fifth Circuit case of Hefren v. Murphy Exploration & Production Company, USA, et al., 2016 WL 1637758 (5th Cir. April 25, 2016), the court took up the riveting issue of contractual defense and indemnification. All levity aside, the issue addressed by the court is one that arises in nearly every case stemming
ASSEMBLY, No. 3757, recently introduced in the New Jersey Assembly, would “[c]reate . . . rights of action for pecuniary damages against person committing certain harm to domestic companion animal.”
So you might ask yourself, like I did, “what the heck does that mean” and “how is that different from the existing law?”
Let’s
US EPA announced recently that it had awarded twenty-eight Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants totaling more than $12.5 million. Portions of this federal funding will provide financial assistance to owners of farmland who voluntarily act to reduce nutrient runoff from their land. The provision of federal funding to address issues in the Great Lakes
With US EPA’s regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel–fired electric generation still hotly contested in the D.C. Circuit, US EPA is proceeding with the next step in its implementation of the White House’s Climate Action Plan by moving forward with additional greenhouse gas regulations, this time of the nation’s oil and gas
On May 11, 2016, President Barack Obama signed into law the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (“DTSA”). Through the DTSA, claims for trade secret misappropriation will now have a basis in Federal law and Federal Courts will have jurisdiction over such claims. In addition to the new federal cause of action, the DTSA adds