Effective February 3, 2025, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) adopted amendments to the Ground Water Quality Standards (GWQS), N.J.A.C. 7:9C. The amendments updated the groundwater quality criteria and/or practical quantitation levels (PQLs) for 73 constituents, the vast majority of which became more stringent. For example, groundwater quality standards for tetrachloroethylene (PCE) and
Litigation Over PFAS MCLs on Hold for Now
A federal appeals court has granted the Environmental Protection Agency’s request for a 60-day abeyance in litigation challenging the Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs) for six PFAS chemicals.
In a February 7, 2025, decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily halted a lawsuit brought by the American Water Works Association and others.
Keeping Track of the Trump Executive Actions
President Trump hit the ground running, issuing more executive orders, memoranda, and other actions on Inauguration Day than any previous president. Agencies are already working to implement those actions. Many of the actions are interrelated, so Troutman Pepper Locke’s Environmental + Natural Resources team has put together the following resource to help assess the impact
Brazilian National Council of Justice Recommends Parameters for Quantifying the Climate Impact of Environmental Damages
The Brazilian National Council of Justice (CNJ) has recently issued Recommendation No. 156/2024, advising all branches of the Brazilian Judiciary and judges to adopt the second scope of the CNJ’s Protocol for Judging Environmental Lawsuits (Protocol). This second scope provides guidelines for quantifying the impact of environmental damages on climate change. In 2023, the CNJ
Environmental Health and Safety Changes Anticipated Under the New Administration
As President Trump begins his second term, companies should prepare for significant shifts in environmental health and safety (EHS) regulations and enforcement. This alert outlines key anticipated changes, including leadership transitions, potential staffing impacts, using executive orders to change agency priorities, and regulatory rollbacks.
1. Leadership Changes
Department of Labor (DOL): The DOL is expected
Agricultural Law Weekly Review—February 11, 2025
Webinar Next Week—Feb. 18, 2025, Quarterly Dairy Legal Webinar: HPAI in Dairy Cattle: Regulatory Measures Thus Far
Local Agricultural Policy: Pennsylvania Governor’s Proposed 2025–26 Budget Appropriates $255 Million for Agriculture 
On February 4, 2025, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro presented his proposed 2025–26 state budget and enabling legislation, which includes $255 million for agriculture, down
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of February 10, 2025
Pipelines: FERC Issues Order on Remand Reinstating Certificate and Abandonment Authorization to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company 
On January 24, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order reinstating the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company’s (Transco) “certificate and abandonment authority . . . for the REAE Project.” The order, which detailed that the
Court Order Hobbles Challenge to California’s Climate Disclosure Laws
Companies following the ongoing legal challenge to California’s climate disclosure laws in hopes that the court would strike down or limit the scope of these laws will be disappointed by the order issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California on February 3, 2025. The order dismissed constitutional challenges levied against
The First Wave: U.S. Imposes Tariffs on Canada (or not?), Mexico (or not?), and China (well, yeah, probably so)
On February 1, 2025, President Trump issued three executive orders imposing tariffs on nearly all imports from Canada[1], Mexico,[2] and China.[3] However, on February 3, the President said on social media that the tariffs on Canada and Mexico will be suspended for one month while the countries discuss potential
A Hard Look at CEQ’s Hard Luck: North Dakota Court Decision Accelerates NEPA Regulations’ Rapid Fall
This past Monday, the U.S. District Court for the District of North Dakota issued its ruling in the closely watched case of Iowa v. Council on Envtl. Quality, 1:24-cv-089 (D.N.D. Feb. 3, 2025), vacating the Biden administration’s Phase 2 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rule on the grounds that the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)