Environmental Law Advisor
184 total results. Page 1 of 8.
Samuel A. Rasche, Daniel J. Deeb, J. Michael Showalter, Joshua R. More
In a closely watched environmental Clean Water Act (CWA) case, the US Supreme Court adopted a far narrower construction of CWA’s definition of “waters of the United States,” functionally shifting significant authority over water-related issues from the federal government to the states.
Meera Gorjala, Alex Garel-Frantzen, J. Michael Showalter
Federalism — the allocation between federal and state governments — is at the heart of American constitutional law.
J. Michael Showalter, Daniel J. Deeb
Crafting environmental regulations often takes time and substantive knowledge about complex technical and policy issues.
J. Michael Showalter, Samuel A. Rasche
The concept of administrative deference — i.e., that the courts should defer to relevant agencies' interpretations of ambiguous statutes they are tasked to administer — is a key component to the modern regulatory state.
J. Michael Showalter
The “Chevron doctrine,” meaning whether courts should defer to agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes they administer, has been viewed as a key underpinning of the modern regulatory state.
J. Michael Showalter
If you blink, there’s a good chance that you will miss a major development in the environmental justice (EJ) space.
J. Michael Showalter, David M. Loring
The onslaught of environmental justice-related reforms has continued in early 2023. Below, we will outline four issues to keep an eye on in the coming quarter.
J. Michael Showalter
The past year has seen a new star become fixed in the judicial firmament.
J. Michael Showalter
Louisiana has been at the center of the past year’s eruption of environmental-justice related enforcement activities.
Robert G. Edwards, Ph.D.
The Minnesota Legislature is currently considering legislation prohibiting the presence of intentionally added PFAS in a variety of consumer products by 2026 and in all consumer products by 2032.
J. Michael Showalter, Robert A.H. Middleton
Executive branch priorities are clearly set out in agency budget requests. While the amount budgeted generally changes when Congress has its say, the original request provides unique insight into how agencies perceive what can and should happen in the next fiscal year.
J. Michael Showalter, Alex Garel-Frantzen, Malerie Ma Roddy
The war on plastics and petrochemicals has ramped up in 2023. The first two months of the year have seen the petrochemical supply chain under stress.
Meera Gorjala, Suzanne L. Wahl, J. Michael Showalter
Environment, social, and governance (ESG) considerations related to investment and corporate governance have made front-page news in recent months, as US elected officials debate whether industry-related ESG practices may violate antitrust laws.
Sarah L. Lode, Francis X. Lyons, J. Michael Showalter
No industrial company wants to find itself on the morning news tied to a chemical spill or train derailment. Events like those can transform even the most highly regarded company into a movie villain and give rise to substantial liability. Preparation is essential.
Alex Garel-Frantzen, Malerie Ma Roddy, J. Michael Showalter
Consumer-focused recycling is often driven at the municipal level. For the most part, local governments determine what can be recycled and whether residents need to bring recyclable materials to a central collection point, or whether they are collected from households at some interval.
J. Michael Showalter
A new set of environmental policies embraced by the Biden Administration ― environmental justice (EJ) ― may soon spur litigation in the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) space.
Alex Garel-Frantzen, Malerie Ma Roddy, J. Michael Showalter
Americans have been “recycling” since colonial times. However, it wasn’t until the 1960s that Americans began viewing recycling ― often provided alongside rubbish removal ― a more formal solution to problems posed by consumer waste.
J. Michael Showalter, Amy Antoniolli
What buzzwords define the environmental space in the past two years? Both “ESG” and “environmental justice” (EJ) are strong contenders. This post outlines how these concepts relate and provides guidance as to how companies can stake out appropriate positions on EJ in ESG reporting.
J. Michael Showalter
Regulations matter. Federal executive action is supposed to be rooted in statutes, established through regulatory processes generally tied to the Administrative Procedure Act (APA).
J. Michael Showalter, Jane E. Montgomery, Amy Antoniolli
The past few years have seen “ESG” — referring to environmental, social, and governance factors that influence decision making — move from being a fringe shareholder proxy issue to a front-of-mind C-suite issue.
Meera Gorjala, J. Michael Showalter
These days, environmental policy is often established indirectly. While “Schoolhouse Rock” may have taught some of us “How a Bill Becomes a Law,” its insights are less relevant in the current era where things like purportedly “not final” actions by the executive branch and litigation.
J. Michael Showalter
“Environmental justice” (EJ) continues as the primary leitmotif of Biden Administration environmental policy in the first weeks of 2023.
J. Michael Showalter, David M. Loring
How the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will factor environmental justice (EJ) principles into permitting decisions remained largely an open question throughout 2022. In the waning days of the year, EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation’s guidance engages with the question.
J. Michael Showalter, Bradley S. Rochlen
On New Year’s Eve, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed New York’s “Cumulative Impacts” bill into law, making New York the second state in the nation to require assessment of “cumulative impacts” affecting certain communities before an environmental permit is issued or renewed.
Francis X. Lyons, J. Michael Showalter
Businesses work to operate in compliance with relevant laws and generally work to avoid — if possible — scrutiny from regulatory agencies.