News & Insights

Practice Area: Environmental

D.C. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS RULES PRESIDENT’S COUNCIL ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY LACKS REGULATORY AUTHORITY OVER OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCIES

In Marin Audubon Society v. Federal Aviation Administration, the Washington D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals considered arguments regarding a challenge to an air tour management plan that would affect four national park areas in California. No. 23-1067, 2024 WL 4745044, at *1 (D.C. Cir. Nov. 12, 2024). The plan was developed by the Federal Aviation…
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THIRD CIRCUIT CREATES CIRCUIT SPLIT IN MONSANTO ROUNDUP LITIGATION

On August 15, 2024 the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit held in David Schaffner, Jr. and Theresa Sue Schaffner v. Monsanto Corporation, 113 F.4th 364 (3d Cir. 2024) that the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”) preempted the Plaintiffs’ Pennsylvania state law failure to warn claims. The Third Circuit’s ruling…
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EPA DIRECT RULE CHANGES COMPLIANCE DATES FOR REPORTING DATA RELATED TO MANUFACTURE AND IMPORT OF PFAS UNDER SECTION 8(a)(7) OF THE TOXIC SUBSTANCES CONTROL ACT

On September 5, 2024, the EPA issued a direct final rule related to a rule previously published in the Federal Register in October 2023, which requires the reporting of data related to the manufacture or import of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (“PFAS”). The new direct final rule will delay the reporting period for records and…
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SUPREME COURT ISSUES STAY OF EPA’S GOOD NEIGHBOR PLAN

On June 27, 2024 the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) granted emergency applications by several states seeking a stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Good Neighbor Plan pending judicial review. The Good Neighbor Plan stems from the EPA’s interpretation of ozone pollution requirements in the Clean Air Act requiring “upwind” states to…
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THE U.S. SUPREME COURT OVERTURNS THE CHEVRON DOCTRINE, WITH GREAT IMPLICATIONS FOR EXECUTIVE AGENCY REGULATORY AUTHORITY

On June 28, 2024, the United States Supreme Court decided Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, 144 S. Ct. 2244 (2024). The underlying controversy related to details of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (“MSA”), which was implemented to prevent depletion of fishery resources off the coasts of the United States. The National Marine Fisheries…
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FLORIDA LOSES CLEAN WATER ACT PERMITTING AUTHORITY

On April 12, 2024, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued a ruling revoking the State of Florida’s permitting authority under the Clean Water Act. In Center For Biological Diversity v. Regan, the district court granted partial summary judgment in favor of the environmental group plaintiffs, holding that Florida’s Department of…
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EPA FINALIZES NEW PFAS REGULATIONS

On April 10, 2024 the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized drinking water regulations for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). The EPA expects that the regulations will prevent PFAS exposure in drinking water for approximately 100 million people, prevent thousands of deaths, and reduce tens of thousands of serious PFAS-attributable diseases. The finalized EPA regulations establish…
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EPA PROPOSES NEW RULE TO LIST SPECIFIC PFAS COMPOUNDS AS HAZARDOUS CONSTITUENTS UNDER RCRA

On February 8, 2024, the EPA proposed changes to regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to add nine PFAS compounds, “their salts, and their structural isomers . . .” to RCRA’s hazardous constituents list. The EPA promulgates a list of hazardous constituents under RCRA “comprised of chemicals that have toxic, carcinogenic, mutagenic,…
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SUPREME COURT HEARS ARGUMENTS IN CHALLENGE TO CHEVRON DOCTRINE

On January 17, 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) heard oral arguments in the case of Relentless, Inc. v. Department of Commerce. The case involves a challenge by plaintiff Relentless to a rule issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (“NMFS”) requiring the herring fishing industry to bear the cost of overcatch…
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EPA ISSUES FINAL SIGNIFICANT NEW USE RULE REGARDING 329 INACTIVE PFAS CHEMICALS

On January 11,2024, the EPA issued the final version of a new significant new use rule (SNUR) applying to 329 PFAS chemicals designated as inactive on the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) Chemical Substance Inventory (the “Inventory”). A number of PFAS chemicals are already subject to SNURs. This rule omits those to avoid redundancy. The…
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