Environmental Law
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Proposes Regulatory Change to Ease Endangered Species Act Restrictions
On April 17, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service proposed a rulemaking to rescind the definition of “harm” in the Endangered Species Act regulations. The change is being made to conform to the statutory definition of “take,” which the agencies allege does not include habitat modification. The Endangered… Continue reading
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California Sunsets Majority of Non-Emergency Workplace COVID-19 Requirements
California Sunsets Majority of Non-Emergency Workplace COVID-19 Requirements By Daniel Robertson When the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (“Cal/OSHA”) non-emergency COVID-19 prevention regulations took effect on February 3, 2023, they did so with a future sunset date of February 3, 2025, unless Cal/OSHA extended the effective date further. Cal/OSHA took no additional action,… Continue reading
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FAR Council Withdraws Proposed GHG Disclosure Rule as CARB Seeks Input on Implementation of Climate Disclosure Laws
On January 13, the Federal Acquisition Regulatory (FAR) Council withdrew the greenhouse gas (GHG) disclosure rule that it proposed in late 2022. As explained previously, the proposed rule would have required certain federal contractors to disclose their scope 1-3 GHG emissions and set science-based targets to reduce same, with the scope 3 disclosure and science-based… Continue reading
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International Trade Commission Allows Petition Seeking Duties on Solar Cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam to Proceed
On June 7, 2024, the U.S. International Trade Commission (“USITC” or “Commission”) made a preliminary affirmative determination that there is a reasonable indication that the U.S. domestic industry that produces crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells (“c-Si solar cells”) and modules is materially injured by imports of these cells from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Vietnam subsidized by… Continue reading
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Earth Week 2024—Planet Versus Plastic—The Final Round—The Courts’ Referee Role
As we wrap up our week-long celebration of Earth Day with insightful articles focusing on various aspects of plastic pollution, this final article focuses on how the courts are being asked to step into ring and referee the “Planet Versus Planet” match. These court cases can generally be broken down into three categories: (1) litigation… Continue reading
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Federal and State Efforts to Address Synthetic Microfiber Pollution from Textiles
Microplastics, plastics less than 5 millimeters in length, are becoming a growing concern due to their ubiquity and persistence in the environment and potential effects on ecological and human health. A 2017 publication by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources suggests that between fifteen and thirty-one percent of plastics in the… Continue reading
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Earth Week 2024, Round Two – Inhance Technologies LLC v. USEPA
As our Earth Week blogging event continues with our theme of Planet versus Plastics, today we will cover the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Inhance Technologies, L.L.C. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which relates to EPA’s ability to regulate the fluorination of plastic containers under the Toxic Substances Control… Continue reading
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Earth Week 2024, Round One – Nationwide Initiatives to Implement a Single-Use Plastics Ban
This year’s Earth Day theme is “Planet versus Plastics.” When most people think of plastic pollution, their minds likely conjure up an image of single-use plastics—such as grocery bags, beverage container rings, or discarded bottles—laying along a beach or public parkway. Yet even with these images in everyone’s mind, the United States has yet to… Continue reading
