Corporate Environmental Lawyer
-
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
-
California Issues First-of-its-kind Willful Heat Standard Violation
On December 12, 2024, the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) announced a first-of-its-kind citation for a willful violation of California’s Heat Illness Prevention regulations. Per the Agency’s press release, the citation carries with it a $276,425 penalty for deliberately and knowingly failing to follow heat protection requirements. Cal/OSHA’s findings include a failure… Continue reading
-
MethaneSat Joins Greenhouse Gas Monitoring Constellation
On March 4, 2024, MethaneSat, a satellite developed by a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund that will locate and quantify methane emissions from oil and gas operations, was launched into orbit. According to the MethaneSat website, the satellite will be able to quantify regional-scale methane emissions from oil and gas operations down to areas… Continue reading
-
Avoiding Default and Streamlining NEPA—Can the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 Accomplish Both Objectives?
Hiding in plain sight in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA)–which is intended to extend the nation’s debt limit into 2025 in order to avoid a federal default–are provisions that seek to amend the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) for the first time in over 40 years. Although the FRA’s provisions greenlighting the federal… Continue reading
-
Department of Justice Secures First Title VI Environmental Justice Resolution Agreement
On May 4, 2023, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced a first-of-its-kind Title VI environmental justice interim resolution agreement with the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH). The resolution follows an investigation DOJ and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) initiated in November 2021 into whether ADPH violated Title VI of the Civil… Continue reading
-
New York Becomes First State to Pass Natural Gas Ban for New Construction
On May 2, 2023, New York passed its 2024 fiscal year budget, including a prohibition on fossil fuel equipment and building systems in new construction. The policy will go into effect in 2026 for new buildings not more than seven stories tall, except for new commercial or industrial buildings greater than one hundred thousand square… Continue reading
-
Biden Administration Underscores Environmental Justice Commitment with Earth Week Executive Order
Capping off Earth Week 2023, President Biden on Friday signed an executive order expanding the Administration’s Justice40 Initiative and creating a new White House Office of Environmental Justice. Continue reading
-
Earth Day 2023–Investing in a Balanced Approach to Emerging Contaminants
In the 1962 book, Silent Spring, Rachel Carson brought to the forefront of public attention contaminants of emerging concern (CECs). CECs, or emerging contaminants, are chemicals or materials that can be characterized by a perceived, potential or real threat to human health or the environment. Continue reading
