Insights on Environmental

On July 21, 2023, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a long-awaited final rule that will make it difficult for sources to continue to rely on an “emergency” to avoid liability for permit violations under Title V of the Clean Air Act.

Effective and meaningful public engagement are “foundational principles of Federal regulatory development” and the Biden Administration has sought to remove barriers to public participation in the regulatory process.

The Biden Administration is in the process of revising a cog fundamental to federal policymaking. The cog, a guidance document issued by the Office of Management and Budget’s (OMB) entitled Circular A-4, has the potential to dramatically alter the regulatory environment.

This US Supreme Court’s administrative and environmental decisions were somewhat predictable for much of the 2022-2023 term. And then they weren’t – the final weeks of the term especially featured some high-drama decisions.

Last week, the US Supreme Court ruled that the Biden Administration’s efforts to cancel $430 billion in student loan balances was legally unsupportable.

In the United States, environmental and public health measures often correlate to variables like education, income, and a community’s racial makeup.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted on the US Supreme Court ruling in Haaland v. Brackeen, which upheld the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Partner J. Michael Showalter spoke with the Associated Press about the US Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) decision not to test its Title VI authority in a recent case involving a predominantly Black community exposed to toxic chemicals in Louisiana.

A DC Circuit decision related to the US Environmental Protection Agency’ (EPA) hydroflurocarbons (HFC) phase out illustrates that federal regulations face significant scrutiny when reviewed in court even where the regulations have a textual hook and are largely consistent with prior agency practice.

The US Environmental Protection Agency defines “environmental justice” as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and polici

Addressing environmental justice (EJ) issues has been a primary concern for the Biden Administration. Recent developments — one in Chicago and one in Louisiana — show different ways local and state regulators have reacted to federal EJ efforts.

ArentFox Schiff is pleased to announce that 70 attorneys were recognized as leaders in their field and 24 practices spanning the firm’s litigation, regulatory, and transactional capabilities were ranked in the 2023 edition of Chambers USA.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted on the US Supreme Court’s ruling in Sackett v. EPA, highlighting the court’s recent rejection of the established “significant nexus” test, under which federal agencies could regulate wetlands that were ecologically connected to navigable waters.

Many major companies have announced a blueprint to minimize their carbon footprint. Some companies have gone so far as to proclaim that they will achieve “net zero” emissions in the near future. To accomplish their climate goals, many have turned to purchasing products called “carbon offset credits.

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.

Federalism — the allocation between federal and state governments — is at the heart of American constitutional law.

Crafting environmental regulations often takes time and substantive knowledge about complex technical and policy issues.

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.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted on the potential outcome of the eventual US Supreme Court ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo that could overturn the Chevron deference doctrine, which allows federal agencies to interpret statutes as they see fit.

Mike Showalter and Alex Garel-Frantzen will speak at the ISBA Environmental Law Section’s 21st Annual Environmental Law Conference on May 11 and 12, 2023.

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.

If you blink, there’s a good chance that you will miss a major development in the environmental justice (EJ) space.

Mike Showalter will speak on Environmental Justice (EJ) at The Regulatory Environmental Group for Missouri (REGFORM) on April 20, 2023.

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.

The past year has seen a new star become fixed in the judicial firmament.