Perspectives on Citizen Suits & Environmental Activism

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.

Partner Andy Sawula and Associate Sam Rasche discuss how to respond to EPA Information Requests.

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted on the citizen suit, currently under appeal in the Fifth Circuit, brought against Exxon Mobil.

Michael Showalter and his co-host will lead a panel discussion on citizen suits under environmental laws, on October 4, 2022.

The first Monday of October means the Supreme Court begins to hear cases for the new term. As we promised at the end of last term, below we summarize cases the Court could address, including issues involving the federal Clean Water Act; standing and the appropriateness of executive action.

Standing is a major issue in nearly all environmental citizen suit cases. A split panel of the US Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district court’s award of a $14.25 million Clean Air Act (CAA) penalty against a petroleum company which had been found liable for “thousands.”

The Biden Administration has long been clear that it believes environmental justice (EJ) issues should be at the forefront of federal environmental law.

Enforcement under the major federal environmental statutes is often - but not always - filed by state or federal regulators.

While the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has sought to return Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) to the quiver of tools, it can use to resolve environmental claims, some stakeholders, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Republican lawmakers, and Republican state Attorney’s General have fil

Schiff Hardin LLP has received 39 top-tier rankings in the 2022 edition of U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms,” nationally recognizing the firm’s premier practices.

Schiff Hardin LLP is pleased to announce that Partner Adam Diederich has been named to the board of directors of the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, a group of civil rights lawyers and advocates committed to securing racial equity and economic opportunity for all through pro bono legal representation.

Law360

Partner J. Michael Showalter was quoted on a California federal court case that will test the influence of citizen and non-governmental organizations under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The citizen suit provision aims to force the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA to regulate chem

The Hill

Law360

The Hill

E&E News Greenwire

Bloomberg Environment

Continuing reductions in environmental regulations across the power industry may seem like a good time for the C-suite to direct energy and attention towards other key priorities, but there is another force steadily working to tug reform back over the line — highly organized and increasingly strateg

As citizen scientists and environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have stepped up to fill what they have called an enforcement gap since President Trump took office, the NGO playbook has become more complex and creative than perhaps ever before.

“Standing” – a person’s right to sue someone else for injury – is a fundamental issue in every case. In 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court decided Spokeo v. Robins, which required that a person’s injury be both “concrete” and “particularized” to confer standing.

Citizen science groups are eager to fill in what they see as gaps in EPA regulation and enforcement.