When most Americans think about the traditions of presidential transitions, they recall the oath of office, the prior president and family leaving the White House, the inaugural parade, the balls with their beautiful gowns and sharp tuxedos, and more. What they more than likely don’t think about, much less even know about, are other happenings in the White House and in the agencies that run our government. While the peaceful transfer of power is a hallmark of the American political system, it is not without controversy, particularly where the outgoing president is a member of a different political party with remarkably different political views than the incoming commander in chief.
The less publicized traditions of passing the mantle of power include the White House chief of staff’s memo directing review of actions taken in the waning days of the prior administration, or midnight rules, and a slew of executive orders laying out for the new political appointees and career staff at a host of agencies the new administration’s priorities. These customs — now entrenched in the modern era — occurred in the transition from Presidents Jimmy Carter to Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush to Bill Clinton, Clinton to George W. Bush, and Bush to Barack Obama. The transition from Obama to President Donald Trump was no different. Then-Chief of Staff Reince Priebus issued the obligatory “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” memorandum on inauguration day, and the president signed several executive orders on a range of environmental (and other) issues in rapid succession thereafter, promising improved infrastructure environmental permitting, rollback of wasteful regulations, and more. In other words, he was sending a message that change was coming — and soon.
All of this promised activity begs a key question: After the transition to a new administration, can an agency, like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency change its mind and reverse a regulation issued just months or even days before the change in power? Some people say that to do so an agency needs to prove that its new rule is “better” than the old rule, but that is not the law. In FCC v. Fox Television, the U.S. Supreme Court said that the “agency must show that there are good reasons for the new policy. But it need not demonstrate to a court’s satisfaction that the reasons for the new policy are better than the reasons for the old one; it suffices that the new policy is permissible under the statute, that there are good reasons for it, and that the agency believes it to be better, which the conscious change of course adequately indicates.”
As a practical matter, if an agency wants its revised regulations upheld when opponents challenge them in court, it is well-advised to address the prior record. After all, the last administration created a record to support its action, likely including a range of studies and other information. Opponents of the new administration’s policies will point to those documents in court, claiming the new guard is irrationally changing its position. Further, the agency needs to provide a basis for the policy choice it is making in the new rule, just as it would for a regulation being issued for the first time. Thus, effective, durable reform of existing regulations cannot simply be accomplished with a memorandum or even the president’s executive orders. It requires hard work. The EPA’s 100-plus page proposed regulation and public hearing scheduled for this week on the EPA’s revisions of a core Obama administration midnight rule, the Risk Management Plan, or RMP, program regulatory revisions, demonstrate how this work is done.
A very costly and controversial regulation, the 2017 RMP rule revisions, issued just one week before Obama left the White House, impose vast new requirements for certain chemical, refining and general manufacturing facilities aimed at preventing catastrophic releases of chemicals and mitigating harms when releases do occur. You might ask, “What could be wrong with preventing accidents?” Well, that is what Congress intended by authorizing the RMP rules in the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 Section 112(r), to require plants that store certain quantities of hazardous substances to undertake, among other things, a prevention program for catastrophic releases. And the EPA already implemented an extensive RMP program. In June 1996, the EPA implemented the mandate by issuing the RMP regulations and companies across the country have been implementing those requirements for about 20 years. The Obama EPA acknowledged that the RMP regulations had already been highly successful and effective in preventing, and mitigating the impacts of, accidents. In the wake of the tragedy at a fertilizer plant in West Texas in 2013, however, Obama issued an executive order to “improve” chemical facility safety and security, effectively giving birth to the 2017 RMP revisions.
While the 1996 RMP rules included extensive accident prevention requirements like hazard assessments, identification of worst-case scenarios, compliance auditing, incident investigation, and preparedness evaluations, the 2017 RMP amendments went further, adding new elements to require companies to bring in a third-party auditor in case of a release or on regulator demand; enhanced investigations; a process to evaluate what the EPA called “safer technology alternatives”; that facilities work with state and local governments to conduct drills, for which no money would be provided to the governments; and disclosure of information in the spirit of transparency but that could expose security vulnerabilities at a plant to those who might seek to harm a facility and those living near it. Regulated facilities explained their concerns with the new provisions, focusing both on significant safety concerns from making security-sensitive information available to terrorists and on the agency’s inability to quantify any benefits from these costly requirements. Indeed, a large portion of the costs of the rule, some $70 million, was attributed to the new safer technology analysis, which would not result in any risk reduction at all and is effectively used only on new processes and plants, not on existing ones. In addition to these, serious concerns were raised about the efficacy of the 2017 revisions, commenters pointed out that several of them would divert resources from beneficial activities and could actually render the program less effective than the 1996 regulation!
This is why the new administration followed the direction in the Priebus memo, delaying the effectiveness of the 2017 RMP revisions until 2019 to allow the EPA to re-evaluate what a final rule should contain. While litigation is pending over the validity of the “Delay Rule,” the EPA is moving forward to complete its new regulation before the Delay Rule expires by its own terms.
So what has the EPA proposed to do? A lot.
First, the EPA proposes to repeal the most costly provision — the safer technology and alternatives analysis requirement. The gist of the requirement is that companies, as part of their hazard assessment, are newly required to evaluate alternative technologies for their processes. This built on an approach used in other countries, “IST” or inherently safer technology, the theory of which is that if you can find a way to cost-effectively eliminate or reduce a hazard, you should do that. The criticisms of the final rule included that the analysis itself was enormously costly and for existing plants, would be highly unlikely to result in any improvement in safety. Many commenters told the EPA that this approach is useful when designing a plant but after the fact, it adds no value (except perhaps as evidence for plaintiffs attorneys to support claims of design failure).
Second, the EPA proposes to repeal the third-party audit provisions. These 2017 provisions require a third-party audit when an accidental release occurs or upon request of the permitting agency when it finds noncompliance. The idea was that having third parties come in would help facilities and the EPA and give the public more confidence that any concerns were being surfaced and addressed. The problems pointed out by commenters included significantly increased audit frequency, without a corresponding benefit in safety performance and risk minimization. This is so because releases are already required to be investigated and most companies’ investigations address both the incident itself and the elements of RMP implicated by the incident. The ability of regulators to demand a third-party audit based on any noncompliance (as compared with significant noncompliance) was criticized for potentially resulting in multiple audit demands and inappropriately delegating to private parties the government’s duty to enforce its regulations. Finally, the exacting independence requirements were cited as leading to a shortage of available auditors, thereby undermining audit effectiveness and substantially increasing audit costs.
Third, the EPA proposes to delete new words it added to the existing compliance audit provisions. Companies have long been required to evaluate their compliance with the RMP rules every three years. In the 2017 regulations, the EPA inserted new language to require an evaluation for “each covered process.” This approach ran counter to accepted and fundamental principles of auditing — an audit is typically a representative sampling so that a company can effectively evaluate how a program is working. They typically select a representative number of processes and audit compliance for key elements to evaluate the program. Critics stated that the 2017 RMP revisions would have undermined the ability to go in-depth on a particular process and actually would have undermined the quality of the compliance evaluations — essentially resulting in audits that are “a mile wide, but only an inch deep.” Companies stated that they wanted to really dig in on those processes that would be indicative of the quality of their program, rather than conducting a surface-level audit, but if each covered process had to be audited for every element, the time and resources for an in-depth review would simply not be available given the need to complete the “each covered process” audit.
Fourth, the EPA proposes to delete the public disclosure provisions that could put information about facility vulnerabilities out onto the web or otherwise into the hands of terrorists. The EPA had intended to eliminate this problem when it issued the 2017 final rule, according to its response to comment document. The EPA instead moved the provision to another section of the rule, without realizing that the entities to which it would now provide information were uncontrolled in terms of who is selected and how the information is protected.
Fifth, the EPA proposes to make the provisions that direct facilities to coordinate with local responders more flexible. The biggest complaints about these provisions in the 2017 RMP revisions actually came from state and local governments, who considered this an unfunded mandate that would not enhance safety and that it is already required under existing statutes such as the Community-Right-to-Know Act. An area with a concentration of chemical facilities could find itself doing drills every week to comply with the regulation, while they are already underfunded and lack resources. The EPA has proposed to cut those back but it is likely that commenters will seek further modifications of the regulation.
Importantly, the EPA also proposes to keep some of the changes that were made in 2017, like the notification and tabletop drills.
What’s next? Stakeholders need to provide comments on the proposed rule — it is important to recognize that the agency may or may not adopt the proposed changes. The EPA seeks comment on numerous specific questions throughout the proposed rule and even suggests that several of the provisions could be retained and modified rather than deleted. Stakeholders will need to provide information that the EPA can evaluate to determine how its final rule should look. And, the EPA’s deadline to accomplish all of this is February 2019 — that’s when the 2017 RMP revisions spring back to life if the EPA has not finalized this action. Interested parties should not expect an extension of the comment period, which ends on July 30, 2018.
Originally published by Law360, June 12, 2018. Posted with permission.
- Partner
Shannon is the managing partner of the firm’s San Francisco office and a trusted advisor to her clients. As the leader of our California environmental practice and co-leader of our nationwide environmental, social, and ...
- Partner
Chuck Knauss has been repeatedly lauded by clients in Chambers USA. From 2011 through 2023, Chambers USA has reported that Chuck impresses clients with his “extraordinary strategic and analytical capabilities—he finds ...
Search
Recent Posts
Categories
- Agreements
- Air
- Batteries
- California
- Carbon
- Carbon Markets
- CERCLA
- Chemicals
- Climate
- Coal
- Duty to Defend
- Election
- Endangered Species
- Energy Transition
- Enforcement
- Environmental
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Law
- EPA
- ESG
- General
- General Liability
- Manufacturing
- Mining
- Natural Resources
- Oil & Gas
- PFAS
- Policy
- Renewables
- Trade Agreements
- Utilities
- Waste
- Water
Tags
- 2015 Standards
- 2018 Farm Bill
- 2020
- 2020 Presidential Election
- 2022 Scoping Plan for Achieving Carbon Neutrality
- 316(b)
- 3D Printer
- 3D Printing
- 4(d) Rule
- 404
- 404 permits
- 404(g)
- 45Q
- AB 1200
- AB 2503
- AB 617
- Abeyance
- ABS
- ACE
- Acrylonitrile-Butadiene-Sytrene
- active guidance
- ADAO
- Adaptation
- adjacent
- Administration
- Administrative Agencies
- Administrative Law
- Administrative Procedure Act
- Administrator Pruitt
- Adverse Modification
- Advertizing
- Advisory Opinions
- Affordable Clean Energy
- Aftermarket Parts
- Agency
- Agency Budget
- Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
- Agency Guidance
- Agency Interpretation
- Agent
- Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018
- Air
- Air Emissions
- Air Permit
- Air Pollution
- Air Quality
- Air Quality Implementation Plan
- Air Quality Management District
- Air Quality Management Plan
- ALARP
- Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
- Algae
- Allco Finance Unlimited v. Klee
- Allegheny
- Alternative Energy Portfolio
- Alternative Energy Portfolio Standard
- Ambient Air
- Amendments
- America's Water Infrastructure Act
- American Bar Association
- American Jobs Plan
- AMLO
- Anadarko Petroleum
- Andrés Manuel López Obrador
- Annie Kuster
- Anthony Kennedy
- Anti-Backsliding
- Anti-terrorism
- Antibacterial
- Antitrust
- AOC
- APA
- Appropriations
- APS
- AQMP
- Aquaculture
- Arbitration
- Arctice Grayling
- Army Corps of Engineers
- ARPA-E
- Articles
- Artificial Island transmission project
- Asbestos
- Asbestos Disease Awareness Organization
- Assumption
- Atlantic Coast Natural Gas Pipeline
- Audubon Society
- Auer
- Auer Deference
- Auxiliary Emissions Control Devices
- BAAQMD
- Backstop Siting
- BACT
- Bag Ban
- Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
- Bankruptcy
- BART
- Baseload
- Batteries
- battery storage
- Bay Area Air Quality Management District
- Beauty products
- Beneficial Use
- Beneficial Use and Reuse
- Bernie Sanders
- Best Available Control Technologies
- Beto O'Rourke
- BGEPA
- Biden Administration
- Bilateral Investment Treaty
- Biological Opinion
- Bipartisan Budget Act
- BIT
- Black-Capped Vireo
- BLM
- Blue Ribbon Task Force
- BOEM
- BOP
- Boston
- Boundary
- Brand Memo
- Brent Spar
- Brett Kavanaugh
- Brownfields
- BSEE
- Budget Proposal
- Bureau of Land Management
- Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
- CAA
- CAISO
- Cal-OSHA
- CalEPA
- California
- California Air Resources Board
- California Coastal Act
- California Consumer Protection Act of 2018
- California Department of Public Health
- California Department of Toxic Substances
- California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA)
- California Environmental Public Health and Workers Defense Act of 2019
- California Environmental Quality Act
- California Legislature
- California Mining
- California Ocean Protection Council
- California OEHHA
- California Proposition 13
- California Proposition 65
- California Regional Water Quality Control Boards
- California State Lands Commission
- California State Water Resources Control Board
- California Superior Courts
- California Title 8
- California Water Code section 13304
- California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act
- California-China Clean Technology Partnership
- Cannabis
- Cap In Place
- Cap-and-Trade
- Capital Asset Pricing Model
- CAPP
- CARB
- Carbon Capture
- Carbon Capture and Sequestration
- Carbon Capture Demonstration Projects Program
- Carbon Capture Large-Scale Pilot Projects
- Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage
- Carbon Credits
- Carbon Dioxide
- carbon dioxide removal
- Carbon Intensity
- Carbon Markets
- Carbon Nanotubes
- Carbon Utilization
- CASAC
- Categorical Exclusion
- CBD
- CBI
- CCPA
- CCPS
- CCR
- CCR Rule
- CCS
- CCS Alliance
- CCUS
- CDP
- CDR
- CECP
- CEJST
- Center for Chemical Process Safety
- Centralized Waste Treatment
- CEQ
- CEQA
- CERCLA
- Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity
- Certification
- Certified Unified Program Agencies
- CESER
- CFATS
- CFCs
- CFE
- CGL
- Chambers USA
- Chapter 91
- Chemical Data Reporting
- Chemical Exposure
- Chemical Risk Assessment
- Chemical Safety Board
- Chemicals
- Cheryl LaFleur
- Chevron Deference
- Cheyenne River Sioux
- Chloroflourocarbons
- Chlorpyrifos
- Chrysotile Asbestos
- CIP
- Circular Economy
- CITES
- Citizen Petition
- Citizen Suit
- Civil Penalties
- Civiletti
- Claims-Made
- Class VI
- Class VI Primacy
- Class VI Underground Injection Control
- Clean Air Act
- Clean Development Mechanism
- Clean Energy
- Clean Energy Standard
- Clean Hydrogen
- Clean Peak Energy Certificates
- Clean Power Plan
- Clean Water Act
- Clean Water Act Section 401
- Clean Water Act Section 404
- Cleaning Products
- Cleanup
- Climate
- Climate Change
- Climate Disclosure
- Closure by Removal
- CNTs
- CO2
- CO2 Emissions
- Coakley Order
- Coal
- Coal Ash
- Coal Ash Basins
- Coal Combustion Residuals
- Coal Leasing Moratorium
- Coal Mine Health and Safety Act
- Coalition for Competitive Electricity v. Zibelman
- Coastal
- Coastal Zone Management Act
- Comisión Federal de Electricidad
- Commercial General Liability
- Commercial Information
- Common Law
- Community Air Protection Program
- Compliance
- Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act
- concurrent-remedies doctrine
- Confidential Business Information
- Congress
- Congressional Research Service
- Congressional Review Act
- Consent Decree
- Conservation Easement
- Considerations
- Constitutional Law
- Consultation
- Consumer Data
- Consumer Product Exposure Warnings
- Consumer Products
- Consumer Products Safety Commission
- Contaminated Sites
- Contribution Threshold
- Controlled Substances Act of 1970
- Cook Inlet
- Cookware
- Cooling Water Intake Structures
- Cooperative Federalism
- COP26
- COP28
- COP28 Agreement
- Coronavirus/COVID-19
- Corporate Governance
- Corporate Social Responsibility
- Corporate Sustainability
- Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive
- Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)
- Corporate Valuation
- Corps
- Cosmetics
- Cost of regulation
- Council on Environmental Quality
- County of Maui
- COVID-19
- CPCN
- CPECs
- CPP
- CPS
- CPSC
- CPUC
- CRA
- Criminal Enforcement
- Critical Electric Infrastructure Information
- critical habitat
- Critical Habitat Designation
- Critical Infrastructure
- Critical Infrastructure Protection
- Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
- CSA
- CSAG
- CSAPR
- CSB
- CSR
- CSR reports
- CSR Standards
- CSR- and ESG-related risks
- Cultural Resources
- CWA
- CWA Citizen Suit
- CWA section 401
- CWA Section 404
- Cyber-Related Risks
- Cybersecurity
- D&O
- D&O Insurance
- Dakota Access Pipeline
- DAPL
- DARTIC
- Data Security
- DC Circuit
- DC Circuit Court of Appeals
- DCH
- Deadline Suits
- Deadlines
- Decarbonization
- Decommissioning
- Deep-Well Injection
- Deepwater Horizon
- Defeat Devices
- Defense Costs
- Deference
- Deidre G. Duncan
- Delisting
- Democratic Debate
- DEP
- Department of Energy
- Department of Homeland Security
- Department of Justice
- Department of Labor
- Department of the Interior
- Department of Transportation
- Designations
- Development
- Device
- Diligent Prosecution
- Dioxane
- Directors & Officers
- Director’s Order
- Discharge
- Diversity and Inclusion
- DJSI
- DOD
- DOE
- DOER
- DOI
- DOJ
- DOJ ENRD
- Domestic Energy Policy
- Domestic Terrorism
- DOSH
- Dow Jones Sustainability Index
- DPR
- DPU
- Draft
- Draft EA
- Draft Environmental Assessment
- drinking water
- Drought
- DTSC
- Due Diligence
- Duke Energy
- Duty to Defend
- Dynamic Scoring
- E&P Wastes
- EA
- eagle
- Eagle Take Permit
- Earth Day
- Economic Impact
- Economic Impacts
- Effluent
- Effluent Guidelines
- Effluent Limitations
- EHSS
- EIS
- EJSCREEN
- Election 2020
- Electric Ratepayers
- Electric Transmission
- Electric Vehicles
- Electricity
- Electricity Markets
- ELG
- ELGs
- Elizabeth E. Aldridge
- Elizabeth Warren
- Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act
- Emergency Response
- Emergency Support Functions
- Emerging Contaminants
- Emission Caps
- Emission Control Requirements
- Emission Reduction Credits
- Emissions
- Emissions Caps
- emissions reporting
- Emphasis List
- Endangered Species
- Endangered Species Act
- Energy
- Energy Industry
- Energy Infrastructure
- Energy Package Insurance
- Energy Reforms
- Energy Storage
- Energy Transition
- Enforcement
- Enforcement Discretion
- Enforcement statistics
- Engine Certification
- Enhanced Oil Recovery
- ENRD
- Environment
- Environment and Natural Resources Division
- Environmental
- Environmental and Social Governance
- Environmental Appeals Board
- Environmental Assessment
- Environmental Bar
- Environmental Compliance
- Environmental Crimes
- Environmental Defense Fund
- Environmental Disclosure
- Environmental Due Diligence
- Environmental Enforcement
- Environmental Groups
- Environmental Impact Statement
- Environmental Justice
- Environmental Justice and Equity Board
- Environmental Law
- Environmental Law Institute
- Environmental Markets
- Environmental Permitting
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Environmental Rights
- Environmental Social and Corporate Governance
- Environmental Social and Governance
- Environmental Social Governance
- Environmental Social Justice
- Environmental Transactions
- EO 13891
- EOR
- EP3
- EP4
- EPA
- EPA audit policy
- EPR
- EPR Laws
- Equator Principles
- Equator Principles Association
- ERC
- ESA
- ESA consultation
- ESA section 7 consultation
- ESG
- ESG Diligence
- ETP
- EU
- European Climate Law
- European Green Deal
- European Sustainability Reporting Standards
- European Union
- Evaluation of Regionalization for Potential New Wastewater Systems
- EVs
- Exceptional Events
- Exceptional Events Rule
- Excess Insurance
- Excess Liability
- Exchange Act
- Executive Compensation
- Executive Memorandum
- Executive Office for United States Attorneys
- Executive Order
- Executive Order 13777
- Executive Order 14008
- Executive Order N-8-23
- Executive Orders
- Extended producer Responsibility
- Fair and Equitable Treatment
- Fair Labor Standards Act
- FAST Act
- Fathead Minnow
- Fatmucket Mussel
- FDA
- FECM
- Federal Action
- Federal Agencies
- Federal Agency Action
- Federal Budget
- Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
- Federal Lands
- Federal Permit
- Federal Power Act
- Federal Preemption
- Federal Register
- Federal Rule 20
- Federal Rule 71.1
- Federalism
- Fees
- FERC
- FET
- Fiduciary Liability
- FIFRA
- Fifth Circuit
- Final Rule
- Financial Information
- Fireworks
- First Amendment
- Fishing Industry
- Flaring
- Flint
- FloaTEC LLC
- Flood Infrastructure Funding
- Flood Mitigation
- Florida
- FLSA
- FOIA
- Food
- Food and Drug Administration
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
- Food Loss and Waste
- Food Marketing Institute
- Food Marketing Institute v. Argus Leader Media
- Food Waste
- Food Waste Reduction Alliance
- Fossil Fuels
- Fourth Circuit
- Fourth of July
- FPA
- FPA Preemption
- FPA section 202(c)
- FPOS
- Fracking
- Framework
- Framework Rule
- Fraud
- Free Trade Agreement
- Freedom of Information Act
- Freeport
- FSLA
- FTA
- Funding for Environmental Protection
- Funding Mechanism
- FUTURE Act
- FWS
- FY2017 budget
- FY2018
- GAO
- Gas
- GDPR
- Gender Equality
- General Data Protection Regulation
- General Industrial Stormwater Permit
- General Permit
- GenX
- George Clemon Freeman Jr.
- GHG
- GHG Emissions
- GHG Emissions Renewable Portfolio Standard
- Gilbert & Sullivan
- Global Carbon Markets
- Global Climate Negotiations
- Global Reporting Initiative
- Global Warming Solutions Act
- Glyphosate
- GOM
- Good Neighbor Obligation
- Good Neighbor Provision
- Government Investigations
- Grand River Dam Authority
- Grassroots Activisim
- Green Admendment
- Green Communities Act
- Green Deal
- Green New Deal
- Green New Deal; Climate Change
- Greenhouse Gas
- Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol
- Greenhouse Gas Protocol Initiative
- Greenhouse Gases
- Grid
- grid reliability
- grid study
- Grocery Manufacturers Association
- Groundwater
- Guam
- Guidance
- Guidance Portal
- Gulf of Mexico
- Habitat
- Hardrock Mining Rule
- Harmful Algal Blooms
- Hawaii
- Hawkes
- Hazardous Air Pollutants
- Hazardous Materials Regulations
- Hazardous Waste
- HBCD
- HCFCs
- Health
- Health Advisories
- health advisory
- Health and Safety
- HECT
- Hemp
- HFCs
- high-density polyethylene (HDPE)
- Highly Reactive Volatile Organic Compound Emissions Cap and Trade
- Historical Matter
- HMR
- Holder
- Homeland Security
- Hoopa Valley Tribe
- House
- House of Representatives
- Houston Casualty
- Human Health Toxicity Values
- Human Rights
- Hurricane Harvey
- Hydraulic Fracturing
- Hydroelectric Relicensing
- Hydrofluorocarbons
- Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
- Hydrogen
- Hydrogen Energy Earthshot
- Hydrological Connection Theory
- Hydropower
- ICMM
- ICSID
- IFC Performance Standards
- IGP
- IIA
- IIJA
- Impaired Waterbodies
- Impaired Waters
- Impairment
- Incident Response
- Incidental Take
- incidental take statement
- Indian Lands
- Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge
- Indonesia
- Industrial Accidents
- Industrial Hemp
- Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan
- Inflaction Reduction Act
- Infrastructure
- Infrastructure Development
- Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA)
- infrastructure security
- Initial & Boundary
- Innovation
- Inside Look
- Inspections
- Insurance
- Insurance Recovery
- Integrated Science Assessment
- Interagency Review
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- Interior
- International Arbitration
- International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes
- International Council on Mining and Metals
- International Energy Agency
- International Environmental Law
- International Investment Agreements
- International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association
- Interstate Transport
- Intervention
- Investment Risk Assessment
- IPCC
- IRIS
- IRIS Review
- IRS
- ISO-NE
- ITEK
- Jay Inslee
- Jewell
- Joe Biden
- John Hickenlooper
- Joint Venture Provision
- Judicial Review
- Judiciary
- Jurisdiction
- Jurisdictional Determination
- Justice40
- Kamala Harris
- Kavanaugh
- Kenk’s amphipod
- Kevin McIntyre
- Keystone XL
- Kigali Amendment
- Kisor
- Kisor Deference
- Kyoto Protocol
- Lake Erie
- Lake Powell Pipeline Project
- Lampsilis Siliquoidea
- Land Use
- Late Notice
- Lautenberg Act
- Law360
- LCPFAC SNUR
- LDC
- LDNR
- Lead
- Lead and Copper Rule
- Lease Sale
- Legislation
- Lesser Prairie Chicken
- Li-ion
- Liability
- Liability Insured
- Linear
- Liquefied Natural Gas
- Lithium-ion batteries
- Litigation
- Lloyds
- Lloyd’s of London
- LNG
- London Protocol
- Long-Form Warning
- Look-back period
- Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
- Low Carbon Fuel Standard
- MA DOER
- Maine Department of Environmental Protection
- Maintenance Fees
- Malaysia
- Manufactured Products
- Manufacturing
- Marijuana
- Maritime
- Markets
- Masias
- Mass Emissions Cap and Trade
- Massachusetts
- Massachusetts AG
- Massachusetts Clean Energy Center
- Massachusetts Climate Act
- Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources
- Massachusetts Global Warming Solutions Act
- MassCEC
- MATS
- Maximum Contaminant Levels
- MBTA
- MBTA; Wind Energy; Renewable Energy; protected species; natural resources; USFWS
- McGraw-Edison
- McIntyre
- MCL
- MCLG
- MCLs
- McNamee
- MEA
- MECT
- Mergers & Acquisitions
- Methane
- methane emissions
- Methane Repeal Rule
- Methylene Chloride
- Michigan
- microplastics
- Midnight Rule
- Midstream
- Migratory Bird Treaty Act
- Migratory Birds Treaty Act
- Millennium Pipeline
- Mineral Leasing Act
- Mining
- Mining Claims
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
- Misbranding
- Mitigation
- Mitigation Rule
- MLP
- Modification
- Monitoring
- Monsanto
- Montana
- Montreal Protocol
- Moratorium
- MOU
- Mountain Valley Pipeline
- MSGP
- Multi-Sector General Permit
- Multiyear Plan for Energy Sector Cybersecurity
- Mulvaney
- Murray
- Murray Energy
- MVP
- NAAQS
- NAFTA
- NAIOP
- NALs
- Nancy Pelosi
- NATA
- National Ambient Air Quality Standards
- National Compliance Initiatives
- National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center
- National Defense Authorization Act
- National Determined Contributions
- National Emergency
- National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives
- National Enforcement Initiatives
- National Environmental Policy Act
- National Historic Preservation Act
- National Hydro Association
- National Marine Fisheries Service
- National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration
- National Parks and Conservation Ass’n v. Morton
- National Petroleum Council
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
- National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES)
- National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
- National Primary Drinking Water Regulation
- National Priorities List
- National Recycling Strategy
- National Register of Historic Places
- National Restaurant Association
- National Security
- Nationwide Permit
- Native American Law
- Natural Gas
- Natural Gas Act
- Natural Gas Leak Abatement Program
- Natural Gas Pipeline Certification
- Natural Gas Pipelines
- Natural Resource Damages
- Natural Resources
- Navigable waters
- NCCIC
- NCI
- NEC
- NECIs
- NEI
- Neil Chatterjee
- NELs
- NEPA
- NEPA Policy
- NEPA Review
- NERC
- NESCOE
- Net-Zero Emissions
- Net-Zero Greenhouse Gas Emissions
- New Chemicals Review Program
- New Rule
- New Source Review
- New York
- New York Department of Environmental Conservation
- New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
- NGA
- NGO
- NHPA
- NHTSA
- NIETC
- nitrogen dioxide
- NMFS
- No Exposure Certification Identification Number
- No-Action Letter
- NOAA
- NOI
- NONA
- Nonapplicability Identification Number
- Nonattainment
- Nonpoint Source
- North American Electric Reliability Corporation
- North Dakota
- Notice
- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
- NPDES
- NPDES Delegation
- NPDWR
- NPL
- NSPS
- NSR
- nuclear
- nuclear energy
- NWP
- NY PSC
- Obama
- Occupational Safety and Health Act
- Occupational Safety and Health Administration
- OCE
- OECA
- OEHHA
- OEJECR
- Office of Civil Enforcement
- Office of Cybersecurity Energy Security and Emergency Response
- Office of Electricity Delivery & Energy Reliability
- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance
- Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA)
- Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights
- Office of Federal Register
- Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs
- Office of Management and Budget
- Office of Natural Resources
- Office of Water
- Offshore Energy
- Offshore Platforms
- Offshore Wind
- Offshore wind energy
- Ohio
- Oil
- Oil & Gas
- Oil and Gas
- Oil and Gas Production
- Oil and Gas Wastewater
- Oil Pipelines
- Oil Pollution Act
- OIRA
- Oklahoma
- OMB
- One Federal Decision
- One Federal Plan
- OPA
- OSHA
- Outer Continental Shelf
- OW
- Ozone
- Pacific OCS Region
- Packaging
- Paperwork Reduction Act
- Paris Agreement
- Paris Climate Accord
- Paris Climate Agreement
- Particulate Matter
- Partido Revolucionario Institucional
- Passaic River
- PATH Act
- PBT
- PCBs
- PEMEX
- Penalties
- Penalty
- PennEast Pipeline
- Pennsylvania
- Perfluoroalkyl
- Permian Basin
- Permitting
- Pesticide Devices
- Pesticides
- Pete Buttigieg
- Petition
- Petition for Rulemaking
- Petitions for Objection
- PetraNova
- Petrochemical Regulation
- Petróleos Mexicanos
- Petroleum Products
- PFAS
- PFAS Action Plan
- PFAS in Products State Law Tracker
- PFAS Reporting Rule
- PFAS Strategic Roadmap
- PFBA
- PFBS
- PFNA
- PFOA
- PFOS
- PHMSA
- Physicians for Social Responsibility
- Pimphales Promelas
- PIP
- Pipe Manufacturing
- Pipeline
- Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- Pipeline Attacks
- Pipeline Construction
- Pipeline Safety
- Pipelines
- PIPES
- Plastic
- Plastic Carryout bag
- PNAS
- POCSR
- Point Source
- Point Source Discharge
- Policy
- Policy Statement
- Pollution
- Pollution Exclusion
- Pollution Liability
- Pollution Prevention for Healthy People and Puget Sound Act
- Polyalkyl
- Polyfluoroalkyl
- Port of Los Angeles
- Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act
- Potentially Responsible Party
- POTW
- PRA
- Practical Law
- Precedent
- Preconstruction Authorizations
- Preemption
- Prejudice
- Preliminary Injunction
- President Biden
- President Trump
- Presidential Transition
- PRGs
- PRI
- Priebus
- Principal
- Principles for Responsible Investments
- Priority Pollutants
- Privacy
- Process Safety Management
- Produced Water
- Product Safety
- Production Cuts
- Production Sharing Contract
- Prohibition on Sale
- Project Development
- Prop. 65
- Proposition 65
- Protected Species
- Protecting Our Conserved Lands Act of 2019
- PRP
- Pruitt
- Pruitt Task Force
- PSC
- PSD
- PSH
- PSM
- Public Comment
- Public Lands
- Public Utilities
- Publicly Owned Treatment Works
- Pumped Storage Hydropower
- PURPA
- Quality Assurance Plan
- R-Project Transmission Line
- Racing Vehicles
- RAGAGEP
- Railroad Commission
- Railroad Commission of Texas
- Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC)
- Rapanos
- RBI
- RCRA
- RCRA Subtitle D
- REACH
- Reasonable Progress Plans
- RECLAIM
- Reconsideration
- RECs
- Redevelopment
- Refinery
- Reform
- Reforma Energética
- Regional Clean Air Incentives Market
- Regional Clean Hydrogen Hubs
- Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
- Regional Haze
- Regional Water Quality Control Boards
- Registration Evaluation Authorization and Restriction of Chemicals
- Regulation
- Regulation S-K
- Regulation S-X
- Regulations
- Regulatory
- Regulatory Agenda
- Regulatory Freeze
- Regulatory Guidance
- Regulatory Programs
- Regulatory Reform
- Regulatory Review
- Reliability
- Reliability Safety Valve
- Remediation
- Removal Action
- Renewable
- Renewable Energy
- Renewable Energy Certificates
- Renewable Energy Portfolio
- Renewable Fuel Standards
- Renewable Portfolio Standard
- Renewables
- Renewals
- Reporting
- Request for Information
- ReRED
- Rescind
- Resilience of the Bulk Power System
- Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
- Responsible Business Initiative
- Restoration
- Restriction of Hazardous Substances
- Retail
- Retailers
- Retained
- Retroactivity
- Return on Equity
- RFS
- RHA
- Richard Glick
- Rigs to Reefs
- RIN
- Ripeness
- Risk and Technology Review
- Risk Assessment
- Risk Evaluation
- Risk Management
- Risk Management Plan
- Risk Management Program
- Risk Management Regulations
- Rivers and Harbors Act
- RMP
- Roadmap Release
- Roanoke River Basin Association
- Robert Powelson
- ROE
- ROEs
- RoHS
- Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil
- Roundup
- Royalties
- RPS
- RRBA
- RRC
- RTR
- Rule 14a-8(i)(7)
- Rule 65(c)
- Rulemaking
- Russia
- SAB
- Sacred Sites
- SAFE
- Safe Drinking Water Act
- Safe Harbor
- Safe Harbor Regulation
- Safe Harbor Warning
- Safer Consumer Products
- SAFETY Act
- Safety Management System
- San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board
- SASB
- SaskPower’s Boundary Dam Unit 3
- SB 1371
- SCAQMD
- Science
- Science Advisory Board
- Science Advisory Board (SAB)
- Scope
- Scope 1
- Scope 2
- Scope 3
- Scott Pruitt
- SCOTUS
- SDWA
- SEC
- Section 10
- Section 104 Request
- Section 114 Request
- Section 179B(b)
- Section 208 Request
- Section 308 Request
- Section 4
- Section 401
- Section 404
- Section 408
- Section 45Q
- Section 5
- Section 6(b)
- Securities Act
- Securities and Exchange Commission
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- Securities Law
- Seismicity
- Seminole Rock
- Senate
- Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
- Senator Lamar Alexander
- SEP
- SEPs
- Services
- Settlements
- Sewage
- Shareholder Lawsuits
- Shutdown
- Sierra Club
- Significant Figures
- Significant Guidance
- Significant New Use Rule
- SIP
- Smelter
- SNUR
- Social
- Social Media
- Solar
- Solid Waste
- South China Sea
- South Coast Air Quality Management District
- SPCC
- Species
- Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Rule
- SSB 5135
- SSM SIP Call
- Stabilization Clause
- Standing
- Standing Rock Sioux
- Stare Decisis
- State
- State Administrative Appeals
- State Air Pollution Control Board
- State Constitutions
- State Environmental Quality Review Act
- State Implementation Plan
- State Law
- State Water Resources Control Board
- States
- Statute of Limitations
- Statutory Authority
- Statutory Interpretation
- Stormwater
- Strategic
- Straw Proposal
- Subrogation
- sulfur dioxide
- Sunset Review
- Superfund
- Supplemental Environmental Projects
- Supply Chain
- Supreme Court
- Supreme Court of Texas
- Supreme Court of the United States
- Surface Mining Act
- Surface Water Discharge
- Susan Bodine
- Sustainability
- Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
- Sustainable Development Goals
- Sustainable Investing
- SWDA
- Switzerland
- SWRCB
- Tailings Storage Facility
- Take
- Take Prohibition
- Takings
- Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)
- Tax
- Tax Credits
- Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
- Tax Reform
- Taxonomy Regulation
- TCEQ
- TCI
- Temporary Policy
- TERP
- Texas Alliance of Energy Producers
- Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
- Texas Legislature
- Texas Railroad Commission
- Texas Water Development Board
- Thailand
- THC
- The European Commission
- The Mikado
- The Treasury Department
- The Water Infrastructure Improvements Act
- the WIIN Act
- Third Circuit
- Threatened Species
- Title V
- TMDL
- TMDLs
- TNALs
- Toledo
- Tolling Order
- Total Maximum Daily Load
- Toxic Chemicals
- Toxic Substances Control Act
- Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)
- Toxics
- Toxics Release Inventory
- Transcos
- Transition
- Transmission
- Transparency
- Transport
- Treasury
- Treaty Rights
- Trends
- TRI
- Tribal Rights
- Tribes
- Trump
- Trump Administration
- TSA
- TSCA
- TSF
- TWDB
- U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- Ultimate Net Loss
- UNCLOS
- Underground Injection Wells
- Underground Storage Tank
- UNFCCC
- Unified Agenda
- United Airlines
- United Nations
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Urgenda
- US Army Corps of Engineers
- US Chemical Safety Board
- US Climate Alliance
- US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- US Customs and Border Protection
- US Department of Agriculture
- US Department of Justice (DOJ)
- US Environmental Protection Agency
- US Fish and Wildlife Service
- US FWS
- US SAFETY Act
- US Securities and Exchange Commission
- US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
- US Supreme Court
- USACE
- USDA
- USDOT
- USFWS
- USMCA
- Utilities
- utility
- vapor intrusion
- Vapor Recovery Units
- VCP
- venting
- Veto
- Village of Old Mill Creek. v. Star
- Vineyard Wind
- Virginia Clean Economy Act
- Virginia Community Flood Preparedness Fund
- Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
- Virginia State Corporation Commission
- vision of Corporation Finance
- VOCs
- Volatile Organic Compounds
- Voluntary Cleanup Program
- Voluntary Remediation
- Waiver
- Waiver Period
- Warnings
- Washington
- Waste
- Waste Discharge Identification Number
- Waste Electrical and Electric Equipment
- Waste Permitting
- Wasted Food
- Wastewater
- Wastewater Treatment
- Water
- Water Quality Certification
- Water Quality Criteria
- Water Regulation
- Water Reuse
- Water Supply and Management
- Water Systems
- Waterfront
- Waters
- Waters of the United States
- WDID
- WEA
- WEEE
- Well Blowout
- Well Control Rule
- WET Tests
- Wetlands
- Whole Effluent Testing
- Wholesale Electricity
- WildEarth Guardians
- Wildfire
- Wind
- Wind Energy
- Wind Energy Area
- wind farms
- Winning on Reducing Food Waste Initiative
- Winter v. NRDC
- Withdrawal or Reinstatement
- World Bank Group Equator Principles
- Worst-Case Discharge
- WOTUS
- WQBELs
- WQC
- Wyoming
- Zero Emissions
- Zero-Emissions Vehicle Initiative
- Zinke
Authors
- Yaniel Abreu
- Elizabeth E. Aldridge
- Walter J. Andrews
- John J. Beardsworth, Jr.
- Nancy B. Beck, PhD, DABT
- Jordan L. Bernstein
- Timothy E. Biller
- George Borovas
- Lawrence J. Bracken II
- Shannon S. Broome
- Karma B. Brown
- Samuel L. Brown
- F. William Brownell
- Courtney Cochran Butler
- Julia J. Casciotti
- Michelle G. Chan
- E. Carter Chandler Clements
- Abigail Contreras
- Benjamin Y. Cooper IV
- Christopher J. Cunio
- Alexandra B. Cunningham
- Andrea DeField
- Meredith Doswell
- Douglas L. Dua
- Deidre G. Duncan
- Frederick R. Eames
- Clare Ellis
- Latosha M. Ellis
- Susan S. Failla
- Geoffrey B. Fehling
- Andrea Field
- Hannah Flint
- Steven C. Friend
- Kevin E. Gaunt
- Andrew G. Geyer
- Erin Grisby
- Elisabeth R. Gunther
- Steven M. Haas
- Alexandra Hamilton
- Patrick Jamieson
- Kevin W. Jones
- Dan J. Jordanger
- Ryan T. Ketchum
- Sami M. Khan
- Jonathan H. Kim
- Scott H. Kimpel
- Charles H. Knauss
- Garrett Kral
- J. Pierce Lamberson
- Lucinda Minton Langworthy
- Jaclyn E. Lee
- Matthew Z. Leopold
- Charlotte Leszinske
- Brian R. Levey
- Michael S. Levine
- Elbert Lin
- Eric R. Link
- Nash E. Long
- David S. Lowman, Jr.
- Phyllis H. Marcus
- Jeffrey N. Martin
- Lorelie S. Masters
- Patrick M. McDermott
- Kerry L. McGrath
- Robert J. McNamara
- Michael J. Messonnier, Jr.
- Jennifer MikoLevine
- Todd S. Mikolop
- Angela Morrison
- Michael J. Mueller
- Eric J. Murdock
- Ted J. Murphy
- William L. Newton
- Henry V. Nickel
- Paul T. Nyffeler, PhD
- Peter K. O’Brien
- G. Michael O’Leary
- Evangeline C. Paschal
- Kate Perkins
- Shemin V. Proctor
- Shawn Patrick Regan
- Myles F. Reynolds
- Doris Rodríguez
- Brent A. Rosser
- Christian Rudloff
- Rachel Saltzman
- Arthur E. Schmalz
- Penny A. Shamblin
- Michael R. Shebelskie
- George P. Sibley, III
- Joseph C. Stanko
- Martin P. Stratte
- Javaneh S. Tarter
- Thomas W. Taylor
- Patricia Tiller
- Linda Trees
- Andrew J. Turner
- Emily Burkhardt Vicente
- Gregory R. Wall
- Thomas R. Waskom
- Malcolm C. Weiss
- Michelle-Ann C. Williams
- Susan F. Wiltsie