Inflation Reduction Act
Engaging Environmental Specialists and Preserving Privileges
The lines between legal, technical, and strategic communications often get blurry in the context of site investigations, incident response, and other environmental projects. Many company personnel equate "cc-ing" in-house counsel with preserving confidentiality. As a result, the parameters of the...
Discussion of the Administration’s Fall 2018 Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions
Ann Navaro and Ryan Eletto of the Environmental Strategies Group will discuss highlights from the Administration’s Fall 2018 Agenda of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions. The Agenda is a forecast of federal agencies’ proposed rulemaking actions with the goals of more...
A View from Washington: Environmental Regulatory Reform and Infrastructure Principles
In the March installment of our Environmental Essentials for In-House Counsel webinar series, Brittany Pemberton and Christine Wyman shared insights to be learned from the Administration’s proposed budget and talked briefly about several recent regulatory reforms, including methane rules affecting...
Suspension and Debarment: It's Not Just for Government Contractors
Companies facing environmental enforcement actions are at increased risk of being suspended and/or debarred because of a number of environmental statutory debarment mandates, state and local enforcement activities, as well as increased federal agency focus on debarring companies and individuals...
Environmental Management Systems: Risk vs. Reward
Companies everywhere rely on written manuals, procedures, and other formal and informal systems intended to help them achieve environmental compliance and performance. Often overlooked are the many ways in which a company’s environmental management systems can create or increase unnecessary...
Environmental Auditing and Audit Disclosure in a New Era
Tim Wilkins discusses what changes in the country’s regulatory direction and approach to enforcement mean for environmental compliance auditing programs and audit disclosure under EPA and State audit policies.
EPA Withdraws Oil and Gas Information Collection Request
On March 2, 2017, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt made it clear that he will follow through on President Trump's promise to reduce regulatory burdens by withdrawing the Information Collection Request (ICR) that the Obama EPA issued last November to...
Recent Developments in Water
Sara Burgin covers a range of water issues, including: Nationwide Permits: What you need to know about the nationwide permits reissued by the Army Corps of Engineers Water Jurisdiction: What waters will be jurisdictional under the Trump administration NPDES Permit...
White House Issues Interim Guidance Memo on Implementation of "Two-for-One" Executive Order On Regulations, Invites Public Comment
On February 2, 2017, the Acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (“OIRA”) issued a guidance document (the “Interim Guidance”) intended to help clarify President Trump’s January 30, 2017 Executive Order titled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory...
Risk Management Program (RMP) Update: EPA Adopts Final Amendments to the RMP Rule
Partners Whit Swift and Matt Paulson will discuss the amendments to the RMP rule at 40 CFR Part 68 that EPA finalized on December 21, 2016. The talk will cover the changes to the RMP program that EPA adopted and...
The Trump effect on energy and environment law, manufacturing — an E&E News and ABA presentation
[video] What will a Trump administration mean for the energy and environment legal landscape, and do manufacturers stand to benefit? Bracewell LLP's Jeff Holmstead and the National Association of Manufacturers' Ross Eisenberg sit down for an in-depth discussion on the...
2016 Election: Outlook for the Clean Power Plan and Other Environmental Issues
Scott Segal, co-head of Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group, and Jeff Holmstead, head of the Environmental Strategies Group at Bracewell, discuss how the next President and Congress will confront issues such as climate change, the Clean Power Plan, and other environmental...
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Releases Strategic Plan for 2017-2021
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (“CSB”) released its Strategic Plan for 2017-2021 today. The Strategic Plan is the result of 18 months of staff and stakeholder development and review. The plan serves as a blueprint for the...
PHMSA Implements New Emergency Safety Authority Effective Immediately
On October 3, 2016, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced an Interim Final Rule (IFR) establishing when and how it will issue Emergency Orders to address imminent safety hazards across the oil and gas pipeline industry. See...
EPA Advances Climate Goals by Expanding Refrigerant Regulations
On September 26, 2016, EPA released a Final Rule updating the Agency’s Refrigerant Management Program. See Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Update to the Refrigerant Management Requirements under the Clean Air Act: Final Rule . The Final Rule is scheduled to...