Late last month, the U.S. Eastern District of New York dismissed a suit by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) against eBay claiming that it sold products that are prohibited under federal environmental statutes.[1] The Court held that eBay is not a “seller” of prohibited products under either the Clean Air Act (“CAA”) or
On December 28, 2023, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) signed a final rule delegating primacy over the issuance and enforcement of permits for Class VI Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) wells under the Safe Drinking Water Act to the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (“LDNR”).[1] This decision came after a lengthy review process
The recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA significantly narrows the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) as applicable to wetlands and other adjacent bodies of water under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). By extension, Sackett has broad impacts to wetlands delineation and mitigation requirements for section 404 permits issued by
The 2023 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature wrapped on June 8, 2023. During this session, the Louisiana Legislature enacted a number of bills in the energy and environmental sector of the law. Below is a brief summary of all new relevant adopted provisions:
Energy
Act 150 (SB 103) changes the name of the Department
For traditional manufacturers, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) offers a mixed bag of carrots and sticks to support its green energy goals.
Signed by President Biden on Aug. 16, 2022, the bill includes numerous tax credits and other incentives promoting clean energy investment. One of the IRA’s stated purposes is to incentivize and
Under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”), most pesticides must be registered and are subject to product labeling requirements. FIFRA defines a “pesticide” as “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest.” 7 U.S.C. § 136(u). A “pest” is defined in the statute to mean: “
On December 7, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a memorandum entitled, “New Source Review Preconstruction Permitting Requirements: Enforceability and Use of the Actual-to-Projected-Actual Applicability Test in Determining Major Modification Applicability.”[1] In the NSR memo, EPA announced its intention to drop its long-standing position that the Agency can use its own
On August 28, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) approved an emergency fuel waiver for areas for Louisiana affected by Hurricane Harvey. The waiver is an effort to minimize or prevent problems with the supply of gasoline. Sixteen parishes in the state are required to sell low Reid vapor pressure (“RVP”) gasoline,[i] having a
On January 13, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a final rule revising portions of the Risk Management Program (“RMP”) rule. On April 3, 2017, the EPA proposed to delay the effective date of the changes until February 19, 2019 to allow for a reconsideration of these changes. 82 Fed. Reg. 16146 (Apr 3,
On March 14, 2016, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed changes to the Risk Management Plan Program (“RMP”) Rule. On December 21, 2016, the EPA disclosed its changes via a Pre-Publication Copy. A series of blogs are planned to address five major changes: root cause analysis for near misses, third-party audits, inherently safer technology,