Brent Owen

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Climate Change Lawsuit Reaches the US Supreme Court

The US Supreme Court recently granted certiorari in an important climate change lawsuit, BP P.L.C. v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore. The lawsuit pits the Mayor and City of Baltimore against twenty-six multinational oil and gas companies that Baltimore claims are responsible for climate change. Baltimore alleges that the companies contributed to climate change … Continue Reading

After Almost Four Decades, White House Issues New NEPA Regulations–Lawsuits Likely

The Trump administration recently finalized updates to regulations for environmental impact review of large projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  NEPA was originally enacted 50 years ago to reorient federal agencies to consider the environmental impact of projects.  It generally requires federal agencies to consider environmental effects of proposed projects before they are … Continue Reading

US EPA Issues New Guidance for Hazardous Waste Cleanup & Emergency Response Sites Impacted by COVID-19

On April 10, 2020, US EPA issued updated interim guidance to regional offices for dealing with the “challenges posed by the COVID-19 situation.” The guidance applies to all US EPA field activities, including cleanup under the Superfund program, RCRA corrective action, TSCA PCB cleanup provisions, the Oil Pollution Act, and the Underground Storage Tank program. … Continue Reading

US Supreme Court Grapples with Balancing Landowners’ Rights Against CERCLA Authority

Two months ago, the US Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Gregory Christian. The case is critically important to environmental lawyers in the United States because it may alter the operation of Congress’s Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) scheme for environmental remediation. CERCLA gives EPA broad … Continue Reading

US District Courts Start Applying Kisor v. Wilkie; Is Auer Deference Now a “Paper Tiger”?

As we’ve covered extensively on this blog, the administrative state responsible for implementing environmental, health, and safety policy in the United States is in flux. A few months ago in Kisor v. Wilkie the US Supreme Court upheld but significantly narrowed Auer deference. Auer instructs that courts must defer to an agency’s construction of its … Continue Reading

US Supreme Court Affirms Tweaked Auer Deference, But Is It Now a “Paper Tiger”?

In our prior coverage of Kisor v. Wilkie, we predicted that the Court would impose “greater scrutiny” on “administrative agencies’ . . . interpretation of their regulations.”  And the Court did.  The Court’s decision will affect every aspect of the federal government’s regulation of environmental, safety, and health. At the end of its term, the … Continue Reading

US Supreme Court to Reconsider Key Agency Deference Standard

Often called the fourth branch of government, administrative agencies implement the labyrinth of federal regulations governing people and companies in the United States. Administrative agencies play a particularly important role in regulating environmental, health, and safety in the United States. Those administrative agencies may soon face greater scrutiny from federal courts in their interpretation of their own … Continue Reading

Colorado Proposition 112: If Colorado Bans New Oil and Gas Development, What Next?

The State of Colorado is a leader in regulating oil and gas development. But a ballot initiative proposes a more dramatic regulatory step: restricting oil and gas development all together. In the upcoming election, Colorado voters will decide whether to enact Proposition 112, a law requiring a 2,500-foot setback between any new oil and gas developments and any “occupied … Continue Reading

White House Seeks Guidance on Environmental Review Standards

Government agencies may soon use a different framework for evaluating the environmental impact of their decisions. The Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), the executive agency tasked with ensuring that federal agencies meet their obligations under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), published a notice on June 20, 2018 seeking input from the public about changes to the … Continue Reading

Flint Michigan Lead-Tainted Water Class Action Allowed to Continue

The US Supreme Court has denied review of a July 2017 Sixth Circuit ruling that revived two federal class action lawsuits seeking redress for plaintiffs alleging injury as a result of the lead-tainted water crises in Flint, Michigan.  In addition to ensuring that the Flint, Michigan water crises remains active in the national conversation, the Supreme Court’s … Continue Reading

Squire Patton Boggs Helps Secure a Victory for the State of Colorado at the US Supreme Court

On June 26, the US Supreme Court denied New Mexico’s petition seeking to institute an original action against Colorado for the 2015 Gold King Mine spill. An original action in the US Supreme Court is a lawsuit between states. Invoking that rarely used procedure, New Mexico sought to hold Colorado liable for the Gold King Mine spill.  … Continue Reading

Are Changes on the Horizon to the Deference Historically Afforded to US Administrative Agencies?

As we have previously discussed on this blog, a cornerstone of US administrative law, Chevron deference, is in flux.  That fluctuation and its eventual resolution will impact US businesses, including in the promulgation of critical environmental regulations.  Chevron deference describes a doctrine articulated by a unanimous US Supreme Court in its 1984 decision, Chevron USA, Inc. … Continue Reading

Georgia and South Carolina are the Newest Battle Grounds for States’ Eminent Domain Authority

In 2005, the US Supreme Court held in Kelo v. City of New London that the city of New London, Connecticut could condemn 15 residential properties for a “public use” that entailed transferring the property to a new private owner.  The majority opinion backstopped its expansive definition of “public use” by emphasizing that “nothing in [its] … Continue Reading

US Congress Considers Law That Would Overturn Chevron Deference

Earlier this year, Senate and House Republicans introduced the “Separation of Powers Restoration Act of 2016.”  On July 12, 2016, the House passed the bill by a vote of 240-171, largely along party lines. The legislation would fundamentally alter a cornerstone of administrative law: Chevron deference.  Chevron deference describes a doctrine articulated by a unanimous US Supreme Court in its 1984 decision, Chevron USA, … Continue Reading

Despite Best Efforts, US EPA Faces 2016 Deadline for New Financial Assurance Rules

US EPA has agreed to promulgate financial assurance rules for hard rock mining companies by December 1, 2017.  Specifically, the agencies requirements will apply to facilities which extract or process metals (e.g., copper, gold, iron, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, silver, uranium, and zinc).  The financial assurance requirements will obligate companies performing environmental cleanup to provide a … Continue Reading

US EPA Violated Federal Law by Using Taxpayer Dollars to Fund “Covert Propaganda” and Illegal Grassroots Lobbying

A federal investigation has revealed that US EPA violated federal law by utilizing “covert propaganda” and illegal grassroots lobbying to encourage voters to support its Waters of the United States Rule (the “Clean Water Rule“).  US EPA’s legal violations in the context of the Clean Water Rule could lead to additional trouble for the agency.  Members of the … Continue Reading
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