On Monday, March 31, a court in the Eastern District of Texas found unlawful and vacated the Food and Drug Administration’s 2024 Rule regulating as “devices” under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act FDCA, certain laboratory-developed tests used to diagnose, monitor, or determine treatment for diseases and conditions. The decision, American Clinical Laboratory Assoc. v. FDA, No. … Continue Reading
After what has amounted to a multi-year rulemaking process, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) finalized amendments to the short-form warnings under Proposition 65 on December 6, 2024. The amendments (outlined in full here) require that short-form warnings include at least one chemical name, along with other options for safe harbor warning. … Continue Reading
Automotive manufacturers, regulators and consumers face considerable uncertainty on how the incoming Trump Administration will attempt to reshape the automotive industry when President Donald Trump returns to the White House on January 20, 2025. Significant changes are on the horizon, with President Trump’s major campaign themes, including protectionist trade policies and an “all of the … Continue Reading
As evidenced by the Department of Justice’s recent announcement of a US$2 million criminal fine assessed against the owners of the tanker P/S Dream as part of a guilty plea, violations of federal environmental laws governing vessel discharge can carry significant consequences. Stakeholders should take note that the EPA recently announced the final Vessel Incidental … Continue Reading
As the EU intensifies its focus on ESG, the new Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D) is poised to enforce stricter environmental accountability across corporate operations. This directive, along with recent EU court rulings, underscores the critical need for companies to strengthen their environmental due diligence to avoid significant legal and financial penalties. For a … Continue Reading
Keith Bradly, Squire Patton Boggs (US) LLP Partner and Co-Chair of the Appellate and Supreme Court Practice, authored an article for Bloomberg Law discussing the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in SEC v. Jarkesy. The Court found that when the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) seeks civil penalties for securities fraud, the Seventh Amendment affords a … Continue Reading
On June 28, 2024, in a 6-3 decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, the Supreme Court overturned the Chevron doctrine, a decades-old precedent that largely pressed federal courts to defer to federal agency interpretations of ambiguous statutes under their jurisdiction. The opportunities, the challenges, and the uncertainty will grow for a long time before the dust settles … Continue Reading
Fishermen in the small town of Cape May, New Jersey, are at the epicenter of a legal challenge that could reshape the landscape of agency authority. The fishermen are challenging the entrenched “Chevron” doctrine, which for years has afforded deference to government agencies with respect to reasonable interpretation of ambiguous statutes. Once again, the US … Continue Reading
The White House has announced long-awaited final guidance to federal agencies to implement domestic content and manufacturing requirements in federally funded infrastructure projects. The Biden administration guidance applies broadly to the use of iron, steel, and other common construction materials and products and, as a result, is expected to have broad implications for awardees of … Continue Reading
Would you rather pay your bills tomorrow or next year? What about your paycheck? Intuitively, most people want delayed costs and immediate benefits, and so want checks now and liability later. This poses a challenge for policymakers when weighing the costs and benefits of a new policy: is reasonable to pay 90 cents today for … Continue Reading
After a few years off, we are delighted to bring back our Annual UK Environmental, Safety & Health Conference this June. The theme is Managing Developing ESH Risks in the UK and Internationally. We are excited to have the following speakers join us for what will be an interesting discussion:… Continue Reading
The UK’s Plastic Packaging Tax (PPT) was introduced in April 2022. It was initially set at £200 per tonne (£210.82 since April 2023) and applies to importers and manufacturers of plastic packaging with less than 30% recycled content. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been seeking to raise more awareness of PPT and has indicated that the … Continue Reading
The UK Regulator – the Competition and Markets Authority (“CMA”) – continues to be active in cracking down on misleading green claims, this time targeting the fast-moving consumer goods industry (“FMCG”). In this piece, our IP and Technology colleagues discuss the FMCG investigation and the Advertising Standards Authority’s (“ASA“) pursuit of misleading green claims. Read the … Continue Reading
President Biden signed into law the “Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023” on December 29, 2022 (the enactment date). The Act includes the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act of 2022 (“MOCRA”) which increases the authority of the United States Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) to regulate cosmetics and provide enhanced protections for consumers. The new law includes … Continue Reading
The European Commission has tabled a proposal for Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation – a cornerstone initiative aiming to revolutionise the industry by common, EU-wide rules for packaging circularity. In this article, we look at the new rules in more detail as it introduces an array of new rules with regards to packaging that is … Continue Reading
As automotive technologies evolve, particularly in regard to autonomous vehicles (AVs), legislators struggle to keep pace. The lack of a binding legislative framework for AVs leaves regulators on their own in determining if and how to establish new safety standards. Here, we provide a general overview of recent legislative efforts, the National Highway Safety Administration’s … Continue Reading
Lead was once a common additive in fuels, paints, glasses, batteries, pipes, ceramics, and more. As the health effects of lead exposure came to be better known, Congress and EPA began targeting lead pollution under a variety of laws and regulations governing air and water pollution, including the Toxic Substances Control Act, Residential Lead-Based Paint … Continue Reading
A recording of PFAS, REACH and Other Chemical Regulatory Issues the second webinar in our two-part 2022 Chemicals Workshop webinar series, in partnership with the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC), is now available. In this session, we provided an overview of the rapidly evolving landscape related to per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including the proposed … Continue Reading
A recording of TSCA Developments and US EPA Updates, the first webinar in our two-part 2022 Chemicals Workshop webinar series in partnership with the Ohio Chemistry Technology Council (OCTC), is now available. In this session, we reviewed US EPA’s implementation of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), including proposed “whole chemical” determinations and other Biden … Continue Reading
While the US has begun considering the implications of the US Supreme Court’s monumental June 28, 2022 opinion addressing air emissions from power plants, without much fanfare US EPA sent a proposed rulemaking to the White House Office of Management & Budget (OMB) for pre-publication interagency review that could be significant for “major source” air … Continue Reading
While rulemakings under the Administrative Procedure Act typically take several years from proposal to enactment, that can vary significantly. While some rules run a fairly standard course, others languish for years with no action nor any apparent reason for inaction. EPA’s recent revival of a proposed rule that is now, were it a person, old … Continue Reading
On June 15, 2022, US EPA issued its prepublication notice announcing final drinking water health advisories for PFBS and GenX, as well as interim drinking water health advisories for PFOA and PFOS.1 In this publication, we discuss US EPA’s recent announcement and consider how it could impact industries moving forward: Drinking Water Advisory Levels for … Continue Reading
In April, we published an article about the UK COVID-19 Public Inquiry’s four-week long consultation process into its draft Terms of Reference (“TORs”), which will shape the scope of issues to be addressed by the Inquiry. Last month, the Inquiry published its summary report into the consultation, having analysed the 20,000 responses received, and meeting … Continue Reading
Back in November of 2021, ASTM International issued its revised Standard Practice E1527-21 to replace its 2013 version setting forth the specific procedures and requirements for environmental professionals preparing Phase I environmental site assessments. Preparation of a Phase I report under this Standard satisfies one of the obligations under the All Appropriate Inquires (AAI) Rule … Continue Reading
