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Environmental
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January 16, 2025
Trump's DOT Pick Says Air Safety, New Tech Big Priorities
President-elect Donald Trump's would-be transportation secretary pledged to oversee a leaner and more efficient U.S. Department of Transportation focused on expediting project permitting, prioritizing mega infrastructure projects, and ensuring that Boeing and aviation safety gets "back on track."
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January 16, 2025
3M Hit With PFAS Suit Over Wash. Resident's Cancer Diagnosis
A woman who lives near the Spokane International Airport filed suit Thursday against 3M, DuPont and various other companies over alleged "forever chemical" contamination of her drinking water, claiming her adult son has developed cancer after decades of exposure.
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January 16, 2025
Mining Co. Can Intervene In Nevada Lithium Project Suit
A Nevada federal judge is allowing the owner and developer behind the Rhyolite Ridge Lithium-Boron Mine to intervene in a dispute over the U.S. Department of the Interior's authorization of the project, saying the company satisfies all intervention requirements.
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January 16, 2025
Trump EPA Pick Faces Climate Questions, Dodges Details
President-elect Donald Trump's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday tried to steer clear of controversy at a Senate confirmation hearing, taking a conciliatory tone, deferring judgment on specific matters and promising to exercise independence.
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January 16, 2025
Interior Nom Stresses Need For More Fossil Fuels
Interior secretary nominee Doug Burgum said on Thursday that he will promote U.S. energy dominance and add more fossil fuel-derived electricity to the grid, as Democrats and Republican senators sparred over how much emphasis should be given to renewables.
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January 16, 2025
Texas Ozone Fight A Repeat Of 2007, EPA Tells 5th Circ.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that Texas is feigning a misunderstanding of the Clean Air Act, saying it couldn't have hit the state with a "surprise switcheroo" because it was in an identical situation more than a decade earlier.
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January 16, 2025
NC Biz Court Bulletin: Judge Bids Adieu, TikTok Wants Out
The North Carolina Business Court's former chief judge hung up his robes for the last time as the court entered the new year with a ruling that shapes the fate of beset real estate company MV Realty's consumer fraud trial and arguments by TikTok Inc. that its platform being "too engaging" isn't enough for the state to begin an enforcement action.
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January 16, 2025
Phillips Mum On Future As FERC Chairmanship Nears End
Willie Phillips on Thursday acknowledged that his time as Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman is coming to an end, but wouldn't say whether he will leave the agency once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.
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January 16, 2025
Cleveland-Cliffs Sets Sights On US Steel, And More Rumors
Cleveland-Cliffs has re-emerged as a potential suitor to purchase U.S. Steel after President Joe Biden blocked Nippon's planned purchase, TikTok could be sold to Elon Musk, and Prada is among potential suitors eyeing Versace. Here, Law360 breaks down these and other notable deal rumors from the past week.
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January 16, 2025
Enviro Org. Drops Fight Over DOE's $1.1B Diablo Canyon Award
An environmental group has begrudgingly dismissed its challenge of a $1.1 billion U.S. Department of Energy award that aimed to help California's last nuclear power plant keep running after learning state officials have already given Pacific Gas & Electric Co. $1.3 billion for the same purpose.
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January 16, 2025
Treasury Updates Bonus Energy Tax Credit Safe Harbors
The U.S. Treasury Department provided updates Thursday to safe harbors that clean energy project developers can use to qualify for bonus tax credits for domestically sourcing steel and aluminum parts in response to new trade restrictions on solar products from China by President Joe Biden's administration.
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January 15, 2025
Energy Secretary Nominee Emphasizes Production At Hearing
Energy secretary nominee Christopher Wright promised on Wednesday to "unleash American energy at home and abroad," as Democratic and Republican senators questioned him on his commitment to carrying out transmission permitting reform and increasing nuclear energy generation.
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January 15, 2025
Foes Of Expanded Oil Facility Face Texas Panel's Tough Queries
A Texas appeals court directed some pointed questions to environmental groups seeking to challenge an oil facility's expansion during oral arguments Wednesday, saying facilities like the one in question have to go somewhere or else "the Europeans will starve in the cold this winter."
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January 15, 2025
Hino Motors Inks $1.6B Deal To End Emissions Fraud Claims
Toyota unit Hino Motors Ltd. will pay approximately $1.6 billion in criminal and civil penalties to close out claims it illegally manipulated emissions and fuel-economy test results for more than 100,000 diesel vehicles sold in the U.S., the Justice Department announced Wednesday.
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January 15, 2025
Sidley-Led Flowco Raises $427M In Year's First Major IPO
Oilfield equipment and services provider Flowco Holdings Inc. on Wednesday priced a $427 million initial public offering above its range, represented by Sidley Austin LLP and underwriters' counsel Latham & Watkins LLP, marking the year's first sizable IPO.
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January 15, 2025
Energy Giants Escape NYC's Climate Deception Suit
A New York state judge has dismissed the Big Apple's suit accusing Exxon, BP and Shell of deceiving the public about the climate change effects of their operations, saying the city has failed to allege its consumer protection laws were violated.
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January 15, 2025
EPA Tells DC Circ. Truck GHG Emissions Rule Is Sound
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is defending its tightened greenhouse gas emission standards for heavy-duty vehicles against a challenge brought by dozens of states and industry groups, telling the D.C. Circuit that federal law empowers the agency to regulate all motor vehicles — electric or otherwise.
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January 15, 2025
3M Wants Conn. AG's PFAS Case Paused For 2nd Circ. Appeal
3M has urged a Connecticut Superior Court to stay the state's environmental lawsuit seeking damages for "forever chemical" pollution the company allegedly created, saying the Second Circuit should first review a federal judge's order remanding the case to state court.
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January 15, 2025
Oil Biz Must Face Action Alleging It Dodged Well Cleanup
Oil and gas company HRM Resources cannot escape a lawsuit from Colorado landowners alleging the business transferred 200 oil and gas wells to a smaller oil company, which soon after declared bankruptcy, in order to shift cleanup obligations to the state, after a Colorado federal judge found the plaintiffs alleged they were injured by the scheme.
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January 15, 2025
Conn. Set To End Pollution Review On Property Transfers
Connecticut regulators have finalized a set of new rules to catch environmental contamination that will replace a system of mandatory inspections on commercial and industrial property transfers, leaving New Jersey as the only U.S. state with such a policy.
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January 15, 2025
Biz Court Calls Out Biogas Co. For 'Stack' Of Broken Promises
A North Carolina Business Court judge pondered during a sanctions hearing Wednesday whether a biogas company should be held in contempt for allegedly violating a court order, saying the company has repeatedly fallen short of its promises in a fight with lenders over funding for renewable energy projects.
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January 15, 2025
Feds Float Safety Rule For Growing CO2 Pipeline Network
Gas- and liquid-phase carbon dioxide pipelines would be subject to new safety standards including improved emergency response and public communications practices under a rule proposed Wednesday by the federal government.
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January 15, 2025
Origis Energy Lands $1B-Plus Infusion From Brookfield, Antin
Renewable energy platform Origis Energy, led by Latham & Watkins LLP, on Wednesday announced that it has received new investments from private equity shops Brookfield Asset Management, advised by Vinson & Elkins LLP, and Antin Infrastructure Partners that combined could exceed $1 billion.
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January 15, 2025
SpaceX Suit Must Fail, Calif. Coastal Commission Tells Judge
The California Coastal Commission urged a federal judge to throw out a SpaceX lawsuit alleging it has unlawfully tried to stymie the company's rocket launches and engaged in "naked political discrimination" against CEO Elon Musk, arguing the company's claims don't pass muster.
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January 14, 2025
Palisades Fire Victims Sue LADWP Over Empty Reservoir
Pacific Palisades homeowners and businesses sued the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power in California state court Monday alleging its decommissioned Santa Ynez Reservoir, which sat empty for minor repairs, resulted in minimal water for crews to battle the recent wildfire that's scorched over 23,000 acres and destroyed communities.
Expert Analysis
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Series
Home Canning Makes Me A Better Lawyer
Making my own pickles and jams requires seeing a process through from start to finish, as does representing clients from the start of a dispute at the Patent Trial and Appeal Board through any appeals to the Federal Circuit, says attorney Kevin McNish.
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A Narrow Window Of Opportunity To Fix Energy Transmission
A post-election effort of the coming lame-duck congressional session may be the only possibility to pass bipartisan legislation to solve the national grid's capacity deficiencies, which present the greatest impediment to realizing state and federal energy transition and emissions reduction goals, says David Smith at Manatt.
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How Project 2025 Could Upend Federal ESG Policies
If implemented, Project 2025, the Heritage Foundation's policy playbook for a Republican presidential administration, would likely seek to deploy antitrust law to target ESG initiatives, limit pension fund managers' focus to pecuniary factors and spell doom for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's climate rule, say attorneys at Mintz.
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Navigating FEMA Grant Program For Slope Fixes After Storms
In the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, it is critical for governments, businesses and individuals to understand the legal requirements of the Federal Emergency Management Agency's grant programs to obtain funding for crucial repairs — including restoration of damaged infrastructure caused by landslides and slope failures, says Charles Schexnaildre at Baker Donelson.
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Key Insurance Implications Of Hawaii's Historic GHG Ruling
In Aloha Petroleum v. National Union Fire Insurance, the Hawaii Supreme Court became the first state court to classify greenhouse gasses as pollutants barred from insurance coverage, a ruling likely to be afforded great weight by courts across the country, say Scott Seaman and Gar Lauerman at Hinshaw & Culbertson.
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Use The Right Kind Of Feedback To Help Gen Z Attorneys
Generation Z associates bring unique perspectives and expectations to the workplace, so it’s imperative that supervising attorneys adapt their feedback approach in order to help young lawyers learn and grow — which is good for law firms, too, says Rachael Bosch at Fringe Professional Development.
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Opinion
Congress Can And Must Enact A Supreme Court Ethics Code
As public confidence in the U.S. Supreme Court dips to historic lows following reports raising conflict of interest concerns, Congress must exercise its constitutional power to enact a mandatory and enforceable code of ethics for the high court, says Muhammad Faridi, president of the New York City Bar Association.
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Series
The Pop Culture Docket: Justice Lebovits On Gilbert And Sullivan
Characters in the 19th century comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan break the rules of good lawyering by shamelessly throwing responsible critical thought to the wind, providing hilarious lessons for lawyers and judges on how to avoid a surfeit of traps and tribulations, say acting New York Supreme Court Justice Gerald Lebovits and law student Tara Scown.
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To Report Or Not To Report Others' Export Control Violations
A recent Bureau of Industry and Security enforcement policy change grants cooperation credit to those that report violations of the Export Administration Regulations committed by others, but the benefits of doing so must be weighed against significant drawbacks, including the costs of preparing and submitting a report, says Megan Lew at Cravath.
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With Esmark Case, SEC Returns Focus To Tender Offer Rules
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's recent enforcement action against Esmark in connection with its failed bid to acquire U.S. Steel indicates the SEC's renewed attention under Rule 14e‑8 of the Exchange Act on offerors' financial resources as a measure of the veracity of their tender offer communications, say attorneys at MoFo.
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Deadline Extension Highlights PFAS Reporting Complexities
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's recent extension of reporting and recordkeeping timelines for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances under the Toxic Substances Control Act offers relief to the regulated community, but the unprecedented volume of data required means that businesses must remain diligent in their data collection efforts, say attorneys at Alston & Bird.
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6th Circ. Preemption Ruling Adds Uncertainty For Car Cos.
Automakers and their suppliers need uniformity under the law to create sufficient scale and viable markets — but the Sixth Circuit's recent decision in Fenner v. General Motors creates more uncertainty around the question of when state law consumer claims related to violations of federal vehicle emissions and fuel economy standards are preempted, say attorneys at Sidley.
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State Of The States' AI Legal Ethics Landscape
Over the past year, several state bar associations, as well as the American Bar Association, have released guidance on the ethical use of artificial intelligence in legal practice, all of which share overarching themes and some nuanced differences, say Eric Pacifici and Kevin Henderson at SMB Law Group.
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Review Shipping Terms In Light Of These 3 Global Challenges
Given tensions in the Middle East, labor unrest at U.S. ports and the ongoing consequences of climate change, parties involved in maritime shipping must understand the relevant contract provisions and laws that may be implicated during supply chain disruptions in order to mitigate risks, say attorneys at Crowell & Moring.
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Cos. Face Increasing Risk From Environmental Citizen Suits
Environmental citizen suits stepping in to fill the regulatory vacuum concerning consumer goods waste may soon become more common, and the evolving procedural landscape and changes to environmental law may contribute to companies' increased exposure, say J. Michael Showalter and Bradley Rochlen at ArentFox Schiff.