On August 9th, the State of Ohio announced Round 4 of its Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program awards. The State awarded $106.9 million in brownfield grant funding to assist with redevelopment of 61 brownfield sites in 22 counties. On the map copied above from the State’s announcement, the counties in brown received cleanup grants and the
Introduction
The “shadow trading” theory of liability for insider trading recently came into sharp focus when a jury found a defendant liable based on this arguably novel theory. The August 2021 complaint filed by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) against Matthew Panuwat marked the SEC’s first attempt to apply insider trading laws to
In July 2023, the Ohio Legislature injected an additional $350 million into the Ohio Brownfield Remediation Program (OBRP) due to the success of the program in the prior two years. Funding was split into $175 million in FY 24 and a second $175 million available in FY 25. The Legislature also reserved $1 million in
Almost two years after proposing rules on climate-related disclosures on March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted rules mandating specific climate-related disclosures by reporting companies in registration statements and annual reports on Form 10-K (“Final Rules”). The rules, which passed by a 3-2 party line vote, mandate that public companies
The Corporate Transparency Act (“CTA”) requires non-exempt companies throughout the U.S. to file reports identifying their beneficial owners. On March 1, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama declared the CTA unconstitutional because it exceeds the authority granted to Congress in the U.S. Constitution.[1] The court also permanently enjoined all
Back on August 29, 2023, U.S. EPA issued the rule to conform its regulations to the ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court in Sackett v. EPA which significantly reduced the number of wetlands that are federally protected under the Clean Water Act (CWA). (See, prior post discussing Sackett) The Court limited federal jurisdiction to only
Effective March 6, 2024, the minimum dollar thresholds under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended, and its rules and regulations (the HSR Act) will increase by over $8 million. The thresholds determine whether companies are required to notify federal antitrust authorities before consummating a transaction. The increased thresholds will provide both buyer
On February 8, 2024, U.S. EPA proposed two new significant regulations that would expand its authority to require cleanup of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The scope of the proposed regulations and the potential facilities affected are discussed below.
Background on RCRA Program
To understand the potential
On February 16th, Ohio launched the All Ohio Future Fund which provides $750 million in funding to assist communities with infrastructure costs in order to create project-ready economic development sites. The purpose of the funding is to attract new businesses or grow existing Ohio businesses. It is not meant to be a job retention program.
While U.S. EPA is poised to issue a series of federal regulations related to PFAS and impacts to the environment, it is the states that are taking the lead on regulating the presence of Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in consumer products. Such regulations are forcing manufacturers to reach back into their supply chains to