On March 6, 2024 the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) announced a final rule on climate-related disclosures for businesses. Established by the 1934 Securities Exchange Act the mission of the SEC is to “protect investors, maintain fair, orderly, and efficient markets, and facilitate capital formation.” One way the SEC works to achieve this mission is
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Plaintiffs Claim Cranberry Bog Not Exempt from CWA Regulation
On February 28, 2024, the Corte Oreilles Lakes Association together with the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa filed a lawsuit against two cranberry farms for alleged Clean Water Act (“CWA”) violations. According to the plaintiffs, the defendant’s farms had been making unpermitted discharges of phosphorous into a waterbody protected by the…
EPA Delays Rescinding Gasoline Volatility Waivers Until 2025
In 2023, approximately forty percent of corn produced in the United States (“U.S.”) was used for ethanol production. The top three ethanol producing states are Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois, which are also three of the top corn producing states in the U.S. To promote corn and ethanol production in their states, the Governor’s of eight…
Federal Court Revokes Florida’s CWA Section 404 Permitting Authority
On February 15, 2024, a federal court in the District of Columbia issued a ruling formally vacating the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) December 2020 decision to allow the state of Florida to assume permitting authority for section 404 of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). Section 404 of the CWA is traditionally implemented by the U.S.…
The Deal With Dicamba: Court Vacates Over-the-Top Registration
On February 6, 2024, a federal court in Arizona issued a ruling directing the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to vacate the 2020 registrations allowing over-the-top use of three dicamba-based pesticides, XtendiMax, Engenia, and Tavium. This marks the second time a court has ordered EPA to vacate a dicamba registration, following a ruling from the Ninth…
EPA Proposes Updates to Effluent Limitations for Meat and Poultry Processors
In late January, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that it was seeking public comment on its proposal to revise technology-based effluent limitations guidelines and standards for meat and poultry products facilities that discharge wastewater into waters of the United States. The proposal would strengthen existing requirements for nitrogen pollution and introduce restrictions on phosphorous…
EPA Weighs in On Supreme Court Decision Regarding Groundwater and the CWA
In April 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued its final ruling Cty. of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 590 U.S. – (2020), concluding that the discharge of pollutants into groundwater was a violation of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). This landmark decision represents the first time that the Supreme Court has found a discharge…
EPA Proposes Vulnerable Species Pilot Project
One June 22, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released a draft white paper for its Vulnerable Species Pilot Project (“VSPP”), a central component of the agency’s new policy approach to meeting its Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) responsibilities when carrying out actions under the Federal Insecticide, Rodenticide, and Fungicide Act (“FIFRA”). While the draft white…
Eighth Circuit Ruling Revives Foods Uses for Chlorpyrifos
On November 2, 2023, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued its decision in Red River Valley Sugarbeet Growers Ass’n v. Regan, No. 22-1422 (8th Cir. 2023), reinstating the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops. In 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) revoked the food tolerances for chlorpyrifos after a decision from the…
EPA Draft Herbicide Strategy Open for Comment
October 22, 2023, is the last day to submit comments on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) Draft Herbicide Strategy Framework to Reduce Exposure of Federally Listed Endangered and Threatened Species and Designated Critical Habitats from the Use of Conventional Agricultural Herbicides (“Draft Herbicide Strategy”). The document is one component of EPA’s new policy on how…