sidleyenergyblog.sidley.comHome Page | Environmental and Energy Brief

Legislative Corner Our Practice Subscribe Categories Contact Us SearchEnvironmental and Energy Brief Perspectives for the Environmental and Energy Community May 9 2024 The Enforcement Angle: New Generation of Nuclear – Advanced Reactors Advanced Reactor , Nuclear , Podcast Nicole E. Noëlliste May 9, 2024 Join Sidley for the Environmental Law Institute’s People Places Planet Podcast series,The Enforcement Angle .” Through this series, Sidley lawyers discuss state and federal enforcement of environmental laws and regulations with senior enforcement officials and thought leaders on environmental enforcement in the United States and globally. The featured guests offer their insights into the challenging environmental issues facing corporations today. (more…) Read more Nicole E. Noëlliste Washington, D.C. nnoelliste@sidley.com https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png 0 0 Nicole E. Noëlliste https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png Nicole E. Noëlliste 2024-05-09 15:12:53 2024-05-09 15:15:08 The Enforcement Angle: New Generation of Nuclear – Advanced Reactors May 8 2024 U.S. EPA Proposes Revisions to Project Emissions Accounting Under New Source Review CAA , EPA , NSR , Stationary Source Samuel B. Boxerman , Caleb J. Bowers , Peter Whitfield and Byron F. Taylor May 8, 2024 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing revisions to the New Source Review (NSR) permitting program that would make it more difficult to net out of NSR requirements by changing how to calculate the net emissions resulting from a facility modification. EPA also proposes to define the term project” more narrowly to prevent sources from aggregating changes to net out of major NSR requirements. The proposal would revise reforms adopted only four years earlier during the Trump administration that had provided additional flexibility to sources making changes to their operations. (more…) Read more Samuel B. Boxerman Washington, D.C. sboxerman@sidley.com Caleb J. Bowers Los Angeles cbowers@sidley.com Peter Whitfield Washington, D.C. pwhitfield@sidley.com Byron F. Taylor Chicago btaylor@sidley.com https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png 0 0 Samuel B. Boxerman https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png Samuel B. Boxerman 2024-05-08 09:02:28 2024-05-08 09:41:22 U.S. EPA Proposes Revisions to Project Emissions Accounting Under New Source Review May 3 2024 Phase 2 Revisions to U.S. National Environmental Policy Act Regulations Streamline Process, Expand Agency Review Biden Administration , Environmental Justice , NEPA Peter Whitfield , Peter R. Steenland and Brooklyn Hildebrandt May 3, 2024 On Wednesday, May 1, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published Phase 2 of its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) rulemaking, concluding the Biden-Harris administration’s multiyear effort to simplify and modernize” the federal environmental review process. CEQ’s Phase 2 rulemaking is broader and more comprehensive than Phase 1 — which primarily restored three narrow elements of the NEPA regulations to their pre-2020 form — and incorporates amendments as directed by Congress under the Fiscal Responsibility Act (FRA) and BUILDER Act of 2023, including page and time limits for environmental assessments (EA) and environmental impact statements (EIS). (more…) Read more Peter Whitfield Washington, D.C. pwhitfield@sidley.com Peter R. Steenland Washington, D.C. psteenland@sidley.com Brooklyn Hildebrandt Los Angeles bhildebrandt@sidley.com https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png 0 0 Peter Whitfield https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png Peter Whitfield 2024-05-03 13:02:27 2024-05-03 13:02:27 Phase 2 Revisions to U.S. National Environmental Policy Act Regulations Streamline Process, Expand Agency Review Apr 29 2024 EPA Chemical Safety Rule Raises Questions About Authority CAA , Chemicals Regulation , EPA , Regulatory , RMP Justin A. Savage , Ike Adams , Aaron L. Flyer and Rose Quam-Wickham April 29, 2024 For what appears to be the first time in its history, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has recently finalized a rule that requires board-level involvement in an EPA-administered program. Specifically, the EPA’s recent amendments to the Risk Management Program (RMP) require certain chemical plants and refineries to submit third-party audit reports on process safety directly to the audit committee of the company’s board of directors. In short, the EPA is seeking to get involved in corporate governance by dictating what information management must provide to the audit committee and when — regardless of management input. In this article, first published in Law360 on April 25, 2024, Sidley lawyers Justin Savage, Ike Adams, and Aaron Flyer dissect the recent RMP amendments, which are a follow up to the EPA’s Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention rule, finalized March 11, 2024. The authors explore the EPA’s authority to regulate corporate governance requirements, the practical value in doing so, and the potential fallout for companies in terms of corporate governance. If the new RMP rule survives judicial review, it may embolden the EPA to issue other board reporting obligations in any number of its regulatory programs governing corporate operations. (more…) Read more Justin A. Savage Washington, D.C. jsavage@sidley.com Ike Adams Washington, D.C. iadams@sidley.com Aaron L. Flyer Washington, D.C. aflyer@sidley.com Rose Quam-Wickham Washington, D.C. rquamwickham@sidley.com https://environmentalenergybrief.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/04/AdobeStock_616221975_Editorial_Use_Only.jpg 800 1200 Justin A. Savage https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png Justin A. Savage 2024-04-29 15:51:21 2024-04-30 13:40:31 EPA Chemical Safety Rule Raises Questions About Authority Apr 26 2024 U.S. EPA Announces New Strategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Policy” Criminal , Enforcement , EPA Byron F. Taylor , Justin A. Savage , Timothy K. Webster , Samuel B. Boxerman and Greta T. Carlson April 26, 2024 On April 17, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published itsStrategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Policy ,” a landmark new internal enforcement policy for its civil and criminal enforcement offices (the Policy) that signals a paradigm shift in how the agency will assess, coordinate, and prosecute civil (including administrative) and criminal environmental enforcement. In the Policy, EPA states that it has already started increasing communication and collaboration between its enforcement offices in recent years, which EPA believes has led to better case screening and more consistent enforcement responses across regions. But the Policy goes far beyond those less formal efforts and reflects EPA’s stated goal to continue toward an integrated approach, moving away from its prior, more bifurcated approach to civil and criminal enforcement. (more…) Read more Byron F. Taylor Chicago btaylor@sidley.com Justin A. Savage Washington, D.C. jsavage@sidley.com Timothy K. Webster Washington, D.C. twebster@sidley.com Samuel B. Boxerman Washington, D.C. sboxerman@sidley.com Greta T. Carlson Houston greta.carlson@sidley.com https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png 0 0 Byron F. Taylor https://goodlifesci.sidley.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2022/03/sidleyLogo-e1643922598198.png Byron F. Taylor 2024-04-26 09:02:50 2024-04-29 16:09:44 U.S. EPA Announces New Strategic Civil-Criminal Enforcement Policy” Apr 25 2024 U.S. EPA Announces New National Primary Drinking Water Regulations for PFAS Drinking Water , EPA , PFAS , PFAS...