Legal Blogs and Updates

  • Posts by Christina Ku
    Partner

    Christina Ku is a profoundly experienced litigator who leverages her background in biological sciences and environmental regulation to represent parties in complex environmental cases. Her practice also includes significant ...

FERC New Climate Policy Impacts Under Review

The potential impacts from the climate policy changes to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulations continue to evolve. Public comments have been submitted by environmental groups, industry groups and states in response to the FERC's proposed climate policy changes to ...

United States Expands National Environmental Policy Act Reviews – More Scrutiny on Infrastructure and Development Anticipated

This week, the Council on Environmental Quality issued a final rule amending the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), effectively revoking changes made in 2020 by the Trump Administration that limited the scope of NEPA reviews. The rule is phase one of a two-part process, with ...

EPA Accepting Comments on Proposed National Priorities List Superfund Sites, Including Hackensack River

On March 17, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed that five new sites, including the Lower Hackensack River and the Brillo Landfill in Victory, New York, be added to the National Priorities List. The EPA is currently accepting comments on these proposed listings ...

The Fight Over Federal Jurisdiction Continues - U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments Seeking to Limit Jurisdiction Over Wetlands

This week, the United States Supreme Court heard arguments in a case concerning the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The case, brought by private landowners in Idaho, may ultimately determine the test to be applied when development is proposed in or near wetlands ...

U.S. Highest Court Reinstates Trump Administration Water Rule

The Supreme Court of the United States has temporarily reinstated the Trump-era water rule limiting the scope of the Environmental Protection Agency’s enforcement under the Clean Water Act.  The 2020 Navigable Waters Protection Rule provided a new—more narrow—definition of ...

SEC Climate Proposal Threatens to Inflict Companies with Burdensome New Disclosures

On March 21, 2022, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission issued a rule proposal that, if adopted, would impose new climate-related disclosure requirements on publicly traded companies. The rule would require these “registrants” to disclose information on climate risks and ...

Final Rule Issued Regarding Implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act

This week, the White House Council for Environmental Quality issued a final rule revising how agencies implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in reviews of environmental projects and permitting application. Business groups believe that the final rule will streamline the ...

NJ Publishes Formal Drinking Water and Ground Water Quality Standards for PFOA and PFOS

Under rules published this week in the New Jersey Register, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has formally established maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) of 14 ppt for perfluorooctoanic acid (PFOA) and 13 ppt for perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS). The rules ...

U.S. Supreme Court Rules CERCLA Does Not Preclude State Law Claims 

On April 20, 2020, the United States Supreme Court issued a decision in the Atlantic Richfield Co. v. Christian et al. matter, finding that federal law under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) does not preempt suits under state law for ...

EPA Issues Interim Guidance Regarding Cleanups During COVID-19 Crisis

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued interim guidance late last week to its regional offices regarding environmental cleanups being conducted during the COVID-19 crisis. The EPA has indicated that this cleanup work is considered "essential" and must be continued in ...

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