On June 22, Judge William B. Shubb of the US District Court for the Eastern District of California granted Monsanto’s motion for summary judgment and imposed a permanent injunction on the enforcement of Proposition 65 for glyphosate (the active ingredient in Roundup) in the closely followed case National Association of Wheat Growers v. Becerra.  The ruling was important to many in the chemicals and agricultural world, and we provided an Expert Analysis of the district…

At the end of the transitional period, on 31 December 2020, the chemical regulation EU REACH will cease to apply in the UK. This will automatically invalidate EU REACH registrations and authorisations held by UK companies. A stand-alone UK chemical regulation UK REACH will replace EU REACH in the UK. UK-based EU REACH registrants, therefore, need to transfer their registrations and authorisations to an EU-27/EEA legal entity, if they want to retain them.  UK companies…

On Monday, the White House released its statement of administration policy (SAP) threatening to veto the proposed clean energy package from the House of Representatives (H.R. 4447). Trump Administration policy advisors argued that the legislation would reinstate “big government policies and programs” and “undermine the Administration’s regulatory agenda.” Specifically, the SAP criticizes workforce development provisions in the bill, highlighting that these may override and duplicate efforts at the federal agency level, as well…

This week, the House of Representatives is set to consider H.R. 447, the House Clean Energy Package. Over 150 amendments were offered on the package and today, the House Rules Committee will meet today decide which of those amendments to consider on the House floor. Depending on the outcome of the House Rules Committee meeting, the legislation could be considered on the floor as early as tomorrow. Of interest to states and local governments,…

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in increased use of disposable plastics and plastic waste reduction efforts have experienced setbacks as the need for these products grows. Nonetheless, proponents of a federal bill aimed at reducing plastic waste, the “Break Free From Plastic Pollution Act,” (the Act) continue to advocate for its passage.  Recently, Sen. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA) authored an open letter urging states to use the Act as…

The Trump administration recently finalized updates to regulations for environmental impact review of large projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).  NEPA was originally enacted 50 years ago to reorient federal agencies to consider the environmental impact of projects.  It generally requires federal agencies to consider environmental effects of proposed projects before they are approved. It is a procedural statute and does not require project modification. NEPA is implemented by the White House Council…

We are continuing to follow regulatory developments proposed for the heavy-duty vehicle and engine sector.  In our most recent blog post on the topic, we covered updates on timing for the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Cleaner Trucks Initiative and the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) efforts related to Heavy-Duty Low NOx Omnibus rulemaking and the Advanced Clean Trucks Initiative.  In the past few months, additional progress has been made and both agencies…