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In September 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released its Preliminary Effluent Guidelines Program Plan 15 (“Preliminary Plan 15”) which includes two new rulemakings that are intended to reduce Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (“PFAS”) in wastewater discharges by revising effluent limitations guidelines (“ELGs”) and pretreatment standards for:

Estimating, reporting, and mitigating risk concerning environmental justice (“EJ”) has increasingly become a complex undertaking. The EPA defines environmental justice as “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.”

I was tempted to take the easy way out for a Labor Day message and just repeat the one we sent last year. It seemed that little had changed, and the message still applied. But then, I think that doing so would be to ignore all the changes that are happening in our modern workplace and that will likely happen in the coming year.

The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) recently unveiled its new Power Plants and Neighboring Communities mapping tool as part of its commitment to Environmental Justice (“EJ”).

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has announced its newest target for Clean Air Act enforcement: metal recycling facilities.

For the second time in as many weeks, the acting head of the EPA’s enforcement office has issued a memorandum (the “Memorandum”) outlining additional actions to advance the EPA’s environmental justice (“EJ”) goals.

In February 2021, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Acting Chair Allison Herren Lee directed the Division of Corporation Finance to focus on climate-related disclosures and use their insights to begin updating the SEC’s 2010 guidance, and the SEC has recently closed the comment period on potential climate actions in which it specifically asked whether the SEC should focus any future disclosure regulations solely on climate or whether it should consider Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors more broadly.

The acting head of the EPA’s enforcement office issued a Memorandum on June 21, 2021, that outlines actions to advance the EPA’s environmental justice (“EJ”) goals in criminal enforcement matters. Previously EPA Administrator Regan shared a message on April 7 with EPA employees that affirmed the Biden administration’s commitment to EJ.

Four former United States Attorneys gathered at the American Conference Institute’s 23rd Annual Congress on the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act to offer key insights regarding the evolving white collar and financ

On May 20, 2021, President Biden signed a long-anticipated Executive Order on Climate-Related Financial Risk (the “Executive Order”).

On April 30, 2021, the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (“OECA”) of Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued new internal guidance (the “Memorandum”) outlining actions intended to strengthen enforcement and advance the protection of overburdened communities — meaning minority, low-income, tribal, or indigenous populations or geographic locations in the United States that potentially experience disproportionate environmental harms and risks.