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Environmental
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August 18, 2025
Vt. Says It Has The Authority To Enact Climate Superfund Law
Vermont has urged a federal judge to dismiss lawsuits challenging its recently enacted climate change Superfund law, saying it's a valid exercise of the state's authority to raise revenue and protect its citizens against environmental harms.
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August 18, 2025
AmeriCorps Restores $400M In Slashed Grants, Judge Told
AmeriCorps told a Maryland federal judge Monday that the agency restored around $400 million in funding to nonprofits canceled under the Trump administration in April, saying the government doesn't plan to ax grants before they end.
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August 18, 2025
Texas Specialty Recycling Facility Files For Ch. 11
A Texas company that recycles chemicals used in petroleum refining has filed for Chapter 11 in Texas, blaming equipment failures and unstable prices for the metals it recovers and seeking a sale by October to deal more than $403 million in debt.
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August 15, 2025
18 AGs, Governors Sue To Block DOE Funding Cap
A coalition of 19 states and Washington, D.C., on Friday hauled the U.S. Department of Energy into Oregon federal court, challenging a policy they say places a new cap on reimbursements for administrative and staffing costs, and thus slashes funds needed for state-run energy programs.
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August 15, 2025
DOJ Ramps Up Assault On Calif. Truck Emissions Standards
The Trump administration increased its assault on California's stringent emissions standards for heavy-duty trucks, saying Friday that it has intervened in lawsuits to strike down the Golden State's attempts to still enforce its standards in defiance of federal law.
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August 15, 2025
Interior Dept.'s Clean Energy Rules Could Snag Grid Hookups
Recent U.S. Department of the Interior moves to place additional regulatory and permitting burdens on renewable energy facilities may also cover projects those facilities need to get on the grid, the agency has told Law360.
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August 15, 2025
Texas AG Opens Investigation Into Xcel Over Panhandle Fires
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said he's investigating whether Xcel Energy and a contractor broke any laws in connection with devastating fires in the Texas Panhandle last year, questioning whether they put environmental or diversity goals ahead of safety.
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August 15, 2025
5th Circ. Backs San Antonio's Park Plan Over Tribal Protests
The Fifth Circuit has upheld a lower court order saying a San Antonio park has legitimate public safety issues that allow the city to implement a tree removal plan and rookery management measures while also giving tribal members access to a disputed area for religious ceremonies.
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August 15, 2025
IRS Strips 5% Safe Harbor In Solar, Wind Tax Credit Guidance
Large-scale clean energy projects seeking to claim solar and wind tax credits before they expire under a new accelerated sunset schedule can no longer rely on a safe harbor to incur 5% of the building costs to establish eligible construction start dates under Internal Revenue Service guidance released Friday.
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August 15, 2025
Monsanto Asks Pa. Justices To Toss $175M Roundup Verdict
Bayer AG unit Monsanto has asked the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to undo a $175 million verdict awarded to a man in a Roundup weedkiller cancer lawsuit, arguing federal law preempts state failure-to-warn claims in products liability cases.
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August 15, 2025
US Eyeing Tariffs, Port Levies Over Shipping Emissions Plan
The U.S. government is considering tariffs, visa restrictions or port levies — and potentially a combination of those measures — in response to an intergovernmental plan to push the global shipping industry toward achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told Law360.
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August 15, 2025
'Creative' $2.5B DuPont Deal In NJ Is PFAS Road Map For AGs
After six years of litigation between New Jersey and E.I. du Pont de Nemours, including a series of bench trials, the chemical manufacturer agreed to a deal that committed more than $2 billion to cleaning up the Garden State from "forever chemical" contamination at four of its facilities, in the largest environmental settlement ever achieved by a single state.
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August 15, 2025
Canada Says US Treaty Bars Mich. Closure Of Pipeline
The Canadian government told a federal judge that Michigan's push to close an Enbridge pipeline segment crossing the Great Lakes is not allowed under an international treaty between the U.S. and Canada, and threatens grave harm to a vital energy partnership.
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August 14, 2025
DC Judge Halts Some USDA Climate Grant Terminations
A D.C. federal judge on Thursday halted the U.S. Department of Agriculture's termination of certain climate-focused grants awarded to five nonprofits, saying the terminations were likely arbitrary and capricious but stopping short of blocking the administration's broader grant termination policy.
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August 14, 2025
Red States Back Feds' Push To End Trump Energy Orders Suit
Republican-led states on Thursday threw their support behind the federal government's bid to dismiss a lawsuit by youths alleging that President Donald Trump's energy policy directives harm their future by exacerbating climate change, saying there are no grounds to sustain the suit.
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August 14, 2025
5th Circ. Tosses Challenge To Texas Gas Terminal Permit
The Fifth Circuit has dismissed an environmental group's petition challenging a permit issued by Texas regulators for a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal, finding that a previous permit for another project, which stipulated a lower emissions rate, has no bearing on the permit at issue here.
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August 14, 2025
Fla. Condo, Insurer Settle Hurricane Damage Coverage Suit
An insurer and a Florida condominium association have settled a dispute over coverage for property damage caused by a September 2020 hurricane, according to a New York federal court filing.
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August 14, 2025
FCC Urged To Tackle Health, Enviro Impacts From Cellphones
An environmental group called on the Federal Communications Commission to address what it sees as the agency's failure to meet a D.C. Circuit order from four years ago to back up the reasoning for its radiofrequency exposure limits.
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August 14, 2025
Shell Faces Retooled Clean Water Act Suit In Connecticut
Conservation Law Foundation Inc. has retooled a Connecticut federal court lawsuit against Shell and several other petroleum companies that operate terminals in New Haven harbor on Long Island Sound, adding Connecticut Environmental Policy Act and Coastal Management Act claims to a Clean Water Act case filed in July 2021.
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August 14, 2025
US Says It Can't Be Sued Over NM Burns Linked To Wildfire
The U.S. government is looking to dismiss a challenge to a prescribed burn plan that a tribe, electric cooperatives and several property owners claim led to the destruction of nearly 46,000 acres in New Mexico's Jemez Mountains, saying the decision is barred under the Federal Tort Claims Act.
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August 14, 2025
Rising Star: Troutman's Elizabeth Phillips Corey
Elizabeth Phillips Corey's scientific aptitude, legal chops and client relations have made her an asset at Troutman Pepper Locke LLP, where she's helped save an oil field that was in danger of being shut down and worked with a company hoping to usher in new nanotechnology, earning her a spot among the environmental law practitioners under age 40 honored by Law360 as Rising Stars.
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August 13, 2025
Mich. Tribe Asks High Court To Undo Great Lakes Fishing Pact
A Michigan tribe is asking the Supreme Court to overturn a Sixth Circuit decision to uphold a 2023 decree governing fishery management in the Great Lakes, saying the document was negotiated over its objections, restricts its treaty rights and will micromanage the waters for the next quarter-century.
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August 13, 2025
FTC Closes Antitrust Probe Of Calif. Truck Emissions Pact
The Federal Trade Commission has closed an antitrust investigation into Daimler, Volvo and other heavy-duty truck manufacturers after they swore off an agreement brokered with California regulators to abide by heightened emission standards.
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August 13, 2025
Colo. AG To Stay Enforcement Of Gas Stove Labeling Law
The Colorado Attorney General's Office agreed to stay enforcement of a recent law mandating that a health warning be placed on all gas stoves until a resolution is reached on a forthcoming request for preliminary injunction by a trade association, which claims the law is unconstitutional.
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August 13, 2025
Business Groups Fail To Halt Calif. Climate Reporting Rules
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups lost a bid to block new California state regulation requiring large companies to publicly disclose their greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks that they said violated their First Amendment rights, when a federal judge Wednesday denied them preliminary injunction.
Expert Analysis
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Justices Widen Gap Between Federal, Calif. Enviro Reviews
While the U.S. Supreme Court's recent opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, narrowed the scope of National Environmental Policy Act reviews, it may have broadened the gulf between reviews conducted under NEPA and those under the California Environmental Quality Act, say attorneys at Hanson Bridgett.
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In 2nd Place, Va. 'Rocket Docket' Remains Old Reliable
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia was again one of the fastest civil trial courts in the nation last year, and an interview with the court’s newest judge provides insights into why it continues to soar, says Robert Tata at Hunton.
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How Attorneys Can Become Change Agents For Racial Equity
As the administration targets diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and law firms consider pulling back from their programs, lawyers who care about racial equity and justice can employ four strategies to create microspaces of justice, which can then be parlayed into drivers of transformational change, says Susan Sturm at Columbia Law School.
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Seven County Ruling Should Trim Agency Enviro Analysis
The U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County provides needed clarity for infrastructure projects by expressly directing agencies to narrow environmental reviews, and reducing the threat of litigation if even tangential issues are not exhaustively evaluated, say attorneys at Dentons.
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Series
Running Marathons Makes Me A Better Lawyer
After almost five years of running marathons, I’ve learned that both the race itself and the training process sharpen skills that directly translate to the practice of law, including discipline, dedication, endurance, problem-solving and mental toughness, says Lauren Meadows at Swift Currie.
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Calif. Air Board Offers Early Hints On Climate Reporting
As initial reporting deadlines for California's new climate reporting laws approach, guidance provided by the California Air Resources Board in a virtual public workshop sheds some light on rulemaking to come, and how to prepare for compliance during this period of uncertainty, say attorneys at Simpson Thacher.
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Series
Law School's Missed Lessons: Supporting A Trial Team
While students often practice as lead trial attorneys in law school, such an opportunity likely won’t arise until a few years into practice, so junior associates should focus on honing skills that are essential to supporting a trial team, including organization, adaptability and humility, says Lucy Zelina at Tucker Ellis.
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Opinion
Address Nationwide Injunction Issues With Random Venues
Many of the qualms about individual district court judges' authority to issue nationwide injunctions could be solved with a simple legislative solution: handling multiple complaints about the same agency action filed in different district courts by assigning a venue via random selection, says Harvey Reiter at Stinson.
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FAR Rewrite May Cloud Key Gov't Contract Doctrine
The Trump administration's government procurement overhaul, under which sections of the Federal Acquisition Regulation are eliminated by default, is bound to collide with a doctrine that allows courts to read omitted clauses into government contracts if they represent long-standing pillars of federal procurement law, say attorneys at Rogers Joseph.
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Series
Adapting To Private Practice: From US Attorney To BigLaw
When I transitioned to private practice after government service — most recently as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia — I learned there are more similarities between the two jobs than many realize, with both disciplines requiring resourcefulness, zealous advocacy and foresight, says Zach Terwilliger at V&E.
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Opinion
Aviation Watch: A Supersonic 'Boom' Going Nowhere Fast
Legislation recently introduced in Congress to repeal the Federal Aviation Administration's ban on supersonic flight over U.S. territory appears to benefit a single company with an uncertain business plan, and is not truly in the public interest, says Alan Hoffman, a retired attorney and aviation expert.
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Measuring The Impact Of Attorney Gender On Trial Outcomes
Preliminary findings from our recent study on how attorney gender might affect case outcomes support the conclusion that there is little in the way of a clear, universal bias against attorneys of a given gender, say Jill Leibold, Olivia Goodman and Alexa Hiley at IMS Legal Strategies.
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The Ins And Outs Of Consensual Judicial References
As parties consider the possibility of judicial reference to resolve complex disputes, it is critical to understand how the process works, why it's gaining traction, and why carefully crafted agreements make all the difference, say attorneys at Pillsbury.
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Opinion
The BigLaw Settlements Are About Risk, Not Profit
The nine Am Law 100 firms that settled with the Trump administration likely did so because of the personal risk faced by equity partners in today's billion‑dollar national practices, enabled by an ethics rule primed for modernization, says Adam Forest at Scale.
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House Bill Tax Tweaks Would Hinder Renewable Projects
Provisions in the budget reconciliation bill recently passed by the U.S. House of Representatives would rapidly phase out clean energy tax credits, constrain renewable energy financing arrangements and impose sweeping restrictions on projects with foreign ties, which may create compliance and supply chain issues for many developers, say attorneys at Paul Hastings.