Environmental Law Monitor

November 13, 2025 Regulations

Haunted by the Ghost of Chevron Deference: Ripple Effects from the End of the Chevron Era

You may think you’ve seen the last of Chevron deference, but in the year since SCOTUS pronounced the era of Chevron dead, it has garnered more attention than ever. As a reminder, Chevron deference was overturned in the 2024 Loper Bright case, which held that federal courts may not defer to an agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute.[1] In the first six months after Loper Bright was decided, lower courts cited the decision more than 400 times[2], the president cited the decision …

November 13, 2025 Pipeline

Posted by: Kerry L. Jones

New York and New Jersey Approve $1B Fracked Natural Gas Pipeline

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) last week approved the required permits for the Northeast Supply Enhancement (NESE) pipeline project.

The approval paves the way for the Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company to build a new, 37-mile addition to the Williams Transco natural fracked gas pipeline system, which runs from Texas through Pennsylvania into parts of Western New York. The new addition will bring gas into New Jersey and downstate New York, including Brooklyn, Queens, …

Palm trees blowing in the wind and rain as a hurricane approaches a tropical island

November 6, 2025 Climate Change

Posted by: Lauren A. Behan

Study Shows How Climate Change Fueled Hurricane Melissa

When Hurricane Melissa hit Jamaica last week it was one of the strongest recorded hurricanes in the Atlantic at 185 miles per hour. For perspective, Hurricane Gilbert in 1980 tops the record at 190 miles per hour.

A recent study conducted by the Imperial College in London England, using an Imperial College Storm Model called IRIS, found that climate warming increased Hurricane Melissa’s speed by 7 percent and that “it is unlikely that Melissa would have happened without climate change.”

IRIS is a model that …

October 30, 2025 Emissions

Posted by: Nicole A. Caspers

Shipping’s Climate Future on Hold: IMO Vote Delayed to 2026

Member states of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) voted on Oct. 17 to delay the adoption of a comprehensive plan to decarbonize the global shipping industry. The decision came in response to threats of sanctions from the United States, which warned of tariffs, visa restrictions, and port levies against countries supporting the measure.

The IMO has been laying the foundation for climate action in shipping for years. In 2023, it adopted a revised Greenhouse Gas Strategy, setting a goal to reduce net emissions from international …

October 30, 2025 Climate Change / New York

Posted by: Nadia Balkaran

New York to Invest $26 Million to Address Climate Change and Protect Water Quality

Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced two grant opportunities totaling $26 million for projects aimed at addressing the impact of climate change and protecting water quality across New York State.

Twenty-four million of these funds will be made available through the Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program (CRF), and the remaining $2 million will be provided through the state’s Ecosystem Based Management Program’s Stream Corridor Management Pilot Program.

Climate Resilient Farming Grant Program

The CRF Program is funded through New York’s Environmental Protection Fund and is also …

October 23, 2025 EPA / Wildfires

Posted by: Sarah B. Mangelsdorf

Fighting Fire with Fire: EPA Issues Guidance Promoting Prescribed Fires to Help Prevent Catastrophic Wildfires

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its “Policy on Provisions to Allow Wildland Prescribed Fire in Clean Air Act State Implementation Plans” in accordance with Section 4 (Strengthening Wildfire Mitigation) of Executive Order 14308, ‘Empowering Commonsense Wildfire and Response.’

This policy guidance comes in the wake of the EPA completing its largest-ever wildfire hazardous material removal effort in response to the January 2025 Los Angeles County fires. In particular, EPA’s policy guidance directs its 10 regional offices to work with local, state, …

October 23, 2025 Crypto / Emerging Issues

Posted by: Karen Cullinane

As Temperatures Drop, Can States Stop Soaring Electricity Costs by Regulating Crypto Mining?

While the Trump administration has spent 2025 slamming the brakes on U.S. expansion of renewable energy by defunding solar and wind projects, Americans have seen their electricity costs skyrocket by more than an average of 30 percent, a trend not expected to abate any time soon.

The rapid expansion of cryptocurrency mining facilities and artificial intelligence data centers throughout the United States – requiring extraordinarily high levels of energy use, taxing electrical grids and resulting in higher electrical bills for surrounding communities throughout the …

October 16, 2025 Clean Power / EPA

Posted by: Kerry L. Jones

EPA Facing Lawsuits Over Cuts to Solar Energy Funding after Termination of ‘Solar for All’

The Environmental Protection Agency faces a second lawsuit over the cancellation of solar energy grants promised under the now-terminated Biden-era “Solar for All” program with an Oct. 13 suit filed by Harris County, Texas. Both lawsuits filed against the agency accuse the EPA of illegally revoking money promised under the Solar for All program without congressional approval.

Solar for All was established in 2022 with the Inflation Reduction Act, which granted $7 billion in federal funding to help lower-income families access solar panels and battery …

October 9, 2025 EPA

Posted by: Lauren A. Behan

Federal Shutdown and Environmental Slowdown: Assessing the EPA’s Shutdown Strategy

In advance of the government shutdown, the EPA released its contingency plan on September 29, outlining its procedures during the funding lapse.

Key provisions include:

Approximately 89 percent of EPA’s employees will be furloughed.
Research and publication activities will be put on pause unless necessary for exempted or excepted activities.
Certain Superfund activities will cease where there is no imminent threat to health and property.
There will be no issuance of permits, guidance, regulations, and policies unless necessary for exempted or excepted activities.
Approvals of

October 2, 2025 California / Emissions

Posted by: Nadia Balkaran

California’s Corporate Climate Disclosure Laws Survive Renewed Preliminary Injunction Attempt

On August 13, the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California denied the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s motion for a preliminary injunction seeking to halt enforcement of SB 253 and SB 261, requiring disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions and climate-related financial risks, respectively.

SB 253 requires business entities — formed under the laws of California, the laws of any other state of the United States or the District of Columbia, or under an act of Congress — with total annual revenues in excess …