LATEST INSIGHTS

Sea and Sky
Regulations
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Jurisdiction at Depth: Updating U.S. Deep-Sea Mining Policy Under Executive Order 14285

With the rapid and exponential advancement of modern technology, there is a corresponding increase in demand for the foundational raw materials that enable such progress. Contemporary innovations, including electric vehicles, smartphones and other high-performance electronics are critically dependent on specific mineral resources such as cobalt, nickel, lithium and copper. These materials serve as indispensable components in batteries, circuitry and other essential systems, underscoring their strategic importance in sustaining technological development. Consequently, securing reliable access to these resources has become a pressing global concern.

Historically, these …

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Model House and Blueprint
California / Legislation
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Could Rollback of Environmental Impact Law Help California Fight Its Housing Crisis?

Earlier this summer, as part of the state’s annual budget deal, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation that alters how the existing California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) would apply to certain housing development projects in the Golden State.

A landmark law signed in 1970 by then-governor Ronald Reagan, the CEQA was intended to reduce environmental harms by requiring public agencies to identify and mitigate potential environmental impacts of the implementation of building activities and governmental policies. Throughout the decades since the CEQA was enacted, a …

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American Flag and Florida Flag between Palm Trees
Florida / NEPA
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U.S. District Court Orders Immediate Closure of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida on Aug. 21 ordered the federal government to refrain from sending additional detainees to the detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” and to begin transferring detainees to other facilities within 60 days.  

The court further ordered that once all detainees are transferred, the facility must be dismantled, including the removal of all fencing, lighting, and generators. The court sided with tribal and environmental groups, finding that federal officials violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), requiring the government to issue an Environmental Impact Statement (EIA) or to conduct an Environmental Assessment (EA).

The government argued in opposition that a review under …

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Chemical Factory Producing Ethylene Oxide
Emissions
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Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Revives Ethylene Oxide Medical Monitoring Suit

On August 18, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit issued its long-awaited decision in Sommerville v. Union Carbide Corp., reversing the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia’s summary judgment ruling in favor of the plant owner defendants. In the case, the lead plaintiff, on her own behalf, and others similarly situated, alleged exposure to ethylene oxide (“EtO”). It is claimed that EtO is a cancer-causing gas. The lawsuit involves manufacturing operations in South Charleston, …

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power station
Emissions / New York
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New York Moves Forward with Ban on Fossil Fuels in New Constructions

On July 25, the District Court for the Northern District of New York in Mulhern Gas Co. v. Mosely ruled that New York has the power to enact the All-Electric Building Act (AEBA). The decision clears the way for the AEBA to take effect in 2026, making New York the first state to require (most) new buildings to be all electric.

The AEBA was passed by the New York Legislature and signed into law by Governor Hochul back in 2023. Under the AEBA, new single-family …

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American Flag and Florida Flag between Palm Trees
NEPA
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Environmental Groups Halt Construction of ‘Alligator Alcatraz’

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams on Aug. 7 issued a temporary restraining order to pause construction on the controversial detention center known as “Alligator Alcatraz” for two weeks pending argument on the underlying preliminary injunction action.

Plaintiffs – which include the environmental non-profit groups, Friends of the Everglades, Inc. and the Center for Biological Diversity – filed suit on June 27 in the Southern District of Florida against various officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and Miami-Dade Florida …

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Mountain range in the morning
NEPA
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Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals Reinstates Biden-Era NEPA Regulations

While shifting political winds don’t literally blow through the trees, their force and impact can cause environmental policy to lurch back and forth.

For instance, in 2020, during the final quarter of the first Trump administration, the White House Counsel on Environmental Quality (CEQ) took steps to change the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by limiting federal oversight on newly begun projects, shortening the permissible length and depth of applications, and reducing the obligation to study the long-term impact of projects on the environment.  …

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Flag of California
California / Emissions
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‘Berth Control’ – California’s War on Idle Emissions

California – as part of effort to reduce the environmental impact of maritime shipping, particularly within vulnerable port-side communities – has implemented one of the most ambitious port-emission control programs to date.

California’s At-Berth Regulation (ABR), implemented in 2007, is a key environmental policy created to reduce air pollution from nonvehicular sources. Since 2014, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) has enforced the ABR for container ships, reefer ships, and passenger ships, requiring the use of shore power or CARB-approved emission control/capture systems while at …

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Emissions / Regulations
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Does EtO’s Recent Regulatory Battle Victory Mean It Will Win the War?

Following years of heightened concern about the dangers of exposure to ethylene oxide (EtO), increased regulatory oversight, and a steady hum of litigation, in 2025 it seems like things might be changing for the beleaguered industry dependent upon this highly effective but potentially cancer-causing sterilizing gas. With a new administration in the White House, a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency laser focused on deregulation, and with the first defense verdict issued in an EtO case out in Colorado this past spring (covered by …

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Smoke emerging from chimneys
Climate Change
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What in the World?! ICJ Issues Landmark Opinion on Climate Change

In a unanimous decision on July 23, 2025, the fifteen judges on the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (“ICJ”), also known as the “World Court,” concluded that the production and consumption of fossil fuels “may constitute an internationally wrongful act attributable to that state.” The opinion also stated that limiting global warming to 1.5C should be considered the “primary temperature goal” for nations and, to achieve it, they are obliged to make “adequate contributions.”

By way of background, this case was initiated by a …

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