Duplicity

The EPA has released decisions on 34 small refinery exemption petitions from 2025, granting full or partial exemptions that total 1.76 million RINs - significantly more than initially estimated. This discrepancy has prompted the agency to announce a new rulemaking that will reallocate 100 percent of exempted volumes to 2026 and 2027 renewable volume obligations, potentially increasing compliance burdens for nonexempt obligated parties.

Minnesota has again delayed its first-in-the-nation reporting deadline for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in products. On April 15, 2026, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency...

A federal court has struck down New York's Climate Change Superfund Act, which sought to recover $75 billion from fossil fuel companies based on historical emissions. The ruling found the Act preempted by the Clean Air Act, marking the first judicial decision on state climate superfund legislation and establishing that EPA's rescission of the endangerment finding does not alter preemption analysis.

The Fifth Circuit's decision in East Fork Enterprises v. EPA vacates EPA's methylene chloride risk management rule and underlying unreasonable risk determination, fundamentally challenging the agency's approach to TSCA administration. The ruling addresses critical issues including the "whole chemical" versus "condition of use" methodology, EPA's treatment of personal protective equipment in risk assessments, and the interpretation of "unreasonable risk" under TSCA.

The water regulatory landscape continues to evolve rapidly as federal agencies, courts, states, and regulated entities adjust to shifting legal and policy priorities.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service have finalized a rule rescinding longstanding regulatory definitions of "harm" under the Endangered Species Act, fundamentally changing how habitat modification is treated under federal wildlife protection law. This regulatory shift eliminates the interpretation that habitat modification or degradation, standing alone, constitutes prohibited "take" of listed species, potentially reducing permitting requirements for landowners and busin

The US Department of the Treasury and IRS have released new guidance establishing emissions rate tables and feedstock practices for the Section 45Z clean fuel production credit. The Notice addresses emissions rates for animal manure-derived transportation fuels and outlines how regenerative agricultural practices factor into credit calculations. Concurrently, the Department of Energy updated the 45ZCF-GREET model to include additional renewable natural gas pathways.

A recent D.C. Circuit ruling upheld the EPA's classification of PFOA and PFOS as hazardous substances under CERCLA, fundamentally altering the litigation landscape for PFAS contamination cases. The decision introduces a relaxed causation standard that diverges from traditional proximate cause requirements, potentially reshaping defense strategies in environmental contamination disputes.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's new "Harm Rule" fundamentally reshapes Endangered Species Act enforcement by eliminating habitat modification as a form of prohibited "take," potentially requiring only direct, intentional acts against listed species to trigger federal protections.

The US Army Corps of Engineers and EPA have released a supplemental proposal that further refines the regulatory definition of "waters of the United States" under the Clean Water Act. The proposed changes introduce bright-line tests for determining jurisdictional waters, requiring perennial flow and continuous surface connections rather than seasonal standards. These revisions aim to align federal regulations more closely with the Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision while potentially narrowing the scope