Search Results
Use the filters on the left-hand side of this screen to refine the results further by topic or document type.

Annual Supreme Court Review and Preview

The U.S. Supreme Court's October Term 2022 had major implications for environmental law, including its most significant Clean Water Act decision ever. Upcoming cases in October Term 2023 have the potential to be just as impactful. On September 25, 2023, the Environmental Law Institute hosted a panel of experts who provided an overview of key rulings and major take-aways from the Court’s prior term, and discussed cases that have been granted review or are likely to be considered by the justices in the upcoming term.

88 FR 89309

EPA adjusted the level of the maximum and minimum statutory civil monetary penalty amounts under the statutes it administers. 

88 FR 85838

OSM approved, with two deferrals, an amendment to the Virginia regulatory program under SMCRA.

88 FR 83694

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement proposed to incorporate certain documents by reference—Production Measurement Industry Standards and Safety Industry Standards, including one International Organization for Standardization/International Electrotechnical Commission standard—into the regulations governing oil, gas, and sulfur operations on the outer continental shelf.

88 FR 80298

EPA adopted a Bureau of Indian Affairs’ categorical exclusion for waste management activities involving remediation of hazardous waste sites under NEPA for use by EPA’s Contaminated Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act Lands Assistance Program. 

88 FR 78747

EPA announced the availability of and seeks comment on a draft policy that updates the Agency’s 2003 Public Involvement Policy.

88 FR 78358

EPA announced a 60-day public comment period on the draft revision of the Technical Guidance for Assessing Environmental Justice in Regulatory Analysis.

88 FR 77004

EPA revised regulations addressing preemption of state and local regulation of locomotives and engines used in locomotives. 

88 FR 75530

The Forest Service proposed to amend its special use regulations, which prohibit authorizing exclusive and perpetual use and occupancy of National Forest System lands, to provide an exemption for carbon capture and storage. 

Fighting Methane Emissions With the False Claims Act

This Comment argues that the False Claims Act (FCA) can now be used to enforce the Inflation Reduction Act's waste emissions charge and its royalties on vented and flared gas. It first explains why, unlike with other environmental violations, dodging either of these fees can trigger FCA liability. It then examines how two possible groups of plaintiffs—industry employees and outside observers—might discover unreported methane emissions and use the FCA against companies that dodge each of the IRA’s methane fees.