Laws & Regulations

"President Trump finalized a major overhaul Wednesday of one of the country’s most consequential environmental laws on the grounds that it has slowed the construction of highways, pipelines and other major projects across the country. The sweeping changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act, which opponents have vowed to fight in court and reverse if Democrats regain control of the executive and legislative branches this fall, underscore the stakes in this year’s election."

"President Trump plans this week to overhaul a federal law that poor and minority communities around the country have used for generations to delay or stop projects that threaten to pollute their neighborhoods — a law he says needlessly blocks good jobs, industry and public works."

"Dakota Access pipeline developers scored temporary relief from federal appellate judges who agreed to briefly freeze a lower court order directing the oil project to shut down next month."

"The decision to suspend seasonal visas is expected to hurt forestry firms as well as state and federal governments."

"Pandemic prompted states to temporarily ban reusable grocery bags and stalled legislation aimed at reducing plastic packaging".

"Trump’s EPA is expected to propose a new rule declaring burning biomass to be carbon neutral, as industry looks to expand its domestic markets." "In rural Southern towns from Virginia to Texas, mill workers are churning out wood pellets from nearby forests as fast as European power plants, thousands of miles away, can burn them."

"A federal judge has upheld the U.S. Forest Service’s authority to keep a 250-mile (400-kilometer) motorcycle race out of sage grouse habitat in Nevada’s high desert, rejecting a lawsuit by off-road vehicle enthusiasts who argued the agency illegally short-circuited the environmental review process."

"Joe Biden on Tuesday will call for setting a 100% clean-electricity standard by 2035 and investing $2 trillion over four years on clean energy, three people familiar with his plan said Monday."

"The EPA is giving diesel engine makers a break from meeting certain Clean Air Act requirements because of challenges from the coronavirus pandemic."

"The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing to retain Obama-era air quality limits for ozone after rushing through a review of the standards that were set in 2015."