Laws & Regulations

"The Trump administration has illegally delayed rules limiting the discharge of climate-changing methane gas from landfills around the United States and must act on plans for California and several other states by September, a federal judge ruled Monday.

The EPA was to approve or disapprove the state plans by Sept. 30, 2017, and to prepare its own solution two months later for states without an approved plan.

"The governor of New Jersey, Phil Murphy, signed legislation Friday designed to address decades-long disputes in his state over who gets access to the state's beaches and waterfronts."

"Two Democratic senators are calling for another probe into the head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) air office after comments from an old lobbying client were incorporated verbatim in an EPA memo."

"A Canadian court ruled on Friday that a federal carbon-pricing plan does not violate the constitution, marking a victory for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau over one of his trademark policies ahead of the October national election."

"Two federal judges took President Donald Trump's administration to task on Friday over its decision to return to the market a group of banned refrigeration chemicals that are potent greenhouse gases."

"The Securities & Exchange Commission has more Trump appointees now, and energy and utility companies see an ally as they try to stop investors' climate resolutions."

"Under a proposal being considered in the Texas House this week, activists who engage in civil disobedience to stop or delay construction on pipelines would be charged with the same level of felony as attempted murderers." Journalists covering protests could also be hit with felony charges.

"Democrats blasted Daniel Jorjani, the nominee to serve as the Interior Department’s top lawyer, during a confirmation hearing Thursday for his 2017 email telling agency colleagues that “our job is to protect the Secretary” from ethics probes and bad press."

"The Trump administration on Thursday made public its rollback of a major offshore-drilling safety regulation, significantly weakening an Obama-era rule that was put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, which killed 11 people and sent 4.9 million barrels of oil gushing into the sea, causing the worst oil spill in American history."

"The House passed a bill on Thursday that would block President Trump from abandoning the Paris Agreement on climate change and require his administration to devise a plan to cut America’s greenhouse gas emissions."