Announcement
Federal Judge: SCOTUS “Functional Equivalence” Test Requires Hawaii County to Obtain CWA Permit
After nearly a decade of litigation between the County of Maui and environmental groups, a Hawaii district court has ruled that the County, as operator of a wastewater reclamation facility that injects a wastewater stream into groundwater via a well, must obtain a Clean Water Act (CWA) permit because of the effect the injected material…
Read MoreNationally Recognized Environmental Firm Expands Partnership: Attracts Prominent Former Troutman, Pepper Partner and Elevates Two Lawyers to Partnership Positions.
Kazmarek Mowrey Cloud Laseter LLP (KMCL), a nationally recognized law firm focused on environmental and energy law, announced today that prominent environmental attorney Greg Blount, formerly a partner at Troutman Pepper, has joined the firm as a Partner in the firm’s Atlanta office. The Firm also announced that two of its outstanding existing lawyers, Shelly…
Read MoreEPA Partially Stays Enforcement of Final PIP (3:1) Rule under TSCA and Extends Comment Period for all PBT Rules Issued on January 6, 2021
Yesterday, EPA issued a “No Action Assurance” memorandum staying enforcement of a rule prohibiting the manufacturing, processing, and distribution of PIP (3:1), and gave notice that it is extending the comment period on final rules promulgated on January 6, 2021 regulating PIP (3:1) and four other PBTs. The extension will give affected parties additional time…
Read More11th Circuit Reverses Position on “Administrative Feasibility” Standard for Class Certification
Deepening a circuit split, a panel of the Eleventh Circuit held on Tuesday that “ascertainability” of class membership – in the sense that identification of class membership is “administratively feasible” – is not a threshold requisite to the successful maintenance of a putative class action. The court held that a Florida judge erred in dismissing…
Read MoreKMCL Represents State in Securing Georgia’s Water Future
KMCL is proud of its role in helping secure Georgia’s water supply future. Our outstanding team, Shelly Jacobs Ellerhorst and John Allen, played an instrumental part in this critical step forward for the State. We thank the Governor and the Attorney General for their continued confidence in us. To see the Attorney General’s press release…
Read MoreTracking Trump’s Midnight Regulations: Administrative Challenges Expected
In anticipation of inauguration day on January 20, 2021, the Trump Administration is racing to issue so-called midnight regulations. Midnight regulations have been used by many outgoing administrations just before leaving office to finalize policy priorities. The White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs has been reviewing dozens of regulations submitted since Election Day,…
Read MoreUpdated SEC Environmental Disclosure Requirements Take Effect November 9, 2020
On August 26, 2020, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) finalized amendments to Regulation S-K, changing disclosure rules for environmental reporting. The amendments are the first update to Regulation S-K in over 30 years and will become effective Monday, November 9, 2020. The amendments will change the $100,000 trigger for disclosure of actual or potential…
Read MoreKMCL LAW RANKED IN 2021 “BEST LAW FIRMS”
Kazmarek Mowrey Cloud Laseter LLP (KMCL Law) has been ranked for the eleventh consecutive year in the annual U.S. News – Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” list. The firm received a national Tier 1 ranking in two practice areas, as well as tiered regional rankings in five practice areas. In all, KMCL received tiered rankings for environmental…
Read MoreAmendments to NEPA Regulations Finalized
On July 15, 2020, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued long-anticipated amendments to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations in a final rule. NEPA is a bedrock environmental statute which requires federal agencies to conduct environmental review and impact assessment before engaging in major actions such as infrastructure, energy extraction, and…
Read MoreSCOTUS Holds Clean Water Act Permits Required for Some Releases to Groundwater
In a highly anticipated decision yesterday, the Supreme Court announced on a 6-3 basis that Clean Water Act permits are required under certain circumstances for point source pollutants that reach jurisdictional waters through groundwater. On the critical question of which circumstances, the Court announced a fact-dependent, qualitative test: a CWA permit is required for point…
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