Dear Section Members, I hope you are all having a happy and safe Holiday. Hopefully you are taking time off and will not read this news roundup until 2022. On BBKlaw<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights#sortBy=date-recent-first>: Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights/2021/authored-articles/12/environmental-energy-climate-change-law-november>, December 27, 2021, Members of Best Best & Krieger's Environmental Law & Natural Resources practice group were published in the November 2021 issue of the Environmental, Energy & Climate Change Law and Regulation Reporter. Their published analysis covers a range of recent environmental news, regulatory development, investigations, settlements, penalties and sanctions. On Law 360<https://www.law360.com/environmental/news?page=1>: Biden Admin. Gives Green Light To Major Calif. Solar Projects<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1450919/biden-admin-gives-green-light-to-major-calif-solar-projects>, December 21, 2021, The Biden administration said Tuesday that it had approved a pair of significant solar projects in California, moving forward with renewable energy efforts just days after West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin said he wouldn't be supporting the administration's Build Back Better Act. The Bureau of Land Management approved the Arica and Victory Pass solar projects in Southern California, according to a statement. They're expected to power approximately 132,000 homes, generating up to 465 megawatts of power with up to 400 megawatts of battery storage, BLM said. New Pipeline Rule Protects Great Lakes, Coastal Waters<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1449514/new-pipeline-rule-protects-great-lakes-coastal-waters>, December 16, 2021, The federal government on Thursday issued new pipeline safety regulations that provide greater environmental protection to the Great Lakes, coastal beaches and marine coastal waters. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration designated those areas as "unusually sensitive areas" in a final interim rule, which extends more stringent pipeline Integrity Management Program requirements to hazardous liquid pipelines there. On The National Law Review<http://www.natlawreview.com/practice-groups/Environment-Energy-EPA>: More Than a New Year's Resolution: Connecticut Organics Recycling Mandate Expands in 2022<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/more-new-year-s-resolution-connecticut-organics-recycling-mandate-expands-2022>, December 28, 2021, Perhaps not as glamorous as the Times Square crystal ball, but something else drops at the start of the New Year: The threshold for mandated food waste separation and recycling by certain industrial and commercial facilities in Connecticut. EC Denies Authorization of Titanium Dioxide (E171) as a Feed Additive for All Animal Species, Requires Products Be Withdrawn from the Market in 2022<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/ec-denies-authorization-titanium-dioxide-e171-feed-additive-all-animal-species>, December 17, 2021, The European Commission (EC) published a regulation on November 30, 2021, in the Official Journal of the European Union that denies the authorization of titanium dioxide (E171) as an additive in animal nutrition, in the additive category "sensory additives," and in the functional group "colourants: substances that add or restore colour in feedingstuffs." Under the regulation, existing stocks of the additive must be withdrawn from the market by March 20, 2022. Feed materials and compound feed produced with the additive or premixtures containing it before March 20, 2022, must be withdrawn from the market by June 20, 2022. DOJ Environment Officials Emphasize Enforcement of Environmental and White Collar Crimes<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/doj-environment-officials-emphasize-enforcement-environmental-and-white-collar>, December 16, 2021, This week, two senior U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Environment and Natural Resource Division (ENRD) officials used their remarks to the American Bar Association's annual National Environmental Enforcement Conference to convey a clear message: environmental enforcement, and in particular criminal enforcement, is back. Companies and individuals should expect more robust investigations that draw on the expertise and jurisdiction of various federal agencies, while prosecutions will be driven by enhanced DOJ criminal enforcement policies. Antitrust Scrutiny Heating Up in Oil and Gas Industries<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/antitrust-scrutiny-heating-oil-and-gas-industries>, December 16, 2021, President Biden recently wrote a letter to FTC Chair Lina Khan urging the Commission to immediately investigate potential anticompetitive behavior in the oil and gas sector. The President noted that gas prices have been rising, while the costs faced by oil and gas companies themselves have decreased. Concerned that the two largest oil and gas companies in the country are set to double their net income over 2019 while the gap between the price of unfinished gasoline and the price at the pump is increasing, he called on the FTC to "bring all of the Commission's tools to bear if you uncover any wrongdoing." On JD Supra Business Advisor Environmental Updates<http://www.jdsupra.com/law-news/environmental-law/>: Congress Provides Substantial Funding for Variety of Water Projects in Infrastructure Law With Emphasis on Low Income Communities<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/congress-provides-substantial-funding-6794946/>, December 27, 2021, The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) contains significant water-related provisions, amounting to $82.5 billion in spending.[1] Areas addressed by these provisions include drinking water safety, clean water more generally, access to water, and research. Time to Get the Lead Out: Implementation of the Lead Pipe Removal Program<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/time-to-get-the-lead-out-implementation-4535117/>, December 24, 2021, Although the toxicity of lead has been known for a century, the United States still lags in controlling lead in drinking water. Lead exposure has been known to cause brain damage, with impacts to intelligence and impulse control. Indeed, respected studies show that the reduction in U.S. crime rates at the end of the 20th century is associated with the decision to require unleaded gasoline, which lowered elevated blood lead levels in residents living near freeways. A small legal boom also developed around removal of lead paint from older housing. EPA and Army Corps Seek to Redefine Waters of the United States<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/epa-and-army-corps-seek-to-redefine-9391317/>, December 22, 2021, On December 7, 2021, the US Environmental Protection Agency and the US Army Corps of Engineers (collectively, the Agencies) published a proposed rule (the Proposed Rule) to revise the definition of "waters of the United States" (WOTUS), a critical term that determines the Clean Water Act's (CWA's) scope and application. The proposed changes, published in the Federal Register, could signal a return to the more inclusive pre-2017 WOTUS interpretation, which could broaden the CWA's application. Comments on the Proposed Rule are due on February 7, 2022. Federal Agencies Sign Memorandum of Understanding for the Protection of Indigenous Sacred Sites<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/federal-agencies-sign-memorandum-of-5585221/>, December 22, 2021, In November 2021, the secretaries of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (the participating agencies) entered into a voluntary Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to "improve the protection of, and access to, Indigenous sacred sites through enhanced and improved interdepartmental coordination, collaboration, and action." Biden Administration Rescinds Two Trump-Era Endangered Species Act Rules<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/biden-administration-rescinds-two-trump-7033398/>, December 22, 2021, On October 26, the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) proposed to rescind two Trump-era final rules: the Habitat Definition Rule and the Designating Critical Habitat Rule. Both rules deal with the designation of critical habitat - a Service-designated area determined to be essential to an endangered species' conservation and recovery, which may be occupied by a species when designated or unoccupied. Both rules are also a direct result of the U.S. Supreme Court's 2018 decision in Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. FWS, 139 S. Ct. 361, which remanded a critical habitat decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, noting, among other things, that a determination of habitat is needed before FWS can determine what is considered critical habitat. Transportation Industry Looks to Hit Net Zero Emissions<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/transportation-industry-looks-to-hit-9699895/>, December 20, 2021, Governments around the world have been committing recently to the greening of the transportation industry with a variety of net zero emission targets, funding proposals, and potential penalties and taxes. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in November created the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council to bring together governments representing over half the global car market to increase international collaboration to accelerate the transition to net zero. In the United States, President Joseph Biden signed the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act on November 15, which allocates $550 billion in new federal spending over the next five years to improve US infrastructure, including critical investments in the energy sector. The investments will cover power grids, electric vehicles and charging stations, renewable energy, nuclear power, hydropower, and cybersecurity with the goal to strengthen the energy industry, support emission-free power generation, and bolster emerging technologies. And in the United Kingdom, the government set its net zero strategy, aiming for a 2035 deadline of being powered entirely by clean electricity, "subject to security of supply," extending a 2050 net zero emissions target for the shipping and aviation industries. Singapore Exchange Mandates Climate Disclosures<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/singapore-exchange-mandates-climate-5005179/>, December 17, 2021, Yesterday, the Singapore Exchange announced that "[a]ll issuers must provide climate reporting on a 'comply or explain' basis in their sustainability reports" stating in FY 2022, and that these "climate-related disclosures" are "based on recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)." These disclosures will become mandatory for certain industries--including the financial and energy sectors--as of FY 2023, and for additional sectors of the economy, such as transportation, in FY 2024. Alternative measures agreements may avoid prosecution for Fisheries Act offences<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/alternative-measures-agreements-may-2483752/>, December 17, 2021, On August 28, 2019, the Government of Canada amended the Fisheries Act, to allow the use of Alternative Measures Agreements (AMA) to give accused persons and the prosecution the ability to address Fisheries Act offences outside the traditional court prosecution process. A Dry 2021 in California Prompts Water Conservation Response<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/a-dry-2021-in-california-prompts-water-3132753/>, December 14, 2021, This year has been critically dry and hot for California, resulting in déjà vu as the federal and state governments reinstituted drought conservation measures not seen since former California Governor Jerry Brown declared an end to the last drought in 2017. This blog post summarizes the key federal and state actions that have been taken to address California's drought over the past year, along with potential implications for 2022. As always, please feel free to reach out if you have questions or comments. 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