Dear Section Members, I hope you are doing well considering the state of Covid in most jurisdictions. Hopefully this news roundup will be a welcome distraction. On Law 360<https://www.law360.com/environmental/news?page=1>: States Seek To Revive Trump Lead-Drinking Water Deadlines<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1453368/states-seek-to-revive-trump-lead-drinking-water-deadlines>, January 7, 2022, Arizona, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas have asked the D.C. Circuit to strike down a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency rule that delays compliance requirements with Trump-era lead and copper drinking water regulations. The states on Thursday said the Biden administration is illegally using the delay to kill the Lead and Copper Rule revisions while it comes up with its own. The revisions, finalized in December 2020, updated existing lead and copper drinking water standards. Green Group Says EPA Not Shielding Wildlife From Pesticides<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1453005/green-group-says-epa-not-shielding-wildlife-from-pesticides>, January 6, 2022, An environmental group said on Thursday that it plans to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for failing to establish any protections against endangered species from the over 300 pyrethroid pesticides that it has and continues to approve. The Center for Biological Diversity has delivered a notice of intent to sue the federal agency, arguing that the EPA is in violation of the Endangered Species Act by not implementing any conservation actions to protect wildlife from pyrethroid pesticides. The center claims the agency has acknowledged that this compound negatively affects endangered species like the California freshwater shrimp and the Bay Checkerspot butterfly, among others. Hawaii Orders Navy To Shut Down Fuel Storage Facility<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1452202/hawaii-orders-navy-to-shut-down-fuel-storage-facility>, January 4, 2022, The Hawaii Department of Health on Monday ordered the U.S. Navy to shut down a fuel storage facility that allegedly leaked and contaminated nearby residents' drinking water. There have been several reported fuel spills over the years at the Red Hill underground storage tanks at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam. But in 2021, residents reported smelling and tasting something resembling gasoline in the water coming out of their faucets. The Navy acknowledged a couple of spills, including one in November that released 14,000 gallons of fuel and water. On The National Law Review<http://www.natlawreview.com/practice-groups/Environment-Energy-EPA>: Army Corps Finalizes Nationwide Permit Renewal for Expedited Clean Water Act Permitting<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/army-corps-finalizes-nationwide-permit-renewal-expedited-clean-water-act-permitting>, January 7, 2022, On December 27, 2021, the US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) issued a final nationwide permit (NWP) rule renewing a critical permitting tool for both the government and the regulated community. To comply with the Clean Water Act (CWA or the Act), projects with minimal adverse environmental effects can obtain authorization for the discharge of dredged or fill material into "waters of the United States" (WOTUS) through the Corps' streamlined NWP process. With this rule, the Corps reissued 40 existing NWPs and one new NWP. These 41 NWPs will combine with 16 NWPs issued on January 13, 2021 to authorize use of the full suite of NWPs through March 14, 2026. When it Rains, It Pours: Proposed Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Rule Could Make Compliance Harder After a Catastrophe<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/when-it-rains-it-pours-proposed-texas-commission-environmental-quality-rule-could>, January 7, 2022, On December 15, 2021, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) proposed sweeping changes in response to several high profile emergency incidents that occurred at industrial facilities in the past few years. TCEQ has proposed adding a new section to Chapter 30 of the Texas Administrative Code (to be titled Section 30 TAC § 60.4), which would allow TCEQ to immediately re-designate a site's compliance history classification as "under review," and then to reclassify it to "suspended" 30 to 90 days later under certain circumstances. To do this, TCEQ would need to determine that exigent circumstances exist. This could include an incident like a major explosion or fire that significantly impacts the surrounding community and environment, triggers emergency response efforts by federal or state authorities to address materials regulated by the agency, and which ultimately results in certain urgent or grave consequences. Canada Announces Plan for Mandatory Climate Financial Disclosures<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/canada-announces-plan-mandatory-climate-financial-disclosures>, January 5, 2022, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recently announced a plan to compel companies to issue climate-related financial disclosures. Specifically, Prime Minister Trudeau sent mandate letters to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Chrystia Freeland and Minister of Environment and Climate Change Steven Guilbeaut, which directed them to develop "mandatory climate-related financial disclosures based on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework." Penalties Under CERCLA for Denying EPA Access to Test<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/penalties-under-cercla-denying-epa-access-to-test>, January 4, 2022, When your neighbor's property is contaminated, the environmental regulators may want access to your property to investigate whether the contamination has affected your property. You may have business reasons not to want to allow that access. If you in fact stand in the government's way - recalling that you have not caused the contamination, you are not a "polluter," and no one knows yet whether the contamination is on your property - what happens to you? Oddly, the courts have decided very few cases on the point, and most address access to records not to the property itself. But in the last days of 2021, the federal district court in White Plains, New York decided such a case under the federal Superfund statute. Cannistra Realty, LLC v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 19-cv-3558 (CS) (S.D.N.Y. Dec. 27, 2021). On JD Supra Business Advisor Environmental Updates<http://www.jdsupra.com/law-news/environmental-law/>: Vanguard, Inc. Announces Climate Disclosure Expectations for Companies With Significant Coal Exposure<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/vanguard-inc-announces-climate-9986956/>, January 10, 2022, John Galloway, the global head of investment stewardship at Vanguard, Inc.--one of the preeminent index fund managers in the United States--recently announced a set of expected climate-focused disclosures that Vanguard expects any company with "significant coal exposure" to adhere to. Merely Manufacturing PFAS Isn't Enough (Yet) to Make You Responsible for Cleaning Them Up<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/merely-manufacturing-pfas-isn-t-enough-3944915/>, January 6, 2022, This morning we have a seventy five page decision by a Federal District Court Judge in New York dismissing a lawsuit by a water supplier against the nation's most well-known manufacturer of PFAS to recover the costs of treating PFAS-tainted water. Panama City Crayfish Listed as Threatened and Critical Habitat Designated<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/panama-city-crayfish-listed-as-7087774/>, January 6, 2022, The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has issued a final rule listing the Panama City crayfish (Procambarus econfinae) as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), along with a section 4(d) rule limiting take of the species. The final rule also includes a designation of eight units of critical habitat, totaling approximately 4,138 acres, in Bay County, Florida. Governor Murphy's Plans for Enhanced Environmental Regulation and Enforcement in New Jersey<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/governor-murphy-s-plans-for-enhanced-3462976/>, January 5, 2022, Following New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy's re-election this November, his Administration shows all signs of entering the new term with an aggressive environmental agenda. In the past four years, Governor Murphy has promoted a forward-looking environmental enforcement plan that has lead the nation on several key environmental issues. A look at the recent developments within the administration suggests these next four years will continue that trend at an even quicker pace, particularly in the areas of environmental justice, climate change, and enforcement policy. NYC to Ban Natural Gas in New Buildings<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/nyc-to-ban-natural-gas-in-new-buildings-2119503/>, January 5, 2022, In a controversial move, the New York City Commission is set to approve a measure which would ban the burning of natural gas in all new buildings beginning as early as 2023. Under the proposal, buildings smaller than seven stories must rely on electricity starting at the end of 2023, and larger buildings will have an extra four years to comply. Buildings account for 68% of NYC's greenhouse gas emissions, and most of the emissions come from the burning of natural gas. Large cities such as New York cannot meet their greenhouse gas emission reductions without banning the burning of natural gas. Critics of the proposal in the natural gas industry point out that such a move will simply push the burning of the natural gas to the power plants that generate the electricity which will be used to heat the city's buildings. 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