Dear Section Members, It's already May and the year is flying by. As always, here is the news roundup. On BBKlaw<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights?p=0&c=f27c8ea4-b509-44ad-8922-2a28e7115aef>: White House Council on Environmental Quality Finalizes First Phase of NEPA Regulation Revisions<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights/2022/legal-alerts/04/white-house-council-on-environmental-quality>, April 25, 2022, The White House Council on Environmental Quality has reversed three key Trump administration changes that govern how federal agencies implement the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The rule, published on April 20, 2022, finalizes what the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) called "Phase One" of their effort to review and revise the Trump administration's July 2020 overhaul of the NEPA regulations, and follows a proposed rule that CEQ issued for public comments last fall. New Guidance on Buy America Requirements for Federally Funded Infrastructure Projects<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights/2022/legal-alerts/04/new-guidance-on-buy-america-requirements-for-feder>, April 19, 2022, The White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has released guidance on the implementation of new Buy America requirements for federally funded infrastructure projects pursuant to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), which was enacted in Nov. 2021. The IIJA broadened the scope of Buy America and directed OMB and federal agencies to have the new rules in place by May 14, 2022. On Law 360<https://www.law360.com/environmental/news?page=1>: EPA Lifts High-Ethanol Gasoline Ban At Biden's Behest<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1488838/epa-lifts-high-ethanol-gasoline-ban-at-biden-s-behest>, April 29, 2022, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday formally suspended the usual summer ban on sales of higher-ethanol gasoline blends, two weeks after President Joe Biden vowed to lift the ban to combat high gas prices exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The sale of gasoline with 15% ethanol, or E15, is generally banned for sale in many areas of the U.S. from June through October over concerns it contributes to smog. However, the EPA on Friday issued an emergency Clean Air Act waiver that allows for E15 sales in those areas after jointly determining with the U.S. Department of Energy that it would be in the public interest. Calif. Launches Plastics Pollution Probe, Subpoenas Exxon<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1488469/calif-launches-plastics-pollution-probe-subpoenas-exxon>, April 28, 2022, The California Attorney General's Office on Thursday announced an investigation into the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries for their alleged role in causing and covering up the impacts of plastic pollution. For decades, the fossil fuel industry has aggressively promoted the development of oil-based plastic products and has tricked the public into believing that recycling can solve the plastic pollution crisis, according to the attorney general's office, which has issued a subpoena to ExxonMobil for information about the company's alleged role in worsening the situation. Florida Gov. Vetoes Bill Scaling Back Solar Net Metering<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1488118/florida-gov-vetoes-bill-scaling-back-solar-net-metering>, April 28, 2022, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has vetoed legislation to pare down a program that pays homeowners for the solar power they generate and put on the grid, a bill that solar advocates claimed would decimate solar development in the Sunshine State. Florida's state Legislature had passed H.B. 741, which would have started reducing the rates that homeowners with rooftop solar panels would be paid by utilities under the state's "net metering program" through 2024. It would have also required the creation of a new net metering program in 2029 that would obligate homeowners to "pay the full cost of electric service and may not be subsidized by the public utility's general body of ratepayers." Biden Orders Forest Protection To Fight Climate Change<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1486417/biden-orders-forest-protection-to-fight-climate-change>, April 22, 2022, President Joe Biden on Friday marked Earth Day by ordering federal agencies to prioritize the restoration of old-growth forests and improve wildfire prevention efforts through a number of steps including mapping existing forests and doing more to reseed areas after fires. Biden signed a new forest protection executive order at an Earth Day event in Seattle and said his forest protection directives are needed to help preserve areas that serve as bulwarks against climate change. The order lays out Biden's priorities that build on the $8 billion allocated to federal agencies for wildfire prevention in the bipartisan infrastructure bill that Congress passed last year. On The National Law Review<http://www.natlawreview.com/practice-groups/Environment-Energy-EPA>: U.S. Department of Energy Finalizes Rules to Impose Stringent Efficiency Standard on Most Lamps<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/us-department-energy-finalizes-rules-to-impose-stringent-efficiency-standard-most>, May 2, 2022, With the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 (EISA), Congress directed DOE to initiate rulemaking procedures to determine whether efficiency standards for GSLs should be amended to be "more stringent" than those that currently apply to fluorescent lamps and incandescent reflector lamps and whether existing exemptions for "certain incandescent lamps should be maintained or discontinued." EPA Chrysotile Ban Likely To Mean Increased PFAS Use<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-chrysotile-ban-likely-to-mean-increased-pfas-use>, April 25, 2022, On April 5, 2022, the EPA published its proposed rule that would ban the use of chrysotile asbestos under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). The EPA also recognized the fact that a complete ban on chrysotile asbestos will have a particular impact on chlor-alkali companies, as asbestos-containing diaphragms are currently used by the industry to manufacture a significant amount of the chlorine produced in the United States. Although the industry will be given two years to switch away from the use of asbestos-containing products, the EPA recognizes that the TSCA rule may necessarily lead to an increase use of PFAS in the industry. While the EPA is willing to proceed with the proposal despite the increased PFAS use, businesses must pay close attention to the Safe Drinking Water Act and CERCLA developments with respect to PFAS, which could result in significant financial consequences with increased PFAS use. EPA Releases Environmental Justice Equity Action Plan<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/epa-releases-environmental-justice-equity-action-plan>, April 19, 2022, Environmental justice has been at the forefront of the Biden Administration's priorities for the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Perhaps illustrative of the importance of the issue, President Biden issued E.O. 13985 on his first day in office to broadly require executive departments and agencies to "recognize and work to redress inequities in their policies and programs that serve as barriers to equal opportunity." To further that executive order, the Biden Administration announced its Equity Action Plan (the Plan) on April 14, 2022, which sets forth six priority action items at the core of EPA's efforts to advance environmental equity. On JD Supra Business Advisor Environmental Updates<http://www.jdsupra.com/law-news/environmental-law/>: Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back: the Biden Administration's Revised NEPA Rules<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/three-steps-forward-two-steps-back-the-5867437/>, April 29, 2022, On Wednesday, 20 April, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) finalized its first of two phases of rulemaking updates to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (the 2022 Rule). The 2022 Rule unwinds a number of changes in the NEPA overhaul regulations finalized by the Trump Administration in 2020 (the 2020 Rule), and furthers President Biden's Executive Order to CEQ to ensure that federal permitting decisions consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions and climate change. Study Finds Microplastics in Human Lung Tissue<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/study-finds-microplastics-in-human-lung-5943271/>, April 22, 2022, Less than one month after the release of a study showing the discovery of microplastics in human blood, reported by the Environmental Law Monitor here, scientists have discovered microplastics in the lungs of living individuals. The study, out of Hull York Medical School in England and published in Science of the Total Environment, found 39 microplastics in 11 of 13 lung tissue samples collected during thoracic surgical procedures on living patients. Samples were taken from upper, middle, and lower lobe specimens following surgical resection for cancer or lung volume reduction surgery. Climate Risks Prompting Shifts By Real Estate Investors<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/climate-risks-prompting-shifts-by-real-7562665/>, April 21, 2022, The prospect of climate change, and the corresponding elevated risks to various forms of property and investments, are increasingly beginning to be priced in to widening swathes of the economy. While the energy sector--particularly fossil fuel production--was first identified as an industry likely to be impacted by climate change concerns, these risks are now being considered by other industries, including real estate. In particular, there are cities or individual locations that are considered particularly high-risk, typically due to flooding concerns. As the New York Times reports, "investors backing much of the [real estate] development [in Charleston, South Carolina] are thinking more seriously about the risks associated with climate change." Please tell me if you have any questions or comments. Thanks, Gene [http://clients.bbklaw.net/images/logos/bbklogohires.jpg]<http://www.bbklaw.com/> Gene Tanaka <https://www.bbklaw.com/our-team/gene-tanaka> Partner gene.tanaka@bbklaw.com T: (925) 977-3301 C: (951) 334-7261 www.BBKlaw.com <http://www.BBKlaw.com> [http://clients.bbklaw.net/images/logos/LinkedIn-rescaled.jpg] <https://www.linkedin.com/company/bestbestkrieger/> [http://clients.bbklaw.net/images/logos/Twitter_logo_white.jpg] <https://twitter.com/BBKlaw> This email and any files or attachments transmitted with it may contain privileged or otherwise confidential information. 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