Dear Section Members, I hope all is well. Here is the news roundup: On BBKlaw<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights?p=0&c=f27c8ea4-b509-44ad-8922-2a28e7115aef>: California Issues New Drought Executive Order<https://www.bbklaw.com/news-events/insights/2022/legal-alerts/03/california-issues-new-drought-executive-order>, March 31, 2022, Gov. Newson has signed Executive Order N-7-22 (Order) in response to intensifying drought conditions. The Order, signed earlier this week, builds on his four 2021 orders relating to California's drought, which is now in its third year. The governor has instructed that the information be widely publicized, and water providers should consider informing their customers about these drought developments. On Law 360<https://www.law360.com/environmental/news?page=1>: EPA Will Skip Perchlorate Regulations For Drinking Water<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1479807/epa-will-skip-perchlorate-regulations-for-drinking-water>, April 1, 2022, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it is sticking with the Trump administration's decision to forgo regulations on perchlorate under the Safe Drinking Water Act because the best available science supports it. The agency said Thursday that it didn't find any evidence that would warrant reversing a 2020 decision by the EPA that despite concerns about perchlorate's effects on children, the chemical does not pose enough of a threat to enough people to warrant regulation. EPA Floats Stricter Water Quality Standards For Washington<https://www.law360.com/environmental/articles/1478845/epa-floats-stricter-water-quality-standards-for-washington>, March 30, 2022, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday proposed rolling back the Trump administration's decision to approve water quality standards for Washington state that the agency now says were not protective enough. The proposed rule would institute new human health criteria for a slew of chemicals - including polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and vinyl chloride - that pose health risks to humans. According to the EPA, in 2019, over the objections of state and tribal leaders, the Trump administration rolled back more protective Obama-era water quality standards. On The National Law Review<http://www.natlawreview.com/practice-groups/Environment-Energy-EPA>: Environmental Justice Consideration in Affordable Housing<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/environmental-justice-consideration-affordable-housing>, April 4, 2022, Environmental justice has a natural connection to affordable housing programs. It remains, however, a broad and somewhat elusive term. There is no formal definition of environmental justice in US federal law. However, relevant agencies have developed working descriptions for the term. US EPA generally defines it as "fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income, with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies," while the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) describes the term as "ensuring equal protection from environmental and health hazards and providing equal and meaningful opportunity to participate in the decision-making process to achieve a healthy environment." PFAS Air Regulations Proposed By House<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/pfas-air-regulations-proposed-house>, March 31, 2022, In the latest federal legislative move to try to force the EPA to take quicker action than contemplated by the agency's PFAS Roadmap of 2021, a bill was recently introduced in the House that would require the EPA to set air emission limits for all PFAS under the Clean Air Act. PFAS air regulations are something that advocates concerned about PFAS pollution issues beyond just drinking water have advocated for in the past few years. There are barriers, though, to achieving the desired results even if the legislation passes. Nevertheless, the federal legislative activity underscores the need for all companies that are currently using PFAS in their manufacturing or industrial processes to understand the full scope of compliance needs when and if PFAS air regulations become a reality. Offshore Wind Development Blows Closer to Reality in California<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/offshore-wind-development-blows-closer-to-reality-california>, March 26, 2022, Offshore wind development in federal waters off the California coast is rapidly moving closer to reality. Although construction and operation remains several years away, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior tasked with regulating off-shore energy development, has taken several major steps over the past year toward opening up California's federal waters to renewable energy development. And, on the horizon for fall 2022, the agency plans to hold its first lease auction during which renewable energy developers will have an opportunity to bid for the right to develop the state's first offshore wind farms. SEC Proposes Broad New Climate Change Disclosure Requirements<https://www.natlawreview.com/article/sec-proposes-broad-new-climate-change-disclosure-requirements>, March 25, 2022, In a 500-page release, the SEC has proposed significant new public company climate change disclosure requirements for both domestic companies and foreign private issuers, including the actual and potential impacts of climate change on companies as well as management and governance processes to address those impacts. The proposed disclosure rules among other things would amend Regulation S-K to add a new section to companies' filings, including third-party attestation requirements for greenhouse gas emissions data. The proposals would also amend Regulation S-X to add new financial statement requirements. The proposed disclosures are loosely based on existing metrics that many companies already apply, at least in part, particularly those of the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. On JD Supra Business Advisor Environmental Updates<http://www.jdsupra.com/law-news/environmental-law/>: Virginia DEQ Issues More Stringent Stormwater Management Policy for Solar Projects<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/virginia-deq-issues-more-stringent-4682902/>, April 4, 2022, On March 29, 2022, Michael Rolband, the director of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), issued a memorandum implementing a new and much more stringent post-development stormwater management policy for solar projects that are subject to Virginia Stormwater Management Program (VSMP) requirements related to Virginia Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (VPDES) permitting for construction activity-related stormwater discharges. The new policy went into effect immediately and applies to any solar project for which its stormwater management (SWM) plan had not been approved prior to March 29, 2022 "regardless of the stage of design." Vampires Beware: Microplastics in Human Blood<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/vampires-beware-microplastics-in-human-1632987/>, March 31, 2022, A group of scientists recently unveiled new data from a study that showed plastic in participants' blood. Out of 22 study participants, 17 contained plastic in their blood; that is 77% of the test group. Researchers examined blood samples from the healthy participants looking to detect plastics ranging in size between 700 and 500,000 nanometers. For perspective, 700 nm is approximately 140 times smaller than the width of a human strand of hair. The most widely detected plastic found in half of the tested blood samples was polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which is most commonly used in disposable water bottles. Polystyrene (PS), used for food packaging, was the second most detected plastic in about 36% of the test participants. Nearly a quarter of the blood samples contained polyethylene from which the notorious plastic bag we all receive shopping at stores is derived. (The plastic shopping is thankfully disappearing in many cities and states throughout the country.) Scientists believe that the participants were exposed to microplastics through air, water, food, and personal care products (i.e. toothpaste or lip gloss), which may have been accidentally ingested. It is also believed that dental polymers or implants as well as tattoo ink residues may contain microplastics. Researchers acknowledge that the amount and type of plastic detected varied considerably among the blood samples and therefore, attribute some level of fluctuation to short-term/near-term participant exposure such as drinking from a plastic lined coffee cup or wearing a plastic facemask before testing. EPA Proposes to Incorporate New Environment Due Diligence Standard<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/epa-proposes-to-incorporate-new-3882309/>, March 31, 2022, On March 14, 2022, EPA published a Direct Final Rule and a Proposed Rule that would incorporate ASTM International's ("ASTM") updated standard for conducting Phase I Environmental Site Assessments ("Phase I ESAs") into EPA's "All Appropriate Inquires" regulations. As background, ASTM 1527 is designed to provide a consistent standard for satisfying EPA's All Appropriate Inquiries ("AAI") Rule when assessing current environmental conditions as part of the purchase or financing of commercial property. Compliance with the AAI Rule is an essential element in obtaining protection from liability under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA") as an innocent landowner, a contiguous property owner, a secured creditor, or a bona fide prospective purchaser ("BFPP"). While EPA's AAI Rule is separate from the ASTM 1527 standard, the AAI Rule provides that compliance with ASTM 1527-13 also satisfies the Rule, and therefore satisfies CERCLA's requirements for environmental due diligence. EPA Proposes Significant Expansion to Interstate Ozone Transport Regulations<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/epa-proposes-significant-expansion-to-7543999/>, March 28, 2022, In a proposed rule signed on February 28, but not yet published in the Federal Register, EPA proposed to significantly expand its current approach to regulating the interstate transport of ozone. Under the so-called "good neighbor" provision of the Clean Air Act, states are required to submit State Implementation Plans (SIPs) to EPA containing rules sufficient to prohibit emissions from their state that would either significantly contribute to another state's nonattainment of national ambient air quality standards or interfere with another state's maintenance of those standards. If a state submits a SIP that is insufficient to satisfy its good neighbor obligation, EPA must issue a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to fully address the problem. "OK, Doomer": Climate Change Litigation Led by Our Youth and Indigenous Peoples<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/ok-doomer-climate-change-litigation-led-3666917/>, March 25, 2022, In both Australia and the United States, indigenous peoples and the younger generation have been raising the torch in instituting legal battles to challenge the government and the private sector regarding climate change action, or lack thereof. These legal challenges have had limited success, but the tide is changing and even where the courts have denied claims, the questions being addressed in majority opinions and dicta in dissenting opinions, suggests that a new dawn of successful lawsuits is on the horizon. Coastal Plant Species Proposed as Threatened with Critical Habitat Designation and 4(d) Rule<https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/coastal-plant-species-proposed-as-6893179/>, March 24, 2022, In a move that was telegraphed at the outset of the Biden-Harris administration, the US Environmental Protection Agency announced March 9 that it is reversing a Trump-era decision to revoke California's authority to set tailpipe emission standards more stringent than those established by the Agency. This action restores California's role in setting more stringent emission and fuel efficiency standards that, in practice, tend to drive the US market as a whole. Please tell us 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. If you are not the intended recipient, or believe that you may have received this communication in error, please advise the sender via reply email and immediately delete the email you received.