The Environmental Law Firm

Our China Roundtable gives multinational companies with interests in China a forum through which to learn about China’s rapidly increasing EHS regulations.

February 2019 issue now available.

Last year saw significant efforts to either impose a price on carbon or reform existing programs, and in some cases roll those programs back. Will we look back on 2018 as a watershed year? It’s hard to tell – but it certainly kept us busy.

B&D attorneys will provide a presentation titled "The Nuts & Bolts of OSHA’s Electrical Standards" as the second installment of five in our 2019 OSHA Webinar Series, each with a specific focus.

Beveridge & Diamond litigators secured a decision vacating a $5.1 million Enforcement Order for fees and penalties against firm client Chiquita Canyon Landfill in Los Angeles County, California.

Carbon tax proposals are proliferating, both nationally and in New England. Last year, carbon tax bills were introduced in all New England states, New York, and several other states. While some of those proposals have faded away (at least for now), they are alive and well in Massachusetts.

As of February 1, 2019, 17 state legislatures have introduced approximately 93 bills seeking to restrict or otherwise regulate chemicals during the 2019 legislative cycle.

Every four years, domestic manufacturers and importers of chemicals must report to the Environmental Protection Agency under the Chemical Data Reporting rule. The next reports are due in 2020, with 2019 as the principal reporting year.

Over the next year, California and New York will begin phasing in requirements for manufacturers of cleaning products – including household cleaners, as well as and clothes and dish detergents – to make extensive ingredient disclosures. 

Proposition 65 is a California warning requirement of concern for companies throughout the U.S. It has recently undergone remarkable changes, taking on new life and creating new challenges for suppliers everywhere.

EPA faces many TSCA statutory and regulatory deadlines for actions in 2019 and 2020. It has also announced plans to take numerous actions not subject to such a deadline. 

Congress passed the first amendments to the Yakima River Basin Water Enhancement Project of this century. These newest amendments would provide additional authorization for Phase III, which focuses on increasing storage capacity for the Yakima Basin.

The Sixth Circuit held that officials responsible for the decision to change Flint, Michigan’s water supply, leading to lead-contamination of water is not protected by qualified immunity. The Court also allowed a claim of violation of bodily integrity under the 14th Amendment Due Process Clause to continue.

On March 12, President Trump permanently signed into law a broad public lands package that permanently reauthorized the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program for which B&D co-founder Henry Diamond was an early architect and worked tirelessly over several decades to preserve, permanently authorize, and fully fund.

The Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Association of Legal Administrators featured Beveridge & Diamond in its Fall 2018 issue of Leadership Exchange focusing on sustainability.