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Showing 2,888 results

Dan Rohlf | January 17, 2013

Ken Salazar’s Mixed Legacy

Secretary of Interior Ken Salazar will leave a decidedly mixed legacy from his four years at the helm of the federal department responsible for protecting many of America’s vast open spaces, treasured parks, and disappearing wildlife.  Salazar’s Interior Department enjoyed some high-profile successes and on occasion took action to better protect important resources. It reached […]

Thomas McGarity | January 14, 2013

FDA’s New Produce Safety Rules: Somewhat Less Than Meets the Eye

When I teach my environmental law and food safety law students how to go about ascertaining the meaning of implementing regulations, I tell them to start with the sections of the regulations devoted to definitions and exemptions.  Quite frequently the most hard-fought controversies during the rulemaking process through which the agency promulgated the regulations were […]

Ben Somberg | January 11, 2013

CPR Report: Rise in Contract Labor Brings New Worker Safety Threats, Demands New Government Policies in Several Dangerous Industries

Just how accountable is an employer to an employee if the employee is only working for one day? In areas from construction to farm work, warehouse labor to hotel housekeeping, contingent work is growing or already common. Rather than hire permanent, full-time employees directly, many employers hire workers indirectly through 3rd party agencies, or on […]

Dave Owen | January 10, 2013

An Important Stormwater Case — and It’s Not the One You’re Thinking of

Cross-posted from Environmental Law Prof Blog. Last week, a federal district court in Virginia decided an urban stormwater case that may ultimately have far more significance than the Supreme Court’s more widely-watched decision in Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council.  The case is Virginia Department of Transportation v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, […]

William Buzbee | January 8, 2013

How the LA County Flood Control District MS4 Case SCOTUS Loss is a Win for the Clean Water Act

The Supreme Court ruled today that the 9th Circuit committed a legal error in holding the Los Angeles County Flood Control District liable for violations of its Clean Water Act (CWA) “municipal separate storm sewer system” (or MS4) pollution discharge permit. The suit, Los Angeles County Flood Control District v. Natural Resources Defense Council, had been […]

Aimee Simpson | January 8, 2013

EPA on the Right Track for Addressing Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals, but Should be Wary of Potential Detours

A year ago this month, CPR published a white paper that laid out a two-phased action plan for federal agencies to take some critical steps toward protecting the public from Bisphenol-A (BPA). The report provided both short-term and long-term action items for the EPA, FDA, and OSHA that could establish stronger safeguards, risk assessment practices, […]

Robert Verchick | January 4, 2013

The Long Goodbye: On Seeing the Sundarban Islands

The Ganges River begins at the foot of the Gangotri Glacier in the Himalayas and culminates at the Sundarbans Delta, a massive sprawl of swamps, lakes, and scores of islands. (Find an earlier post on the Ganges here.) It’s the largest river delta in the world—home to endangered Bengal tigers, miles of mangroves, and nearly […]

Matthew Freeman | December 27, 2012

Using Executive Orders to Move the Agenda

CPR’s Rena Steinzor and Amy Sinden have an op-ed in this morning’s Baltimore Sun urging President Obama to make aggressive use of Executive Orders leading to regulation action to protect health, safety and the environment.  They write: Barack Obama‘s ambitions are clear. He came to office in 2009 on the strength of a far-reaching, progressive […]

Daniel Farber | December 21, 2012

D.C. Circuit Denies Rehearing in Endangerment Case

Cross-posted from Legal Planet. Six months ago, the D.C. Circuit upheld EPA’s finding that greenhouse gases endanger human health and welfare, triggering coverage under the Clean Air Act.  On Thursday, the full court denied rehearing to the three-judge panel’s decision.  There were only two dissents, which obviously were hoping to set the stage for a cert. petition […]