News & Insights

Last week, in Chamber of Commerce v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected challenges to EPA’s decision to list PFOA and PFOS, the two most prominent PFAS compounds, as hazardous substances under CERCLA.  It’s an important decision, and not just because pressure to clean up sites contaminated with PFAS seems to be increasing every day. […]

As some of you know, I am an avid fly fisherperson.  My favorite fish to target is trout (catch and release of course).  I’m also a board member of our local Trout Unlimited Chapter.  Trout Unlimited (or TU) is the nation’s leading conservation organization caring for and recovering rivers and streams and their trout and […]

On July 13, 2026, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) released its final rule promulgating dramatic—and much needed—revisions to its regulations for natural resource damage (NRD) assessments. The finalized rule allows natural resource trustees (e.g. federal, state and tribal governments) to utilize modern, simplified assessment techniques such as equivalency models when conducting an NRD […]

Twenty-one years ago, Oklahoma sued six of the major national poultry companies. (For context, the first iPhone was still in development at the time the complaint was filed.) Oklahoma alleged that poultry litter generated and land applied by the companies’ contract poultry growers in Arkansas and Oklahoma was polluting the Illinois River with elevated levels […]

The readers of this blog probably have at least heard of these terms: CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation), by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the “Net Zero Framework” by the International Maritime Association (IMO). In brief, ICAO is the UN organization with, inter alia, a long-term goal of achieving net-zero […]

North Carolina Governor Josh Stein recently signed the State’s budget act (Senate Bill 257) into law, which includes the State’s new Water Safety Act. It authorizes a sweeping, two-phase sampling effort designed to identify sources of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) discharges into North Carolina’s surface waters, along with a companion study on PFAS in […]

What happens when an emerging industry decides to secede from the power grid? In Pecos County, deep in West Texas’ Permian Basin, a data center developer claims to hold the largest power-generation air permit in the United States. According to Pacifico Energy, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality has authorized 7.65 gigawatts of gas-fired generation […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order on June 18, 2026, granting the Eastern Gas Transmission and Storage, Inc. application requesting authorization to construct, operate and maintain certain facilities located in western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio (Appalachian Reliability Project). Docket No. CP25-528-000. Appalachia is rich with abundant natural resources where the National Environmental Policy […]

Just down the block from my office in Portland, an enormous set of jaws has been steadily devouring an elegant, slightly time-worn building. Very soon, the 1906 Governor Building, until recently the home of performance artists, a tattoo parlor and an iconic record store, will be reduced to a giant pile of bricks, plaster, wood, […]

It’s 2007—The American College of Environmental Lawyers is founded by 23 attorneys, including me. George W. Bush, Jr., is President. It’s 2008—I begin working on offshore wind development, and Barack Obama is elected President. I also become President-Elect of the College, hosting the Annual Meeting in Portland, Maine. It’s 2025-26—The College has grown and thrived; […]

Dredging of navigational channels is an essential function of the Corps of Engineers, supporting national security and maintaining shipping and other commercial and recreational uses of our waterways. Pursuant to its authority under Section 404 of the Clean Water Act and Section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act, the Corps issues permits for the discharge of […]

ACOEL welcomes the class of 2026 to the College with the election of 19 new fellows, each a prominent environmental practitioner in private practice, academia, a not-for-profit organization, or the government.