Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco delivered groundbreaking remarks at the American Bar Association National Institute on White Collar on March 2, 2023, heralding a new era of corporate enforcement aimed at addressing U.S. national security priorities.

The Biden Administration released its National Cybersecurity Strategy on March 1. The Strategy breaks with past precedent and emphasizes regulatory mandates and imposing liability, in addition to enhancing voluntary information-sharing and development of best practices. The Strategy will particularly affect critical infrastructure and cloud service providers.

Two climate-related regulatory programs impacting business and industry in Washington state took effect on January 1, 2023. First, the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) introduces an economywide emissions cap-and-invest program. Second, the Clean Fuels Program will regulate transportation emissions. Together, these programs are intended to help the state reach ambitious statutory emissions reductions targets, including a goal of achieving a 95% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions below 1990 levels by 2050.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of the Army jointly announced on December 30, 2022, the latest final rule that attempts to define “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act. The Rule will take effect 60 days after its publication in the Federal Register.

The Council on Environmental Quality published guidance on how to evaluate greenhouse gas emissions and climate change under the National Environmental Policy Act.

President Biden signed into law the Cyber Incident Reporting for Critical Infrastructure Act of 2022 on March 15, 2022. CIRCIA solicits public comment for 60 days, beginning September 12, 2022.

The Washington State Department of Ecology recently released a focus sheet that provides Ecology’s recommended soil and groundwater cleanup levels for a group of chemical compounds known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances.

The general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board, Jennifer Abruzzo, on April 11, 2022, filed a brief in a case pending before the NLRB asking the Board to overturn decades-old precedent and make several significant changes to employers’ rights during unionization campaigns.

President Biden, on March 31, 2022, invoked the Defense Production Act to secure reliable supply chains for minerals essential to a clean energy transition.

Perkins Coie is pleased to present the third edition of Labor Law Today —Year in Review, highlighting the past year’s most noteworthy developments.

Following Russia’s recognition of breakaway regions in Ukraine and full-scale invasion of the country, authorities in the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, and across the globe imposed a sweeping array of trade and economic sanctions, export controls, and other financial countermeasures.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration issued its long-awaited emergency temporary standard requiring all employers with a total of 100 or more employees to mandate vaccination and/or weekly COVID-19 testing. OSHA also released a comprehensive FAQ to address questions.

The Council on Environmental Quality has proposed amendments to its 2020 NEPA implementing regulations, adopted during the waning days of the Trump administration.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published in the Federal Register changes to its Clean Water Act Nationwide Permits (NWPs).

Perkins Coie is pleased to present the second edition of Labor Law Today —Year in Review, highlighting the past year’s most noteworthy developments.

Nearly five years after it was established, the Federal Permit Improvement Steering Council has proposed adding the mining sector to the list of infrastructure sectors covered by Title 41 of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act, or FAST-41.

The Federal Permit Improvement Steering Council on November 27, 2020, proposed to add mining to the list of infrastructure sectors that are covered by Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41).

The U.S. Forest Service has released narrowly tailored changes to update its procedures under the National Environmental Policy Act, in the wake of the Council on Environmental Quality’s recent overhaul of the NEPA regulations.

The Supreme Court’s decision in County of Maui disrupted long-settled understandings of the scope of the Clean Water Act and has created uncertainty for the mining industry and others.

Pressing ahead on his efforts to reduce delays in federal approvals necessary for major infrastructure projects, President Donald Trump on June 4 called for more streamlining in another executive order, Accelerating the Nation’s Economic Recovery from the COVID-19 Emergency by Expediting Infrastructure Investments and Other Activities.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on June 1, 2020, intended to limit the ability of states and tribes to block or delay projects requiring a water quality certification under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

Uncertainty has long reigned over the reach of the federal Clean Water Act, which applies to “navigable waters,” defined by statute only as “waters of the United States.”

The U.S. Supreme Court, on April 20, stepped into the long-simmering debate about the rights of residential homeowners affected by Superfund response actions, ruling that they are indeed bound by the federal statute’s ban against potentially responsible parties taking additional, unauthorized remedial actions.

Companies should be aware that Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPS)—voluntary environmental or public health benefit projects in lieu of payment of civil penalties for violation of federal environmental laws—will no longer be available in discussions to resolve and reduce liability for environmental law violations as of March 12, 2020.

In these “business as unusual” times, it is critical to maintain effective messaging with clients and employees.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the outbreak of the coronavirus (COVID-19) a global pandemic.

Employers are rightfully concerned about what, if anything, they should be doing to respond to the continued spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), with confirmed cases in dozens of countries, including the United States.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a proposed rule on January 30, 2020, that narrowly interprets the protections afforded by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

The Clean Water Act applies by its terms to “navigable waters,” which the act defines merely as “waters of the United States.”

Taking the next step in its efforts to streamline the environmental review process for projects under federal jurisdiction, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published proposed regulations on January 10 that would revamp the rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.

The National Labor Relations Board announced a number of changes to its representation election rules on December 13, 2019, many of which, to some degree or another, restored elements of the Board’s procedures prior to the 2014 overhaul of these rules.

Perkins Coie is proud to announce that the third edition of A Manufacturer's Guide to Product Liability Law in the United States is now available as an e-book and in a Chinese printed version, as well as the original English printed version.

The Council on Environmental Quality published draft guidance June 26, 2019, on how to assess greenhouse gas emissions under the National Environmental Policy Act, the law that requires environmental impact assessment for projects that receive federal funding or federal approvals. 

Federal environmental law governing coal ash ponds used by many regulated electric utilities remains uncertain after a flurry of recent activity at the Environmental Protection Agency and in the courts.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers announced a proposed rule to redefine the term “waters of the United States” under the Clean Water Act on December 11, 2018.

The SEC recently adopted amendments to modernize the rules relating to property disclosure requirements for mining registrants, and Industry Guide 7, under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

In a unanimous decision with immediate repercussions for the administration of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the U.S. Supreme Court held that an area is eligible for designation as critical habitat under ESA only if it is also “habitat” for the species within the meaning of the statute.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service published three proposed rules last week that would revise the regulations implementing portions of the Endangered Species Act.

The Council on Environmental Quality yesterday issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking inviting input on potential changes to the CEQ regulations under the National Environmental Policy Act, the federal law that requires environmental impact assessment for projects involving federal funding or other federal approvals.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a guidance memorandum addressing when an incidental take permit may be needed under Section 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act for projects that modify habitat of federally listed species.

On April 9, 2018, the heads of a dozen federal agencies executed a memorandum of understanding on implementation of Executive Order 13807, which directed federal agencies to expedite environmental review and permitting for major infrastructure projects.

The Washington Post last week reported a leaked White House document that revealed a far-reaching set of proposals to streamline the environmental review process for infrastructure projects.

In a unanimous decision on January 22, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that challenges to the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule must be brought in federal district courts rather than directly in the courts of appeals.

The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Office of the Solicitor issued Memorandum M-37050, on December 22, 2017, which adopts the position that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) prohibition on the “taking” or “killing” of migratory birds applies only to deliberate acts intended to take a migratory bird.

The Environmental Protection Agency announced, in a 121-page prepublication decision on December 1, 2017, that it will not issue final regulations under Section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act establishing financial responsibility requirements for certain hardrock mining facilities.

The Ninth Circuit recently ruled that the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s (RCRA) anti-duplication provisions under 42 USC § 6905 do not apply in the absence of a stormwater discharge permit issued under the Clean Water Act.

President Donald J. Trump issued Executive Order 13807, on August 15, 2017, which is intended to accelerate the environmental review and permitting for infrastructure projects that require an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Title 41 of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST-41) includes measures to streamline environmental reviews for certain infrastructure projects.

The Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a proposed rule on June 27, 2017, that will rescind the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule and recodify the pre-2015 regulations that it replaced.

In July 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held that the state of Washington violated tribal treaty obligations by building and maintaining barrier culverts that block 1,000 linear miles of streams suitable for salmon habitat.

President Donald Trump’s recently signed Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth includes significant revisions to the regulatory landscape both (1) directly in the case of oil and natural gas extraction on federal lands and (2) directly and indirectly in the case of coal mining.

President Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order 13783, an omnibus executive order aimed at reducing burdens on further development of domestic energy resources, with “particular attention” to oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy resources.

No one knows for sure when humans started burning coal. Historians have documentary evidence of coal burning in China at least as far back as 1,000 BC, and we know that coal was used for funeral pyres around the same time in Wales. A fairly recent study by John Dodson of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organization used radiocarbon dating of sediment samples in northern and western China to estimate that coal was being used there as early as 2,000 BC.

In the latest chapter of the seemingly never-ending controversy over the Clean Water Act’s reach, on February 28, 2017, President Trump signed an executive order directing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers to rescind or revise the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule.

On January 11, 2017, the EPA's proposed rule for financial assurance requirements under Section 108(b) of the CERCLA for the hardrock mining industry was published in the Federal Register, triggering a 60-day comment period. 82 Fed. Reg. 3388 (Jan. 11, 2017). 

After committing in litigation to a joint schedule to conduct rulemaking for financial assurance requirements under Section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), the EPA proceeded with its first regulatory proposal for the hardrock mining industry by releasing its proposed rule on December 1, 2016.

On November 28, 2016, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas denied a preliminary injunction that sought to block the nationwide implementation of the new Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s anti-retaliation rule, “Improve Tracking of Workplace Injuries and Illnesses.”

This Update was republished in Law360 on 12.05.2016, "How Employers Can Prep For New OSHA Injury Reporting Rule."

On May 6, 2016, the Fish and Wildlife Service published a proposed rule that would substantially change how the Service administers its conservation and management program under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced an updated Native American policy on January 27, 2016, which provides a framework for government-to-government relationships to further the federal government’s trust responsibility to federally recognized tribes to protect, conserve and use tribal resources.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published draft revisions on March 8, 2016 to its 1981 Mitigation Policy for mitigating the impacts of development projects to natural resources.

The U.S. Department of Justice issued a Memorandum to all U.S. Attorneys and entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the U.S. Department of Labor on December 17, 2015 to bolster the federal government’s arsenal to hold employers criminally liable for worker safety and health violations.  

On February 11, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service jointly published final regulations and a final policy addressing critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act.

The Arizona Supreme Court, in Arizona Department of Water Resources v. Hon Crane McClennen in and for the county of Maricopa, No. CV-15-0223-SA, reversed a ruling from Judge McClennen of the Superior Court of Maricopa County on November 12, 2015, vacating the Arizona Department of Water Recourses’ (ADWR) approval of Freeport Minerals Corporation’s (Freeport) application to sever water rights it owned which were appurtenant to Planet Ranch in Mohave County and to transfer such rights to other areas.

This article examines the circumstances under which traditional authorities, such as aboriginal “band” (otherwise referred to as “tribal” or “traditional authority”) leaders, may qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA.

Examining the compliance dangers inherent in obtaining a “social license to operate” in the mining industry.

A central, recurring definitional challenge facing FCPA practitioners worldwide is whether, and under what circumstances, traditional local authorities, such as tribal leaders, qualify as “foreign officials” under the FCPA. Perkins Coie Senior Counsel Barak Cohen and Partner T. Markus Funk, both former USDOJ prosecutors, provide the most comprehensive analysis on this issue to date, concluding that the one-size-fits-all analytical approach once favored by observers cannot be reconciled with present-day enforcement realities.

Many businesses throughout the United States—and possibly worldwide—may experience the effects of the devastating superstorm that hit the Eastern United States on October 29 and 30, 2012.  Early estimation indicates that the storm caused upwards of $20 billion in property damage and another $10 billion to $30 billion in lost business.

Jane Carmody presented “Deep Sea Mining 101” to the ABA’s Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources Mining Committee.

As President of the RDC, Eric served as a speaker and moderator at the 38th Annual Alaska Resources Conference.

Reclamation obligations and management of the property after mine closure can continue for many years.