Nationwide GE Labeling Leaps Forward
- Four years after California’s genetically engineered (GE) food labeling initiative was defeated, but just days before Vermont’s GE law is to go into effect, the U.S. Senate is poised to impose such labeling nationwide. The proposed legislation is the result of a compromise of... ›
Federal Toxics Law Grows Up: Congress Strengthens the Toxic Substances Control Act
President Obama has signed the Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act, which amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) for the first time since it was enacted in 1976. The compromise bill passed by Congress is a major accomplishment at... ›Red Light for Green Claims: FTC Sends Warning Letters to Green Certifiers
By: Claudia M. Vetesi
This week, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) announced that it has sent warning letters to five marketers of environmental certifications and seals, as well as over 30 product companies displaying those certifications, citing concerns that the certifications failed to comply with the agency’s... ›Consumer Products “Either/Or”: California Issues Guidance on Alternatives Analysis for Safer Products
By: William F. Tarantino
California’s Green Chemistry Initiative has taken another step forward with the issuance of guidance on the heart of the law, the analysis of safer substitutes for chemicals in consumer products. On September 24, 2015, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released its... ›California Greenhouse Gas Mandates Keep Coming— Governor Orders 40 Percent Reductions Below 1990 Levels by 2030
On April 29, 2015, California’s Governor Jerry Brown issued an executive order to set a new interim target for reducing the state’s emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) to 40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030. In March 2015 , we wrote about the current... ›California’s Green Chemistry Agency Issues New Guidance to Identify Future Consumer Products for Regulation
By: William F. Tarantino
California’s Green Chemistry Initiative continues to build momentum. On April 16, 2015, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released its final April 2015 Priority Product Work Plan for 2015–2017 (“Work Plan”). The Work Plan is the first step in identifying the next... ›Supreme Court Rules Out Clean Air Act Permits for Stationary Sources Based on Greenhouse Gas Emissions…Unless You Are Getting a Permit “Anyway”
Today, a divided Supreme Court issued a highly anticipated Clean Air Act (the “Act”) decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA. In an opinion authored by Justice Scalia, the Court rejected EPA’s application of the Act to require stationary sources to obtain a... ›The “Discovery” Rule Is No Longer Supreme: The Supreme Court Holds That State Statutes of Repose Are Not Preempted by CERCLA
By: William F. Tarantino
On June 9, 2014, the Supreme Court ruled in CTS Corp. v. Waldburger et al. [1] that the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA, or the “Superfund” law), which preempts state statutes of limitations for certain tort actions involving environmental... ›