ENVIRONMENTAL
Outlook for Trump Administration Environment, Energy, and Natural Resource Regulation, Enforcement & Litigation
January 29, 2025
Amidst a general deregulatory push, closely monitor the status of regulations of most impact to your company and be prepared to intervene to shape regulatory objectives. In parallel, anticipate pushback from certain states and NGOs – including citizen suit litigation. We anticipate the Trump administration will seek to de-regulate industry at the federal level through executive orders, Agency staffing changes, redirection of government spending, and congressional action in virtually all areas of environmental law and related areas. The regulated community should seek opportunities to use this moment to accomplish regulatory goals, but also prepare for a vigorous counter-campaign – including litigation - from “blue state” attorneys general and agencies, and environmental and other NGOs. This is particularly so in the case of environmental citizen suits, which can be brought under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or Resource Conservation and Recovery Act any time a citizen perceives insufficient enforcement by regulators.
Source: Beveridge & Diamond PC
EPA Delays Effective Date for TSCA Final Rule
January 29, 2025
EPA is delaying the effective date of a December 17, 2024 final rule that regulates trichloroethylene under TSCA (89 FR 102568). The delay is a result of a January 20, 2025 presidential memorandum entitled “Regulatory Freeze Pending Review” that directed agencies to consider postponing effective dates for rules that had not yet taken effect in order to review any question of fact, law, and policy that may arise. The new effective date for the final rule is March 21, 2025.
Source: EPA
USDOT Advances Rule to Modernize Gas Pipeline Methane Emissions Detection Requirements
January 17, 2025
On January 17, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) transmitted a final rule to the Federal Register to enhance the safety of natural gas pipelines through updated leak detection and repair requirements. The rule is expected to deliver up to $1.5 billion in annual net benefits to the public and eliminate up to 500,000 metric tons of methane emissions from approximately 2.8 million miles of gas transmission, distribution, and gathering pipeline facilities, 398 underground natural gas storage facilities (UNGSF), and 173 liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities across the United States.
Source: PHMSA
EPA Proposes Updated General Clean Water Act NPDES and Construction Permits January 14, 2025
EPA proposed the 2026 version of NPDES MSGP for stormwater discharges associated with industrial activities. When finalized, this new permit will replace the current MSGP when it expires on February 28, 2026.
Source: Beveridge & Diamond PC
Re-Notification Requirement for Small Quantity Generators
January 10, 2025
Per the 2016 generator improvements rule (GIR), SQGs must renotify EPA or their authorized state by September 1, 2021, and every four years thereafter, using EPA Form 8700-12 or state equivalent. The next renotification is due by September 1, 2025, and to prepare these generators, EPA published outreach materials for both SQGs and their TSDF vendors. This renotification requirement is currently effective in authorized states that have adopted the GIR, non-authorized states (Iowa and Alaska), Indian Country, and most U.S. territories. To see if your facility must renotify, refer to EPA’s map of where the GIR is in effect.
Source: EPA
The Sustainability Dividend: A Primer on Sustainability ROI
January 4, 2025
As sustainability becomes a business imperative, companies face growing pressure to determine the return on investment (ROI) of their sustainability efforts, a critical factor in gaining stakeholder trust and ensuring long-term success. This report highlights insights from a series of Member roundtables and polls, discusses the current state of sustainability ROI, and provides guidance for companies to get started.
Greenwashing: The Emerging Liability Landscape
January 2, 2025
The threat of greenwashing (either exaggerated or untrue sustainability claims) is larger than ever, and the consequences have never been more severe. Companies are no longer judged merely on their sustainability intentions, but on the precision and verifiability of their environmental narratives. This risk of misleading claims, whether intentional or not, demands a fundamental reimagining of how organizations approach sustainability communications and their associated controls.
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SOCIAL
OSHA Form 300A Posting Begins February 1, Electronic Reporting Due March 2
January 22, 2025
Form 300A Workplace Posting Begins February 1
Covered employers that had 11 or more employees in the entire company at any point in 2024 are required to post the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) Form 300A, Summary of Work-Related Injury and Illnesses, from February 1 through April 30. This requirement applies even if the company didn’t have any recordable incidents in 2024. OSHA Form 300A must be certified by a company executive and posted in each establishment in a conspicuous location where notices to employees are customarily posted.
Certain establishments are partially exempt from OSHA’s routine recordkeeping requirements, including this one, if they have 10 or fewer employees or if their primary business activity is classified as low hazard according to OSHA’s guidelines. A full list of exempt low-hazard industries, ordered by North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) codes, can be found here. (The exemption is “partial” because all employers must notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation, or loss of an eye.)
Form 300A Electronic Submission Due by March 2
Covered establishments that had 250 or more employees in the prior calendar year, or 20–249 employees if they’re in certain high-risk industries, must submit their 2024 Form 300A data electronically using OSHA’s online Injury Tracking Application (ITA). The deadline to submit the report is March 2, 2025. These requirements are based on the size of each establishment (how many employees there are at the physical location), not how many employees are in the entire company. Most employers that are covered by a State Plan must also use the ITA to send data electronically.
Employers that meet any of the following criteria DO NOT have to send Form 300A information to OSHA:
They are partially exempt from OSHA’s routine recordkeeping requirements, as mentioned above.
They never had 20 or more employees during the previous calendar year, regardless of industry.
They had between 20 and 249 employees at some point during the previous calendar year but are NOT on this list of high-risk industries.
Additional information, FAQs, and the ITA can be found on OSHA’s ITA page.
Form 300 and Form 301 Electronic Submission Required by March 2
Covered establishments in designated high-hazard industries that had 100 or more employees in the prior calendar year will need to electronically submit information from their Form 300, Log of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, and Form 301, Injury and Illness Incident Report, through OSHA’s ITA. This is in addition to submitting information from their Form 300A.
Help Determining Coverage
Employers can use the ITA Coverage Application to determine if they’re required to electronically submit their injury and illness information or should review the applicable State Plan to determine reporting requirements.
Source: OSHA
U.S. Chemical Safety Board Announces New Safety Product to Provide the Public with More Information about Serious Chemical Incidents Reported to the Agency
January 14, 2025
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) announced that it is launching a new initiative to give the public more details about the serious chemical incidents that have been reported to the CSB since the agency’s Accidental Release Reporting Rule (ARRR) went into effect in March 2020. The CSB will be compiling summaries of reported incidents and making them available to the public on the CSB’s website on a regular basis.
Source: CSB
New Maximum Hazmat Civil Penalties In Effect for 2025
January 1, 2025
US DOT agencies increased the maximum civil penalties for violations of US hazardous materials shipping/transportation regulations, including for failure to provide hazmat training for employees.
Source: Lion
GOVERNANCE
Climate and Sustainability Regulations: 2024 End-of-Year Review
January 26, 2025
2024 was an active year for environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations, voluntary reporting standards, and stakeholder policies. While the incoming Trump administration is expected to halt federal sustainability reporting regulations for the next four years, 2024 saw several significant state and international regulatory developments that will impact US and other companies in 2025. In addition to numerous significant pending regulations, 2025 will see many companies busily preparing for initial disclosures under existing regulations, such as the California climate statutes and the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD).
ESG and Sustainability Insights: 10 Things That Should Be Top of Mind in 2025
January 18, 2025
Through the course of 2024, the development of the ESG and sustainability landscape was dynamic. We anticipate that this dynamism will intensify in 2025, given the implementation and potential amendment of ESG-related regulations and significant geopolitical developments around the globe. Companies, investors, and asset holders will need to remain agile and informed to adequately respond to these trends, while navigating the energy transition, greater scrutiny of value chains, and the “greenlash.” Integrating ESG and sustainability into corporate strategies and operations will require ever more sophistication and careful consideration, in particular by the directors and senior managers who are responsible for oversight of such matters.
The Momentum of DEI Metrics in Incentive Programs
January 8, 2025
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) concerns have become some of the top issues for corporate America in recent years. However, discussions surrounding these initiatives have become highly politicized and polarized, with anti-ESG shareholder proposals on the rise, certain companies rolling back their DEI initiatives, and falling shareholder vote support for various environmental and social proposals in recent years. At the same time, some shareholders are pushing companies to take more ambitious actions. The U.S. Supreme Court’s June 2023 ruling to significantly limit the use of race status in college admissions has also emboldened investors challenging Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives at public companies.
Source: Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2025/01/08/the-momentum-of-dei-metrics-in-incentive-programs/#more-170750
ESG Performance Metrics in Executive Compensation Strategies
January 7, 2025
More than three-quarters of companies in the S&P 500 incorporate environmental, social & governance (ESG) performance measures into their executive incentive plans, according to 2024 disclosures, up from two-thirds in 2021. This report analyzes the focus areas and methods of integration of ESG metrics into performance measurement across both the S&P 500 and the Russell 3000.
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