EPA Defends Hydrofluorocarbons Cap-and-Trade Rule
In a June 2, 2022, brief addressing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s review of the final rule regarding the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) cap-and-trade program (Final Rule or Framework Rule), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) argued that the challenged measures of the Final Rule are within its statutory authority under the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act of 2020 (AIM or the Act). The Framework Rule is a part of the Agency’s efforts to achieve AIM’s objective of reducing manufacturing and consumption of 18 saturated HFC chemicals by 85% by 2036. (more…)
California Appeals Court Rules That State Endangered Species Act Protects All Invertebrates
On May 31, 2022, the California State Court of Appeals for the Third Appellate District ruled that the California Endangered Species Act (State ESA or the Act) protects all invertebrates. Expanding on the 2007 decision in California Forestry Assn. v. California Fish & Game Commission, 156 Cal. App. 4th 1535, 1552, the court opined that the Act bestows the California Fish & Game Commission (Commission) with the authority to protect not just aquatic invertebrates but any invertebrates as endangered or threatened species. (more…)