The chemical industry is subject to complex and ever-evolving laws and regulations. New standards governing the production and use of chemicals are implemented every year worldwide, and existing laws and regulations are constantly changing to keep pace with new information and scientific advancements. Chemical Industry Regulatory Update provides a monthly digest of recent legislative and regulatory developments and related industry news.
The September Sustainability Summit Final Program Release | September 23, 2024
This is a critical sustainability event for your team to attend to stay on top of this important movement within many industries. The final program was just released and includes a robust agenda with a diverse range of sustainability topics and experts including:
- Safe and Sustainable Chemicals
- Sustainable Materials in the B&C Market
- DOE Technical Assistance and Workforce Development
- EPD Fundamentals and Importance
- Sustainability in the Transportation Market
- Automotive Electrification, Chemistry and Sustainability Regulations
- Digital Product Passports
- Sustainability in the Packaging Market
- Compostable Packaging
- Designing Packaging for End of Life (EOL)
- Raw Material Selection & Partnerships
- Much more…
Learn more here.
PODCAST: Supreme Court’s Loper Decision: Immediate and Long-Term Impacts on EPA Regulation
In our latest Environmental L.A.W.S. podcast episode, partner Devin Barry and managing associate Aren Olson from Thompson Hine’s Environmental practice group discuss the implications of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo on pending U.S. EPA regulations. They delve into the concept of "Chevron deference," examining how the Loper decision affects this principle and its subsequent impact on some of the U.S. EPA’s most contested rules under the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, such as the Greenhouse Gas Rule for utilities, the Good Neighbor Rule and WOTUS. Click here to listen.
New Thompson Hine Survey-Based Report Tracks ESG’s Latest Shift as Voluntary Makes Way for Mandatory
Longtime thought leader and client partner on corporate ESG programs, priorities and progress, Thompson Hine LLP has released its third ESG survey report, “The ESG Shuffle,” which measures and analyzes corporate experiences with ESG as this complex concept begins its turn from voluntary to mandatory compliance requirements. Click here to read the report.
Loper Bright’s Impact on Government Contract Litigation
Joseph R. Berger, Francis E. Purcell, Jr., Edward T. DeLisle, Jessica V. Haire, Jamar T. King, Ryan S. Spiegel, Kathryn Pettit, Andrés M. Vera
Since the 1984 U.S. Supreme Court case Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council, federal courts have followed the doctrine of Chevron deference and deferred to a government agency’s reasonable or permissible interpretation of an ambiguous statute. Now that the Court has overruled Chevron in Loper Bright Enterprises et al. v. Raimondo, the implications for government contract law are vast and far-ranging and will play out in litigation and rulemaking for decades to come.
Under Chevron, if a statute was silent or ambiguous with respect to a certain issue, a judge would defer to the agency if it had offered a permissible construction of the statute, “even if not the reading the court would have reached if the question initially had arisen in a judicial proceeding.” In particular, federal courts deferred to regulators when an agency acted through notice-and-comment rulemaking or formal adjudications. Learn more.
The Microsoft Outage, Cyber Disruptions, and Force Majeure Events
Steven G. Stransky, Jennifer N. Elleman, John D. Cottingham
Recent media reports indicate that many organizations, across a range of business sectors (e.g., banks, airports, hotels) are facing widespread information technology (IT) outages due to a disruption impacting Microsoft operating systems. According to the reports, the IT outages are the result of supply chain “updates” and not a cyberattack. This incident serves as an important reminder for organizations to assess how their customer and supply chain contracts address force majeure events arising from upstream IT and other cyber disruptions, especially in light of how major cybersecurity events could impact their ability to fulfill obligations under their business contracts, whether or not the underlying cause of these outages was malicious. Explore further.
Supreme Court’s Overruling of Chevron Delivers Blow to Federal Administrative State
In Loper Bright Enters. v. Raimondo and Relentless, Inc. v. Dept. of Commerce, Nos. 22-451, 22-1219, 2024 U.S. LEXIS 2882 (June 28, 2024), a 6-3 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court signaled that it would inter the Chevron doctrine, a 40-year-old administrative law principle that required lower federal courts to defer to “permissible” agency interpretations of the federal statutes they administer, plunging regulated entities into a new era of multijurisdictional legal uncertainty.
The justices’ pathway to reach this new era of a more muted administrative state came by way of a rather obscure issue involving a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) rulemaking under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). In both Loper and Relentless, groups of fishermen challenged a NMFS rule that allowed the New England Fishery Management Council to require payment for observers to monitor whether a fishery was adhering to the council’s fishery management plan. Continue reading.
Business Perspectives: What’s Going On?
“Data is the new oil” has been a catchphrase for some time now. There are lots of similarities. Both have myriad uses and are resources that can be processed, shaped, and molded into a wide variety of valuable products. They flow in pipes. Both can be expensive to produce.
Companies use both oil and data to create, market, and sell their products and services. Artificial intelligence is the latest in the incredible line of developments in the manipulation and use of information. Just recently I saw the surprising news that there is not enough information in the world on which to train new artificial intelligence models. Will we run out of information, just as forecasters predict that eventually we will run out of oil? Read more.
Check out the latest Employment Legislation Outlook. This monthly digest is designed to keep you apprised of upcoming major state law changes in areas including paid sick and safe leave laws, family and parental leave, recreational and medicinal marijuana use, workplace gun laws, asking candidates about salary history and unpredictable scheduling.
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For more information, contact the editor, Devin A. Barry, or any of the authors.
Chemical Industry Regulatory Update is compiled by Thompson Hine lawyers on behalf of The Adhesive and Sealant Council. It should not be construed as legal advice, and the views and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the ASC or its members.
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