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EPA's Coal Ash Rule Effective Today

Client Alert | 1 min read | 10.19.15

Today marks the effective date for EPA's rule governing the disposal of coal combustion residuals ("CCR," also known as "coal ash") generated as a by-product of coal-fired electricity generation. Under Subtitle D of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the CCR Rule for the first time places enforcement authority primarily in the hands of citizens, who may access compliance information online in accordance with EPA's Next Generation (NextGen) compliance initiative. Although many of the Rule's requirements have future compliance deadlines, today owners or operators of CCR landfills and surface impoundments must finalize their fugitive dust control plans, begin weekly inspections, initiate monthly monitoring of surface impoundment instruments, conduct required recordkeeping, provide required notifications to state or tribal authorities, and establish their publicly accessible websites in accordance with 40 C.F.R. §§ 257.80, 257.83, 257.84, and 257.05-257.07.

Corporate counsel who wish to learn more about the CCR Rule and its enforcement and litigation risks can review our "10 Key Points" on the Rule by clicking here.

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Client Alert | 2 min read | 06.15.26

Kansas Federal Court Applies “Selective Enforcement” Theory to Reject DTSA Claim

A Kansas federal court held that inconsistent enforcement of trade secret rights can defeat a claim under the Defend Trade Secrets Act (DTSA). In Edelman Financial Engines, LLC v. Mariner Wealth Advisors LLC, No. 2:23-cv-02515-HLT (D. Kan. June 5, 2026), the court applied a selective enforcement theory, holding that when a company does not consistently pursue legal remedies against similarly situated former employees, that inconsistency can be affirmative evidence that it failed to protect its trade secrets. While the selective enforcement theory has appeared in academic hypothetical discussions, the decision appears to be one of the clearest judicial applications of a “selective enforcement” theory in a trade secret case....

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