Insights

Entities regulated by the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) are potentially facing an unprecedented wave of federal enforcement as DOJ, USDA, HHS, and DHS unleash a plan to intensify inspections, increase compliance demands, and coordinate enforcement efforts like never before — making proactive preparation essential for all affected organizations.

On September 18, EPA announced that it will prioritize Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) review for “new chemicals related to data centers and artificial intelligence (“AI”) projects,” in an effort to “streamline permitting and regulations to accelerate American data center development.”

Responding to the D.C. Circuit’s deadline to inform the court how it wishes to proceed in litigation challenging the agency’s listing of two types of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) as hazardous substances under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stood behind its rule. In a September 17, 2025 filing, EPA told the court that the Trump administration had completed its review and would ultimately keep the Biden-era CERCLA final rule in place. The agency also requested that the court remove—i.e. pause—the abeyance placed on the proceedings, so that the lawsuit could move forward and be adjudicated.

On September 11, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) asked the D.C. Circuit to vacate regulations for four types of polyfluoroalkyls (known collectively as “PFAS”) in drinking water. The motion for partial vacatur marks a significant reversal in the agency’s policy, as the EPA had previously vigorously defended legal challenges to the first-of-their-kind standards in federal court for the past two years. See American Water Works Association, et al. v. EPA, case no. 24-1188 and consolidated cases (D.C. Cir. filed June 7, 2024). Just this month, the case was given the green light to proceed, after being held in abeyance (at the request of both parties) so that the Trump administration could determine how it wished to proceed. The change signals a willingness on the part of the administration to act on previously issued non-legally binding announcements of forthcoming changes to Biden-era rules and may also serve as a harbinger for how the new administration will tackle PFAS under other statutes, such as the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) published a final rule on August 18, 2025, increasing civil penalties for violations of various animal and wildlife protection statutes implemented by the agency that potentially impact, for instance, global energy and chemical industries, e-commerce trade businesses, and construction companies, to name a few.

On May 29, 2025, the Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County. In a five-justice majority opinion written by Justice Kavanaugh, the Court held that the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) does not require review of the environmental impacts of “upstream” or “downstream” related projects, and reiterated: “The bedrock principle of judicial review in NEPA cases can be stated in a word: Deference.”[1] This decision comes as the federal government works to expedite what over the years have become lengthy NEPA review processes, and not long after the White House Council on Environmental Quality rescinded its NEPA regulations.

On May 14, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that it will keep the current National Primary Drinking Water Regulations (“NPDWR”) for perfluorooctanoic acid (“PFOA”) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (“PFOS”) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (“SDWA”), while extending the compliance deadline from 2029 to 2031. EPA further announced it plans to rescind requirements in those regulations applicable to other PFAS and mixtures of certain PFAS in drinking water. The NPDWR consists of legally enforceable primary standards and treatment techniques that apply to public water systems and guide EPA’s enforcement of the SDWA. This announcement follows EPA’s April 28, 2025 press release outlining its priorities for PFAS enforcement, which included 21 actions EPA intends to take to address PFAS and “engage with Congress and industry to establish a clear liability framework that ensures the polluter pays and passive receivers are protected.”

Following a directive from President Trump,[1] and in the wake of two court decisions concluding the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) had no authority to promulgate them in the first place, CEQ’s National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) regulations are being removed from the Code of Federal Regulations.

On January 8, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule in the Federal Register adjusting upward the maximum monetary civil penalties for violating its regulations. This rule raised the minimum and maximum fines for 2025 by 1.02% from their 2024 levels. New penalty amounts go into effect immediately and apply to violations occurring after January 8, 2025.

On January 20, 2025, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the withdrawal of all areas on the Outer Continental Shelf —an expansive area of submerged land under federal control— from eligibility for offshore wind leasing. This Executive Order was one of several energy-related executive orders reportedly intended to increase oil and gas production and curtail the deployment of clean energy resources signed by Trump shortly following his inauguration. The Order is premised on stated concerns for meeting “the country’s growing demand for reliable energy,” maintaining a “robust fishing industry for future generations” and providing “low cost energy to [U.S.] citizens.”