Insights

Washington – August 21, 2025: The 2026 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® has recognized 49 Crowell & Moring lawyers as Best Lawyers and 33 lawyers as Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch. The publication also named partner Jason Murray as Lawyer of the Year for Antitrust Law in Los Angeles.

San Francisco – January 7, 2025: Jon Welner joins Crowell & Moring’s Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources Group as a partner in the firm’s San Francisco office. He brings more than 25 years of experience addressing environmental regulatory challenges and resolving land development disputes for businesses and local governments in California.

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).

On July 23, 2025, the White House released Winning the Race: America’s AI Action Plan (“the Plan”) the Trump Administration’s most significant policy statement on artificial intelligence to date.

The ABA Section of Energy, Environment, and Resources is hosting an advanced-level conference for CERCLA practitioners offering in-depth discussion on matters related to Superfund site re-openers, and remedy revision to manage changing site conditions or hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants not anticipated in the original remedy. Attendees will gain insight into the finer points of an advanced Superfund practice. 

The 51st Spring Conference on Environmental Law is focused on the future of environmental law and how emerging topics and trends are fundamentally changing our practices. The last several years have been transformative for our society, the environment, and the way we practice law. COVID-19 and the growing frequency of intense weather events attributed to climate change have brought greater attention to the need for action by governments and companies and greater engagement by the public and NGOs.

The National Energy Industry Environmental Law Conference is designed primarily for energy attorneys. This conference will provide energy professionals with opportunities to network with their peers from in-house and law firm environments to build relationships that will benefit them professionally.

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

Partner Amanda Berman will be presenting the session "Regulatory Roulette: The State of Play Under the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, and Other Major Environmental Statutes" at 10:45 am on Wednesday, March 24th.

As regulated industries continue to confront mounting disruptions and, in some cases, temporary shutdown as a consequence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, they face the added challenge of managing a range of unrelenting environmental compliance obligations at both the federal and state levels.   

Join us for our third annual Well-Being Conference, highlighting leadership, education, and connection to further advance our well-being and to support the national lawyer well-being movement. 

When the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registers a new pesticide or reevaluates a pesticide in registration review, the Agency has a responsibility under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to ensure that the pesticide does not jeopardize the continued existence of any listed species or adversely modify their designated critical habitats. Through consultation with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services), EPA identifies areas that may require geographically specific mitigations to protect listed species and/or critical habitats from the use of pesticides. The mitigations would be communicated in Bulletins Live! Two as specific locations requiring Pesticide Use Limitation Areas (PULAs). PULAs are specific to particular pesticides and may vary based on the properties of the pesticide. Before a PULA can be created it is first necessary to develop a core map. Core maps are species-specific and highlight areas that need to be conserved for a particular species. EPA has recently established a process for development of core maps and subsequent PULAs. This session will focus on the standardized core map development process as outlined by EPA and experiences from various parties that have used it in the development of core maps.