Insights

Washington – January 11, 2023: Crowell & Moring has published Litigation Forecast 2023: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know for the Coming Year. The 11th-annual Litigation Forecast focuses on trends in litigation that are playing out in specific jurisdictions around the globe. 

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.”

On May 13, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published an interim final rule in the Federal Register to extend the deadline for manufacturers and importers of products containing perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to report to EPA on their past activities.

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.”

The Household and Commercial Products Association’s (HCPA’s) Pesticide Regulation Workshop, organized, hosted, and co-presented by Crowell, is the oldest and largest annual event dedicated to pesticide regulation, compliance, and enforcement under federal and state pesticide laws. This year’s workshop will feature guest speakers from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Pesticide Programs and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance and from the Natural Resources Defense Council. This year’s workshop will focus on practical information, including what companies need to know in order to get their pesticide products onto the market, keep them there, and avoid business disruptions and penalties. Knowledgeable and experienced presenters will cover the following topics:

As 2023 rolls in, what changes can government contractors expect? What will be the focus of the US Government? How should contractors prepare?

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.

Last month the U.S. EPA hosted simultaneous press conferences in every EPA Region to roll out an Action Plan for addressing growing public concern and potential human health risks posed by polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the environment and household products. As part of the Action Plan, EPA set a goal of proposing drinking water maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for two PFAS constituents, PFOA and PFOS, by the end of 2019. U.S. EPA’s widely publicized announcement signaled that EPA has elevated its priority for addressing the PFAS problem, and highlights the public and political pressure facing EPA to take action. While the federal regulatory process will still require years, EPA announced real-time initiatives to give communities and state regulators more insight into where PFAS may be an issue.