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. 

Washington, D.C. – January 13, 2015: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the publication of its third annual "Litigation Forecast: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year," and the introduction of its first-ever "Regulatory Forecast 2015: What Corporate Counsel Need to Know in the Coming Year."

On August 6, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) took the rare action of announcing the emergency suspension of all registrations for pesticide products containing the active ingredient dimethyl tetrachloroterephthalate (“DCPA” or “Dacthal”) under the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (“FIFRA”). This is the first time in almost 40 years that EPA has issued an emergency suspension order.[1] EPA’s reasoning for the present action is that DCPA can cause adverse health effects in the fetuses of women exposed to DCPA.

Late last week, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced an expansive and unprecedented effort to conduct inspections (including “surprise” inspections) of over 300 facilities located in the state that will concentrate initially on emissions of chromium and eight other metals (arsenic, cadmium, cobalt, lead, manganese, nickel, and selenium). This initiative followed a letter exchange with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that indicated two glass manufacturing facilities located in Oregon could be subject to hazardous air pollutant (HAP) regulations.

After months of anticipation, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized its vapor intrusion (VI) guidelines for buildings.1Vapor intrusion is the general term for the migration of hazardous vapors from contaminated soil or groundwater through the subsurface and into nearby buildings. Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) face significant challenges in assessing the severity, liability, and potential mitigation and/or remediation of VI, particularly considering the prior patchwork of regulations and guidance in the area.

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:

Are you current on the latest developments in CERCLA (Superfund) law…?

Earlier this summer, a bipartisan bill was introduced in the Senate that could have profound implications for companies that manufacture or import consumer or industrial products that are made using routine chemical products, such as coatings, paints, adhesives, and insulators, among others.  The bill, dubbed the Chemical Safety Improvement Act of 2013, could become a game-changer for a large swath of the manufacturing sector.  Among the bill’s key features are the following:

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

A failure to meet safety compliance and regulatory obligations can undo the herculean efforts to surmount supply chain challenges and get products into the US. Our Products Liability and Regulatory Compliance lawyers will discuss the impacts of current efforts by regulators to police product safety at the ports, the expectations of federal safety regulators at the ports and how to use compliance documentation to speed the process when products have been stopped for inspection. Our discussion will cover activities at CPSC, NHTSA, EPA and FDA. The panel will also discuss the challenge of counterfeit products and parts and how safety can be a lever to stop counterfeits. Given the increased costs of shipping, downstream recovery opportunities may help alleviate some of the monetary pressures and our panel will discuss these opportunities as well as the contract clauses that can allocate risks appropriately when things do go wrong.