DOJ Rescinds Nine Trump Environmental Policies – Environment

On February 4, 2021, in accordance with President Biden’s Executive Order 13,990 (Protecting
Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle
the Climate Crisis), DOJ directed its ENRD Part and Deputy
Part Chiefs to withdraw 9 environmental insurance policies that had been
put in place by the Trump Administration.  The February 4^th
memorandum identifies the next 9 withdrawn
insurance policies:

1. “Enforcement Rules and
   Priorities,” January 14, 2021;




2. “Further Suggestions on
   Enforcement Discretion,” January 14, 2021;




3. “Steering Relating to Newly
   Promulgated Rule Limiting Third-Celebration Funds, 28 C.F.R. §
   50.28,” January 13, 2021;




4. “Equitable Mitigation in Civil
   Environmental Enforcement Circumstances,” January 12, 2021;




5. “Civil Enforcement Discretion in
   Sure Clear Water Act Issues Involving Prior State
   Proceedings,” July 27, 2020;




6. “Supplemental Environmental
   Tasks (“SEPs”) in Civil Settlements with Personal
   Defendants,” March 12, 2020;




7. “Utilizing Supplemental
   Environmental Tasks (“SEPs”) in Settlements with State
   and Native Governments,” August 21, 2019;




8. “Enforcement Rules and
   Priorities,” March 12, 2018; and




9. “Settlement Funds to Third
   Events in ENRD Circumstances,” January 9, 2018.

In assist of rescission of those insurance policies, DOJ’s Deputy
Assistant Legal professional Basic famous that these insurance policies had been
inconsistent with longstanding DOJ coverage and observe and
inappropriately impeded DOJ’s train of its enforcement
discretion.  Two of the extra controversial insurance policies rescinded
by DOJ’s February 4^th memorandum associated to the
prohibition on using supplemental environmental initiatives
(SEPs) in settlement agreements.  Underneath the Trump
Administration, DOJ had argued that using SEPS violated the
Miscellaneous Receipts Act which requires that monies paid to the
Authorities be deposited into the Treasury in order that Congress might
determine how the monies could be appropriated.  

DOJ famous that it will proceed to evaluate the issues addressed
by the withdrawn insurance policies and would possibly elect to concern new steerage on
these issues sooner or later.  We are going to proceed to trace
efforts by the Biden Administration the environmental insurance policies of
the Trump Administration on the Corporate Environmental
Lawyer. 

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