“Daimler AG will pay $2.2 billion to resolve a U.S. government diesel emissions cheating investigation and claims from 250,000 U.S. vehicle owners, court documents show,” reporting by David Shepardson in U.S. News via Reuters, Wire Service Content.

“The German automaker and its Mercedes-Benz USA LLC unit disclosed on Aug. 13 it had reached a settlement in principle resolving civil and environmental claims tied to 250,000 U.S. diesel cars and vans after the automaker used software to evade emissions rules.”

“Daimler said in August expected costs of settlements with U.S. authorities would total $1.5 billion, settling with owners will cost another $700 million and also disclosed “further expenses of a mid three-digit-million EUR (euro) amount to fulfill requirements of the settlements.”

Read the article.

“He led the Minneapolis-based legal team at Faegre & Benson that distributed $1 billion to native Alaskans and fishermen affected by the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill,” reports Jennifer Bjorhus in Star Tribune’s Local News.

“For nearly two decades, Brian O’Neill fought Exxon after the catastrophic 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska’s Prince William Sound.”

“The charismatic environmental lawyer led the Minneapolis-based legal team at Faegre & Benson that distributed $1 billion to thousands of native Alaskans and fishermen affected by the spill, a crusade chronicled in the book ‘Cleaning Up’ by Minnesota author David Lebedoff. It was a herculean chapter in O’Neill’s career. There were many others, including ones on wolves, bald eagles and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.”

“O’Neill died at his home in Minnetonka on May 6 from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS. He was 72.”

Read the article.

A group of 23 states on Friday sued to block the Trump administration from undoing California’s authority to set strict car pollution rules, one of the biggest U.S. battles over climate change, reports Reuters.

“The legal fight pits a Democratic majority state that has become the U.S. environmental champion against a Republican president who wants to boost the economy by cutting regulation,” writes Reuters’ David Shepardson. “The debate already is playing out ahead of the presidential election next year.”

Friday’s lawsuit takes aim at a U.S. Transportation Department conclusion that federal law preempts state and local regulation of vehicle fuel economy, including California’s rules.

Read the Reuters article.

A court recently ordered the seller of a car wash property in New Jersey to fully remediate previously undiscovered environmental contamination at the property in accordance with its contractual obligations, according to a post in the Riker Danzig Environmental Law Blog.

Jaan M. Hause explains in the post that “the seller could have more carefully crafted the language of the rider to limit its remediation obligations. Unfortunately for seller, the language in the rider obligating seller to remediate was extremely broad, and thus exposed seller to additional, costly liabilities that it did not intend to assume.”

Read the article.

As concern mounts over health risks from so-called “forever chemicals,” environmental trial lawyers at Dallas-based Fears Nachawati Law Firm are investigating water contamination cases on behalf of states, counties and cities across the nation.

In a release, the firm said groundwater contamination from fluorine-based PFAS compounds has been reported at hundreds of sites across the U.S., threatening the drinking water of millions of Americans. Industrial chemicals including PFAS, PFOA and PFC have been widely used by corporations to make nonstick and stain-resistant consumer and industrial products. They are also found in fire-retardant foam, which has led to large-scale groundwater contamination at military sites.

Environmental trial lawyers at Fears Nachawati are actively involved in litigation seeking to hold industrial manufacturers accountable for groundwater contamination.

“Sadly, we’ve seen the regulations move in the wrong direction when it comes to protecting Americans from this serious health threat,” said environmental trial lawyer Bryan Fears, co-founder of Fears Nachawati. “Instead of increasing oversight and forcing polluters to take action and clean up these sites, regulators are loosening deadlines and sending the wrong signals to polluters. We all have a collective responsibility to get to the bottom of the cause of weakened environmental standards. This is about the future of our children’s drinking water.”

Called “forever chemicals” because they never fully degrade, polyfluorocarbons (PFC) are a group of synthetic chemicals that include PFAS and PFOA that have been in use since the 1940s, the firm said. The compounds have been found in drinking water used by 110 million people across the nation and is estimated to be in the bloodstreams of 98 percent of Americans. The compounds have been linked to immune system problems and cancer. Recently, the Food and Drug Administration reported the discovery of PFAS compounds in grocery store meats, milk and seafood as well as in off-the-shelf products such as chocolate cake.

“When corporations fail to accept responsibility for the damage they’ve caused and when regulators decline to protect our most precious resources, it’s up to state and local governments and the American people to demand action,” said Fears Nachawati co-founder Majed Nachawati.

The Environmental Protection Agency has proposed weaker standards for cleaning up dangerous groundwater contamination sites across the country where chemicals containing fluorine-based PFAS compounds threaten drinking supplies of millions of Americans, according to a post by Androvett Legal Media & Marketing. The proposal would lower existing requirements for addressing groundwater contamination at military bases where large amounts of contamination have been documented.

“We’ve seen companies like 3M and DuPont fail to take responsibility for the health risks caused by the chemicals they created. Federal regulators should be increasing – not decreasing – oversight at this time,” said water contamination attorney Bryan Fears of Dallas-based Fears Nachawati, who represents individuals and local governments in water contamination litigation against makers of the chemicals. “This problem is not going away and cleaning up these sites must be a priority.”

Called “forever chemicals” because they never fully degrade, PFAS compounds have been found in drinking water used by 110 million people across the nation and in the blood of 98 percent of Americans. The compounds, which are found in hundreds of consumer and industrial products, have been linked to immune system problems and cancer. The EPA proposal would extend the timetable for cleanup at more than 400 military bases where the use of fire-retardant foam containing the chemicals has been blamed for serious groundwater contamination problems.

The EPA proposal is under a 45-day review and comment period. “Now is the time for Americans to speak up about this problem and ensure that contamination is addressed sooner rather than later,” said Fears. “This is a fight for safe drinking water for our communities, families and future generations to come.”

CNBC is reporting that the Justice Department has launched a criminal investigation in a matter relating to Ford Motor’s emissions certification process.

“The matter stems from issues related to road load estimations, including analytical modeling and physical track testing,” writes CNBC’s Amelia Lucas. “Road load is a vehicle-specific resistance level that helps determine fuel economy ratings and emissions certifications. It does not involve the use of defeat devices to cheat on emissions tests.”

The company said it voluntarily disclosed disclosed the issue to the Environmental Protection Agency on Feb. 18 and has hired outside experts to investigate its vehicle fuel economy and testing procedures after employees raised concerns.

Read the CNBC article.

A federal judge in North Dakota has dismissed a $900 million defamation and racketeering suit against Greenpeace filed by Energy Transfer Partners, operator of the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Greenpeace was represented in the matter by Lance Koonce, Laura Handman, Lisa Zycherman, and Thomas R. Burke of Davis Wright Tremaine, the law firm said in a release.

District Judge Billy Roy Wilson wrote in his order dismissing the case that, “Posting articles written by people with similar beliefs does not create a RICO enterprise,” and that, “Donating to people whose cause you support does not create a RICO enterprise.”

Last month, the same Davis Wright Tremaine team won dismissal of similar RICO claims lodged against Greenpeace by Resolute Forest Products. That case was heard in the Northern District of California.

“The dismissal of these cases is of enormous importance not just to our clients but to watchdog and advocacy groups of all stripes,” said Koonce. “Because if companies criticized by such organizations were able to bring claims under the guise of RICO, with its treble damage provision, that are really designed to chill speech, it would put critical discourse on issues of public significance at great risk.”

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A federal judge temporarily blocked construction of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, ruling late Thursday that the Trump administration had failed to justify its decision granting a permit for the 1,200-mile long project designed to connect Canada’s oil sands fields with Texas’s Gulf Coast refineries.

The Washington Post characterized the order as a  major defeat for President Trump, who attacked the Obama administration for stopping the project in the face of protests and an environmental impact study.

Post reporters explain that the order “requires the administration to conduct a more complete review of potential adverse impacts related to climate change, cultural resources and endangered species. The court basically ordered a do-over.”

Read the Washington Post article.

A former partner at Balch & Bingham has been sentenced to five years in prison for a scheme to bribe an Alabama state legislator to oppose expansion of a site designated for an environmental cleanup, reports the ABA Journal.

Gilbert was part of Balch & Bingham’s environmental and natural resources practice, according to reporter Debra Cassens Weiss. Prosecutors had alleged he and a co-defendant, coal company executive David Roberson, funneled $360,000 to the state lawmaker through a consulting contract with his private foundation.

The lawmaker, former Alabama State Rep. Oliver Robinson, was previously sentenced to 33 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy, bribery, wire fraud and tax evasion, the Journal reports.

Read the ABA Journal article.

Exxon Mobil Corp.’s attempt to derail a multistate fraud investigation into the company’s public comments about climate change flamed out in a New York court, according to wire services, via The Dallas Morning News.

The report says a U.S. district judge in New York on Thursday dismissed Exxon’s lawsuit claiming officials in New York and Massachusetts conspired with environmental groups in planning the securities-fraud probe and made up their minds about its outcome before it started.

Judge Valerie Caproni said in her ruling that Exxon’s tactic of suing in federal courts in New York and Texas to stop the state probes “running roughshod over the adage that the best defense is a good offense.”

Read the Dallas News article.

Jennifer Nijman and Susan Franzetti announce the addition of E. Lynn Grayson, to Nijman · Franzetti LLP of Chicago.

“Susan and I are thrilled to have Lynn practicing with us. Lynn is among the most experienced and respected lawyers in environmental law and is a perfect addition to our growing environmental law boutique,” said Jennifer Nijman.

“Lynn’s nationwide connections and experience are second to none and will only further assist our client’s nationwide interests,” said Susan Franzetti. “We could not have asked for a better addition to the firm.”

Grayson joins Nijman · Franzetti from the Chicago office of Jenner & Block where she practiced for 24 years and was Jenner’s Environmental Department Chairwoman. She has also served as the Chief Legal Counsel for the Illinois Emergency Services and Disaster Agency and the State Emergency Response Commission. Prior to this, she prosecuted federal and state environmental cases as an Assistant Attorney General for the State of Illinois.

Grayson also serves on the Board of Directors of the DC-based Environmental Law Institute. In 2017, she was elected Secretary of the Chicago Bar Association. She is a frequent author and speaker on environmental law and policy matters. She received the City of Chicago Recognition Award for Service to the Environmental Community and was recognized as Best Lawyers’ Chicago Environmental Lawyer of the Year.

“Jenner & Block is an exceptional firm, and I have many professional and personal friends there,” she said. “But it is a matter of timing and my growing envy for what Susan and Jennifer created. They each left great firms and in 10 years established what is really without equal in the country. The more I considered how beneficial their law firm model could be to my clients, the easier the decision became.”

The Associated Press is reporting that two attorneys with a prominent Alabama law firm and a coal company executive have been indicted on charges of bribing a state legislator to oppose an environmental cleanup plan, federal court documents showed Thursday.

Two partners in prominent Alabama law firm Balch & Bingham have been placed on indefinite leave after named on charges including conspiracy and bribery. They are Joel Gilbert and Steven McKinney, both of whom handled environmental litigation for the firm.

AP reporter Jay Reeves writes that Drummond Co. vice president David Roberson, 66, was charged with the same crimes.

“The three are accused of bribing former state Rep. Oliver Robinson, who pleaded guilty earlier this month to accepting $360,000 in payments,” according to the AP report.

Read the AP article.

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The Trump administration is quietly moving to allow energy exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for the first time in more than 30 years, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, with a draft rule that would lay the groundwork for drilling.

“Congress has sole authority to determine whether oil and gas drilling can take place within the refuge’s 19.6 million acres,” reports Juliet Eilperin for The Post. “But seismic studies represent a necessary first step, and Interior Department officials are modifying a 1980s regulation to permit them.”

Environmentalists and some of Alaska’s native tribes have fought against exploration in the ANWR for years, but state politicians and many Republicans in Washington have pressed to extract the billions of barrels of oil lying beneath the refuge’s coastal plain, Eilperin writes.

Read the Post article.

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The New York Times is reporting that German authorities searched the offices of the American law firm Volkswagen hired to conduct an internal investigation of its emissions fraud.

Jack Ewing and Bill Vlasic write that the carmaker confirmed the raid on the German offices of Jones Day, which since 2015 has been conducting a wide-ranging inquiry into who at Volkswagen was responsible for an emissions cheating scheme that has already led to more than $22 billion in fines and settlements.

“Evidence collected by the law firm and shared with the American authorities formed the basis for Volkswagen’s guilty plea in the United States last week over charges tied to emissions deception involving diesel engines,” according to the report.

But the search by prosecutors suggests that authorities believe the firm has not divulged all documents that may be relevant to the case, which could lead to a blow to Jones Day’s reputation, the reports say.

Read the NYT article.

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New York will seek to question top Exxon Mobil Corp. executives under oath as part of a probe into the accuracy of the company’s statements about climate change after discovering an email alias used by former Chief Executive Officer Rex Tillerson, according to a Bloomberg report.

“Tillerson, now U.S. Secretary of State, used the name Wayne Tracker for his secondary internal email account at Exxon, created for sending the most sensitive messages to and from company board members, including communications about the risks associated with climate change, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said Monday,” writes reporter Erik Larson.

Carl Barnes, a former corporate general counsel who’s a lawyer at Morse, Barnes-Brown & Pendleton PC, told Larson that someone in Exxon’s general counsel’s office knew or should have known about the alias account.

Read the Bloomberg article.

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Employees of Monsanto ghostwrote scientific reports that U.S. regulators relied on to determine that a chemical in its Roundup weed killer does not cause cancer, farmers and others suing the company claimed in court filings, according to a Reuters report.

Monsanto is involved in a mass litigation in federal court in San Francisco claiming the company failed to warn that exposure to Roundup could cause non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of cancer, writes Reuters’ Brendan Pierson.

“Plaintiffs claim that Monsanto’s toxicology manager ghostwrote parts of a scientific report in 2013 that was published under the names of several academic scientists, and his boss ghostwrote parts of another in 2000,” Pierson reports.

Read the Reuters article.

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Thomson Reuters Practical Law will present a complimentary webinar titled “Addressing Environmental Claims and Obligations in Chapter 11.”

The event will be Wednesday, Feb. 8, 2017, beginning at 1 p.m. Eastern time.

In a release, the company said many companies with significant environmental compliance and clean-up obligations have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in recent years due to decreased demand for oil & gas, coal, steel, and other mined assets. The tension between environmental regulation and bankruptcy law makes environmental liability an issue that must be considered as part of any bankruptcy strategy. A Chapter 11 debtor-in-possession must comply with environmental laws and regulations during bankruptcy. Many environmental claims and obligations cannot be discharged in bankruptcy and contaminated property can be difficult to dispose of; however, a carefully constructed bankruptcy strategy can minimize the negative impact of environmental liabilities on the ongoing business and the restructuring process itself.

Practical Law and IWIRC NY will present the complimentary 75 minute webinar in which leading bankruptcy attorneys and advisors from Debevoise & Plimpton, Morrison & Foerster, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, and AlixPartners will discuss strategies for addressing environmental claims and obligations in Chapter 11. During this webinar, attendees will hear insights on ways in which companies are addressing environmentally contaminated property, claims and obligations through Chapter 11 in recent and pending oil & gas, mining, and manufacturing cases, including:

-How environmental claims and obligations are treated in bankruptcy.
-The diligence that a company should perform to assess potential environmental liability and business options.
-How environmental regulators exert influence in Chapter 11 and how companies address their claims.
-Chapter 11 exit strategies for dealing with contaminated property.

A short question-and-answer session will follow.

Presenters:
Jennifer L. Marines, Partner, Morrison & Foerster LLP
Claudia R. Tobler, Counsel, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP
Pilar Tarry, Director, AlixPartners, LLP
M. Natasha Labovitz, Partner, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP

Moderator:
Lara R. Sheikh, Senior Legal Editor, Practical Law Bankruptcy

Register for the webinar.

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Holland & Hart announced the addition of Kyle W. Parker and John C. Martin as partners, along with the opening of an office in Anchorage, Alaska. Three additional lawyers will join the firm, in addition to a policy expert.

In a news release, the 500-lawyer law firm said it has the largest environmental law practice in the country, as reported by Law360, and the addition of the Anchorage office will augment those strengths and create natural synergies with the firm’s offerings to clients in a myriad of industries.

“The practice alignment with Kyle and John and their team is very strong, as is the personal fit,” said Liz Sharrer, chair of Holland & Hart. “Kyle’s pioneering spirit as an Energy and Environment Trailblazer has been recognized by the National Law Journal. John was recently recognized by BTI Consulting as a Client Service All-Star. In addition, the team serves clients in burgeoning Alaska industries (and elsewhere) that align with our firm’s strengths. We have the utmost respect for the firm where Kyle and John and their team have previously served. Crowell & Moring is a world-class firm which has done an excellent job of combining service to the growing Alaska market with a Washington, D.C. connection.”

“John, Kyle, and the Anchorage team are highly regarded professionals in the environmental and energy fields,” said Angela B. Styles, chair of Crowell & Moring. “They remain friends of the firm, and we wish them the very best as they align their Alaska practice with the strengths of Holland & Hart.”

Joining the firm, effective January 17, are:

Kyle Parker (Anchorage, AK) has spent his entire legal career in Alaska counseling clients in the energy and natural resource industries with regard to securing approval for and the implementation of major resource development and energy projects at the state and federal level, from project permitting to negotiating complex agreements. Kyle also defends clients in environmental litigation, from response and cleanup actions, to civil and criminal enforcement actions.

John Martin (Washington, D.C.) is a Wyoming native who has practiced and worked in federal government agencies in Washington, D.C. John’s natural resources and environmental litigation practice focuses on complex, cutting edge Clean Water Act, wildlife, offshore oil and gas, and public lands issues on behalf of clients in extractive industries. John represents clients in administrative proceedings before the Interior Board of Land Appeals and the Environmental Protection Agency, and at all levels of court, including several U.S. Courts of Appeals.

Tali Birch Kindred (Anchorage, AK) focuses on environmental and natural resource permitting and litigation, natural resource project development, state and federal rulemakings, environmental compliance, and commercial litigation. Tali brings extensive industry and government experience having served as an Assistant District Attorney for the State of Alaska and in-house counsel at Shell Exploration & Production, Inc.

Jon Katchen (Anchorage, AK) focuses on natural resources project development, defense of governmental and citizen enforcement actions, financing associated with Alaska’s oil and gas production tax credits, and complex commercial litigation. Jon also counsels investors and resource development companies regarding economic development opportunities in Alaska.

Sarah Bordelon (Washington, D.C.) focuses on environmental permits for major resource and development projects. Sarah also litigates environmental and natural resource matters, participates in proposed state and federal rulemakings, advises clients on environmental compliance and enforcement matters, and conducts environmental due diligence on conventional and renewable energy projects.

Drue Pearce (Anchorage, AK and Washington, D.C.) joins the firm as a senior policy advisor. She provides strategic legislative and regulatory advice to a wide variety of natural resources, manufacturing, and energy clients as they navigate government relations, as well as legal and regulatory issues at the various state and federal agencies with jurisdiction over resource development projects. Drue brings a wealth of experience on energy, environment, economic security, and natural resources issues in North America, and specifically in Alaska and Canada.

“Holland & Hart is a natural resources powerhouse and has been doing business in Alaska for decades. We know their lawyers well and look forward to working with them. Alaska’s vast resources have never been more vital to the nation’s economic future, and the timing is perfect to join the country’s leading resources legal team at Holland & Hart,” said Kyle Parker.

The new Anchorage office will be located at 1029 W. Third Avenue, Suite 550, Anchorage, Alaska 99501.

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Frank Holleman never thought he’d become a nationally recognized authority on coal ash, a toxin-riddled waste that has power companies under scrutiny across the country, but five years after taking a job with a regional conservation group, Holleman is perhaps the one person utilities hate to see coming, writes Sammy Fretwell for The State of Columbia, S.C.

He has taken on such big foes as Duke Energy, Santee Cooper and SCE&G, successfully brokering agreements to clean out coal ash waste ponds along South Carolina rivers. And he has obtained legislative help for people who had to fight for the right to sue companies that pollute rivers with coal ash waste.

He is an attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center.

Holleman says working full-time as an environmental lawyer resulted from his long-time interest in conservation and public service.

Read the article.