by Ankur Tohan and Rachel Aramburu Few environmental terms have been contested as hotly as “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS). WOTUS is the Clean Water Act’s (CWA) jurisdictional boundary: it determines which rivers, streams, wetlands, and other aquatic features fall under federal regulation by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps).…
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This is reasonably likely to cause reasonably serious injury: the new S&S
Okay, people. Stand by for some geeky, in-the-weeds lawyer stuff for this month’s column. I wish I didn’t have to do this to you – to be honest, I wish this wasn’t an issue at all – but there’s a major legal development afoot that anybody subject to Mine Act enforcement needs to know about. Spoiler alert: it’s a major…
Read MoreEnvironmental enforcement: When EPA comes knocking
by Krista K. McIntyre and Wade C. Foster The mining industry is no stranger to environmental regulation and enforcement. Federal environmental laws shape mine development and regulate operations from the first drill hole to final reclamation. Despite the friendlier attitude toward mining in Washington D.C., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is still inspecting mining operations and initiating enforcement actions…
Read MoreGettin’ by with a little help from my friends (at MSHA)
I need to be totally honest with you, folks. Sometimes I get close to the due date for this column and I’m utterly at a loss about what to write. That was the case a couple of months back, when I told you I wanted to write about developments at the Department of Labor, but couldn’t do it without risking…
Read MoreCitations vs. Orders:What Every Mine Operator Needs to Know About MSHA Enforcement
Emily Schimelpfenig, a colleague of Willa Perlmutter at Stoel Rives LLP, is guest writing on this issue’s column. Emily is an experienced attorney who represents and advises clients on both Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) compliance, contests, and accident investigations. In this column, Emily breaks down the differences between MSHA citations and…
Read MoreBambi vs. Godzilla? No, wait – it’s just OSHA and MSHA
You know, some months when I sit down to write this column, the topics just present themselves to me. There’s some new Commission case, or some development over at MSHA, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, that screams to be written about. The problem these days, though, is that while a lot is going on over at the Department of…
Read MoreMining the deep sea will take more than a political proclamation
by Matteo G. Crow On April 24, 2025, the Trump administration issued an executive order (EO) intended to boost the deep-sea mining industry and to address “unprecedented economic and national security challenges in securing reliable supplies of critical minerals independent of foreign adversary control.” Historically, China has accounted for a majority of all global critical mineral production. Unfortunately, like many…
Read MoreThe need for speed in domestic mineral production
Announcing the “SPEED Act” on January 24, 2025, Idaho Governor Brad Little missed a golden opportunity to quote Top Gun: Maverick: “I feel the need – the need for speed.” In the race for critical minerals, though, Gov. Little appears to feel the need for speed. He signed Executive Order 2025-02, the “Idaho Strategic Permitting, Efficiency and Economic Development (SPEED)…
Read MoreOkay, settle(ment) down, now
This month I’d like to tell you about a problem that really shouldn’t be a problem. I’m talking about the current tempest-in-a-teapot that is approval of settlement motions in Mine Act enforcement cases. I’ll bet you already know this, but the vast majority of penalty cases that are filed with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission (which I’m…
Read MoreManitowoc to pay $42.6M for sale of noncompliant diesel engines
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice announced a settlement agreement with Manitowoc Company Inc., and two of its subsidiaries, Grove U.S. L.L.C., and Manitowoc Crane Group Germany GmbH (collectively, Manitowoc) for violations of the Clean Air Act’s mobile source emission standards regulations. The settlement agreement requires Manitowoc to pay a civil penalty of $42.6 million and resolves allegations…
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