The rapid growth of electricity demand from data centers has emerged as a major challenge for the U.S. power sector. Much of this demand is being driven by the deployment of large learning models (LLMs) and generative artificial intelligence (AI). These workloads require large-volume, high-uptime computational infrastructure, and correspondingly large,…
In a closely watched opinion issued on May 16, 2025, the Texas Supreme Court in Myers-Woodward, LLC v. Undergrounds Services Markham, LLC, — S.W.3d —, No. 22-0878, 2025 WL 1415892 (Tex. May 16, 2025) resolved a long-uncertain issue of subsurface property rights in the context of salt dome mining. The…
THE U.S. SUPREME COURT City and County of San Francisco v. EPA (March 4, 2025) In the first major environmental decision by the Court in the 2024 Term, the Court’s analysis of the Clean Water Act concluded that there was no provision in the Act supporting the imposition by EPA…
Even as the Trump administration moves to block state and local climate liability efforts, states and municipalities continue to advance lawsuits seeking to hold fossil fuel companies liable for harms associated with climate change. Most recently, the State of Hawaii initiated a climate deception lawsuit, and the City of Charleston,…
As the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) steps back from defending its March 2024 Climate Disclosure Rule, companies face growing uncertainty in navigating an increasingly fragmented and uncertain landscape of state and international mandates—with no uniform standards in sight. This development signals a broader shift under the Trump administration, which…
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a series of federal lawsuits against four states—New York, Vermont, Michigan and Hawaii—alleging that recent legislative and enforcement efforts to hold fossil fuel companies financially responsible for climate change unlawfully interfere with federal authority. The lawsuits, filed on April 30 and May…
Data centers use various chemicals that have recently been the focus of regulatory efforts at the federal and state level. The historic or future use of these chemicals may create liabilities, obligations, or new costs for both existing and planned data centers. PFAS Use in Data Centers Per- and polyfluoroalkyl…
The ever-increasing demand for digital infrastructure, coupled with continuing cryptocurrency demand volatility, has generated significant interest in transforming building improvements housing crypto mining farms into modern high-capacity data centers. Crypto mines and data centers share certain foundational elements—facilities with a large footprint and the need for high power capacity and…
April has proven a busy month for environmental issues when it comes to the regulatory arena. Below are just a few of the notable developments: Coal-Fired Relief: On April 8, 2025, the President issued Presidential Proclamation 10914, “Regulatory Relief for Certain Stationary Sources to Promote American Energy,” published in the…
Continuing with the Trump administration’s deregulatory agenda, the White House issued a Presidential Memorandum on April 9 titled Directing the Appeal of Unlawful Regulations. It instructs executive agencies to repeal regulations that, in the administration’s view, are “unlawful” in light of 10 recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. The directive builds…