Highlights of The Year in Review 2024

I. Introduction

Welcome to the 2024 Year in Review! The Year in Review is a time-honored publication of the ABA Section of Environment Energy and Resource Law (SEER) and serves as a reflection of the tremendous depth of experience, expertise, and skill of SEER members. The ABA SEER’s Year in Review is organized by chapters that correspond with and are written by each of the substantive committees in the ABA SEER. Each chapter is treated like an annual report, staying focused on developments, events, and other activities within a subject matter area for the previous calendar year. This Highlights chapter is only a snapshot of some of the common topics and developments across several of the substantive committees, as well as highlighting some unique developments that may be of interest to a broader audience. While it is certainly not a comprehensive summary and by no means captures all the common topics addressed across the committees, it gives you, the reader, a starting point on a few hot topics and which committees to turn to for multiple discussions and perspectives. Let’s get started with the 2024 Year in Review Highlights.

II. Highlights

A. A Presidential Election in the United States

This edition of the Year in Review was edited and published against the backdrop of a change in Presidential Administrations in the United States, accompanied by a flood of activity and developments in the first quarter of 2025. As you read what was achieved, decided, and realized in the calendar year 2024, it is not difficult to recognize how much has happened and how many plans or programs that saw progress or success in 2024 are now at a standstill or worse. During the editing process, we strove to remain true to the purpose and structure of the Year in Review and limit the amount of content related to events of the current calendar year (i.e., 2025). However, for this Year in Review, some committees incorporated a few updates on developments coming out of the Trump Administration after taking office on January 20, 2025. The Year in Review for 2025 will provide more details on the numerous activities related to the administration transition, along with regulatory and judicial developments that are yet to come.

B. A New Era of Administrative Law

Several opinions issued in 2024 from the U.S. Supreme Court ushered in a new era of administrative law – one without Chevron deference applied to agencies’ interpretations of vague statutory provisions, where administrative agencies may have to prosecute certain enforcements before a jury, and a long-standing regulation could be litigated if the injury only recently arose. The cases ushering in this new era are Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, Securities Exchange Commission v. Sarkesy, and Corner Post, Inc. v. Board of Governors. Given the impact of Loper Bright, several committees discussed this decision: Air Quality, Enforcement and Litigation, In-House Counsel, Nuclear Law, Oceans and Coasts, and Constitutional Law. The Environmental, Social, Governance, and Sustainability Committee also notes a case where the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit remanded the case back to the District Court after the Loper Bright decision. Discussions regarding the SEC v. Jarkesy and Corner Post v. Board of Governors decisions are in Enforcement and Litigation, In-House Counsel, and Constitutional Law.

The Constitutional Law Committee provides a robust discussion on all three of these cases and includes details on another significant administrative law case, Ohio v. EPA. The Air Quality committee also discusses this case, along with more details on the litigation on the Good Neighbor Rule state implementation plan (SIP) cases.

C. State and International Climate Disclosure Laws

Several states have implemented or proposed to implement laws requiring certain corporate entities doing business in their respective states to issue public disclosures concerning the impact of a changing climate on their business. California’s climate disclosure laws garnered the most attention in 2024, due in part to ongoing litigation challenging the constitutionality of those laws and amendments to the laws passed by the California legislature in 2024. The Enforcement and Litigation, Environmental, Social, Governance and Sustainability, Food & Agriculture, and In-House Counsel committees share updates on the impending deadlines and developments on the litigation challenging the law.

The Climate Change and Environmental, Social, Governance and Sustainability committees provided details concerning climate disclosures put in place by the European Union aimed at corporations preparing disclosures concerning sustainability-related material impacts, risks, and opportunities.

D. Developments Related to the National Environmental Policy Act

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) saw some significant developments towards the end of 2024. While we can anticipate more discussion on NEPA regulations and litigation in the next edition of the Year in Review, several committees provided updates on NEPA. The Project Development committee provides a robust discussion of what is commonly referred to as the NEPA Phase 2 Rule, which went into effect on July 1, 2024. The same Committee also previews the Marin Audubon Society v. FAA decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, as well as discusses the oral argument held at the U.S. Supreme Court in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado. The Oceans and Coasts Committee also discuss the Marin Audubon case. The Public Lands committee discusses updates on litigation concerning the environmental review of a herd management area under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act. Several committees provide updates on litigation concerning NEPA environmental reviews of federal management plans or Biological Opinions (BiOp) issued by federal agencies. These include Biodiversity, Forest Resources, Oceans & Coasts, and Oil and Gas (in the discussion concerning oil and gas activities in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge).

E. Intellectual “Grab Bag” of Developments

As we read through the 2024 Year in Review, a few other topics caught our attention and should be mentioned in the Highlights. These topics may not have broad awareness, but are nonetheless important and fascinating.

• The Apache Stronghold v. United States decision from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the District Court’s decision to deny a preliminary injunction that would stop a transfer of land from a national forest to a mining company. The Court concluded Apache Stronghold failed to establish a likelihood of success on the merits. Detailed discussions can be found in the Indigenous Law and Mining committees’ reports.
• The Montana Supreme Court issued a decision in Held v. Montana, finding that a state law restricting review of potential impact of GHG emissions violated Montana’s state environmental policy act. Air Quality and Environmental Justice provide updates on this decision.
• The Public Lands committee outlines the details of a significant new regulation from the Bureau of Land Management that went into effect in June 2024. Commonly known as the “Public Lands Rule,” this new regulation aims to allow the BLM to “build and maintain the resilience of ecosystems on public lands.”
• Artificial intelligence (AI) in the practice of environmental law is discussed in the Ethics and the Profession chapter. This is a valuable and informative read as the chapter discusses how to navigate the use of AI in the attorney-client relationship, duty of competence, responsibilities and oversight of nonlawyer assistants, and protecting confidentiality and data security.
• The International Law committee shared details on aviation emissions reduction as a result of the United States agreeing to establish minimum environmental protection standards consistent with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
• The mining of and access to critical minerals and rare earth elements continue to garner attention. The Mining and Energy Law committees discuss litigation on mining for lithium on federal lands and legislative developments to improve access to mining for these minerals and elements.
• The Science and Technology and Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation committees provide updates on per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), including the EPA issued final rule designating perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctanesulfonic acid (PFOS), including their salts and structural isomers, as hazardous substances under CERCLA. Additionally, the Science and Technology committee supplies additional regulatory updates, such as new regulations for PFAS reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act and PFAS substances added to the Toxic Release Inventory list.
• The Water Quality & Wetlands committee pieces together several judicial decisions applying the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the 2023 case, Sackett v. EPA, illustrating how the courts are reviewing and analyzing the different factual scenarios to adjudicate questions of what is a “waters of the United States.”
• The Superfund and Natural Resource Damages Litigation, Waste & Resource Recovery, and Water Quality & Wetlands committees discuss the StarLink Logistics v. ACC case out of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit that reviewed whether a 2012 consent order that approved remedial measures addressing pollution effects from ACC’s closed landfill precluded StarLink from proceeding on its claims against ACC.
• The Water Resources Committee provided an update on the ongoing dispute under the Rio Grande Compact, indicating the parties are in active mediation discussions to attempt a resolution after the U.S. Supreme Court concluded the United States has valid claims under the Compact.

Happy Year in Review reading!