Laws & Regulations

"ExxonMobil Corp. is fighting a subpoena request by the US Virgin Islands, which is claiming that the oil company could have violated the territory's anti-racketeering law by knowingly misleading the government and the public about the likelihood that its fossil fuel business impacted climate change and thus defrauding them. But Exxon vehemently opposes the notion that it knew about climate change before the rest of the world did."

"The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled new oil well control rules to prevent the kind of blowout that happened six years ago on a BP Plc rig in the Gulf of Mexico."

"Senators on Wednesday reached a deal to act on a comprehensive energy bill as soon as this week, breaking a three-month partisan standoff over the tainted water scandal in Flint, Mich."

"Michigan urged to terminate Line 5 crossing in the Straits of Mackinac."

"Twin, 63-year-old oil pipelines crossing beneath the waters that connect Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are currently out of compliance with the state agreement that allows their existence, according to a letter and memorandum sent Wednesday by 22 environmental and tribal groups to Michigan’s governor and attorney general.

"The Obama administration will announce Thursday safety regulations for offshore oil and natural gas drilling to prevent the kind of explosion that happened six years ago on a BP rig in the Gulf of Mexico, an official told Reuters."

"More than 120 religious groups are encouraging lawmakers to approve President Obama’s proposed $750 million contribution to an international climate change fund."

"Three environmental groups filed a lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday to press for faster action in setting limits on greenhouse gas emissions from U.S. aircraft."

"A federal magistrate judge in Eugene said Friday that a potential landmark lawsuit filed against the U.S. government by a group of environmentally minded youth plaintiffs and a leading climate scientist should be allowed to proceed in court."

"The [Washington] state attorney general's office is taking a powerful Washington, D.C., lobby, the Grocery Manufacturers Association, to court, seeking damages over money laundering in a 2013 initiative campaign."

As legal actions against the chemical company 3M go forward, lawyers are charging that 3M "knew about the health hazards posed by the perfluorinated chemicals it was manufacturing and using to make carpet coating, Scotchgard, firefighting foam, and other products — and that the company knew the chemicals were spreading beyond its sites."