The Ministry of the Interior issued Communication 015 of 2020, through which the Ministry set made recommendations for the prevention, containment, and mitigation of the coronavirus COVID19 in ethnic groups: indigenous peoples, the NARP communities (Black, Afro-Colombian, Raizales, and Palenqueras) and the PROM people ...
By means of Circular No. 4007 of 25 March 2020, the Ministry of Mines and Energy set out some considerations on the understanding of paragraphs 13 and 25 of Article 3 of Decree 457 of 2020, by which the National Government ordered the preventive isolation of all inhabitants of Colombia for a period of 19 days. Paragraphs 13 and 25 refer to exceptions to the restrictions on freedom of movement ...
Superintendence of Environment orders the suspension of terms and enforces virtual channels in the context of Covid-19 The Superintendence of Environment has suspended all of sanctioning proceedings and implemented virtual channels to receive consultations, complaints and replace its reception office ...
Several state and local governments have issued “shelter in place” orders and undoubtedly more will follow. All have various exemptions for “essential businesses” and many rely on exemptions outlined in the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) guidance on critical infrastructure workers ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted every sector of the economy in multiple ways. For businesses whose operations are subject to environmental requirements, including waste management, storage, and disposal laws, these coronavirus-related disruptions may impact a facility’s ability to comply with mandatory reporting and submission deadlines or waste storage time limits ...
On March 19, 2020 the Superintendence of Environment (“SOE”) issued the Exempt Resolution No. 497 (“Res. 497”), which is referred to a number of general instructions within the sanitary context caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19). I. Purpose. Carry out a permanent monitoring of the status of projects or activities and of the compliance with their applicable obligations given the current sanitary context. II. Recipients ...
At the end of February 2020, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Resources (MEMR) issued Regulation No. 4 of 2020 (Reg. 4/2020), as a second amendment to MEMR Regulation No. 50 of 2017 on the Use of Renewable Energy for the Provision of Electric Power which was initially amended through MEMR Regulation No. 53 of 2018 (“Reg. 50/2017”). Reg ...
Federal and state occupational safety and health regulations require employers to record and report certain work-related injuries and serious illnesses, including work-related fatalities and in-patient hospitalizations. While Cal/OSHA has stated that the common cold or flu are exempt from reporting and recording requirements, even if the employee became ill at work, this exemption does not apply to COVID-19 ...
In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the California Department of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal/OSHA) have issued guidance for employers. The guidelines provide guidance on how to determine if COVID-19 is a hazard in the workplace and employer obligations. Is COVID-19 a Workplace Hazard? Employers should determine if COVID-19 infection is a hazard in their workplace ...
The price of oil—already hammered by market conditions—took another stumble in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak with no immediate relief in sight. Accordingly, the Oil & Gas Industry must prepare for the looming wave of oncoming legal issues, which will affect every sector of the market. This alert contains recommended actions for industry stakeholders ...
Companies, municipalities, and water systems must now report their per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) use to the federal government. A new federal law requires facilities using 100 pounds per year of a listed PFAS compound to self-report to the national Toxics Release Inventory (TRI). Monitoring and reporting requirements are often prerequisites to cleanup and enforcement, and this collection of data may be a bellwether for the future regulation of PFAS ...
On January 23, 2020, Law No. 21,202, which modifies various legal bodies in order to protect urban wetlands, entered into force with its publication in the Official Gazette. Object The Law seeks to protect urban wetlands declared by the Ministry of the Environment, either ex officio or at the request of the respective municipality ...
Long considered “emerging contaminants,” per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have now emerged. And water agencies throughout California must take heed. As we last reported, in November 2017, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) added two widely used PFAS compounds to the Proposition 65 list of chemicals known to cause reproductive toxicity: perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) ...
In Thailand, economic development, technological progress and energy transition go hand-in-hand. The government is continuing to pursue Thailand 4.0, the ambitious economic model designed to propel the country into high-income status. This transition hinges on Thailand moving from its agrarian and labour-intensive roots to a value-based economy where smart industry is king ...
In another step in President Trump's ongoing efforts to relax environmental restrictions impacting economic development, on January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality published its proposed rulemaking to update its regulations for implementing procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act ("NEPA") ("Proposed Rule"). The deadline for filing comments on the Proposed Rule is March 10, 2020 ...
The 15thedition of the World Economic Forum’s (“WEF’s”)The Global Risk’s Report 2020(the “Report”) was recently published. The top five global risks identified by the WEF in terms of likelihood are, for the first time in the Report’s existence, all of an environmental nature (namely extreme weather, climate action failure, natural disasters, biodiversity loss, and human-made environmental disasters) ...
The Governor's Office of Planning and Research (OPR) has recently issued two technical advisories with helpful California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) guidance on two prominent California land use topics. The first advisory outlines potential CEQA exemptions for immediate-term disaster recovery, with the goal of helping communities and public agencies prepare their climate change adaptation and resilience strategies ...
The Minister of the Environment and Forestry (MOEF) has issued Regulation No. P.38/MENLHK/SETJEN/KUM.1/7/2019 on The Types of Planned Businesses and/or Activities Plans which Require an Environmental Impact Analysis (Reg 38/2019), which came into effect on 5 September 2019. Reg 38/2019 replaces Regulation No. 05 of 2012 on the same matter ...
On Nov. 20, 2019, United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the Risk Management Program Reconsideration Rule (Reconsideration Rule), which finalized changes to the 2017 Risk Management Program Amendments. The Reconsideration Rule reflects EPA’s reconsideration of its 2017 Amendments based on objections from three petitions and based on its own review. The Reconsideration Rule was effective on Dec ...
With a new year comes changes. And one change is a law tying business license applications to California's water quality laws. Beginning January 1, 2020, Senate Bill 205 will require that certain applicants for either a new business license or a renewal from cities or counties show that they are complying with the federal Clean Water Act and California's Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act ...
Summary of Public Policy and Prior Amendments The Minimum Fuels Storage Public Policy (the “Public Policy”) was released by Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) on December 12, 2017. The objective is to improve energy security in Mexico and ensure adequate energy supply and competitive prices, through the establishment of mandatory minimum fuel inventories and reporting obligations ...
The Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, Eoghan Murphy TD, and the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton TD, launched a public consultation on proposed revisions to the Wind Energy Development Guidelines (the draft Guidelines) on 12 December 2019. The draft guidelines, when finalised, will affect future planning applications and considerations for future wind energy development proposals ...
