As the contagion rate and death toll caused by the Covid-19 emergency (“Covid-19”) continues to decrease, on 26 April 2020 the Prime Minister announced in a press conference the measures adopted to ease the lockdown during the so-called “phase 2”. The new measures are reflected in the Prime Minister Decree dated 26 April 20201 (the “26 April 2020 Decree”) ...
INFARMED and the DGS have published a set of guidelines for manufacturers and wholesale distributors of medicinal products for human use. The aim of these guidelines is to ensure supply to the domestic market and, at the same time, to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and protect the employees of these operators ...
The Bay Area counties of Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Santa Clara, and the City of Berkeley have jointly issued new Shelter-in-Place orders superseding their existing March 31, 2020 Shelter-in-Place orders ...
Key Points: EPA is marching forward with its plans to prevent sham COVID-19 cleaners and disinfectants from entering the marketplace. Manufacturers should continue to adhere to EPA's policy regarding products that make disinfectant efficacy claims. EPA warns consumers against injecting disinfectants into their bodies. On April 23, 2020, the U.S ...
Key Points A federal district judge has invalidated the Army Corps of Engineers Nationwide Permit 12 for failure to comply with the Endangered Species Act, in response to a case filed against the notorious Keystone XL pipeline. As a result of the decision, the Army Corps has halted new and pending approvals under the permit, which is required for construction projects that will discharge dredged or fill material into waters of the United States ...
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the volume of counterfeit goods produced by Chinese manufacturers appears to be on the rise again. While counterfeit goods have been a challenge that online retailers have been fighting for years, the risk has become greater in the COVID-19 era when more consumers are turning to online shopping. Counterfeit goods result in lost revenue and reputational harm to retailers ...
Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the volume of counterfeit goods produced by Chinese manufacturers appears to be on the rise again. While counterfeit goods have been a challenge that online retailers have been fighting for years, the risk has become greater in the COVID-19 era when more consumers are turning to online shopping. Counterfeit goods result in lost revenue and reputational harm to retailers ...
It might seem that in the time of the "coronavirus", everything revolves around veils, disinfection or restriction of operation of various production facilities, and energy is talked about only in connection with the need to keep the elements of critical energy infrastructure running ...
The U.S. Supreme Court creates a test for when discharges to groundwater trigger NPDES permitting requirement, but its failure to include a bright line will make it difficult to predict whether a particular situation meets that test ...
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic crisis—infecting more than 2.7 million people worldwide, with almost 870,000 cases in the United States alone as of the writing of this article—has thrown nearly every industry into chaos as the world struggles to adjust to the new reality of social distancing and self-quarantining ...
The Government issued new regulations setting the guidelines and adopting the biosecurity protocol for the operation of the manufacturing industry The Ministry of Work issued Resolution 675 adopting the biosecurity protocol for the management and control of COVID-19 risk in the manufacturing industry. This protocol is complementary to the protocol adopted through Resolution 666 of 2020 and to other measures adopted in each factory ...
Key Points: An executive order from the governor's office modifies California Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA") noticing procedures, requiring local agencies to take extra steps to notify the public that environmental review processes are underway or have concluded for development projects. Extra steps include posting notices on agency websites and active outreach to interested parties ...
If you have been keeping a close eye on the ongoing discussions relating to Brexit, you will recall our earlier ENSight where we reported that the United Kingdom Intellectual Property Office (“UKIPO”) provided some clarity on how European Union (“EU”) trade mark registrations will be treated on Brexit ...
Key Points A discharge of pollutants to groundwater may require a permit under the Clean Water Act. The new “functional equivalent of a direct discharge” test will be difficult to apply. It will be a long and arduous process to reach uniformity as agencies, courts, and the regulated community try to figure out how to proceed on a case-by-case basis. On April 23, 2020, the Supreme Court published its much-awaited opinion in County of Maui v ...
With an additional $310 billion in funding for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) signed into law, energy companies should consider applying for PPP loans in order to maintain daily operations during the COVID-19 crisis. Generally speaking, companies may receive a maximum loan amount of the lesser of two-and-a-half times their average monthly payroll costs, or $10 million ...
Amidst price wars, a global pandemic, and the diminished demand for oil, E&P borrowers and secured lenders face inevitable credit agreement defaults ahead (if not already). Although real property foreclosure of oil and gas assets is often seen as a secured lender’s primary remedy, negative oil prices, operational challenges and the potential for liability may leave some banks contemplating whether a real property foreclosure is the best course of action ...
The negative pricing for West Texas Intermediate oil (“WTI”) on Monday has raised alarm bells for many of our clients in the exploration and production and midstream industries. This article will clarify the issues for these companies and explain the forces at work that have created this situation. The root cause of the current dilemma arises from the dramatic drop in demand starting with the onset of the COVID-19 virus on the United States ...
The National Mining Agency ("ANM") published, in recent days and after receiving comments from the public, the Resolution 100 of March 17, 2020 (the "Resolution"), which sets forth the conditions and periodicity for the submission of information on mineral resources and reserves in respect to a concession area ...
Through Circular 4011 of 2020, the Ministry of Mines and Energy presents the considerations regarding the application of the exceptions to the restriction of free movement for the Mining Sector, as established in Article 3 of Decree 531 of April 08, 2020, by means of which"(...) it gives instructions under the health emergency caused by the Coronavirus COVID-19 and set measures for the maintenance of public order ...
In accordance with the schedule of the Permanent Bidding Process ("PPAA"), the National Hydrocarbons Agency ("ANH") published on April 17 the final list of qualified companies to participate in the fourth cycle of this process, with which it is expected to reactivate the economy in Colombia ...
In the midst of the COVID-19 waves, the EU Commission rejected the delay proposals on the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS)’s mandatory annual deadlines ...
The Ministry of Home Affairs (“MHA”) issued an order on April 15, 2020 containing the revised consolidated guidelines on the measures to be taken by the Central and State Governments for containment of COVID 19 (“Revised Guidelines”). The order/ Revised Guidelines specify the economic activities which will be permitted after April 20, 2020 (except in containment zones) ...
Key Points: Since Governor Newsom announced a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 outbreak, private Proposition 65 enforcement has increased by about 50%. Effective April 1st, new regulations clarify how manufacturers can satisfy their Proposition 65 warning obligations. These new regulations also clarify when retail sellers assume the burden under Proposition 65 to warn Californians ...
