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Making good on a promise to redefine the Clean Water Act (CWA) term, “Waters of the United States” or WOTUS, on January 18, 2023, the latest revised definition of “Waters of the United States” was published in the Federal Register by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) at 86 FR 3004. The effective date of this rule was on March 20, 2023. Remarkably, this action marks the fourth time in eight years that these agencies have attempted to craft a workable definition of WOTUS and thereby affect far-ranging impacts on everything from infrastructure and agriculture to private land use. While the agencies indicate that the newly redefined WOTUS is, in many ways, a return to the longstanding regulatory regime, there are several notable changes.

Read more in Seeking Certainty: Redefining “Waters of the United States” by Anthony B. Cavender and Ashleigh Myers.

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On March 8, 2023, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced approximately $6 billion in funding to accelerate decarbonization projects in energy intensive industries and provide American manufacturers a competitive advantage. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the Industrial Demonstrations Program will focus on revolutionizing energy intensive industrial processes with the highest emissions, where decarbonization technologies will have the greatest impact. Industries that represent the greatest opportunities include iron, steel, steel mill products, aluminum, cement, concrete, glass, pulp, paper, industrial ceramics and chemical products.

Read more in “Department of Energy Announces $6 Billion Funding Opportunity for Industrial Decarbonization and Emissions Reduction Projects” by Elina Teplinsky, Sheila McCafferty Harvey, Sidney L. Fowler, and Ashley L. Meredith.

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GettyImages-1401747326-300x200Artificial intelligence (AI) systems captured considerable attention with the release of a large language chatbot, ChatGPT, by OpenAI, in November of last year. On March 14, OpenAI unveiled GPT-4, a more powerful “multimodal” chatbot responding to both text and images. And, on March 21, Google launched its conversational computer program, Bard, to compete with GPT-4. These chatbots allow users to initiate detailed queries or requests and receive prompt responses in complete sentences. Users are not forced to scroll through a list of results like those produced by search engines and follow-up questions can be asked. AI systems have been touted for many years and these new breakthroughs may drastically change the way that we create content.

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Recently, two Federal policies have been released that could have a significant effect upon environmental remediation and the emergency response procedures and policies of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The recent train derailment in Palestine, Ohio, may bring them into sharper focus. The regulated community may find it useful to take notice of these directives.

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GettyImages-1344632743-300x225Empty office buildings downtown. A housing shortage in almost every major market. Is there a way to address both issues at once by converting historic but underutilized office buildings into apartments and condos in city centers? It’s an idea that has been discussed, and in some cities, implemented in recent years. But while the idea seems simple enough—repurpose existing office space for residential and mixed-use projects—there are some real challenges limiting the feasibility of large-scale office to residential conversion.

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On February 28, 2023, the first funding opportunity opened under the Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors and Science Act (CHIPS Act), federal legislation that appropriated $52.7B in federal funding to boost the semiconductor industry, including $39B in semiconductor manufacturing incentives. Projects involving construction, expansion or modernization of commercial facilities to produce leading-edge, current-generation and mature-node semiconductors are now eligible for funding.

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This week’s roundup explores the cooling housing market and plummeting mortgage applications, potential tax-savings as a result of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), and new developments in the multifamily sector.

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This week’s roundup explores how Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding is being deployed, mass timber is on the rise as decarbonization efforts continue, and commercial real estate remains distressed.

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In a “groundbreaking” complaint, environmental NGO Global Witness asked the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Climate and ESG Task Force to investigate oil major Shell for possible violations of federal securities laws. The complaint, filed this February, alleges Shell misled its investors by including some of its gas-related spending in its “Renewables and Energy Solutions” (RES) reporting segment. Global Witness claims that, while Shell reports spending 12% of its annual expenditures on RES ($2.4 billion), removing expenditures related to integrated power, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage reduces that percentage to only 1.5% ($288 million).

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The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) recently proposed new regulations regarding the use of domestic construction materials, which, among other things, identify what items will be considered construction materials and the process for determining whether they are of U.S. origin.

In “OMB Proposes Revisions to Guidance Supporting the Implementation of IIJA’s Build America, Buy America Act Provisions,” colleagues Marques O. Peterson, Stephan E. Becker and Whitney Alston take a closer look at these regulations.