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Sidley Environmental, Health, and Safety Brief
Perspectives for the Environmental, Health and Safety Community
Department of Transportation Proposes Dramatic Rollback of Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) Standards
On December 3, in connection with a highly publicized announcement in the Oval Office and a statement from the White House, the Department of Transportation proposed a rulemaking that would reset Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards for passenger cars and light trucks sold in the United States for model years 2022-2031. Along with Congress’s recent elimination of civil penalties for CAFE noncompliance, the proposal would roll back more stringent fuel economy targets set in previous Administrations—including the first Trump Administration. The proposed changes have significant implications for, among other things, the electric vehicle market.
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Adam M. Raviv
Washington, D.C.
adam.raviv@sidley.com
Open for Business: A Look at NHTSA Auto Safety Investigations in the Second Trump Administration
The second Trump administration has seen drastic changes in the enforcement practices of many federal regulatory agencies. One area where investigative activity continues to be robust is auto safety. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has, in, recent months, been opening investigations at a brisk pace. Some of NHTSA’s work, particularly relating to autonomous operations and counterfeit equipment, has attracted substantial public attention. Other investigations have been more business as usual.
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Adam M. Raviv
Washington, D.C.
adam.raviv@sidley.com
FWS and NMFS Propose Four Rules Overhauling ESA Implementation: Greater Emphasis on Species-Specific Analysis, Economic Impacts, and Critical Habitat Exclusions
On November 21, 2025, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services) have issued a coordinated package of four proposed rules that would significantly revise how the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is implemented. [1] Two of the rules apply to both agencies, and two are FWS-only. Together, the proposals would shift ESA implementation toward a more species-specific, economically informed, and text-focused framework, with important implications for energy, infrastructure, and land-use projects.
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Samuel B. Boxerman
Washington, D.C.
sboxerman@sidley.com
Peter Whitfield
Washington, D.C.
pwhitfield@sidley.com
Riley Desper
Washington, D.C.
EPA and Army Corps Propose to Narrow Federal Jurisdiction Under the Clean Water Act
On Monday, November 17, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) (collectively, the “Agencies”) released a pre-publication proposed rule to revise the definition of “Waters of the United States” (WOTUS) under the Clean Water Act (CWA). The proposal responds to the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2023 decision in Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023), but goes further than the Biden Administration’s response to the Sackett ruling in August 2023 (the “Conforming Rule”).[1] Sidley’s blog post on the prior administration’s rule can be found here.
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Samuel B. Boxerman
Washington, D.C.
sboxerman@sidley.com
Peter Whitfield
Washington, D.C.
pwhitfield@sidley.com
Caleb J. Bowers
Los Angeles
cbowers@sidley.com
Riley Desper
Washington, D.C.
Bringing Data Centers to the Grid: FERC’s Emerging Large Load Framework
On October 23, 2025, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright directed the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to consider an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANOPR) to initiate rulemaking procedures to “ensure the timely and orderly interconnection of large loads to the transmission systems.” Under the ANOPR, “large loads” are defined as those with a capacity of 20 MW or more, aligning with the definition of “large generation sources” in FERC’s Order No. 2003.
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Terence T. Healey
Boston
thealey@sidley.com
Grace Dickson Gerbas
Dallas
gdicksongerbas@sidley.com
William W. Hendrickson
Houston
william.hendrickson@sidley.com
EPA Proposes Exemptions to TSCA PFAS Reporting Rule
On November 13, 2025, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would revise the scope of EPA’s Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Section 8(a) rule requiring a one-time expansive data submission on per- and polyfluoroalkylated substances (PFAS Reporting Rule). The proposal introduces several exemptions designed to reduce compliance costs and improve implementation. The revisions aim to make the one-time PFAS reporting requirements more practical, particularly for small manufacturers and importers, while preserving EPA’s access to use and exposure information. EPA will accept public comments until December 29, 2025.
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Samuel B. Boxerman
Washington, D.C.
sboxerman@sidley.com
Brittany A. Bolen
Washington, D.C.
bbolen@sidley.com
Riley Desper
Washington, D.C.
Leena Dai
Washington, D.C.
leena.dai@sidley.com
New York Court Orders NYDEC to Issue Climate Change Regulations by February 2026
On October 24, 2025, a New York trial court ordered the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) to promulgate regulations addressing climate change pursuant to the state’s 2019 Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, 2019 N.Y. Sess. Laws Ch. 106 (S. 6599) (CLCPA). The court sided with environmental groups that argued that NYDEC’s failure to issue these rules violated a mandatory statutory duty, despite the agency’s arguments that such rules would be “infeasible” because of costs imposed on consumers. With the order requiring promulgation of the rules by February 6, 2026—mere months away—stakeholders should watch closely for details on upcoming compliance requirements.
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Leena Dai
Washington, D.C.
leena.dai@sidley.com
The Trump Administration’s Pushback Against a Global Shipping Carbon Levy
The International Maritime Organization (IMO), the United Nations agency tasked with regulating global shipping, has proposed an international carbon pricing scheme on shipping. The maritime shipping sector has increasingly faced global scrutiny as the contributor of 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and IMO’s proposed mechanism would serve as the first global emissions pricing mechanism affecting the shipping sector.
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Abigail Kuchnir
Chicago
abigail.kuchnir@sidley.com
Samuel B. Boxerman
Washington, D.C.
sboxerman@sidley.com
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Samuel B. Boxerman
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Terence T. Healey
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Kenneth W. Irvin
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Brittany A. Bolen
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