The Nickel Report

On August 13, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) announced its intent to issue notices of funding opportunities (NOFOs) totaling nearly $1 billion to support enhancing and expanding technologies for mining, processing, and manufacturing at crucial points in the supply chains of critical minerals and materials. This announcement follows the Unleashing American Energy executive order issued in January 2025, previously summarized here. DOE’s NOFOs are intended to support the establishment of a more reliable, stable, and cost-effective supply of critical minerals and materials, which the agency considers fundamental for maintaining America’s energy dominance, safeguarding US national security, and boosting US industrial competitiveness.

On August 7, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued an executive order titled “Improving Oversight of Federal Grantmaking” (Executive Order) directing agencies to take steps towards reforming the federal grantmaking process, with the goal of streamlining processes, enhancing executive branch oversight and control of federal financial assistance, and aligning federal financial assistance with agency priorities and the national interest. The Executive Order will impact organizations, companies, and projects receiving federal financial assistance by implementing political appointee-level oversight of decision-making and providing federal agencies with termination-for-convenience rights over many existing and future federal awards.

While the Trump Administration has emphasized regulatory reform and prioritized agency efficiency across the federal government, EPA continues to pursue aggressive enforcement of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). Actions taken by EPA over the first six months of President Trump’s current term demonstrate sustained FIFRA enforcement, with notably high penalty amounts being assessed, including one case resulting in a $3 million penalty. These latest enforcement trends signal that pesticide manufacturers, distributors, and sellers must remain vigilant in complying with FIFRA requirements.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to properly consider advances in wastewater treatment technology and ordered EPA to reconsider updating the effluent limitations guidelines (ELGs) for seven industrial categories.