Arata E. Kaku-McGowan
Associate
Arata Kaku-McGowan is an associate in the Commercial Litigation Practice Group, where he has helped handle complex cases ranging from antitrust and consumer class actions to FCRA cases, contract disputes, and insurance and reinsurance cases. As a secondary member of the Environmental Group, Arata also has assisted clients with a breadth of environmental issues from cradle to grave: analyzing emissions compliance issues for product development; supporting permit application for energy projects; contending against unrelenting national environmental NGOs in administrative proceedings related to factories, solar and natural gas power plants, and pipeline infrastructure; defending Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements; and litigating RCRA and CERCLA issues.
17 State Attorneys General Ask Court to Suspend California's Entire EPR Law: What Producers Need to Know
This week, the 17-state attorney general coalition and the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) escalated their federal challenge to California's Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (Senate Bill 54) by filing a motion for preliminary injunction in the Eastern District of California. The motion asks the court to block enforcement of the entire Act while the constitutional challenge proceeds. A hearing is set for January 15, 2027 鈥 which will amount to a long wait. Along with its motion, plaintiffs filed an amended complaint adding a new vagueness theory that ties SB 54's recyclability requirements to the recent preliminary injunction against California's labeling law, SB 343.
Colorado EPR Faces a Second, Broader Constitutional Challenge: What Producers Should Know
On July 30, 2026, the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW) filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Colorado against the Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment (CDPHE), seeking to declare Colorado's Producer Responsibility Program for Statewide Recycling Act (the 鈥淎ct鈥) unconstitutional and to enjoin its enforcement.
DOE Withdraws Direct Final Rule on Zero-Based Regulating, Will Proceed Through Standard Notice-and-Comment Rulemaking
On July 9, 2026, the Department of Energy (DOE) withdrew its direct final rule that would have implemented, starting July 13, 2026, 鈥渮ero-based regulating鈥 sunset provisions across a range of DOE regulations.
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Oregon EPR Producers May Have an Off-Ramp From Paying CAA, At Least Temporarily
Thousands of producers currently writing checks to Circular Action Alliance (CAA) under Oregon's Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)...
FERC Issues Six Tailored 鈥淪how Cause鈥 Orders to Accelerate Large Load Interconnection
On June 18, 2026, against the backdrop of skyrocketing growth in demand for electricity, due in part to the rapid proliferation of data centers, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued six 鈥渟how cause鈥 orders under Section 206 of the Federal Power Act (FPA), directing each of the six Regional Transmission Organizations (RTOs) and Independent System Operators (ISOs) under its jurisdiction, and the transmission owners within them, to justify or reform their rules governing how data centers, manufacturing facilities, and other large energy users connect to the electric grid.
17 States Challenge California Packaging Law With National Supply Chain Stakes
On June 22, 2026, 17 states, led by Nebraska, along with the National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors (NAW), sued California regulators and the Circular Action Alliance (CAA) in federal court, seeking to invalidate the state鈥檚 landmark packaging law, SB 54 (鈥淪B 54鈥 or 鈥渢he Act鈥).聽 The lawsuit, Nebraska v. Heller, is the first coordinated, multistate attack on the broader 鈥渆xtended producer responsibility鈥 (EPR) model gaining traction for packaging regulation across the United States. 聽