U.S. FERC: The Next Battleground for Defining “Responsibly Sourced Natural Gas”
The U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is expected to issue an order later this month that could influence the development of “responsibly sourced natural gas” (RSG), natural gas...
View ArticleCalifornia Appeals Court Rules That State Endangered Species Act Protects All...
On May 31, 2022, the California State Court of Appeals for the Third Appellate District ruled that the California Endangered Species Act (State ESA or the Act) protects all invertebrates. Expanding on...
View ArticleEPA Defends Hydrofluorocarbons Cap-and-Trade Rule
In a June 2, 2022, brief addressing the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s review of the final rule regarding the hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) cap-and-trade program (Final Rule or Framework...
View ArticleU.S. Environmental Protection Agency Proposes Updates to State Certification...
A recently proposed rule by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) seeks to expand the powers of states and tribes in approving or denying projects that require Clean Water Act (CWA)...
View ArticleFERC Jurisdiction Upheld in Puerto Rican Liquified Natural Gas Terminal...
On June 14, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) finding of jurisdiction over New Fortress Energy LLC’s (New...
View ArticleFERC’s June Open Meeting Dominated by Electric Transmission Proposed Rulemakings
NOPR to Reform Generator Interconnection Procedures and Agreements On June 16, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) took another step to ease access to the transmission grid with a...
View ArticleD.C. Circuit Finds That California Agency Did Not Waive Clean Water Act...
On Friday, June 17, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) upheld a decision by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in Turlock Irrigation District et...
View ArticleElectric Reliability Council of Texas’ Independent Market Monitor:...
On June 22, 2022, the Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) Independent Market Monitor director, Carrie Bivens, testified before the Texas House State Affairs Committee on the ERCOT market...
View ArticleAgencies Rescind Trump-Era Definition of “Habitat” Under Endangered Species Act
On Friday, June 24, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service issued a final rule rescinding the agencies’ regulatory definition of “habitat” previously promulgated by...
View ArticleSupreme Court Upends EPA’s Broad Claims of Climate Regulatory Authority
On Thursday, June 30, the U.S. Supreme Court released its decision in West Virginia v. EPA, holding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its statutory authority in adopting the...
View ArticleQuarterly Review: Biden Administration’s Advancement of Environmental Justice
In the second quarter of 2022, the Biden administration took steps to implement the President’s whole-of-government environmental justice (EJ) strategy. Specifically, the U.S. Department of Justice...
View ArticleD.C. Circuit Rejects Challenge to CERCLA Site Listing
On July 8, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) rejected a challenge to the listing of a groundwater contamination plume on the National Priorities List...
View ArticleU.S. EPA Identifies Five PFAS Added to Toxic Release Inventory List, Four of...
On July 18, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final rule updating the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to identify five per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) added to the...
View ArticleFifth Circuit Says FERC Can’t Stop Rejection of Filed-Rate Contracts in...
On July 19, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit held that debtors in bankruptcy may reject regulated energy contracts, vacating two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) orders...
View ArticleEU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive — What Do UK- and U.S.-...
Non–EU companies with a significant presence in the EU or with securities listed on an EU-regulated market will become subject to new EU rules on corporate sustainability disclosures (the Corporate...
View ArticleNew York State Launches First-of-its-Kind Statewide Mobile Air Monitoring...
As previously reported, the second quarter of 2022 ushered in a bevy of federal action by the White House, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, U.S. Department of Justice, and U.S. Department of Heath...
View ArticleEPA Conducts Flyovers in New Mexico and Texas
On August 1, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is conducting helicopter flyovers of the Permian Basin region in New Mexico and Texas. EPA asserted that the purpose...
View ArticleBest Practices For Auto Boards During Industry Revolution
The Nikola case stands at the intersection of several emerging risk areas in the automotive industry. For example, as regulators in the U.S. and European Union continue to ratchet up the pressure on...
View ArticleFifth Circuit Vacates and Remands Injunction on Nationwide Oil and Gas Lease...
On August 17, 2022, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (the Court) vacated and remanded an order by the federal district court for the Western District of Louisiana (the District Court) of...
View ArticleU.S. EPA Proposes New Risk Management Program Standards for Stationary Sources
On August 19, 2022, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed rule to revise Risk Management Program (RMP) standards for stationary sources using certain regulated substances...
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