WASHINGTON – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) have announced that BP Exploration Alaska... Read More
Former Orrick Environmental Partner to Anchor Firm's Expansion to California Robert Lawrence , former chair of Orrick's environmental transactions group, will anchor Marten Law's new San Francisco office - making it one of the largest... Read More
By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block Under U.S. EPA's current audit policy, companies that self-disclose environmental violations may be entitled to the elimination or reduction of penalties for non-compliance. However, U.S. EPA recently... Read More
What will be the hot topics in ag law for 2014? Here are some predictions for the coming year: 1. Clean Air Act Targets Farmers . Congress passed the Clean Air Act in 1970 to clean up the nation’s air. The low hanging fruit of air pollution—power... Read More
Consumer Savings Comparable to Lowering Price of Gasoline by $1 Per Gallon by 2025 WASHINGTON, DC - The Obama Administration has finalized groundbreaking standards that will increase fuel economy to the equivalent of 54.5 mpg for cars and light-duty... Read More
On April 29, 2014, in a decision that may impact electric prices and service reliability for McNees clients in the region, the United States Supreme Court, [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], reinstated EPA’s Cross-State Air... Read More
There has been a lot of discussion and press around the EPA’s new Clean Power Plan , which is intended to reduce CO2 emissions from existing power plants by 30% from 2005 levels by 2030. The EPA proposed this plan on June 2nd under its Clean Air... Read More
A recent Third Circuit decision indicates that compliance with the requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA) may not be sufficient to protect an owner or operator from state common law tort claims. In Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station (Aug. 20, 2013)... Read More
Here is my instant analysis of the decision just issued by the Supreme Court in American Electric Power v. Connecticut , the case in which several states and others sought a court order requiring several large electric utilities to reduce their greenhouse... Read More
On June 2, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced its Clean Power Plan, which would impose the first federal limits on carbon-dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions from power plants in the United States.[1] The proposed rules, which the EPA published... Read More
Fifth Circuit Upholds Texas Clean Air Act Flexible Permit Program On August 13, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (Fifth Circuit) issued its opinion upholding the Texas Flexible Permit Program. For now, the decision in Texas v. U... Read More
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], ruled upon a petition filed by an industry coalition which objected to the manner in which USEPA intended to implement the 6 th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling... Read More
by Shelley Welton, Deputy Director On December 2 nd , commissioners, secretaries and directors of environmental and energy agencies from states within the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) filed comments to EPA on the agency’s forthcoming... Read More
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently joined the Seventh, Eighth, and Eleventh Circuits in finding that U.S. EPA is required to bring New Source Review (NSR) enforcement proceedings within five years of the alleged violation. On August... Read More
By Brian H. Potts Have you ever wondered what all those additional charges are on your electric bill? This month my bill lists a “Customer Charge,” a “2013 Fuel Adjustment” and a “State-Wide Low-Income Assistance Fee... Read More