The Legal and Practical Challenges of California's Advanced Clean Fleets Regulation
Nota Bene Episode 101: Catching up with Global Climate Regulation with Nico van Aelstyn
Schoenbrod: SCOTUS Ruling Helps EPA Deal With a "Stupid Statute"
The Biden administration issued a final rule this Wednesday aimed at curbing methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on federal and tribal lands. Adoption of the rule is its latest action to crack down on emissions of...more
A coalition of 20 Democratic AGs filed a motion to intervene in defense of the EPA’s Oil and Gas Methane Rule in a lawsuit filed by 25 Republican AGs who challenge the rule. In their motion, the Democratic AGs assert that the...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) intends to require power plants and other stationary sources in five additional states to comply with the Good Neighbor Plan to ensure that these states do not unlawfully contribute...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule on Dec. 2, 2023, to sharply reduce emissions of methane and other air pollution from oil and natural gas operations. The final action, which is more than...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to update, strengthen, and expand the standards proposed on November 15, 2021, which require reduced emissions...more
The first action proposes first-time emission guidelines to reduce methane emissions from almost 1 million existing oil and gas wells, almost 2,000 existing interstate natural gas compressor stations, and over 500 existing...more
On his first day in office on January 20, 2021, President Biden signed an Executive Order titled, “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis” (the Order). The Order...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Environmental Appeals Board (“EAB”) addressed in a September 2nd Order a Petition filed by MPLX challenging a permit condition that the federal agency placed in a...more
As discussed previously in Pierce Atwood’s Energy Infrastructure Blog, on June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the construction of a new compressor station proposed by Algonquin...more
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and remanded the matter to the agency for further analysis. The...more
Revised Definition of "Waters of the United States" - Proposed Rule - "The agencies' proposal is the second step in a two-step process to review and revise the definition of 'waters of the United States' consistent with...more
I recently had my ear to the ground in and around Chengdu, the capital of southwestern China's Sichuan province. Two things struck me about the air quality in the city. First, the air seemed far cleaner than during my last...more
U.S. Army Corps Stands by Permit for Dakota Access Oil Pipeline - "The U.S. Army Corps said that a permit it granted for the Dakota Access Pipeline last year was environmentally sound, handing a setback to tribal and green...more
The Tennessee Air Pollution Control Board (“Board”) issued a February 6th Technical Secretary’s Order and Assessment of Civil Penalty (“Order”) to Jones Fiber Products, Inc. (“JFPI”) See Case No. APC17-0166. The Order...more
Trump Delivers a Mixed Message on His National Security Approach - "In another shift from his predecessor, Mr. Trump's strategy does not recognize the changing climate as a threat to national security. The document instead...more
On November 30, 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued in final form a new and a revised general permit meant to address methane emissions from the natural gas industry. The permits which were...more
Stoel Rives’ Oil & Gas Team has been monitoring bills introduced by California legislators since the beginning of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. Below are the latest updates on a list of bills, summarized pursuant to the...more
February 17, 2017 marked the deadline by which legislators had to introduce bills for the first half of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session. The Stoel Rives’ Oil & Gas Team has been and will continue to monitor bills...more
You think maintaining compliance with opacity standards is a challenge now – just wait. As anyone who has started a campfire knows, opacity (the density of the smoke) tends to be high when starting and ending fuel burning,...more
Environmental and Policy Focus - State Supreme Court rules in state’s favor on Delta property rights - Sacramento Bee - Jul 21 - The California Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that the state has the right to...more
As most of you know by now, Senate Bill (“SB”) 350, the much-chronicled and debated Clean Energy and Pollution Reduction Act of 2015, passed out of the California Legislature and is currently awaiting signature by Governor...more
On August 3, 2015, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) utilized executive action to call for a major societal shift on climate change policy. The new rules, dubbed the Clean Power Plan, are intended...more
Environmental and Policy Focus:Governor Brown issues executive order requiring statewide mandatory water restrictions - Allen Matkins - Apr 3: Responding to severely depleted water supplies and a record low snowpack at...more
Environmental and Policy Focus: State court may tighten review process for building super-sized homes - SFGate.com - Dec 8: In a case that could redefine the scope of California’s environmental laws, the state Supreme...more