The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
EPA’s long-promised rules for reducing CO2 emissions from fossil fuel-fired power plants have now been published. In the proposal, EPA lays out “performance standards” for new natural gas-fired power plants and “emission...more
This term, in West Virginia v. EPA, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could not compel a nationwide shift away from coal-powered electricity generation. The Court reasoned that it...more
Yesterday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its much-anticipated opinion in the case of West Virginia v. EPA regarding the agency’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) from new and existing coal- and gas-fired power...more
On June 19, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the final “Affordable Clean Energy” (“ACE”) rule to replace the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (“CPP”), which was suspended by the U.S. Supreme Court after...more
We previously wrote about whether and how public-private partnerships (P3s) could be the answer to U.S. infrastructure issues and the many ways in which the P3 delivery model provides unique value. While P3s are used in a...more
On Tuesday, August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Rule, a proposal to replace the Clean Power Plan issued in 2015. EPA Acting Administrator Andrew Wheeler...more
Over the last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit stayed two high-profile litigations concerning the regulation of carbon dioxide emissions from new and existing coal-fired power plants. By...more
President Donald Trump’s recently signed Executive Order on Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth (the Order) includes significant revisions to the regulatory landscape both (1) directly in the case of oil and...more
Mike Nasi, partner in our Austin office, joined Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey at a Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) event to discuss the Clean Power Plan rules in...more
On March 3, 2016 the Supreme Court denied an application by Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette and several other states for a stay of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) – a...more
Last week, we wrote about the Supreme Court's unprecedented issuance of a stay prohibiting the implementation of the "Clean Power Plan" while a judicial challenge to the Plan is pending. The extraordinary stay decision...more
The senior-most U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, passed away on February 13, 2016 just days after the Supreme Court, by a slim 5 to 4 majority, stayed the EPA’s enforcement of the Clean Power Plan. Among other...more
On February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) took an unprecedented step by halting the implementation of the Obama Administration's federal regulation to control carbon dioxide emissions, generally...more
In an unprecedented action, the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed implementation of the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan regulations. The case is now under review by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, with a...more
On February 9, 2016, the United States Supreme Court dealt the Obama administration a setback when it temporarily blocked the Obama administration’s efforts to regulate emissions from coal-fired power plants in its attempt to...more
On February 9, 2016, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an unprecedented grant of applications to stay the Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s signature climate change rule. The rule is being challenged in the U.S....more
In a highly unusual action, the United States Supreme Court yesterday issued a stay prohibiting the implementation of the "Clean Power Plan," a final regulation issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") on...more
Existing and new power plants face increasing complexity as EPA’s historic final rule regulating greenhouse gas emissions represents a major expansion of EPA’s regulatory authority. In a rare presidential announcement of...more
When the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released its widely anticipated Clean Power Plan (the “CPP”), a Final Rule regulating carbon dioxide emissions from the nation’s existing electric generating facilities, the...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued the Clean Power Plan (Plan) in its final form on August 3, 2015. The rule reshapes energy policy nationwide by setting state-by-state greenhouse gas emissions...more
The United States Department of Interior’s (DOI) Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement has proposed new regulations requiring coal mining companies to protect and restore streams impacted by nearby mining...more
On August 3, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued three separate but related actions to address carbon pollution from power plants: 1) the final Clean Power Plan, President Obama’s signature effort to...more
Citing “immediate risks” to national security, public health, and the economy, the Obama Administration adopted ambitious regulations and policies to implement its Clean Power Plan, establishing the first ever national...more
Although legal hurdles remain, EPA’s Clean Power Plan envisions sweeping changes to the electricity generation sector designed to mitigate climate change concerns through reduction of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030, and it...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard oral argument on the first legal challenges to EPA’s “Clean Power Plan” on April 16, 2015. The plan is a proposed rule under Section 111(d) of the Clean Air...more