Good morning! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
A California Superior Court judge ruled last week that Sonoma County must do more to ensure responsible groundwater pumping under the state’s Public Trust Doctrine, which holds that rivers, creeks, and other waterways are...more
The Environmental Protection Agency intends to issue a rule updating its Clean Air Act emission standards for new and existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills to cut methane and other harmful landfill gas emissions....more
On July 9, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) declined to stay a new Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) rule that seeks to limit methane emissions in the oil...more
Final Rules for Prevailing Wage & Registered Apprenticeships at Clean Energy Projects - The Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently announced final rules implementing the prevailing wage and...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on June 21, 2024, released a $850 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas...more
The Biden-Harris Administration recently issued a suite of new rules aimed at addressing water and air quality, reducing methane emissions, protecting environmental justice communities, and accelerating the nation’s...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) gave the federal government new authority to “tackle” the problem of methane emissions. On May 6, 2024, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued final revisions to...more
On May 14, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule requirements for petroleum and natural gas systems under 40 C.F.R. Part 98, Subpart W in the Federal Register....more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Monday finalized tougher methane reporting standards that could increase the number of oil and gas companies that must pay fees for excess methane emissions....more
Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: •FTC’s Report Focuses on Collaboration with State Attorneys...more
Oil and gas companies will soon be required to pay annual fees to the federal government based on their methane emissions. These fees, which the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) expects will exceed $2 billion over the...more
On March 4, 2024, MethaneSat, a satellite developed by a subsidiary of the Environmental Defense Fund that will locate and quantify methane emissions from oil and gas operations, was launched into orbit. According to the...more
A stream of judicial decisions in the pipeline will have important implications for the energy industry. The three cases discussed below are among those that energy litigators and industry professionals are watching in 2024....more
Good afternoon! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
Here are curated AG and federal regulatory news stories highlighting key areas in which state and federal regulators’ decisions are having an impact across the US: •Wisconsin Shows Timeshare Exit Company the Exit - ...more
In response to critics who said that proposed new statewide water conservation rules — aimed at cutting urban water use even in years when California is not in a drought — were too complicated and costly, the State Water...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) final methane rule limits methane emissions from the oil and gas sector and may be the latest battleground over whether the agency is exceeding its authority to regulate...more
On January 12, 2024, the EPA announced a proposed new rule entitled Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems (the "Proposed Rule"). As required by Congress pursuant to the Inflation Reduction Act ("IRA"),...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized a host of new obligations for upstream and midstream oil and gas owners and operators. These new source performance standards (“NSPS”) and emission guidelines (“EG”) for...more
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signaled in mid-February 2024 that they plan to release a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to issue $1 billion through financial...more
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released proposed and final rules that will regulate methane emissions from oil and gas operations, implement a methane emissions tax, and change greenhouse gas reporting...more
On Dec. 2, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency issued its final rule titled “Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emission Guidelines for Existing Sources: Oil and Natural Gas Sector...more
Key Takeaways - • What Is Happening? On January 12, 2024, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed rule to implement the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) Methane Waste Emissions Charge (WEC). The...more