The Vital Importance of Pipeline and Transmission Infrastructure to Decarbonization - Energy Law Insights
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
Nota Bene Episode 97: The Seismic Changes Renewables Are Bringing to Energy Transmission and Its Infrastructure with Mark Sundback
Policy Minute: TSA Cybersecurity Roadmap for Pipelines
The Government is currently consulting on operational changes to the NSIP consenting process that have the potential to make significant improvements to parts of the DCO process. In this Insight we outline the changes...more
The Department of Homeland Security’s Transportation Security Administration (“TSA”) has issued an amended directive on pipeline security, SD-Pipeline-2021-02D (the “Directive”). The Directive is based on and supersedes the...more
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) addressed in a May 8th letter a request for clarification of the Hazardous Materials Regulation (“HMR”) in terms of applicability to a Portable Emission...more
Biden Administration to Introduce New National Cyber Strategy for Critical Infrastructure - The Biden administration is reportedly working on a National Cyber Strategy for critical infrastructure that will advocate a more...more
Last year Colonial Pipeline halted one of the United States’ largest pipeline systems due to a ransomware attack. Within days a state of emergency was declared in 17 states. A few days later the pipeline resumed service, and...more
Senator Manchin recently released the text of his much anticipated and controversial bill aimed at reforming the federal permitting process, particularly for energy infrastructure (the "Energy Independence and Security...more
A proposed $1M civil penalty against Colonial Pipeline for its procedural failures during a ransomware attack could indicate what’s in store for critical infrastructure operators who fail to keep employees up to date on how...more
Federal agencies have been actively looking at cyber threats to critical infrastructure. In a January 27 announcement the White House said: “it will extend the Industrial Control Systems (ICS) Cybersecurity Initiative to the...more
Privacy In Focus®- In 2021, cyber gained prominence as a top business risk and national security concern with ransomware attacks wreaking havoc on business operations and critical infrastructure. Companies large and small,...more
Cybersecurity threats to critical infrastructure systems are nothing new. But events over the last few years have been notable due to the seemingly increased frequency of successful attacks and the way those attacks have been...more
On December 2, 2021, the US Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced two new Security Directives and additional guidance for voluntary measures to strengthen cybersecurity...more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the issuance of the Transportation Security Administration's (TSA) second Security Directive (Directive) creating mandatory cybersecurity rules for owners and operators of...more
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) on July 20, 2021, reversed two decades of pipeline cybersecurity policies. Having previously advocated for voluntary pipeline cybersecurity standards, the TSA quickly issued...more
Following a series of major ransomware attacks, including against Colonial Pipeline, which provides the East Coast with 45 percent of its gasoline, jet fuel and diesel, President Biden issued a National Security Memorandum...more
The increased concern about ransomware incidents from both quantitative and severity standpoints, spurred the White House to urge corporate business leaders to improve their defenses and resilience posture against ransomware...more
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the issuance of a second security directive (Directive) that requires owners and operators of certain critical pipelines carrying hazardous liquids and natural gas to...more
On March 18, 2021, the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Cybersecurity, Energy Security, and Emergency Response (CESER) announced three new research programs that are “designed to safeguard and protect the U.S. energy...more
In the weeks that followed a ransomware attack on a domestic pipeline company, the federal government’s efforts to shore up the cybersecurity posture of America’s critical infrastructure and supply chains, including the oil...more
Find out what challenges the natural gas industry faces to construct new pipelines and how these challenges have impacted gas supplies, particularly in the Northeast....more
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently announced a new Security Directive requiring companies in the pipeline sector “to better identify, protect against, and respond to” cyber threats. Among other things, the...more
You just can’t make this stuff up – the Justice Department, displaying its growing sophistication of the cyber world, announced it recovered most of the ransom paid to criminal hackers of Colonial Pipeline Co. (Colonial)....more
There is a growing clamor in Congress and the Executive Branch to do something after the Colonial Pipeline incident and other high-profile cyber-attacks. Rushing to impose broad new obligations is perilous. Policymakers...more
In an unusual and exciting twist to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced this week that it was able to retrieve $2.3 million of the $4.4 million paid by Colonial Pipeline to...more
On May 10, 2021, the hacking group DarkSide succeeded in shutting down the Colonial Pipeline with a ransomware attack that highlighted the vulnerability of the U.S. energy sector to cyberattacks. The attack led to a panic...more
Less than a month after the high-profile ransomware attack against Colonial Pipeline, the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has issued its first-ever set of mandatory...more