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
On June 3, 2023, President Biden signed into law the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 (FRA). The FRA was the result of an agreement between White House and congressional GOP negotiators....more
The EIR for a water ditch to underground pipeline conversion project withstood challenges to the project description and impacts analysis. The Third Appellate District held that the project description sufficiently disclosed...more
Last week, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals again rejected a FERC NEPA review for failure to assess the climate impacts resulting from the downstream use of natural gas supplied by a gas pipeline upgrade project...more
On February 17, 2022, by a 3-2 vote, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) adopted a new Interim Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions Policy Statement (GHG Policy Statement) setting forth an interim framework for...more
On February 18, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued two controversial policy statements that will significantly impact the permitting and construction of new natural gas pipeline...more
On May 20, 2021, FERC issued two orders in which it authorized two pipeline companies to construct and abandon certain pipeline facilities, subject to conditions. In an exciting and sometimes tense Commission open-meeting,...more
In a busy few days for the pipeline industry, the Supreme Court provided sorely needed relief by issuing a stay of the Montana District Court’s order vacating Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 for the oil and gas industry. While...more
On Tuesday, February 25, 2020, the Fifth Appellate District invalidated Kern County’s 2015 Oil and Gas Ordinance (the “Ordinance”), which was intended to streamline the permitting process for a variety of oil and gas...more
On January 9th, President Donald Trump in conjunction with the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) proposed sweeping regulatory revisions to rules that govern how the CEQ implements the National Environmental Policy Act...more
The Trump administration proposed rules intended to speed up approval of major projects subject to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), such as pipelines, power facilities, mines, highways, and other public...more
The Sierra Club and several other organizations (collectively “Sierra Club”) filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) in the United States District Court for the Western District of Washington...more
Welcome to CEQA News You Can Use, a quarterly production of Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP’s Natural Resources lawyers. This publication provides quick, useful bites of CEQA news, which we hope can be a resource to your...more
Judge Delivers Major Setback to Trump Policy to Increase Coal Mining on Federal Land - "But the court ruling does say that the 2017 Trump administration policy, enacted by former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, to overturn...more
Trump Said to Seek Limits on State Power in Pipeline Approvals - "Trump's order comes as the president continues to chafe at regulatory barriers he says throttle the full potential of American 'energy dominance,' while...more
FERC released its final EIS for the Driftwood LNG Project (Project) on January 18, 2019. The Project involves (1) the construction and operation of an LNG Facility and its five appurtenant LNG plant facilities to liquefy...more
The United States Court of Appeals (District of Columbia Circuit) (“Court”) in a December 27th Judgment addressed an appeal of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) approval of proposed upgrades to two New England...more
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals (“Court”) in a July 17th opinion addressed a challenge to two Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“Commission”) Orders authorizing facilities to export natural gas from the United States to...more
Within the past few weeks, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has issued some very significant rulings regarding the construction of new natural gas pipelines. ...more
EPA Chief Looks to Distinguish Himself from Pruitt in Agency-Wide Memo - "The new head of the EPA sent a staff-wide memo laying out steps the agency is taking to increase transparency, a move that's seen as an effort to...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit (“5th Circuit”) overturned a United States District Court’s grant of a preliminary injunction preventing Bayou Bridge from constructing a pipeline in part through the...more
A number of environmental organizations filed a Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”)in the United States District Court for Middle District of Louisiana challenging certain federal permits and...more
Virginia Agency Takes Unexpected Step that Could Delay Gas Pipeline Project - "The State Water Control Board approved permits for the $5 billion Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which is backed by Dominion Energy, but took the...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit’s recent decision in Sierra Club v. FERC (Southeast Market Pipelines Project), No. 16-1329 (D.C. Cir. 2017), has already had an impact on the natural gas industry and resulted in...more
The United States has one of the most extensive natural gas pipeline networks in the world. This vast network enables the ongoing switch away from coal-fired generation and toward a renewables and natural gas-based electric...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week vacated and remanded a 2016 Order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that had authorized construction and operation of the Southeast Market Pipelines...more