The Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published on Oct. 28, 2024, a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that recommends modernizing and simplifying the...more
On Sept. 30, 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Indiana released an opinion and order excluding the opinions of a proposed lithium-ion battery expert. The now dismissed case, American Home Assurance...more
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors passed a measure on Sept. 11, 2024, for the county fire department, in coordination with a battery storage consultant, to complete a technical study examining potential safety...more
On April 3, 2024, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report titled “Gas Pipeline Safety: Better Data and Planning Would Improve Implementation of Regulatory Changes.” The report, GAO-24-106690,...more
On Sept. 7, 2023, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled “Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Distribution and Other Pipeline Safety Initiatives.”...more
On Aug. 24, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced the forthcoming publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to improve safety...more
On Aug. 2, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced the grant of $64.4 million to states to improve the safety of pipelines and underground natural...more
On May 18, 2023, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) published a notice of proposed rulemaking intended to improve the detection and repair of leaks from...more
On Nov. 30, 2022, the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) aimed at enhancing cyber risk management in the pipeline and rail sectors. Indeed, the ANPRM...more
While utility companies and critical infrastructure companies have focused on digital sabotage and cybersecurity over the past few years, such companies must remain cognizant about continued risks of physical sabotage....more
As of October 6, 2022, operators of gas and hazardous liquid pipelines must comply with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (“PHMSA”) Final Rule on “Valve Installation and Minimum Rupture Detection...more
On July 8, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a notice of regulatory enforcement discretion for particular gathering lines. Gathering lines are those pipelines that transport gas...more
In Hall v. Rag-O-Rama, LLC, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit affirmed the decision of a district court that rejected Sally Hall’s breach of contract claims based on a poorly worded contract provision. The 6th...more
In WBI Energy Transmission, Inc. v. Easement and Right-of-Way Across, WBI Energy Transmission’s "Motion in Limine to Exclude Evidence or Testimony of Other Easement Transactions” was denied in a ruling filed April 1, 2021....more
Companies seeking to enforce eminent-domain power pursuant to the Natural Gas Act (NGA) and FERC certificates should continue to monitor PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey and its progeny. 938 F.3d 96, 99 (3rd. Cir. 2019)...more
The saga of J.B. Turner v. XTO Energy, Inc. reached another milestone on Feb. 25, 2021, when the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted summary judgment in favor of XTO Energy on Turner's claims of breach of contract and...more
As expected, President Biden’s first days in office were marked by a number of executive orders and other actions aimed at unwinding Trump-era environmental policies. For example, President Biden rejoined the Paris Agreement,...more
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, plaintiffs continue to file class actions, shouldering defendants with potentially massive discovery costs. With the economic slowdown associated with the pandemic, businesses face...more
On Oct. 30, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit issued a precedential opinion confirming what other federal courts already have made reasonably clear — that natural gas transmission companies operating under the...more
On Dec. 4, 2016, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced that it will not decide on Dakota Access LLC’s easement application until the Corps prepares an environmental impact statement. The decision is significant in that...more
On June 22, President Obama signed into law a new pipeline safety bill — the “Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016,” known as the PIPES Act of 2016. The law reauthorizes and funds the...more
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has published its final rule regarding the Sanitary Transportation of Human and Animal Food (“Sanitary Transport Rule”). Applicable to shippers, loaders, receivers, and carriers of...more
In an action immediately challenged in court, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) finalized a long-anticipated rule (the “ELD Rule”) to require use of electronic logging devices (ELDs) by all drivers...more
On Monday, November 30, 2015, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) published a long-anticipated rule regarding Prohibiting Coercion of Commercial Motor Vehicle Drivers (the “Driver Coercion Rule”). The new...more