Latest Publications

Share:

Berkeley Seeks Re-Hearing of Ninth Circuit’s Decision on Natural Gas Ban Preemption

In April, a three-judge panel in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that the City of Berkeley’s ordinance prohibiting natural gas infrastructure in new buildings was preempted by federal law. In June, Berkeley asked the...more

Cyberattacks on the Energy Sector Continue to Rise

Cyberattacks on the energy sector have been rapidly growing since 2017, and we saw an all-time high of cyberattack events on the sector in 2022. The energy sector is particularly vulnerable due to these types of attacks due...more

California’s Senate Passes Ambitious Climate Disclosure Mandate—Will it Survive the State Assembly?

While the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) has been working on its climate disclosure rulemaking for the past 15 months, the California legislature may end up beating it to the punch. The SEC first announced...more

Regional Hydrogen Hubs: Getting Clean Hydrogen Where It Needs to Go

[This is the third post in our Hydrogen Blog Series. Read the rest of the series here.] In the last post, we identified that costs are one of clean hydrogen’s the biggest barriers.  Another barrier is the lack of sufficient...more

Physical and Cyber-Attacks on Energy Infrastructure Expected to Continue

Over the past several years, the energy sector has become a prime target for hacking and ransomware attacks, with over 40 attacks on the industry since 2017.  Cyber attacks have only continued to rise, with a record high of...more

EPA’s Proposed RFS Rule: Impacts on Biogas and RNG

Last month’s proposed rulemaking for the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) from the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed significant changes to the RFS Program, which we summarized in a prior post. One of the major...more

EPA Proposes Major Biofuels Regulation

On December 1, 2022, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a sweeping new rule for the Renewable Fuel Standards (“RFS”) Program, the federal government’s flagship program for facilitating the production of...more

UPDATE: Massachusetts Senate Passes Bill Which Will Make Major Changes to Cannabis Policy in the State

Back in February, we blogged about the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy (the “Committee”) releasing a cannabis bill (H. 174/S. 72) through Committee without any opposition. This bill proposed major changes to...more

CISA, FBI, and DOE Release Joint Cybersecurity Advisory in Light of Increased Threats to Energy Sector’s Cybersecurity

On March 24, 2022, the Department of Justice unsealed two indictments charging four Russian government employees in two hacking campaigns that targeted critical infrastructure in the energy sector. We cover these indictments...more

US Unseals Indictments of Four Russian Government Employees in Connection with Cyber Attacks on Energy Sector

The United States Department of Justice unsealed two indictments in March involving four Russian government employees who have been charged in connection with two separate hacking conspiracies targeting the global energy...more

Massachusetts Legislature Plans Big Changes for Cannabis Policy in the Commonwealth

Last week, the Massachusetts Joint Committee on Cannabis Policy (the “Committee”) released a new cannabis bill (H 174/S 72, the “Bill”) through the Committee without any opposition. The bill proposes major changes to host...more

Cybersecurity 2022 – The Year in Preview: Continued Threats to Nation’s Energy Supply as Regulators Race to Keep Up

Continued Threats of Ransomware Attacks - As we reported in our 2021 Year in Preview series, we began 2021 anticipating that ransomware would be a serious threat to critical energy infrastructure. These concerns were...more

New MEPA Rules Mean Big Changes For Practitioners and Developers

In compliance with the Climate Roadmap Act, the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) Office has released the final version of its new regulations and two final protocols regarding new MEPA review procedures to...more

2021 Year-in-Review

2021 has been a big year for the cannabis industry. We have seen several states pass legislation either permitting adult use, or permitting or expanding a medical marijuana program. Some states have introduced new license...more

Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Issues Draft Guidance on Hemp; Public Comments Accepted Through December 15

On November 23, 2021, the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission (CCC) released Draft Guidance on Hemp (Draft Guidance). Pursuant to a 2020 amendment, adult-use cannabis establishments licensed by the CCC are permitted...more

Massachusetts Legislature Mulls Sports Betting Proposals

August 10, 2021 Massachusetts legislators are currently considering proposals to legalize sports betting in Massachusetts, which would permit individuals 21 and over to place bets on professional and college sports and...more

Schumer Proposes Federal Decriminalization of Cannabis

On Wednesday, July 14, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer (NY), Senator Cory Booker (NJ), and Senator Ron Wyden (OR) introduced a draft bill to decriminalize marijuana at the federal level. The draft discussion of the...more

The Government’s Swift Response to Pipeline Cyberattack: Executive Order and TSA Security Directive

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

Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission Launches New Delivery License

As of Friday, May 28, the Cannabis Control Commission (“CCC”) has announced that Certified Economic Empowerment Applicants and Social Equity Program Participants (“EE/SE Participants”) are able to apply for pre-certification...more

Colonial Pipeline Cyberattack Highlights Vulnerability of Nation’s Energy Sector

This post is a follow up from our recent discussion of the cyberattack that took the 5,500-mile Colonial Pipeline offline last week and the growing threat ransomware poses to our nation’s energy system. On May 10, 2021, a...more

The SAFE Banking Act Passes in the House, but its Fate in the Senate Remains Unclear

On April 19, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Secure and Fair Enforcement (SAFE) Banking Act in a 321-101 vote. The bill has benefitted from bipartisan support after being co-sponsored by a large group of both...more

SAFE Has Been Re-introduced with Bipartisan Support

The SAFE Banking Act is back. First introduced in 2019, the Secure and Fair Enforcement Act (“SAFE”) passed in the House but died in the Republican-controlled Senate. Now, the bill has been reintroduced in both the House and...more

Merrick Garland Signals New Stance on Marijuana Policy if Confirmed as Attorney General

Prior to his Judiciary Committee confirmation hearing last week, Judge Merrick Garland had not clarified his views on marijuana policy and how he would approach the issue if confirmed as Attorney General. However, after his...more

Massachusetts’ Highest Court to Hear Two Cases on Municipality Discretion in Cannabis Licensing

On February, 3, the highest court in Massachusetts, the Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) will hear two cases involving municipalities’ scope of authority in allowing adult-use cannabis businesses, Mederi Inc. v. City of Salem...more

24 Results
 / 
View per page
Page: of 1

"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"

Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra:
*By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.
- hide
- hide