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
7/6/2023
/ Amicus Briefs ,
Appeals ,
Biden Administration ,
California ,
City of Berkeley ,
Energy Policy ,
Energy Policy and Conservation Act (EPCA) ,
Energy Sector ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
State Bans
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
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
[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
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
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
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
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
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
4/22/2022
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
FBI ,
Hackers ,
Joe Biden ,
Mitigation ,
Popular ,
Russia
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
4/22/2022
/ Criminal Prosecution ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cyber Crimes ,
Department of Justice (DOJ) ,
Energy Sector ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Hackers ,
Indictments ,
Joe Biden ,
Russia
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
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
2/2/2022
/ Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Data Protection ,
Data Security ,
Energy Sector ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
Hackers ,
NERC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Popular ,
Power Grid
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 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
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
12/8/2021
/ Cannabis Products ,
Comment Period ,
Draft Guidance ,
Hemp ,
Hemp Cultivation ,
Hemp Related Businesses ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government
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
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
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
6/7/2021
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Energy Policy ,
Executive Orders ,
Hackers ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Regulatory Oversight ,
Supply Chain ,
TSA
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
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
5/13/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Emergency Response ,
Executive Orders ,
FERC ,
GAO ,
Hackers ,
National Security ,
NERC ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Supply Chain ,
Threat Management
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
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
3/31/2021
/ American Bankers Association ,
Banking Sector ,
Cannabis Products ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
FinCEN ,
Marijuana ,
Marijuana Related Businesses ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Proposed Regulation ,
SAFE ,
Secretary of the Treasury
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
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