On July 7, almost a year and a half after the proposed rules were published, the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)...more
The federal district court in the state of Wyoming recently enjoined the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) from regulating hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”), effectively ending, at least for now, the federal government’s...more
On June 28, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued two opinions that uphold the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) approach to reviewing environmental impacts of liquefied...more
On June 22, 2016 the President signed into law the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) reauthorization bill, the Securing America’s Future Energy: Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines...more
Welcome to the Spring 2016 edition of Environmental Policy Quarterly, published jointly by the Environmental, Land and Natural Resources Practice Group and the Public Policy and Law Practice Group of K&L Gates. Environmental...more
The federal agency responsible for regulating the safety of natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines has been in the spotlight recently as both chambers of Congress focused on reauthorizing the Department of...more
On 16 February 2016, the European Commission published a Sustainable Energy Security package that aims to minimize natural gas supply disruptions across Europe. In addition to efforts to manage increasing natural gas demand...more
On November 3, 2015, U.S. President Barack Obama issued a Presidential Memorandum (Memorandum) that potentially opens the door to agency attempts to expand mitigation obligations beyond what is required under law while also...more
On July 16, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued an order (“July 16 Order”) denying the request by the Process Gas Consumers Group (“PGC”) and the American Forest and Paper...more
On April 16, 2015, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued a Policy Statement on Cost Recovery Mechanisms for Modernization of Natural Gas Facilities (the “Policy.Statement”), opening...more
On April 15, 2015, Norman Bay assumed the chairmanship of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”). Prior to taking the chairman’s role, Chairman Bay was appointed to the Commission in July 2014 after five years of...more
On February 25, 2015, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) published two final policy letters on the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) as a marine fuel. Released in draft form in February 2014, the policy letters address...more
Over the last three decades, federal agencies have increasingly used “interpretations” to “explain” what a formal regulation means, rather than to go through the more expensive, complicated and slow process of changing the...more
In recent years, the energy industry has expressed significant interest in investigating submerged lands on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) in the Arctic for commercial quantities of oil and natural gas. The...more
2/25/2015
/ Arctic Drilling ,
BOEM ,
BSEE ,
Energy Sector ,
Exploration and Production Assets ,
Legal History ,
NPRM ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Well Drilling
In recent years, the proliferation of oil and gas production, transmission, and distribution activities in the United States has led to a number of regulatory initiatives by state and federal agencies designed to manage new...more
2/4/2015
/ Clean Air Act ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Methane ,
NAAQS ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Power Plants ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
Federal elections held nationwide on November 4 ushered in Republican control of the U.S. Senate and expanded the Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Republicans now hold majorities in both houses of...more
On September 4, 2014, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) issued declaratory orders in response to two petitions, each seeking a jurisdictional determination under the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”)...more
On Thursday, 29 May 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) announced a proposed change to the procedures it will use to process applications to export LNG to non-free trade agreement (“non-FTA”) countries. This is a...more
6/6/2014
/ Applications ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Exports ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas ,
NEPA ,
Non-FTA Countries ,
Oil & Gas ,
Proposed Amendments
On March 24, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") issued an order authorizing Jordan Cove Energy Project, LP (“Jordan Cove”) to export liquefied natural gas ("LNG") from the Jordan Cove LNG Terminal in Coos Bay,...more
On February 11, 2014, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") issued an order authorizing Sempra’s Cameron LNG to export liquefied natural gas ("LNG") from the Cameron Terminal in Cameron Parish, Louisiana to nations with which...more
On December 31, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”), in a case of first impression, confirmed its jurisdiction over and its intention to regulate the economic and operational aspects of the interstate...more
On November 15, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") issued an order (available here) authorizing Freeport LNG Expansion, LP; FLNG Liquefaction, LLC; FLNG Liquefaction 2, LLC; and FLNG Liquefaction 3, LLC;...more
On Wednesday, September 11, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") issued an order authorizing Dominion Cove Point LNG, LP ("Cove Point") to export liquefied natural gas ("LNG") from the Cove Point LNG Terminal, in...more
On August 7, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy ("DOE") issued an order authorizing Lake Charles Exports, LLC ("Lake Charles") to export liquefied natural gas ("LNG") from the Trunkline LNG terminal, its affiliate's terminal...more
On May 17, 2013, the U.S. Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued an order authorizing the Freeport LNG Terminal (“Freeport”) in Quintana Island, Texas to export liquefied natural gas (“LNG”) to nations with which the United...more