In this special Eyes on Washington mini-series, energy attorneys Elizabeth Craddock and Jim Noe provide insights on the potential trajectory of a second Trump Administration in relation to oil and gas policies. Ms. Craddock...more
In this insightful episode of our "Eyes on Washington" election mini-series, Holland & Knight Partners Elizabeth "Liz" Craddock and Jim Noe explore what a potential Harris Administration could mean for the oil and gas...more
A federal court has thrown out key Endangered Species Act (ESA) analyses of oil and gas operations in the Gulf of Mexico, which will be vacated as of Dec. 20, 2024. The United States District Court for the District of...more
8/30/2024
/ Administrative Agencies ,
Administrative Procedure ,
Administrative Procedure Act ,
BOEM ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Fully Protected Species ,
Gulf of Mexico ,
Gulf Oil Spill ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Maritime Transport ,
National Marine Fisheries Service ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Spills ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act ,
Pending Litigation ,
Wildlife Protection
After two years of continuous behind-the-scenes work, Sen. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va), who chairs the U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, joined by Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), released S. 4753, the Energy...more
8/7/2024
/ Coal ,
Congressional Committees ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
Federal Land ,
FERC ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Mineral Leases ,
Mining ,
Natural Gas ,
NEPA ,
Offshore Lease ,
Oil & Gas ,
Operational Permits ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Renewable Energy ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
Transmission Grid ,
Transmission Planning
Recent congressional activity highlights the changing environment for cannabis regulation. Specifically, U.S. Congress is moving forward with legislation that will change the regulation of hemp-derived products. The industry...more
7/29/2024
/ Appropriations Bill ,
Cannabis Products ,
Congressional Committees ,
Controlled Substances Act ,
DEA ,
Department of Agriculture ,
Farm Bill ,
Hemp ,
Proposed Amendments ,
Proposed Legislation ,
THC ,
USDA
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) on June 21, 2024, released a $850 million Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas...more
6/24/2024
/ Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Funding ,
Funding Opportunities ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas
The U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture completed its markup of the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 (Farm Bill) on May 24, 2024, and passed the proposed legislation 33-21, with four Democrats –...more
5/28/2024
/ Agricultural Sector ,
Commercial Loans ,
Commodities ,
Credit ,
Crop Insurance ,
Crops ,
Economic Development ,
Energy Sector ,
Farm Bill ,
Foreign Investment ,
Forestry ,
Hemp ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Trade Policy ,
USDA
The House Committee on Agriculture and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry issued their frameworks for the 2024 Farm Bill on May 1, 2024. The House approach emphasizes enhancements to the farmer safety...more
5/6/2024
/ Agricultural Land ,
Congressional Committees ,
Conservation ,
Exports ,
Farm Bill ,
Federal Funding ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Livestock Protocol ,
Tribal Lands ,
USDA ,
USTR
Majority staff from the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Agriculture laid out their plan this week to reauthorize the Farm Bill, a 12-title, multibillion-dollar package of programs to support farmers, provide...more
For a decade, the U.S. Department of the Interior has wrestled with financial assurance (or bonding) requirements for offshore oil and gas companies. Over the last 10 years, the Interior Department has released – and later...more
4/17/2024
/ BOEM ,
Bonds ,
Credit Ratings ,
Decommissioned Facilities ,
Department of the Interior ,
Final Rules ,
Leases ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Offshore Lease ,
Oil & Gas ,
Performance Bonds ,
Public Comment
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (ACE) on March 22, 2024, announced its plans for enhancing the protection of the country's wetlands following the U.S. Supreme Court's Sackett v. EPA decision. In Sackett, the Supreme Court...more
3/26/2024
/ Clean Water Act ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) ,
Inland Waterways ,
Loss Mitigation ,
Memorandum of Understanding ,
Navigable Waters ,
Rehabilitation and Restoration Plans ,
Sackett ,
Sackett v EPA ,
SCOTUS ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States ,
Wetlands
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signaled in mid-February 2024 that they plan to release a Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) to issue $1 billion through financial...more
2/27/2024
/ Competitive Bidding ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Funding Opportunities ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Oil Wells
President Joe Biden on Jan. 26, 2024, announced a pause on pending decisions for permits to export liquified natural gas (LNG) to non-free trade agreement countries until the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) can update the...more
1/30/2024
/ Administrative Review ,
Applications ,
Biden Administration ,
Department of Energy (DOE) ,
Energy Information Association (EIA) ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Exports ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
National Security ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits
After months of delay, the U.S. Department of the Interior auctioned off 1.7 million acres for offshore oil and gas leases during Lease Sale 261 on Dec. 20, 2023. (See Holland & Knight's previous alert, "Interior Department...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced its final rule on Dec. 2, 2023, to sharply reduce emissions of methane and other air pollution from oil and natural gas operations. The final action, which is more than...more
12/6/2023
/ Air Pollution ,
Compliance ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Pollution Control ,
Recordkeeping Requirements ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Storage Tanks
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on Nov. 14, 2023, dismissed claims brought by environmental groups challenging offshore oil and gas Lease Sale 261. The court ordered that the sale take place within 37 days of...more
11/16/2023
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
BOEM ,
Department of the Interior ,
Dismissals ,
Endangered Species ,
Endangered Species Act (ESA) ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Offshore Lease ,
Oil & Gas
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Clean Ports Program is a $3 billion program established by the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to fund zero-emission (ZE) port equipment and technology, as well as assist U.S....more
11/6/2023
/ Air Quality Standards ,
Climate Change ,
Cost-Sharing ,
Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Diesel Fuel ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Federal Highway Administration ,
Fishing Industry ,
Grants ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Infrastructure ,
Ports ,
Tribal Lands
The U.S. Department of the Interior on Sept. 29, 2023, announced its long-awaited Five-Year Offshore Leasing Plan as required by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (the Plan)....more
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced $300 million in funding for projects to help the aviation sector reach net-zero emissions by 2050. The application window is now open for $245 million in Fueling Aviation's...more
10/2/2023
/ Aerospace ,
Aviation Industry ,
Biofuel ,
Competitive Bidding ,
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ,
Federal Funding ,
Federal Grants ,
Fuel Supply ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Sustainability ,
Sustainable Projects
The U.S. Department of the Interior, through its Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), published a proposed rule on June 29, 2023, to significantly modify how the agency assesses the offshore oil and gas industry's...more
When the 118th Congress convenes in January 2023, congressional activity on energy, environment and climate issues is expected to change dramatically as a result of the U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 8, 2022. With results now...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Nov. 11, 2022, announced at COP27 its plans to strengthen proposed standards to reduce methane emissions and other air pollutants. While the proposed regulation is complex and...more
The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) authorized the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF), a $27 billion clean energy deployment bank housed at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The GGRF is the largest single pot of...more
The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains several new provisions related to methane emissions impacting oil and gas companies, including upstream and midstream. Companies who already report emissions to the...more
8/30/2022
/ Clean Air Act ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Land ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Regulatory Standards ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Royalties
The Inflation Reduction Act (the Act), which passed the U.S. Senate on Aug. 7, 2022, requires that previously announced offshore lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska be held during the next two years....more