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
In a rebuke to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”), the United States Supreme Court unanimously held on May 31, 2016, in Corps v. Hawkes that jurisdictional determinations (“JDs”) under the Clean Water Act are...more
As part of President Obama’s Climate Action Plan: Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) on May 12, 2016 released a suite of final actions and a proposed action that are focused...more
Pennsylvania is currently a hotbed of regulatory initiatives focused on the oil and gas industry. The Environmental Quality Board, for example, will decide on February 3 whether to adopt the Department of Environmental...more
On October 9, 2015, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a stay of the Obama Administration’s new rule defining the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act. The stay postpones...more
On August 18, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a suite of regulatory actions aimed at reducing methane and volatile organic compound (“VOC”) emissions from the oil and gas sector....more
9/21/2015
/ Clean Air Act ,
Climate Change ,
Compliance ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fracking ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
Obama Administration ,
Oil & Gas ,
Ozone ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
On July 6, 2015, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit unanimously rejected a challenge brought by agricultural and builder groups to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Chesapeake Bay...more
7/16/2015
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Agricultural Land ,
Chesapeake Bay ,
Chevron Deference ,
Clean Water Act ,
Compliance ,
Discharge of Pollutants ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Farm Bureau ,
Farms ,
Industrial Discharges ,
Municipalities ,
NPDES ,
Sediment Control ,
TMDL ,
Wastewater ,
Watershed
On May 27, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) jointly released a final rule (the “Clean Water Rule”) redefining the scope of their shared jurisdiction under...more
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)
On October 3, 2014, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (“PADEP”) unveiled a new draft policy that would strengthen its compliance and enforcement protocols for both unconventional and conventional oil and...more
In 2007, the Supreme Court told the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) it was wrong to conclude that it lacked the authority to regulate greenhouse gases (GHGs) emitted from vehicles, because GHGs are an “air...more
On May 30, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA’s”) attempt to preserve an expansive view of what constitutes a single source of air emissions under...more
On March 25, 2014, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) jointly released a long-awaited proposed rulemaking that would redefine the scope of their shared jurisdiction...more
Attorney General Kathleen Kane’s recent actions concerning the application of strict liability criminal offenses under Pennsylvania’s environmental laws present a new challenge for the oil and gas industry in Pennsylvania....more
Introduction -
On December 21, 2012, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) issued a new guidance memorandum (the “Page Memorandum”) on single source determinations for the oil and gas industry under the Clean...more