The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
Litigating During COVID: What You Need to Know
Good morning! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past week and forthcoming climate-related events and hearings...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a set of rules aimed at cutting air, water, and land pollution from fossil fuel-fired plants. The rules would require existing coal-fired and new gas-fired...more
On April 25, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed four final rules representing multi-media regulation (air, water, waste, climate) for the utility sector. Individually, each rule would have been notable for...more
Good afternoon! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past two weeks and forthcoming climate-related events and...more
Coal production and mining jobs over the past half-century have been influenced by several factors, principally demand from the utility sector, technological breakthroughs in natural gas production, railroad deregulation, and...more
Pennsylvania and RGGI – Decision and Resolution - On November 1, 2023, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, in a five-judge panel decision, issued a long-awaited ruling denying the authority of the executive branch,...more
In early August 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a proposed denial of Alabama’s permit program to manage coal combustion residuals (CCR) in landfills and surface impoundments within the state. The...more
In a world of solar power, green energy, and electric cars, it is sometimes surprising to consider how much of a political hot potato good ol’ fashioned coal remains. There are more than 300 coal-fired power plants still...more
An Uncertain Future for Nuclear Generation - As countries and companies around the world set goals for renewable energy targets, there is constant uncertainty as to the best path for reaching these goals. While wind and...more
Last week, Judge Donald Malloy vacated the Environmental Assessment for the Bull Mountains Mine No. 1 in central Montana. Judge Malloy had already vacated the EA once; when the 9th Circuit affirmed Judge Malloy’s decision...more
With names like “boiler slag” and “bottom ash,” it’s no wonder that anyone who has ever heard of coal ash, or the coal combustion residuals (CCRs) produced from burning coal, assumes they are the basest forms of pollution....more
“A controversial natural gas pipeline in West Virginia appears dead for now after it failed to make next year’s spending bill from Congress.” Why this is important: With apologies to Mark Twain, the reports of the...more
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a forceful rebuke against what it found to be agency overreach. West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 20-1530 (June 30, 2022)....more
On January 11, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a new interpretation of its coal combustion residual (CCR) regulations: CCR landfills or surface impoundments “cannot be closed with coal ash in contact...more
German Regulator Puts Brake on Nord Stream 2 in Fresh Blow to Gas Pipeline - "First flows through the pipeline look very unlikely in the first half of 2022, he added." Why this is important: It is estimated that Russia...more
In a first, U.S. declares shortage on Colorado River, forcing water cuts - The New York Times – August 16 - With climate change and long-term drought continuing to take a toll on the Colorado River, the federal Bureau of...more
Texas is now the third state with an approved CCR permit program. On June 28, 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency published the approval of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s partial State Coal Combustion...more
This is a brief account of some of the important environmental and administrative law cases recently decided. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Pakdel v. City and County of San Francisco - On June 28, 2021, the Supreme Court decided...more
EPA has promulgated a final rule declining to impose final assurance requirements on the electric power, petroleum and coal manufacturing, and chemical manufacturing industries to clean up spills of hazardous substances. ...more
Welcome to our first issue of 2021! We have been publishing a weekly edition of Currents since 2017 and hope that you find it informative and helpful. Our goal for 2021 is the same -- provide access to interesting and...more
Overview of the current energy mix, and the place in the market of different energy sources - Due in large part to the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. total energy consumption in 2020 is on pace to decline for a second straight...more
Feds Sued for Easing Regulations on Coal Ash - “'Many power plants could easily adopt affordable technologies that dramatically reduce toxic discharges, but with this rule, the EPA is telling their polluter friends not to...more
Corona-Induced CO2 Emission Reductions are Not Yet Detectable in the Atmosphere - "Based on current data measured in the energy, industry, and mobility sectors, restrictions of social life during the corona pandemic can be...more
U.S. Shale Producers Race for Federal Permits Ahead of Presidential Election - "Federal permitting in the largest U.S. oilfield in the Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico, is up 80 percent in about the last three...more
Coal Earnings Set to Plunge 50% in North America, Moody's Says - "Earnings for North American coal miners may plunge by more than half this year as the coronavirus pandemic makes a weak market even worse, according to...more