Good afternoon! This is Akin’s newsletter on climate change policy and regulatory developments, providing information on major climate policy headlines from the past few weeks and forthcoming climate-related events and...more
A question that occasionally arises with petroleum underground storage tanks (“USTs”) and aboveground storage tanks (“ASTs”) is the various parties that may be responsible for complying with the relevant federal and state...more
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is making changes to Chapter 600, the Oil Discharge Prevention and Pollution Control Rules for Marine Oil Terminals, Transportation Pipelines and Vessels. To receive...more
As discussed previously in Pierce Atwood’s Energy Infrastructure Blog, on June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection...more
Last week’s discussion of the Pennsylvania Grand Jury’s report on alleged failures in enforcement of hydraulic fracturing is worthy of a follow-up. Here, combined into one document, is the Grand Jury’s report, the Department...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit recently vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the construction of a new compressor station proposed by Algonquin...more
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for the construction of a new compressor station proposed by...more
On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit vacated an air permit issued by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and remanded the matter to the agency for further analysis. The...more
On July 22, 2019, Pennsylvania’s Commonwealth Court invalidated a natural gas well site restoration requirement set by the Department of Environmental Protection in 2016, ruling it is unenforceable. ...more
The US Supreme Court has denied a petition for certiorari filed by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, which challenged a decision by the US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit concerning Pennsylvania’s water quality...more
The United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (“Court”) addressed in a February 5th Summary Order (“Order”) the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s (“NYDEC”) denial of a Section 401 Clean...more
At the end of August, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (“NJDEP”) issued guidance that allows volatile organic compounds (“VOCs”) released to groundwater to be left in place under certain circumstances;...more
Pennsylvania DEP has committed to developing enhanced policies and procedures relating to future pipeline development projects. This new commitment comes as part of a July 27, 2018, settlement agreement between Pennsylvania...more
On June 7, 2018, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (the “Department”) announced the issuance of new general permits that fall in line with Pennsylvania’s commitment to...more
A peer-reviewed study from Penn State University’s Earth and Environmental Systems Institute has found that the heavy drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Bradford County, Pennsylvania has not negatively impacted groundwater. ...more
State Files Motion to Dismiss Federal Lawsuit by EQT - "Lawyers representing the Secretary of the state Department of Environmental Protection have filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit by the natural gas company EQT over a...more
In an Internal Memo, the White House Considered Whether to Simply 'Ignore' Federal Climate Research - "The document, drafted September 18 by Michael Catanzaro, President Trump's special assistant for domestic energy and...more
The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court recently ruled that a challenge to Sunoco Pipeline L.P.’s (“Sunoco”) Mariner East Project under Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution (the “Environmental Rights Amendment”...more
Earlier this week, on April 30, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) quietly modified its source determination test that is used to determine whether emissions from nearby and closely related sources should be...more
H.B. 4270 - Passed - March 10, 2018 - Signed by Governor - March 27, 2018 - Effective - June 8, 2018 - The Information Reporting and Payments to Owners bill (H.B. 4270) is a companion bill to the Cotenancy...more
Oil World Turns Upside Down as U.S. Sells Oil in Middle East - "Yet, in a trade that illustrates how the rise of the American shale industry is upending energy markets across the globe, the U.A.E. bought oil directly from...more
WV DEP Waives Clean Water Act Authority Over Atlantic Coast Pipeline - "The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection waived the state's authority under the federal Clean Water Act to determine if another major...more
As part of Governor Wolf’s strategy to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas sites, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection published draft final permit revisions for the new GP-5A, GP-5 and Exemption 38....more
On November 30, 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection issued in final form a new and a revised general permit meant to address methane emissions from the natural gas industry. The permits which were...more
In a majority decision issued June 20, 2017, with a complement of new Justices, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court issued a ruling placing further emphasis on the importance of Article I, Section 27 of the PA Constitution. The...more