The permitting process has been identified by numerous commentators as a major cause of delays in the development of energy, infrastructure, and mining projects in the United States. ...more
At the February 15, 2024, FERC open meeting and in four orders issued the same day, FERC established a new policy governing its issuance of preliminary permits under section 4(f) of the Federal Power Act (“FPA”), pursuant to...more
On August 10, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) issued a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (“NOPR”) proposing to establish an integrated Coordinated Interagency Transmission Authorizations Program (“CITAP Program”) that...more
The Maryland General Assembly passed the Promoting Offshore Wind Energy Resources Act (POWER Act) on April 10, 2023, committing the state to develop 8.5 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind by 2031. The POWER Act also vaults...more
On September 21, Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, released the text of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2022 (Act). This comprehensive Act was set to be...more
On August 1, the Supreme Court of California upheld a decision by the Court of Appeal, which found that the Federal Power Act (FPA) preempts application of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) when the state is...more
On September 22, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) issued an order on rehearing (Rehearing Order), denying the U.S. Department of the Interior’s (Interior) request to include a requirement for a...more
As an example of its renewed focus on dam safety, FERC recently issued an order assessing a $600,000 civil penalty to Ampersand Cranberry Lake Hydro LLC for a violation of Ampersand’s hydro license for the 500 kW Cranberry...more
On April 21, 2022, FERC issued an order assessing a civil penalty of $600,000 to Ampersand Cranberry Lake Hydro, LLC (“Ampersand”), licensee for the 595 kilowatt (kW) Cranberry Lake Hydroelectric Project in St. Lawrence...more
On April 3, representatives of the hydropower industry, Native American tribes, and conservation organizations provided a package of proposed legislative reforms to the Federal Power Act (FPA) to the ranking members of the...more
On July 14, 2021, the City and County of Denver, Colorado, acting through its Board of Water Commissioners (“Denver Water”), filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, requesting...more
On June 24, 2021, FERC formally issued a public report that outlined its plan to establish the Office of Public Participation (OPP). The report stated that the OPP’s mission is to assist the public in learning about and...more
Below are summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's June 17, 2021 open meeting, pursuant to the agenda issued on June 10, 2021. Items E-5, E-10, and G-3 have not been summarized due to...more
FERC issued an original license for a period of 25 years, pursuant to Part I of the Federal Power Act, to Oregon State University (OSU) to construct, operate, and maintain the proposed PacWave South Hydrokinetic Project No....more
FERC has issued a notice of inquiry inviting comments on potential changes to its regulations requiring financial assurance measures in licenses and other authorizations for hydroelectric projects. As of December 2020, FERC...more
Below are brief summaries of the agenda items for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's June 18, 2020 meeting, pursuant to the agenda as issued on June 11, 2020. Due to COVID-19 and measures undertaken by government...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a February 20th document titled: Declaratory Order on Waiver of Water Quality Certification (“Order”)...more
Periods of volatility in energy prices cause spikes in energy companies’ bankruptcies. These bankruptcies lead to debtors’ attempts to reject power purchase agreements (“PPAs”). These attempts ignite the unresolved legal...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) requested comments on a proposed rulemaking to revise its regulations under the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (“PURPA”). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking...more
Frustrated by some states’ use of their Clean Water Act (CWA) section 401 authority to oppose or delay energy projects—particularly the transportation of fossil fuels—the Trump Administration last Friday issued the second...more
OVERVIEW - The United States has produced clean, renewable electricity from hydropower for more than 100 years. Today there are approximately 2,500 domestic dams and pumped-storage facilities that provide roughly 100...more
On October 4, 2017, in a decision with significant implications for the energy project finance community, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the “Commission”) granted a petition for declaratory order filed by...more
On December 9, 2016, a group of investors in renewable energy projects (“Petitioners”) asked the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to find that certain non-managing (i.e., passive) “tax equity” interests in public...more
Primarily relying on precedent from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth and D.C. Circuits, the U.S. District Court for the District of Maine recently dismissed an Endangered Species Act (ESA) lawsuit challenging two...more
This Advisory briefly reports on some of the significant U.S. Supreme Court actions from January through June 2016 related to environmental and administrative law. ...more