The Vital Importance of Pipeline and Transmission Infrastructure to Decarbonization - Energy Law Insights
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
Nota Bene Episode 97: The Seismic Changes Renewables Are Bringing to Energy Transmission and Its Infrastructure with Mark Sundback
Policy Minute: TSA Cybersecurity Roadmap for Pipelines
On January 7, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a decision—Citizens Action Coalition of Indiana, Inc. v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, 125 F.4th 229 (2025) ("Citizens Action")—affirming...more
In a February 7, 2025 decision in Simon v. Sunoco Pipeline LP, No. 2015-3302 (Wash. Cty. February 7, 2025), the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania concluded that Sunoco Pipeline LP and Sunoco Logistics...more
This EO establishes a policy to fully utilize Alaska's abundant natural resources. It directs federal agencies to rescind or revise restrictions, policies and environmental reviews implemented since January 2021 that limit...more
On December 20, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) upheld FERC’s order authorizing Stingray Pipeline Company, L.L.C. (“Stingray”) to abandon a portion of its...more
In a series of recent orders, the D.C. Circuit has renewed its prodding of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("Commission" or "FERC") to strengthen its environmental reviews of proposed pipeline projects. On July 30,...more
On November 27, 2024, in Venture Global, CP2 LNG, LLC,1 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC or Commission) explicitly overruled precedent set in Northern Natural Gas Co., a 2021 decision in which FERC made an...more
On July 30, 2024, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (“D.C. Circuit”) issued an opinion vacating and remanding FERC’s order approving Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company’s (“Transco”)...more
During recent Senate hearings pertaining to energy and appointment made by the Biden administration to the United States Department of Energy, some of the most interesting questions have been asked by Senator John Kennedy of...more
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz recently signed into law sweeping energy legislation designed to ease permitting burdens on renewable energy development and address interconnection and transmission congestion in the state (the...more
On March 21, 2024, FERC issued a Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) seeking additional information on whether the Commission should continue to allow interstate pipelines to package “high value” capacity with non-contiguous and...more
On January 18, 2024, FERC granted a certificate of public convenience and necessity to Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC (“Transco”) to construct and operate the Texas to Louisiana Energy Pathway Project (“Texas to...more
Our office routinely handles utility takings, which often involve partial takings of easements for transmission lines or pipelines. As governments attempt to improve the electrical grid to support the transportation of wind...more
In its May 26, 2023 opinion in Sierra Club v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit addressed challenges to its jurisdiction to hear appeals of...more
On May 26, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an opinion in Sierra Club v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission largely denying challenges to several FERC orders authorizing...more
On February 28, a French court dismissed an action filed by six French and Ugandan NGOs aiming to force the suspension of TotalEnergies’ multibillion-dollar oil pipeline project in Uganda and Tanzania. The NGOs based their...more
● Offshore Oil and Gas at Risk of Potentially Catastrophic Cyberattack: GAO - “The industry includes about 1,600 offshore oil and gas facilities that are highly dependent on remotely connected operational technology, the...more
On June 24, 2022, FERC issued orders approving settlement agreements resolving two investigations. The first involves whether a renewable generation developer, sPower Development Company, violated PJM Interconnection LLC's...more
On April 6, 2022, by a 5-4 vote in the case of Louisiana, et. al. v. American Rivers, et. al., the Supreme Court temporarily resurrected a Trump-era rule that sought to stop the practice of many states and tribes from...more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges over the last year. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
Action, or in some cases inaction, by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (Commission or FERC) during its last open meeting before the start of the Biden administration sent a strong message to the natural gas industry...more
Update: On September 15, 2020, the Army Corps published a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register (85 FR 57298) for the reissuance and modification of its Nationwide Permits....more
Linear infrastructure projects, including oil and gas pipelines, electric transmission lines and transportation, have faced a number of regulatory challenges in recent months. Some of these challenges stem from changes in...more
The Supreme Court’s decision on July 6 allows the Corps of Engineers to resume using Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP 12) to authorize certain types of utility line construction impacts to wetlands and waters of the United States in...more
I don’t like to speculate, so I won’t say that July 6, 2020, was the beginning of the end of fossil fuel infrastructure in the United States. I will say, with apologies to Judith Viorst, that it was a Terrible, Horrible, No...more