A recent report from the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission encourages financial regulators to consider the risks climate change poses to the US financial system and includes recommendations for addressing these risks....more
A decision by the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on June 30 rejected the near routine use by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission of tolling orders to prevent rehearing requests from being denied by operation of...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued a notice on May 20 that it will convene a Commissioner-led technical conference to consider the ongoing, serious impacts that the emergency conditions caused by the...more
In response to President Donald Trump’s declaration of a national emergency due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a notice that it does not intend to...more
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee on April 2, 2020, announced the commission’s plan to assist regulated entities in managing enforcement- and compliance- related burdens during the ongoing...more
A week after first issuing guidance identifying the workers considered essential for critical industries in the United States during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity...more
In response to the US president’s declaration of a national emergency due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, on March 20 the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a notice to operators...more
Commission Chairman Neil Chatterjee held a press conference on March 19 to discuss FERC’s work during the current pandemic, provide updates regarding the coronavirus (COVID-19), and respond to questions from the media. ...more
A cyberattack on a single gas compression facility resulted in the shutdown of a natural gas pipeline for two days, according to a recent alert from the US Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure...more
2/26/2020
/ Critical Infrastructure Sectors ,
Cyber Attacks ,
Cybersecurity ,
Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act (CISA) ,
Data Breach ,
Data Protection ,
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) ,
Emergency Response ,
Hackers ,
Information Technology ,
National Security ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Popular ,
Ransomware ,
Risk Management ,
Supply Chain ,
Threat Management
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA’s) long-awaited final rule on the minimum safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities (UNGSFs) was published in the February 12 Federal...more
2/19/2020
/ Energy Policy ,
Final Rules ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PHMSA ,
PIPES Act ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Safety Standards ,
Underground Storage Tanks
A declaratory order issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the Commission) on January 30 in Docket No. RP20-41-000 grants pipeline developers greater certainty in planning and siting construction. The order was...more
2/7/2020
/ Asset Seizure ,
Construction Project ,
Eminent Domain ,
Energy Projects ,
FERC ,
Infrastructure ,
Land Developers ,
Natural Gas ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Pipelines ,
Property ,
Property Ownership ,
Right of Way ,
Site Plans ,
State-Owned Enterprises
The White House’s Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) today published in the Federal Register a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) titled, “Update to the Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National...more
On June 14, the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit vacated and remanded two challenged orders and directed FERC to explain or reconsider whether data made available after a challenged rate increase becomes effective...more
Currently at issue before the US Court of Appeals for the First Circuit is whether the filed rate doctrine prevents a court from assessing the reasonableness of a utility’s rates in the retail market. Under the filed rate...more
Recent developments over the last several weeks have intensified the ongoing struggle between the current administration of President Donald Trump and the federal judicial system concerning energy policy as it relates to the...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
Rate reductions across the natural gas sector could materialize as a result of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s ongoing investigation of benefits gained by the recent reduction in the federal corporate income tax...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission recently issued two orders intended to alleviate concerns that jurisdictional natural gas pipelines may be over-recovering cost-of-service rates due to (1) a reduction of the federal...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is seeking stakeholder comments through a Notice of Inquiry as it contemplates updating its policy statement on how FERC-jurisdictional facilities are reviewed and authorized....more
Over a half dozen natural gas rate proceedings are expected to be initiated in 2018, many of which will raise issues such as the impact of the new tax laws on rates and the inclusion of a pipeline modernization tracker in...more
Court rules that FERC policy permitting a tax allowance for pass-through entities may unjustifiably permit “double-recovery” of tax expense.
On July 1, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued...more
7/21/2016
/ Administrative Procedure Act ,
Appeals ,
Arbitrary and Capricious ,
Business Entities ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Interstate Commerce ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Pass-Through Entities ,
Pipelines ,
REIT ,
Tax Allocation Agreements ,
Tax Allowances ,
Tax Liability ,
United Airlines
The newly enacted legislation further bolsters PHMSA’s growing oversight of storage and pipeline transport facilities.
On June 22, US President Barack Obama signed the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and...more
6/29/2016
/ Barack Obama ,
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) ,
Department of Transportation (DOT) ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Federal Agency Taskforce ,
FERC ,
Hazardous Substances ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
PHMSA ,
Pipelines ,
PIPES Act ,
Public Safety
Movants must clear high hurdle once parties reach settlement in principle.
On March 9, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC or the Commission) issued an order in Maritimes & Northeast Pipeline, LLC (Maritimes...more
3/15/2016
/ Administrative Appeals ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Federal Power Act ,
FERC ,
Intervenors ,
Limitation Periods ,
Natural Gas Act ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Standard of Review
Decision establishes framework for future rulings that covenants in midstream agreements do not run with the land.
On March 8, Judge Shelley C. Chapman of the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York...more