The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
In early April, President Trump issued several energy-related presidential actions aimed at reviving the coal industry. These actions could boost the domestic coal industry, including by rolling back environmental regulations...more
New Executive Orders and Proclamation - On April 8, 2025, President Donald J. Trump issued three significant executive orders (“EOs”) and a fourth proclamation consistent with his pledge to “Unleash American Energy.” These...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
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 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
A Bad Day for Big Oil - "ExxonMobil, Chevron lose key shareholder votes and Dutch court orders Shell to cut emissions faster." Why this is important: Issues related to climate change embroiled three oil companies this...more
Welcome to Currents, our weekly publication providing insights to the latest energy news and U.S. EIA statistics. Currents is different from other e-newsletters in that it not only provides current energy articles, but it...more
New Law Pushes Appalachian Power Toward More Renewable Energy - "Appalachian — which for years has relied heavily on coal and more recently natural gas to serve about 500,000 western Virginia customers — will acquire 210...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
Trump Administration Approves Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for Land Leasing, Oil Drilling - "The Trump administration continues to roll back environmental protections and opening doors for the fossil fuel industry in...more
U.S. Banks Prepare to Seize Energy Assets as Shale Boom Goes Bust - "Major U.S. lenders are preparing to become operators of oil and gas fields across the country for the first time in a generation to avoid losses on loans...more
Is the world hurtling irreversibly toward incinerating, extinction-causing, fossil-fuel induced destruction while we’re doing nothing about it? Maybe not, if you consider overlooked and ignored sources of information....more
On January 17, a divided panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit held in Juliana v. United States that a coalition of young people lacked standing to require the federal government to develop a plan to “phase...more
Focus - U.S. appeals court orders dismissal of young people's lawsuit over climate change - U.S. News & World Report – January 17 - A federal appeals court on Friday threw out a lawsuit by children and young adults...more
Energy Infrastructure Attacks are ‘Probable’: Oil Traders Fear Supply Disruptions in the Middle East - "A dramatic escalation of geopolitical tensions will most likely result in an unplanned oil supply shortage in the...more
The U.S. is Set to Become the World's Biggest Oil Exporter Thanks to the Fracking Revolution - "The U.S. shale revolution has made it to one of the world's largest energy producers and potentially the largest oil exporter...more
Plastics: The New Coal in Appalachia? "With little notice nationally, a new petrochemical and plastics manufacturing hub may be taking shape along 300 miles of the upper reaches of the Ohio River, from outside Pittsburgh...more
What happened? The Chief Judge of the NSW Land and Environment Court in Australia has upheld the decision of the NSW Minister for Planning's delegate to refuse planning approval for the proposed Rocky Hill Coal Project...more
Outlined in an Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") proposal published on August 31, 2018, the Affordable Clean Energy ("ACE") rule would replace the Obama Administration's Clean Power Plan ("CPP"). A 60-day public comment...more
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued a proposed rule to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from existing coal-fired power plants, a replacement for the Clean Power Plan (CPP) finalized by the Obama...more
Activists Have a New Strategy to Block Gas Pipelines: State's Rights - "It already has worked in New York where construction on the Constitution Pipeline has stalled. Now activists are trying the strategy in Oregon." ...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
Study Finds No Evidence of Groundwater Contamination Attributable to Natural Gas Development - "A multi-year study conducted by researchers at the University of Cincinnati, and partly funded by organizations opposed to...more
Ohio Supreme Court Joins Texas and Oklahoma in Holding the State Does Not Recognize a Separate Implied Covenant to Explore Further - "We conclude that Ohio does not recognize an 'implied covenant to explore further'...more