The Continuing Impact of Coal Ash - Energy Law Insights
Key Takeaways - - Pursuant to President Trump’s executive order seeking to maximize the secretary of energy’s emergency authority under Section 202(c) of the Federal Power Act, the secretary’s two new orders have halted the...more
As noted in this WSJ article, the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission recently raised concerns in a “joint statement of interest” that large asset managers – including the “Big Three” of BlackRock, Vanguard and...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
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a forceful rebuke against what it found to be agency overreach. West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 20-1530 (June 30, 2022)....more
West Virginia Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Horizontal Drilling Taxation Case Involving Antero - "At issue is a consumer sales tax assessment of around $1 million the West Virginia State Tax Department has levied on...more
U.S. Shale Producers Race for Federal Permits Ahead of Presidential Election - "Federal permitting in the largest U.S. oilfield in the Permian Basin, located in Texas and New Mexico, is up 80 percent in about the last three...more
ExxonMobil, Partners Discover Carbon Capture Technology for Industrial Sources - "A possible breakthrough in technology that could capture more than 90% of carbon dioxide emitted from industrial sources has been announced...more
BlackRock Inc. will sell out of all companies “that get more than 25% of sales from thermal coal.” This threshold, however, won’t affect larger, diversified miners—which includes some of the biggest coal shippers....more
Ride-hailing company Uber has resolved EEOC charges related to its alleged “culture of sexual harassment” and will “start a $4.4 million class fund to compensate victims of sexual harassment or retaliation from as early as...more
Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot are in the midst of merger talks that, if finalized, could “create a nearly $50 billion trans-Atlantic auto giant.” One option being bandied about in the “fluid” talks is an “all-share...more
Focus - PacifiCorp to add 7 GW of renewables and storage, close 20 of 24 coal plants - Utility Dive – October 3 - PacifiCorp plans to add nearly 7 gigawatts of renewable generation and storage capacity by 2025 and will...more
Romney Helps GOP Look for New Path on Climate Change - "But a group of Republicans -- Romney and Sens. Lamar Alexander and Lindsey Graham, who worked with Democrats in 2009 and 2010 to cap carbon emissions, as well as others...more
West Virginia Supreme Court Hears Oral Arguments in EQT Doddridge County Trespassing Case - "The state Supreme Court will decide if a lower court judge got it right when he ruled natural gas production company EQT trespassed...more
U.S. Global Change Research Program - Fourth National Climate Assessment - "Impacts, risks and adaptation in the United States Report-in-Brief" Why this is important: The assessment posits the U.S. will lose 10 percent of...more
New York Sues Exxon Mobil, Saying It Deceived Shareholders on Climate Change - "The litigation, which follows more than three years of investigation, represents the most significant legal effort yet to establish that a...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is a somewhat obscure and highly technical agency that was not discussed specifically during President Donald Trump’s campaign. Its regulatory footprint is, however,...more
Today marks just over a month since Donald Trump was elected as the next President of the United States. As each cabinet appointment is announced, we get more clues to help us predict which direction the Trump...more
President-Elect Donald Trump has promised to bring back jobs in the coal industry and reduce regulations that could inhibit economic growth. His transition team has already begun arriving at federal agencies to review the...more
Presidential elections matter. President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to drastically change the federal government’s role and policies in relation to energy, the environment and climate change. Reducing regulation...more
As Yogi Berra used to say: “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Coal plant operators shutting down their plants should remember this phrase. Even after they throw the breakers, go off the grid, are no longer contributing to the...more
New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman may be leading the way again. In the past the office has lead ground breaking investigations using New York’s Martin Act that presaged significant SEC investigations and actions....more
EPA’s recently issued Clean Power Plan (“CPP” or “Plan”) affects every state differently. The Plan has a decidedly nationwide impact—reducing the United States’ power plant greenhouse gas emissions 32 percent by the year...more
On July 14, 2015, after two years of sometimes intense negotiations, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Russia, and China (known as the “P5+1” countries), along with the European Union, signed a Joint...more