The Trump administration is offering coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities an opportunity to obtain exemptions from Clean Air Act (CAA) requirements designed to reduce emissions of chemicals such as mercury,...more
On March 13, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it would move forward with reconsideration of the Greenhouse Gas Endangerment Finding (Endangerment Finding) as directed in President Trump’s Executive Order...more
The Biden administration's rule requiring the payment of a fee for methane emissions has effectively been rescinded, although, for now at least, the statutory provision imposing the fee remains in effect along with other...more
The Biden administration introduced wide-ranging environmental regulations with profound and far-reaching effects on the environment and the economy. In its first two weeks, the Trump administration has signaled an attempt...more
With unified control of Congress and the White House, Republicans are primed to use the CRA to swiftly overturn regulations promulgated in the final months of the Biden Administration. The Congressional Review Act (CRA)...more
On June 30, 2021, President Biden signed into law a joint resolution of Congress repealing a Trump administration rule that removed methane as a pollutant regulated under the Clean Air Act in the oil and gas industry...more
On April 29, 2021, the Senate passed a resolution (the “Resolution”) to disapprove a rule adopted by the Trump administration which lifted certain requirements that had been put in place by an Obama-era methane rule, also...more
As discussed in this previous post, the state of methane regulation for the oil and gas industry has been in flux over the past few years as federal regulations issued by the Obama administration were challenged in court and...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
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has proposed rulemaking revisions to the regulation of methane and volatile organic compounds ("VOCs"). The proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on...more
This is the eighth issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from...more
This is the second issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the next 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from across...more
Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills receive non-hazardous waste from residential properties, commercial businesses, and institutions. When MSW is placed in a lined landfill and covered, it decomposes and emits a gas into...more
As expected, the Trump administration has been actively engaged in efforts to reverse the federal government’s regulatory direction with respect to climate change. In 2017, President Donald Trump announced plans to withdraw...more
Although the fight remains ongoing, a recent U.S. Court of Appeals decision requires the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to immediately enforce Obama-era rules intended to reduce emissions from new oil and gas...more
On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the Paris climate agreement (“Paris Agreement”). The Paris Agreement was signed by 195 countries in December of 2015. The goal of the...more