Welcome to our sixth issue of Currents 2025. We are covering a multitude of issues in this edition, but we want to pass along a couple of announcements first. Again, thank you for reading! Amazon and Pennsylvania Join the...more
The White House announced on Monday that President Joe Biden would ban new offshore oil and gas drilling along most of the U.S. coastline. The order will protect 625 million acres of ocean along America’s Atlantic and Pacific...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and HOS Port, LLC (“HOS”) entered into an October 9th Consent Agreement and Final Order (“CAFO”) addressing alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and...more
Republicans have swept the 2024 elections, returning Donald Trump to the White House as the 47th President and flipping the Senate to a Republican majority. Having narrowly maintained control of the House of Representatives,...more
As detailed through previous Holland & Knight alerts and blogs detailing the Notice of Proposed Rule Making and Consent Decree that postponed completion of the Vessel Incident Discharge (VID) final rule until fall 2024, the...more
The WEC Rule would impose fees for oil and gas facilities reporting a certain amount of greenhouse gas emissions per year. On January 26, 2024, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal...more
The California Independent System Operator (CAISO) is the strongest market in the U.S. when it comes to using energy storage for renewable integration, grid optimization, and electrification and decentralization, with a 43.7...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced its National Enforcement and Compliance Initiatives for 2024-2027. The list includes first-time initiatives to mitigate exposure to per- and polyfluoroalkyl...more
Biden administration to restore climate criteria to NEPA - The New York Times – October 6 - The Biden administration on Wednesday announced that it would restore climate change protections to the nation’s bedrock...more
This is a brief report on new environmental law decisions, regulations and legislation. THE U.S. SUPREME COURT - Massachusetts Lobsterman’s Association v. Raimondo, Secretary of Commerce - On March 22, 2021, the Supreme...more
President-elect Biden will assume office in January, 2021, with a divided nation, the global coronavirus pandemic, and a domestic energy market in a distressed state. The new administration will need to oversee the management...more
Corona-Induced CO2 Emission Reductions are Not Yet Detectable in the Atmosphere - "Based on current data measured in the energy, industry, and mobility sectors, restrictions of social life during the corona pandemic can be...more
The IMO and the Price of Gas or The Impact of the International Maritime Organisation’s Sulphur 2020 Limit for Marine Fuel Oil on the Price of Gas - The main bunker fuel for ships is High Sulphur Fuel Oil (HSFO, with...more
On 8 July 2019, the Western Australian State Government (State Government) announced that it had released a new Implementation Plan (Plan). The 18-month transitional Plan is the State Government's response to the Final...more
Outlook for This Week in the Nation's Capital - Congress. The House and Senate have one week of legislative work remaining before they break for the Fourth of July recess period, and it looks to be quite busy. ...more
Focus - New Proposition 65 regulation intended to assist residential rental property owners offers a mixed bag - Allen Matkins - April 24 - The California Office of Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA), the agency...more
Focus - New EPA plan could free coal plants to increase mercury emissions - NEW YORK TIMES - Dec 28 - The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last Friday proposed major changes to the way the federal...more
Focus - California commits to eliminating all carbon sources of electricity by 2045 - REUTERS - Sep 10 Governor Jerry Brown on Monday signed into law Senate Bill 100, which requires the state to source electricity from...more
Focus - Plan to power California with all renewable energy heads to Governor Brown - THE SACRAMENTO BEE - Aug 28 The California Legislature sent a bill to the governor that would require all retail electricity to be...more
Focus - Nestlé to temporarily stop drawing water from San Bernardino National Forest - COURTHOUSE NEWS SERVICE - Jun 6 A coalition of environmental groups, including The Center for Biological Diversity, agreed to a...more
Oil Soars After Trump Nixes Iran Nuclear Deal, Stocks Rally - "Crude oil prices rose more than 3 percent on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from a nuclear accord with Iran, a move that...more
Focus - Supreme Court moves closer to taking Martins Beach case - THE MERCURY NEWS - Apr 24 In the first sign that the U.S. Supreme Court might hear an appeal regarding a private property owner’s attempt to block the...more
Focus - Cost of officially downsized Delta tunnel plan still exceeds currently pledged funds - Sacramento Bee - Feb 9 The troubled Delta tunnels project was officially downsized Wednesday, as Governor Brown’s...more
During his first year in Washington, President Trump made his mark on energy and environmental issues by issuing executive orders (EOs), proclamations, and presidential memoranda. Seeking to undo regulations enacted during...more
Another short-term continuing resolution is all but guaranteed as the current continuing resolution will expire later this month and budget talks last week did not result in a deal or hint at one in the near future. As the...more