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Preemption Energy Sector

Mintz

Colorado Supreme Court Allows Climate Tort Litigation to Proceed

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On May 12, 2025, in a 5-2 decision, the Colorado Supreme Court held that the tort claims brought by local governments in Colorado against major fossil fuel companies concerning damages stemming from climate change could...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Energy & Climate Counsel

Trump Administration Sues Four States to Block Climate Superfund Legislation and Climate Deception Litigation

As we have noted previously, a number of states have enacted legislation and/or brought claims against fossil fuel producers seeking payment for damages resulting from climate change. Legislative efforts include New York...more

Mintz

Trump Administration Files Preemptive Lawsuits Against Hawaii and Michigan to Block Climate Change Litigation

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Recently, both the State of Hawaii and the State of Michigan had announced that they would be pursuing litigation against fossil fuel companies concerning alleged damages stemming from the companies' contribution to climate...more

Fenwick & West LLP

Trump Takes Aim At State Climate Change Laws

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On April 8, 2025, President Donald Trump issued an executive order “aimed at securing America’s energy dominance by removing unlawful and burdensome state-level impediments to domestic energy production.”...more

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

The Battle Over Climate Superfund Laws: Legal Challenges in Vermont and New York

States are increasingly turning to “Climate Superfund” laws as a potential mechanism to offset the growing costs of climate-related disaster recovery and the construction of more climate change-resilient infrastructure. These...more

Jenner & Block

Client Alert: New York Ushers in New Era of Climate Liability and Litigation with the Climate Change Superfund Act

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On February 6, 2025, twenty-two states and four energy industry organizations and businesses filed a lawsuit challenging New York’s “climate superfund” law. This law, signed on December 26, 2024 by New York Governor Kathy...more

Cozen O'Connor

Fuel Efficiency Rule Recharged by Democratic AG Support

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A group of 15 Democratic AGs filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and its defense of its final rule setting...more

Jenner & Block

Federal Preemption as a Vehicle to Supreme Court Review of Climate Change Cases

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On February 20, 2024, the City of Chicago sued defendant fossil fuel companies in Illinois state court, asserting state law claims, including nuisance, violations of consumer protection laws, and products liability. Chicago...more

Pierce Atwood LLP

Does the 9th Circuit’s rejection of Berkeley, CA’s municipal gas ban spell doom for Massachusetts’ own gas-banning “Demonstration...

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We bring to your attention this post by our colleague Randy Rich of Pierce Atwood’s Energy Infrastructure Group on the 9th Circuit’s decision earlier this week in California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, No....more

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP

Ninth Circuit Reverses City of Berkeley Ban on New Natural Gas Hookups in Buildings

On Monday, April 17, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit (“Ninth Circuit”) decided California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, which ruled that the Energy Policy and Conservation Act...more

Miller Starr Regalia

California Supreme Court Holds In 5-2 Decision, Over Chief Justice’s Strong Dissent, That Federal Power Act Does Not Fully Preempt...

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In a 5-2 opinion filed August 1, 2022, a divided California Supreme Court held the Federal Power Act (“FPA”; 16 U.S.C. § 791a et seq.) does not “occupy the field” and entirely preempt CEQA’s application to the state’s...more

Foley Hoag LLP - Environmental Law

State Law Climate Damage Cases (Still) Belong in State Court

In the first appellate decision to decide the issue since the Supreme Court decision in BP P.L.C. v. Mayor & City Council of Baltimore, the 10th Circuit ruled this week that climate damage claims brought by several Colorado...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Uncle Sam Argues No Federal Preemption for Municipal Pipeline Regulation

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The federal government’s recent argument that neither federal law nor the U.S. Constitution preempted a municipal ordinance in South Portland, ME demonstrates the sometimes-complex relationship between federal, state, and...more

Troutman Pepper Locke

Denver Water Files Complaint in Federal Court, Seeking Preemption of Boulder County Regulation Due to FERC Hydroelectric Project...

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On July 14, 2021, the City and County of Denver, Colorado, acting through its Board of Water Commissioners (“Denver Water”), filed a Complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Colorado, requesting...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

Nota Bene Episode 101: Catching up with Global Climate Regulation with Nico van Aelstyn

The Earth’s climate is changing. With unprecedented fires in California and the State’s litigation with the federal government, the Brazilian rainforest fires, and the aircraft industry’s inability to curb aircraft emissions,...more

Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Currents - Energy Industry Insights: Issue 27, July 2020

Big Oil repeatedly remanded to state courts - will SCOTUS come to the rescue? "Oil companies facing suits by state and local governments that want them to bear a share of the cost of responding to the consequences of...more

Miles & Stockbridge P.C.

Atlantic Coast Pipeline Wins Again, Over Nelson County’s Objection

Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC (“Atlantic”) recently won another battle in its quest to construct an interstate natural gas pipeline across West Virginia, Virginia, and North Carolina. Twenty-seven of its planned 604 miles...more

Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

FERC Rules State Mandated Power Purchase Program Is Preempted by Federal Power Act

In 2018, the New Hampshire legislature enacted a law requiring electric distribution companies in the state to offer to purchase the net output of eligible biomass and waste facilities within their service territories at a...more

King & Spalding

The Ninth Circuit Affirms that California QF Contracts Do Not Comply with PURPA

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On July 29, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its decision in Winding Creek Solar LLC v. Peterman et al, Case Nos. 17-17531, 17-17532 (9th Cir. July 29, 2019), which affirmed the judgment...more

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP

9th Circuit Says CPUC’s Standard Contract and Re-MAT Program for Certain Renewable Generators are not PURPA Compliant

In a recent opinion, the Ninth Circuit held that the California Public Utilities Commission’s (CPUC) Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT) program and alternative Qualifying Facility (QF) standard offer contract...more

Holland & Knight LLP

The Light Shines for CA QFs: The Ninth Circuit Finds PURPA Preempts CA Renewable Energy Program

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On July 30, 2019, a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal panel unanimously held that the federal Public Utility Regulatory Policy Act (PURPA) preempts two components of California's Renewable Market Adjusting Tariff (Re-MAT)...more

Beveridge & Diamond PC

Maryland High Court Finds State Authority to Approve Renewable Energy Projects Preempts Local Zoning Authority

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The Maryland Court of Appeals has unanimously held that the Maryland Public Service Commission’s authority to approve the construction and siting of energy generating systems preempts local zoning authority: “Ultimately, the...more

BCLP

Colorado’s New Oil and Gas Law: What’s Next?

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The 2019 Colorado legislative session took the state’s oil and gas-development opponents and proponents on a wild ride. On April 3, 2019, the Colorado Senate passed SB 19-181, which dramatically changes the regulation of oil...more

Verrill

U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Review Zero Emissions Credit Schemes

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In two related cases, Petitioners are asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down state generator subsidies that Petitioners argue distort competitive wholesale power markets that are under the exclusive jurisdiction of the...more

Verrill

Pipeline Appeals Grant of Summary Judgment to South Portland Regarding Its Ban on Marine Loading of Crude Oil

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Judge Woodcock of the U.S. District Court in Portland, finding that the South Portland’s Clear Skies Ordinance (the Ordinance) was neither a “preempted pipeline facility safety standard or a discriminatory ordinance enacted...more

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