The D.C. Circuit issued its first precedential opinion interpreting the recent Supreme Court decision Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, 145 S. Ct. 1497 (2025)....more
Trump's EPA Grants 31 Small Refinery Waivers from Biofuel Laws, Angering Corn Lobby - "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has granted 31 small refinery biofuel waivers for 2018, infuriating the ethanol and corn...more
On April 2, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) determined that the one-year statutory limit on state review of interstate natural gas pipeline company applications for water quality...more
Iran's Latest Terrorist Attack Matters More than OPEC's Latest Meeting, RBC's Croft Says - "Oil market attention was focused on an OPEC meeting in Algeria this weekend, but it was Saturday's terrorist attack in an oil-rich...more
As Storm Looms, 4th Circuit Reverses Ruling Against Dominion on Coal Ash Pollution at Chesapeake Site - "Water pollution from a coal ash landfill and settling ponds at a closed power plant in Chesapeake is not a violation of...more
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) weighed in rapidly and decisively on the Sabal Trail (a/k/a Southeast Market Pipelines or “SMP Project”) case that the D.C. Circuit remanded to it on August 22, 2017. As...more
The United States has one of the most extensive natural gas pipeline networks in the world. This vast network enables the ongoing switch away from coal-fired generation and toward a renewables and natural gas-based electric...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week vacated and remanded a 2016 Order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that had authorized construction and operation of the Southeast Market Pipelines...more
On August 15, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit decided the case of Sierra Club v. U.S. Department of Energy. The Sierra Club challenged the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) grant of a license to export...more
The Sierra Club and other environmental groups have made little secret of their opposition to the continuing use of fossil fuels and to the development of infrastructure to support that use. A new wrinkle in their multifront...more
Ever since EPA began considering how BACT analysis would be applied to greenhouse gas emissions, there has been concern that EPA would use its BACT authority to “redefine the source” – with the particular concern that BACT...more
On June 28, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected two related challenges to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s environmental review of the Sabine Pass LNG and Freeport LNG...more
On January 22, 2013, in Sierra Club v. EPA, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia issued an opinion that addressed some Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program issues. Following this...more
National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) challenges to pipeline projects and other natural gas infrastructure have become a commonplace tool in recent years for environmental groups seeking to defeat or delay midstream...more