http://faegrebdc.com/environment en-us Copyright 2000-16 FaegreBD Consulting. All Rights Reserved. http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss 11/27/2016 8:39:33 PM On Wednesday, September 28, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5303, the Water Resources Development Act of 2016. House action comes on the heels of the Senate’s passage of its version (S. 2848) earlier this month. Lawmakers will now work... http://faegrebdc.com/house-passes-water-infrastructure-bill-setting-up-conference-with-senate 03 Oct 2016 00:00:00:000 In an article for Law360, FaegreBD Consulting counsel Andrew Wheeler and advisor Nik Schoenherr shared how recent interest in the Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) could bring about changes by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission... http://faegrebdc.com/purpa-changes-could-shake-up-clean-energy-market 06 Sep 2016 00:00:00:000 For a law originally passed in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s, The Public Utility Regulatory Policies Act (PURPA) has received a lot of recent attention from Congress and advocates for both investor-owned utilities (IOUs) and the... http://faegrebdc.com/ferc-weighs-purpa-changes-what-do-renewable-energy-stakeholders-need 22 Aug 2016 00:00:00:000 After several years of work, Congress passed the bipartisan Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act – more commonly referred to as the TSCA Modernization Act of 2015 – and President Obama is expected to sign the bill into law... http://faegrebdc.com/the-tsca-modernization-act-passed-the-senate-heres-what-you 08 Jun 2016 00:00:00:000 In association with a White House Water Summit on World Water Day, March 22, President Obama released an executive memorandum outlining a federal plan to support state and local efforts to combat drought. The memorandum established six... http://faegrebdc.com/white-house-introduces-plan-to-wash-away-drought 23 Mar 2016 00:00:00:000 At the 16th Coaltrans USA conference in Miami, coal leaders convened for a discussion of industry challenges at a time of low coal prices and regulatory pressure, according to an article in SNL Financial. The conference included an unlikely... http://faegrebdc.com/andrew-wheeler-coal-industry-facing-unprecedented-regulatory-pressure 12 Feb 2016 00:00:00:000 The President has unveiled his fiscal year 2017 budget request for the federal government. The figures are ambitious in the way that only a president in his last term would propose, and the budget includes numerous funding changes for the energy and... http://faegrebdc.com/president-obamas-fy17-budget-request-proposes-new-energy-and-environmental 12 Feb 2016 00:00:00:000 In a 5-4 vote, the United States Supreme Court stayed the implementation of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) through the ultimate Supreme Court determination on the merits, assuming the inevitable writ of certiorari from the D.C. Circuit opinion is... http://faegrebdc.com/supreme-court-delays-implementation-of-clean-power-plan 10 Feb 2016 00:00:00:000 Earlier than expected, the Senate is considering a highly anticipated bipartisan energy bill this week. The first broad package of energy legislation in over a decade, the bill proposes many adjustments to current energy policy. The bill will be... http://faegrebdc.com/senate-considers-energy-bill-opening-debate-on-host-of-environmental 25 Jan 2016 00:00:00:000 Last month, the White House released its fall Unified Agenda, which provides a look at the various regulations being developed by each agency and where each is in the rulemaking process. In the energy and environment space, the Environmental... http://faegrebdc.com/president-obama-unveils-2016-energy-and-environment-agenda 07 Jan 2016 00:00:00:000 In December 2015, Congress passed the first major transportation infrastructure bill in over a decade, covering a large range of infrastructure projects and ensuring funding for the next five years. One section of the bill establishes a new federal... http://faegrebdc.com/new-federal-permitting-council-to-aid-large-infrastructure-projects-mdash 04 Jan 2016 00:00:00:000 After several long weeks of negotiations on end-of-year obligations, congressional negotiators reached agreements on both a government funding bill that pays for the federal government through the remainder of FY16 as well as a package of tax... http://faegrebdc.com/negotiators-reach-deals-on-government-funding-tax-extenders-legislation 16 Dec 2015 00:00:00:000 The Clean Power Plan final rule, proposed Federal Plan and carbon pollution standards for new, modified and reconstructed (existing) power plants were published in the Federal Register on October 23, 2015 — weeks after its August 3, 2015... http://faegrebdc.com/epa-publishes-clean-power-plan-in-federal-register-sets-off 26 Oct 2015 00:00:00:000 In an updated rule released October 1, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) set tighter limits on ozone – a compound regarded as a precursor to smog. In setting the new standard at 70 parts per billion (ppb) for ground-level ozone, down... http://faegrebdc.com/epa-decreases-limit-for-ground-level-ozone 05 Oct 2015 00:00:00:000 On September 29, 2015, EPA issued a final rule to regulate emissions from petroleum refineries in the United States. The rule requires monitoring for specific compounds that are emitted as part of the refining process of crude oil into industrial... http://faegrebdc.com/what-to-know-about-the-epa-final-petroleum-refinery-emissions-standards-rule 02 Oct 2015 00:00:00:000 A handful of states are wasting no time opposing the White House’s new Clean Power Plan (CPP), and they’re casting their lot with likeminded energy companies. As detailed in Law360, 15 state attorneys general joined together on August 13 to file “an... http://faegrebdc.com/andrew-wheeler-weighs-in-on-states-alignment-with-industry-in 24 Aug 2015 00:00:00:000 On August 18, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released the first-ever proposal aimed at regulating methane emissions, as well as volatile organic compounds (VOC), from the oil and gas industry. EPA is taking this action on the... http://faegrebdc.com/epa-releases-proposal-to-regulate-methane-from-oil-gas-industries 19 Aug 2015 00:00:00:000 Background On August 3, 2015, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a new set of final regulations aimed at reducing carbon output from power plants. The sweeping new Clean Power Plan (CPP) sets limits on carbon... http://faegrebdc.com/clean-power-plan-finalized-by-obama-administration-and-epa-whats 13 Aug 2015 00:00:00:000 On June 29, 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court delivered another warning to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) against overstepping its statutory authority under the Clean Air Act. In Michigan v. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 14-46, the... http://faegrebdc.com/supreme-court-decision-could-limit-epas-authority-over-greenhouse-gas 01 Jul 2015 00:00:00:000 On Jan.29, 2015, the U.S. Senate passed S. 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, by a vote of 62-47, with all Republicans and eight Democrats voting for the legislation. While the president pledged to veto the legislation, the debate over the... http://faegrebdc.com/keystone-xl-will-shape-energy-debate-for-114th-congress 11 Feb 2015 00:00:00:000 On January 29, 2015, the U.S. Senate passed S. 1, the Keystone XL Pipeline Approval Act, by a vote of 62-47, with all Republicans and eight Democrats voting for the legislation. While the president pledged weeks ago to veto the legislation, the... http://faegrebdc.com/keystone-debate-a-sign-of-things-to-come-in-114th 03 Feb 2015 00:00:00:000 In November 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would again delay the release of a final rule on the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard volumetric blending requirements. Andrew Ehrlich, David Lyons and Andrew Wheeler of... http://faegrebdc.com/epa-delay-on-renewable-fuel-puts-ball-in-congress-court 12 Jan 2015 00:00:00:000 On October 8, 2014, the White House Counsel on Environmental Quality (CEQ) released a strategy for addressing the impacts of climate change on natural resources as well as the role such resources can play in mitigating the impacts of climate change... http://faegrebdc.com/white-house-releases-agenda-on-climate-change-impacts-to-natural 17 Oct 2014 00:00:00:000 In March 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released guidance on steps to reduce methane gas emissions. The EPA guidance document noted that methane accounts for an estimated nine percent of greenhouse gas emissions and is far more... http://faegrebdc.com/as-climate-changes-so-does-focus-on-methane-emissions 08 Sep 2014 00:00:00:000 On June 2, 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft of its proposed rule that will, for the first time, limit carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions at existing fossil-fuel fired electric utility generating units (EGUs). The... http://faegrebdc.com/epa-regulation-of-power-plant-carbon-dioxide-emissions-draft-rule 05 Jun 2014 00:00:00:000 Since the mid-1990s, the EPA has entered into agreements with numerous municipalities and sewer authorities regarding long-term plans to control combined sewer overflows (CSOs). The centerpieces of many of these plans were locally-funded, and often... http://faegrebdc.com/greening-cso-plans-with-environmentally-friendly-infrastructure-not-just-ratepayer 17 Mar 2014 00:00:00:000 In the latest development in the ongoing saga over the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) authority under the Clean Water Act (CWA), the agency recently released a report entitled Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream... http://faegrebdc.com/epa-provides-justification-for-water-authority 24 Sep 2013 00:00:00:000 It is very likely that President Obama's second term will feature energy and environmental policies that build on those of the last four years. Whether it is investments in clean energy technologies or regulatory efforts aimed at reducing greenhouse... http://faegrebdc.com/the-next-four-years-in-energy-and-environmental-policy 07 Dec 2012 00:00:00:000 Luke S. Tomanelli has joined FaegreBD Consulting as an Assistant Vice President on the energy and environment practice team based in Washington, D.C. Tomanelli brings inside knowledge of Capitol Hill after serving in the House and Senate. He spent... http://faegrebdc.com/luke-tomanelli-joins-energy-environment-team-at-faegrebd-consulting 01 Mar 2012 00:00:00:000