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Environmental
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May 16, 2012
EPA Withdraws Part Of Interstate Air Pollution Rule
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has withdrawn revisions it made to a rule to cut down interstate air pollution after receiving comments that said the changes would not go far enough, according to a notice published Wednesday in the Federal Register.
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May 16, 2012
Western Wind Makes Play For 4,000-MW Power Pipeline
Western Wind Energy Corp. announced Wednesday a planned $20 million acquisition of a 4,000-megawatt wind power pipeline from CGEI Wind, which encompasses the bulk of the latter company's wind assets.
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May 16, 2012
Aecom Shakes Negligence Claims In Toxic Housing Suit
A California judge on Wednesday nixed negligence claims against environmental consultant Aecom Technical Services Inc., which determined that toxic chemicals from an Exxon Mobil Corp. oil tank storage facility posed no health risks to former residents of a contaminated housing complex.
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May 16, 2012
EPA Chief Stands By $14M Request For Fracking Studies
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson defended her agency's request for $14 million to study the environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing on Wednesday over objections from Republicans who questioned whether the research was necessary.
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May 16, 2012
FEMA Takes Up Enviro Impact Of Flood Insurance Program
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is set to begin work on an environmental impact statement evaluating the environmental effects of the National Flood Insurance Program and improvements that could be made in the future, FEMA announced Wednesday.
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May 16, 2012
Renewable Energy Cos. End $129M Solar Project Sale Row
A Florida federal judge on Tuesday dismissed Commercial Solar Power Inc.'s suit alleging ESA Renewables LLC reneged on selling the California renewable energy developer a $129 million solar project in Puerto Rico, after the parties agreed to settle.
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May 16, 2012
Execs Tell Congress Research, Tax Breaks Key To Sustainability
Intel Corp., Procter & Gamble Co., Eastman Chemical Co. and FedEx Corp. executives told a Senate subcommittee on Wednesday that Congress could best encourage corporate environmental sustainability efforts by funding innovation, extending fuel efficiency tax breaks and standardizing corporate sustainability ratings systems.
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May 16, 2012
Solar Execs In Congressional Hot Seat Over $5B DOE Loans
Solar power CEOs whose companies have received $5 billion in federal loan support fended off allegations of political favoritism Wednesday when congressional Republicans again took aim at President Barack Obama's clean energy financing programs.
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May 15, 2012
EPA Scores $5M More For San Gabriel Superfund Cleanup
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reached two additional settlements totaling approximately $4.9 million Tuesday in a 10-year-old dispute with 10 current or former land and company owners over a cleanup at a San Gabriel Valley Superfund site.
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May 15, 2012
Tronox Trial Opens With Tales Of Doomed-To-Fail Co.
The years-in-the-making trial between a Tronox Inc. litigation trust and former Tronox parent Kerr-McGee Corp. kicked off Tuesday in New York bankruptcy court, with attorneys for both sides sparring over whether a 2006 spinoff of the debtor constituted a fraudulent transfer.
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May 15, 2012
Enviros Try To Sink Seismic Oil Exploration Plans In Alaska
An Alaskan tribe and two environmental groups on Tuesday sued the National Marine Fisheries Service for allegedly violating the Marine Mammal Protection Act by approving high-intensity seismic oil and gas exploration in Cook Inlet, Alaska, without proper environmental reviews.
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May 15, 2012
Enviro Groups Seek To Stop NextEra Wind Farm
Three environmental groups asked a California federal court on Monday to temporarily halt work on a wind farm under construction by a NextEra Energy Inc. subsidiary, as they continue to pursue their challenge of permits granted by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
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May 15, 2012
4 Tips For Navigating Brownfield Redevelopment Issues
Former industrial sites around the country are being offered up for new development, presenting potentially lucrative residential, retail and commercial opportunities. But navigating their contaminated past can be time-consuming and expensive without the right preparation and representation.
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May 15, 2012
$3B Texas Coal Plant In Jeopardy Over Air Pollution Claims
A Texas state judge on Monday indicated that he would reverse the approval of a $3 billion, 1,300-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Corpus Christi, which environmental groups have claimed would create more air pollution than the state had evaluated.
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May 15, 2012
House Dems Home In On Gas Flaring Regulations
Three Democrats on the House Committee on Energy and Commerce said Monday that natural gas produced as a byproduct of oil drilling was being wastefully burned off due to lax regulation and lack of incentives, and called for Congress to investigate the issues.
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May 15, 2012
Fishing Co. Still On Hook In $24M Pollution Suit
A federal judge in Washington on Monday refused to toss out criminal charges lodged against commercial fishing company Sanford Ltd. for allegedly discharging oil-contaminated sludge into the ocean, leaving the shipper on the hook for $24 million worth of illegal pollution activity.
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May 15, 2012
5th Circ. Upholds Wastewater Cos.' Convictions In CWA Case
The Fifth Circuit on Tuesday affirmed the Clean Water Act and permit violation convictions and sentences of wastewater treatment provider Jeffrey Pruett and his two companies, ruling on a question of first impression that only ordinary negligence is required for criminal penalties tied to negligent violations of CWA permits.
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May 15, 2012
Shut Up And Drill, Interior Tells Oil And Gas Cos.
The Obama administration released a special report Tuesday showing that most federal oil and natural gas leases remain idle, pushing back against Republican and industry claims that the president's energy policies have stymied production on federal lands.
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May 15, 2012
Halliburton Pushes To Keep Fracking Formulas Secret In Wyo.
Halliburton Energy Services Inc. urged a Wyoming state court Monday to uphold public disclosure exemptions for the oil and gas giant's hydraulic fracturing formulas, warning a bid by local citizens' groups to uncover the information could hamstring project development efforts in the state.
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May 15, 2012
Suntech Hammers Out 120-MW Sales Deal With Distributor
Suntech Power Holdings Co. Ltd., a top solar panel manufacturer, has inked an agreement to furnish up to 120 megawatts' worth of solar panels to distributor Krannich Solar Inc. this year, Suntech said Tuesday.
Expert Analysis
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State Of The Tax Equity Market: Part 3
Parts 1 and 2 of this series followed the discussion of a group of veteran tax equity investors — including managing directors at Bank of America, JPMorgan Capital Corp., Citigroup, Credit Suisse and consultancy CP Energy — regarding wind energy project financing in the tax equity market. Moderated by Keith Martin of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, the final article in this series covers life after 1603, new issues in deals and lessons learned.
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The Big, Green Apple: NYC's New Zoning Amendment
The New York City Council has approved a city-wide text amendment to the city's Zoning Resolution. The Zone Green amendment enables both existing and future buildings to take advantage of a multitude of energy saving and/or power generating improvements and is likely to catalyze more environmentally sound designs and energy efficient retrofits throughout New York City, say attorneys with Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP.
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Sackett: Implications For Pre-Enforcement Review
The U.S. Supreme Court's opinion language in Sackett v. the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will invite future constitutional challenges to Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act §106 unilateral orders, and could set precedent for successful Administrative Procedures Act challenges to EPA orders under other environmental statutes, say John Eldridge and Megan Bibb of Haynes and Boone LLP.
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A 1st For Fracking: EPA's Air Emissions Regulations
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued a final rule regulating the emission of volatile organic compounds and certain other pollutants emitted by hydraulic fracturing, marking the first time that the EPA will regulate air emissions from fracking operations. The rule is likely a harbinger of further greenhouse gas regulation of the upstream and midstream oil and gas industries, say attorneys with Latham & Watkins LLP.
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FWS's 'Eagle' Eye On Renewable Energy Development
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has issued a proposed rule to extend programmatic eagle take permits for up to 30 years to accommodate the development of renewable energy projects. While this step raises concerns that the number of eagles taken will increase significantly, the benefits of the proposed permit changes by the FWS outweigh any burdens to the environment, say attorneys with Perkins Coie LLP.
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Raising A Stink: Pollution Exclusion Applies To Odors
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania has ruled that, because they unambiguously caused harm, noxious odors emanating from a pig farm are pollutants as defined by the insured's general liability policies’ pollution exclusions. In future cases decided under Pennsylvania law, the nature of the injury or damage will be crucial in determining whether a particular substance is a “pollutant," says Stevi Raab of Sedgwick LLP.
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Where Rubber Hits Road: Examples Of Alternative Fees
Creating new approaches to fee agreements is something to embrace rather than fear — and when structured and managed correctly, it can be financially advantageous. Take, for example, fixed-fee arrangements, result-based billing and portfolio billing, say Bill Rudnick and Keith Maziarek of DLA Piper.
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State Of The Tax Equity Market: Part 2
Picking up where part 1 of this series left off, a group of veteran tax equity investors — including managing directors at Bank of America, JPMorgan Capital Corp., Citigroup, Credit Suisse and consultancy CP Energy — continue discussing the state of the wind energy market. Moderated by Keith Martin of Chadbourne & Parke LLP, part 2 of this discussion covers deal structures, layers of capital and pay-go structures.
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NJ DEP: Some Rules Were Made To Be Waived
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection has adopted a new rule that allows the DEP to waive strict compliance with any of its rule requirements in an effort to address hardships faced by state businesses. But given the controversy surrounding the rule, there is doubt on how effective it will be in assisting to jump-start projects that have stalled due to conflicting or over burdensome DEP regulations, say Thomas Letizia and Cynthia De Lisi Smith of Pepper Hamilton LLP.
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Md. RECs: Turn That Animal Waste Into Thermal Energy
The Maryland General Assembly has enacted legislation intended to facilitate the conversion of chicken litter and other animal waste into useful thermal energy via renewable energy credits. While this is a reasonable starting point, the General Assembly should evaluate whether other renewable fuels should receive the same treatment, say Marc Machlin and Heather Kilgore Weiner of Pepper Hamilton LLP.