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Environmental
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June 17, 2013
EPA Cuts Down Chemicals To Be Tested For Hormonal Effects
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Friday revised a list of chemicals that it will screen for their potential to disrupt the release of hormones in humans and animals, removing substances that it cannot tie to a current manufacturer or importer.
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June 17, 2013
Va. Regulator Upholds Decision Nixing Mountain Mine Permit
The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy upheld its decision to block a mountaintop removal coal mining permit proposed by A&G Coal Corp. over the company's failure to pay outstanding fees, environmental groups challenging the permit said Monday.
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June 17, 2013
Hong Kong Billionaire Pays $1B For Waste-To-Energy Co.
A group of companies controlled by Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing said Monday that they have agreed to pay 9.7 billion Hong Kong dollars ($1.25 billion) for AVR Afvalverwerking BV, a Dutch company that converts waste to energy.
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June 17, 2013
Estee Lauder Unit Escapes Insurer's Suit Over Attys' Costs
OneBeacon Insurance Group can't recoup from a noninsured affiliate of Estee Lauder Company some of the $3.8 million in defense costs the insurer paid in litigation over Estee Lauder's alleged hazardous waste dumping, according to a New York state court order posted Monday.
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June 17, 2013
House Bill Slashes $911M From DOE Renewable Spending
U.S. Energy Department spending on renewable energy projects would be slashed by $911 million in the 2014 fiscal year — a nearly 50 percent cut from 2013 levels — under a spending plan proposed by the House Appropriations Committee on Monday.
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June 17, 2013
Pa. Rep Aims To Mandate Closed Storage For Fracking Water
A Pennsylvania state representative on Monday introduced legislation aimed at prohibiting the use of open impoundments for storing liquids used in drilling for natural gas.
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June 17, 2013
BLM's Gas Lease Sales Didn't Flout Enviro Law, Judge Says
Three environmental groups on Friday lost a bid to block the U.S. Bureau of Land Management from selling oil and gas leases in Montana that allegedly have been sold without consideration of their impact on global warming after a Montana federal judge ruled the groups lacked standing.
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June 17, 2013
Supreme Court Tosses Challenge To Land Use Standards
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday agreed to dismiss a suit claiming the federal government's environmental impact studies of its land use plans used overly vague criteria after the Pacific Rivers Council abandoned its claim against the U.S. Forest Service.
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June 14, 2013
Bankrupt Exide Sues Calif. Regulator Over Plant Shutdown
Bankrupt Exide Technologies Inc. on Thursday sued to reverse the California Department of Toxic Substances Control’s April decision to shutter its Vernon, Calif.-based battery recycling plant, saying the agency relied on an unenforceable standard for air pollution levels and had no evidence the plant was an immediate environmental threat.
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June 14, 2013
Calif. Hits Gold Mine Operators With Record $11M Fine
California mining regulators on Thursday slapped the owners of a Sacramento-area gold mine with an unprecedented $11 million fine after they allegedly flouted state and local mining laws for years.
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June 14, 2013
Texas Justices Refuse To Reconsider Killing Houston Air Law
The Texas Supreme Court said Friday that it will not reconsider a ruling that Houston ran afoul of state control of air pollution law when it tried to regulate the location of concrete crushers.
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June 14, 2013
Feds Greenlight Construction Of $68B Calif. Rail Line
The Surface Transportation Board on Thursday granted the California High-Speed Rail Authority approval — subject to environmental restrictions — to begin construction this summer on a $68 billion, 65-mile rail line between Merced and Fresno, the first section of the California high-speed train system.
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June 14, 2013
Enviro Group Blasts Pa. GOP's Lawsuit Intervention Bid
A Pennsylvania environmental group on Friday lashed out at a bid by the Republican caucuses of the state’s General Assembly to intervene in a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a law diverting money from conservation programs and opening up state lands for natural gas drilling.
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June 14, 2013
Pa. Gov. Defends Fracking Policies At Philly Energy Summit
Pennsylvania's governor on Friday touted efforts by his administration to responsibly shepherd development of the state's Marcellus Shale play, rebuffing criticism that he has shrugged off environmental stewardship and public health concerns in his support of the burgeoning natural gas industry.
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June 14, 2013
Dallas Taxi Rule Not Barred By Clean Air Act, 5th Circ. Says
The Fifth Circuit ruled Thursday that a Dallas city ordinance allowing taxicabs running on compressed natural gas to have priority over gas-powered taxis when soliciting passengers at a city-owned airport is not preempted by the Clean Air Act, shutting down a challenge by the Association of Taxicab Operators USA.
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June 13, 2013
Bankrupt ATP Gets OK To Abandon Oil Lease, Access Cash
A Texas bankruptcy judge on Thursday approved deals allowing ATP Oil & Gas Corp. to abandon an offshore drilling operation and provide the company access to a week’s worth of operating cash, while rejecting complaints that ATP is dodging $153 million in environmental liability.
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June 13, 2013
Maryland Slaps NRG Power Plants With Water Pollution Suit
The Maryland Department of the Environment on Wednesday accused a pair of NRG Energy Inc.-owned power plants of dumping excessive amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous into two Maryland rivers in violation of the Clean Water Act and state laws.
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June 13, 2013
8th Circ. Bars Coverage For 2 Doe Run Enviro Damage Suits
The Eighth Circuit held Thursday that lead-producing giant Doe Run Resources Corp. could not win defense coverage for at least two of three tort suits, finding the underlying environmental damage claims aligned perfectly with Lexington Insurance Co.'s absolute pollution exclusion.
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June 13, 2013
High Court Boosts States' Rights In Texas Water Ruling
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Thursday decision in a water rights dispute between Oklahoma and a Texas water district sends a strong message that states control their own natural resources and have the power to enact protectionist laws, experts say.
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June 13, 2013
NJ Sees Wind In Post-Sandy Energy Future
New Jersey is poised to someday add offshore wind energy to a power grid that lawmakers, the state Board of Public Utilities and utilities themselves are upgrading because of Superstorm Sandy, but those wind projects hinge on a funding mechanism that officials have yet to sort out, attorneys said Thursday.
Expert Analysis
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We Need Mediation In E-Discovery
While parties may be hesitant to allow a nonjudicial proceeding to dictate their discovery needs, the level of expediency and the cost-effective nature of e-discovery mediation far outweigh any benefit to litigating these procedural components, say Daniel Garrie and Salvatore Scibetta of Law & Forensics LLC.
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FRCP Amendments Could Change Discovery As We Know It
On June 3, the federal judiciary’s Committee on Rules of Practice and Procedure approved for publication proposals to limit the scope of discovery under the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The proposed amendments appear well targeted to aggressively rein in a discovery process that many believe has gotten out of control in too many cases, say attorneys with Reed Smith LLP.
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From Sabine Pass To Freeport: Implications Of DOE Orders
Although a recent U.S. Department of Energy order regarding Freeport LNG Expansion LP's liquefied natural gas exports provided guidance on several key policy issues, it also left some challenging questions unanswered. Chief among these are about the timing and sequence of the issuance of the DOE’s next orders, say attorneys with Baker Botts LLP.
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A 7-Point Checklist For Tornado Insurance
Because losses and damages from tornadoes, such as the one that struck Moore, Okla., recently, can be devastating for individuals and businesses, corporate policyholders must consider the seven issues in making and pursuing a tornado claim, says Micah Skidmore of Haynes & Boone LLP.
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Digging Deeper Into Deepwater Horizon
In a wakeup call to insurers and policyholders, the Fifth Circuit, in In re Deepwater Horizon, recently extended additional insured coverage beyond the scope of liabilities in an underlying service contract. The decision could affect thousands of policies and drilling contracts in the oil and gas industry, says Ethan Torrey of Choate Hall & Stewart LLP.
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Procurement: The Hidden Path To Maximizing Profits
Unlike large corporations, law firms require their procurement professionals to be generalists, handling everything from office supplies to insurance and benefits to library services. In order to recruit the right talent, law firms should ensure personnel are involved in strategy development and establish continuing development opportunities, say Adam Stoklosa and Clayton Fox of HBR Consulting LLC.
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Pa. Stance On Dunham Rule Confounds Pa. Mining Industry
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Butler v. Charles Powers Estate confirms that Pennsylvania’s so-called Dunham Rule is alive and well, which means that thousands of titles to Marcellus shale gas will not be impacted by any change in the law. In doing so, however, the court also has created a serious problem regarding other minerals, say attorneys with Saul Ewing LLP.
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And Now A Word From The Panel ...
At its May 30 hearing in Louisville, Ky, the Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation will address arguments concerning whether to create MDL proceedings for three different food industry consumer fraud cases, which involve overlapping class actions filed in various jurisdictions throughout the country. Of particular interest in these cases is the approach adopted by the food manufacturer defendants with respect to MDL centralization, says Alan Rothman of Kaye Scholer LLP.
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A Different Kind Of Roof For Commercial Properties
Historically forgotten rooftops are now suddenly hot for solar panel leasing due to a combination of policy and practical considerations — from tax incentives widely available at federal, state and local levels, to the fact that rooftops are usually closer to existing utility lines and pose less complex land use issues. When done properly, these leases offer a "win-win" for property owners, says Christine Fisher of Quarles & Brady LLP.
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Furniture Is Now Under Fire In Prop 65 Reform
Concern over private enforcement efforts to "reform" Proposition 65 has grown as some groups have begun issuing notices alleging violation of Prop 65 in furniture and other products with chemical flame retardants. If use of these chemicals is prohibited under Prop 65, the ability of furniture manufactures to comply could be seriously compromised, says Kevin Haroff of Marten Law PLLC.