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Environmental
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May 10, 2013
Q&A With Hunton & Williams' Brooks Smith
Our keystone environmental laws have been catalysts for real and lasting environmental progress, but many of those laws focus on “yesterday’s problems” and are not well-suited to address our more contemporary challenges, says Brooks Smith, partner and co-chairman of Hunton & Williams' environmental practice.
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May 9, 2013
Synagro's Top Creditor Offers To Fund Longer Ch. 11 Sale
Synagro Technologies Inc.'s largest creditor on Thursday claimed the bankrupt recycling company's proposed bid procedures will force the company into a fire sale, but the private equity firm declared it is so confident a longer marketing period will maximize value that it will fund the process itself.
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May 9, 2013
Fla. Court Revives Enviros' Petition Over Marsh Dumping Plan
A Florida appeals court on Thursday rebuffed a state environmental agency for throwing out the petition of two environmental groups seeking to prevent a marsh from being filled with millions of pounds of sand, saying improper materials were considered in tossing a request for administrative review.
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May 9, 2013
China Says It Won't Shy From Solar Panel Trade War With EU
China's Ministry of Commerce said Thursday that it would protect its domestic solar panel industry in light of the European Union's recently announced intention to impose duties on solar panels imported from the country, saying the dispute should be resolved through consultations.
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May 9, 2013
TransCanada Rebuts EPA's Keystone Concerns
TransCanada Corp. on Wednesday challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's criticism of a report favorable to its Keystone XL pipeline, saying the environmental regulator hadn’t identified any new problems with the pipeline and that its recommendations are ill-advised.
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May 9, 2013
Pa. Regulators Say DEP Must Justify Emission Fee Hike
The Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission on Wednesday ordered a unit of the state Department of Environmental Protection to clarify how it balanced competing interests of improving air quality and minimizing the economic impact on industry in its proposal to raise emission fees.
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May 9, 2013
Baker Botts Adds Trio of Partners To Offices In NY, DC
Baker Botts LLP has lured a trio of experienced partners to its Washington and New York offices, significantly boosting its transactions and securities practices and its expertise in energy matters, the firm announced this week.
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May 9, 2013
MidAmerican Helms $1.9B Iowa Wind Power Expansion
Warren Buffett’s MidAmerican Energy Inc. on Wednesday pledged $1.9 billion for wind projects in Iowa that will add more than 1,000 megawatts of power to the state’s alternative energy mix in what will be a landmark investment in Iowa’s economic development.
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May 9, 2013
US Offshore Regulators Will Beef Up Joint Oversight
The U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the U.S. Coast Guard said Thursday that they would strengthen their shared oversight of the offshore oil industry by developing joint policies in the areas their authorities overlap, including joint inspections and evaluations of offshore operations.
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May 9, 2013
Q&A With Greenberg Traurig's David Weinstein
I am a proponent of courts using their inherent authority to implement effective case-management tools to address complexities and reduce the potential for abuse in mass tort litigation, says David Weinstein, managing shareholder with Greenberg Traurig LLP.
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May 9, 2013
GOP Senators Derail EPA Nominee Vote With Boycott
The eight Republican Senators sitting on the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee blocked Tuesday's confirmation vote on the White House's pick to lead the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency by refusing to show up, claiming nominee Gina McCarthy hasn't answered all of their questions.
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May 8, 2013
$500M LA Rail Yard Project Chugs Through City Council
Despite promises of legal challenges and calls that the project will end up violating federal pollution benchmarks, the Los Angeles city council on Wednesday certified an environmental impact report for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co.'s proposed $500 million rail yard project.
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May 8, 2013
Conrail Derailment Suit Belongs In NJ, Judge Says
A Pennsylvania state judge ruled Friday that a suit against Consolidated Rail Corp. filed by 54 plaintiffs who say they were exposed to hazardous chemicals following a November train derailment and bridge collapse should be dismissed and refiled in New Jersey where the accident occurred.
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May 8, 2013
McGlinchey Shakes $10M Bomb Range Suit In 5th Circ.
The Fifth Circuit ruled Tuesday that McGlinchey Stafford PLLC wasn't responsible for getting an environmental assessment on land that was once a military bombing range because McGlinchey didn't represent the development group suing it for $10 million in a malpractice and securities fraud suit over the property's purchase.
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May 8, 2013
Jeffer Mangels Adds Land Use, Enviromental Pro To LA Office
A longtime California land use, environmental regulation and litigation partner has joined Jeffer Mangels Butler Mitchell LLP as a partner in the California-centric firm's Los Angeles office, Jeffer Mangels said Tuesday.
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May 8, 2013
9th Circ. Chubb Ruling Bars Insurer's Superfund Suit, US Says
Citing the Ninth Circuit’s recent Chubb Custom decision, the federal government Tuesday asked a California federal judge to toss an insurer’s Superfund lawsuit seeking reimbursement for cleanup costs at a former munitions plant, saying it erred by suing before its policyholder sought payment from Uncle Sam.
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May 8, 2013
Ex-BP Exec's Steptoe Counsel May Have Conflict, Feds Say
Federal prosecutors said Tuesday that a Steptoe & Johnson LLP attorney defending David Rainey, BP PLC's second-in-command during the Deepwater Horizon disaster, may have a conflict of interest and asked the defense to disclose some of its expected testimony in the case.
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May 8, 2013
DOJ Enviro Chief To Step Down In June
The nation's top environmental cop, who extracted billion-dollar civil penalties over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill and successfully defended the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's landmark greenhouse gas emissions rules, said Wednesday she would leave the U.S. Department of Justice early next month.
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May 8, 2013
EPA Issues Restrictions On New Uses For Industrial Chemicals
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday issued a final rule requiring chemical companies to inform it before manufacturing, processing or importing any of 15 certain chemical substances for an intended new use, including a chemical used in oil and natural gas well drilling.
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May 8, 2013
EU To Impose Duties On Chinese Solar Panels
The European Commission on Wednesday agreed to impose duties on solar panels imported from China, EU sources confirmed, marking the most significant action to date taken to protect European manufacturers which have long accused Chinese businesses of dumping solar energy products.
Expert Analysis
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Calif.'s Road To Fracking Regulation Will Be Bumpy
For the foreseeable future in California, fracking regulation will continue to move forward on three parallel paths: through the courts, legislature and agencies. Unfortunately, however, none of these paths are likely to provide the industry with clear rules regarding fracking activities in the next year, say attorneys with Bingham McCutchen LLP.
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CEQA Reform: The Aggrieved Instigator
Today, the California Environmental Quality Act is often at the center of the long-standing tension between environmental and business interests, and this granddaddy of environmental impact assessment requirement is a roadblock to development and economic growth, say attorneys with Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP.
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Power Plays: EPA's Role In Electric Power Generation
Although unlikely, it is possible that legislation could be passed in the next Congress that would impact a number of electrical generation regulatory developments — for example, legislation that could preempt the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to regulate coal combustion residuals in favor of the states, says Henry Eisenberg of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom LLP.
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Act Now To Harness IRS Energy Tax Credits
With $150 million of advanced energy manufacturing tax credits now available from the Internal Revenue Service, eligible applicants should act quickly to meet the April 9, 2013, submission deadline and review a few basic considerations about the credits, say attorneys with Nixon Peabody LLP.
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A Breakdown Of Safer Consumer Products Act
Although the California Department of Toxic Substances Control has not finalized the regulations pursuant to the Safer Consumer Products Act, manufacturers are already budgeting millions of dollars for compliance expenditures. While manufacturers now face the burden of compliance, consumers should sit tight and patiently wait for the DTSC's final regulatory response before making product choice decisions, says Kimberly Bick of Irell & Manella LLP.
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6 Areas Often Underestimated In Law Firm Mergers
While mergers in other industries are driven by cost efficiencies or economies of scale, law firm mergers are typically focused on the potential to leverage clients and the overall quality of the attorney population, branding and market position. As a result, full disclosure of third-party vendor or support function operating costs can be a secondary concern until after the deal closes. Firms need to hit the ground running the moment the merger is inked, says Matthew Sunderman of HBR Consulting LLC.
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The Business End Of Critical Habitat Designations
The National Marine Fisheries Service recently proposed a "critical habitat" designation for Lower Columbia River Coho salmon and Puget Sound steelhead. Such designations can result in increased scrutiny and costs to parties taking federally authorized actions within those areas, say attorneys with Stoel Rives LLP.
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EPA Will Face A Flood Of Water Issues In 2013
Courts, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state agencies, environmental groups and individual citizens will face new and difficult questions in 2013 involving stormwater, nutrients, wetlands and water rights. Out of several cases and complaints that arose in response to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Sackett v. EPA, Smith v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will be an interesting one to watch, say attorneys with McGuireWoods LLP.
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A New Phase In EPA Chemical Risk Control
In keeping with its goal of more aggressive management of chemical risks, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is looking for comment by March 15 on its recent assessment of five chemicals. Pending commentary, the potential regulatory steps from the EPA could range from new exposure limitations to more significant restrictions on the use or production of these chemicals under the Toxic Substances Control Act, says Stephen Owens of Squire Sanders LLP.
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A Food Industry Issue Menu For 2013: Part 2
Looking at trends in several aspects of food safety law — such as immigration, packaging requirements and environmental concerns — we expect to see a number of significant changes to the food and beverage industry this year, say attorneys with McGuireWoods LLP.