Expert Analysis

• Carbon Cost Injunction Signals Hurdles For Biden Plans

  

  A Louisiana federal court's unusually expansive injunction preventing the Biden administration from using its social cost of carbon estimates in future regulatory guidance may be a sign that the president's environmental agenda will face more aggressive court challenges going forward, say attorneys at WilmerHale.

• How US Trade Obligations Apply To Biden's Infrastructure Law

  

  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act could require some state agencies that receive federal funding for infrastructure to consider for the first time whether U.S. international treaty obligations prevent the application of Buy America preferences for certain government purchases, subjecting them to new liability risks, say attorneys at Akin Gump.

• NY, NJ Lease Auctions Highlight US Push For Offshore Wind

  

  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's upcoming auction of new lease areas for wind farms off the coasts of New York and New Jersey demonstrate the Biden administration's desire to foster the U.S. offshore wind industry — and interested parties should track the agency's plans for other coastal areas, says attorneys at K&L Gates.

• Infrastructure Law Is Not All Good News For Construction Cos.

  

  The recently enacted Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help strengthen the construction industry and create jobs, but heightened material costs, conflicts between state and federal law, and environmental concerns must be considered by entities wishing to take advantage of the increased development, say Gary Strong and Madison Calkins at Gfeller Laurie.

• High Court's Return To Wetlands Debate May Bring Clarity

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to revisit the reach of the Clean Water Act, in its forthcoming consideration of Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, may help lift the clouds of uncertainty that have plagued jurisdictional wetlands determinations for decades, says Bryan Moore at Balch & Bingham.

• Electricity Market Competition Helps Consumers And Climate

  

  Lawmakers looking to combat climate change and increase consumer choice should encourage and expand competitive electricity supply markets, to free customers from inefficient and often corrupt vertically integrated monopoly utilities, says Todd Snitchler at the Electric Power Supply Association.

• What Infrastructure Act Means For Transmission Line Projects

  

  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to supersede state siting decisions for electric transmission projects, but environmental review requirements make a sudden acceleration of transmission line construction unlikely, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• DOI's Vision For Offshore Wind: Obstacles And Opportunities

  

  The U.S. Department of Interior's recent announcement of its intent to open the U.S. coastline to large-scale offshore wind projects is promising, but wind developers must be ready to confront distinct technical and regulatory challenges in each coastal region, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Jones Act Compliance Strategies For Offshore Wind Projects

  

  Offshore wind developers can use a number of strategies to get projects done while meeting the challenges of complying with Jones Act requirements for the use of vessels built, owned and operated by U.S. persons, say Jonathan Wilconis and Carl Valenstein at Morgan Lewis.

• Biden's Infrastructure Funding Comes With Strings Attached

  

  ​The bipartisan infrastructure funding bill enacted last November ​creates new jobs and business opportunities, but ​its ​changes to domestic preferences and Made in America enforcement also give rise to new compliance hazards for unwary manufacturers and government contractors, say Jeffrey Belkin and Grecia Rivas at Alston & Bird.

• NIMBYism Is Endangering America's Clean Energy Future

  

  The U.S. has made remarkable strides in recent years toward a cleaner, more sustainable energy future — but further progress is threatened by a not-in-my-backyard cancel culture that seeks to thwart every type of major energy development, says Albert Wynn at Greenberg Traurig.

• Science-Based Definition Of US Waters Won't Pass In Court

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently proposed a science-backed definition of "waters of the United States" for the Clean Water Act, but the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to be persuaded that science trumps a constitutional or statutory limit on the EPA's and the Corps' authority, says Jeffrey Porter at Mintz Levin.

• What Justices' Groundwater Ruling Means For State Disputes

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mississippi v. Tennessee aids future negotiations over interstate groundwater resources, both by explicitly informing states what the default rule is, and by implicitly giving states authority to trade off water rights across a broader spectrum of water resources, says Robin Craig at USC Gould School of Law.