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Expert Analysis

• Trump's NEPA Reform Is Crucial For Energy Development

  

  The White House Council on Environmental Quality’s recently proposed reform to the National Environmental Policy Act will further American energy progress in 2020 and beyond, and should be finalized as soon as practicable, say Paul Afonso and Ben Norris of the American Petroleum Institute.

• Unpacking The Final Opportunity Zone Regulations: Part 1

  

  In his two-part article on the U.S. Department of the Treasury's final regulations for the opportunity zone tax regime, Tucker Thoni at GrayRobinson highlights important differences between the proposed and final regulations that should increase taxpayer confidence in the investment program.

• FERC Guidance Aims To Foster Hydropower At Mines, Dams

  

  Recent guidance from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission will streamline development of hydroelectric projects at nonpowered dams and abandoned mines — where new environmental impacts will be minimal and much of the construction and regulatory work is already done, say Daniel Skees and Robert Goldfin of Morgan Lewis.

• Prepare For Greater IRS Scrutiny On Conservation Easements

  

  The IRS recently announced stepped-up enforcement on abusive syndicated conservation easement transactions, but proactive taxpayers may avoid penalties by filing qualified amended returns or administrative adjustment requests before the IRS comes knocking, say attorneys at Greenberg Traurig.

• Wash. Ruling Offers Key Safeguards For Additional Insureds

  

  In T-Mobile USA Inc. v. Selective Insurance Company of America, the Supreme Court of Washington recently strengthened the protections for so-called additional insureds relying upon inaccurate certificates of insurance — a win for both policyholders and entities named as additional insureds on others' policies, say Catherine Doyle and Brian Scarbrough at Jenner & Block.

• New Pa. DEP Fill Material Policy Increases Project Complexity

  

  The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's new fill management policy affects, among others, real estate developers, land owners, railroads and public utilities, and will increase the time and effort necessary to determine whether fill material qualifies as clean fill, says Michael Meloy of Manko Gold.

• Pipeline Projects Face New Questions On Landowner Rights

  

  The tension between the rights of landowners and pipeline developers has come to a head in two federal appellate courts and a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announcement, muddling the historical clarity of Natural Gas Act eminent domain authority, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• 2 Del. Decisions Call Out Conflicted Controlling Stockholders

  

  In Tornetta v. Musk and the BGC Partners Derivative Litigation, the Delaware Chancery Court has reaffirmed that concerns over controlling stockholders may be valid even when the controller didn't intend to exercise coercive influence, independent directors negotiated a transaction, or stockholders approved the transaction, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• Midstream Agreements Can Still 'Run With The Land'

  

  Colorado's federal bankruptcy court recently held that a gas gathering and processing agreement and a salt water disposal agreement were "covenants running with the land," and were not extinguished through a bankruptcy sale. The ruling is welcome news for upstream and midstream companies in the oil and gas space, say attorneys at Davis Graham.

• How New York Crafted Its Own Green New Deal: Part 3

  

  There may be reason to doubt the feasibility of some of the ambitious goals that New York's Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act sets for emissions reductions and renewable energy production, and the state's ability to completely transform its electricity and transportation sectors, say attorneys with Vinson & Elkins.

• How New York Crafted Its Own Green New Deal: Part 2

  

  New York state's recently enacted Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act lays out ambitious energy production and emissions goals and an aggressive timeline for achieving them — but does not mandate any particular strategies for doing so, say attorneys with Vinson & Elkins.

• How New York Crafted Its Own Green New Deal: Part 1

  

  New York state's recently enacted Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act is aggressive, extraordinary and far-reaching in its aims, but its ultimate effects on the energy, transportation and real estate industries are in many ways still uncertain, say attorneys at Vinson & Elkins.

• Utilities Need Timely Project Review For Reliable Service

  

  National Parks Conservation Association v. Semonite, in which a Virginia utility faces possibly having to dismantle a previously approved transmission line due to drawn-out litigation, points to the need for time limits on court review of infrastructure projects, say Alan Seltzer and John Povilaitis of Buchanan Ingersoll.