Skip to main content
Insights
Inflation Reduction Act
EPA adopts new standard for conducting All Appropriate Inquiries
In a rule published on December 30, 2013 and effective immediately upon publication, EPA formally adopts a new standard for conducting All Appropriate Inquiries (AAI) at potentially contaminated sites. 78 Fed. Reg. 79319. The AAI rule outlines steps for potential...
Unlocking the Potential of Shale Gas in the UK Energy Mix
The UK is continuing to edge closer to realising the potential of its domestic shale gas resources. In mid-December 2013, the UK government published a report, known as the Strategic Environmental Assessment for Further Onshore Oil and Gas Licensing (the...
Mexican Federal Congress Approves Important Constitutional Energy Reform Bill
As we previously reported , on August 12, 2013, Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto submitted a highly anticipated constitutional reform proposal to the Mexican Congress for purposes of restructuring the Mexican energy sector, including oil, gas, petrochemical, and power, by...
Are you on South African Santa's naughty or nice list?
A flood of bids reportedly delayed the announcement on the South African Government's announcement on its final list of preferred bidders in the Round 3 of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Procurement Programme (REIPPPP) from the originally scheduled date...
Fifth Circuit Upholds Arbitration Agreement Prohibiting Employee Collective or Class Action Claims
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit joined the Second, Eighth and Ninth Circuits in upholding a class action waiver in an employment arbitration agreement. This is an important victory for employers in managing risks associated...
Vestas Completes Factory Testing of World's Most Powerful Wind Turbine
Interesting developments for the offshore wind market are on the horizon with Vestas today having completed its extensive testing of what will be the world's most powerful wind turbine "“ the Vestas V164 "“ 8 MW with the nacelle weighing...
Texas Greenhouse Gas Rules: Upcoming Hearing and End of Comment Period
As we discussed in an October post , the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has proposed rules to create a greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting program for the state of Texas and take over permitting authority from the U.S. Environmental...
Copyright Owners: Keep Your Eye on the Road
Copyright owners need to stay alert! If you have an infringement, ownership interest, or other claim to assert in a copyrighted work and fail to do so within the three year statute of limitations you risk being barred from asserting...
California Releases New Proposed Regulations Applicable to Oil and Gas Well Treatments
Today, the California Department of Conservation ("DOC") released proposed regulations applicable to oil and gas well stimulation activities in the state. This follows up on the passage of SB 4 back on September 20, 2013, which established the first set...
FTC Broadens Notification Requirements for Transfers of Pharmaceutical Patent Rights
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has revised the rule for determining when a transfer of exclusive rights to a patent in the pharmaceutical industry (including biologics and medicine manufacturing) results in a potentially reportable asset acquisition under the Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR)...
No Claims, No Drawings, No Problems
As part of efforts to unify international procedural rules for patent applicants, the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) recently released new rules that have important procedural consequences generally deemed to be quite favorable for patent applicants and owners...
Fantastic .Voyage: The Launch of First 9 New gTLDs
The first nine new generic top-level domain name spaces (gTLDs) in English 1 are expected to go live on or around October 29, 2013. These first nine domain spaces to join existing gTLDs like .com and .net are: .camera, .clothing...
Fracking in Europe "“ EU Parliament has voted to require Environmental Impact Assessments for shale gas developments
On 9 October 2013, the European Parliament narrowly voted in favour of an amendment to the EU's Environmental Impact Assessment Directive (EIA Directive) which would require environmental impact assessments (EIAs) to be performed for hydraulic fracturing for coal bed methane...
Texas Regulators Take First Steps to Acquire Greenhouse Gas Permitting Authority
On October 4th, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) released a preliminary draft of a proposal to establish greenhouse gas (GHG) permitting regulations for the state of Texas. This action kicks off what is likely to be a lively...
D.C. Circuit Halts Department of Labor's Reclassification of Loan Officers
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday handed the Mortgage Bankers Association a huge win by refusing to grant a full court review of a panel decision that struck down a 2010 U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) reclassification of...