Insights

FINRA Facts and Trends: September 2022

Welcome to the latest issue of Bracewell’s FINRA Facts and Trends, a monthly newsletter devoted to condensing and digesting recent FINRA developments in the areas of enforcement, regulation and dispute resolution. This month, we report on FINRA’s new Complex Investigations...

Here We Go Again: EPA's Proposed Changes to the RMP Program

On August 31, 2022, EPA published a proposed rule that would make a number of key changes to the federal Risk Management Plan (RMP) program. The proposed changes would impact the scope of the Process Hazard Analysis (PHA), third-party compliance...

Monitor/Sidebar Crossover Part 2: I Am the One Who Knocks

In the second of a two-part series on government investigations and inspections, Bracewell partners Kevin Collins and Seth Du Charme join Environmental Law Monitor host Daniel Pope for a discussion of what to do when the government is actually knocking...

Part 1-Classified Information in Federal Criminal Litigation and the Need to Know With Sid Kamaraju

On this episode of The Bracewell Sidebar, hosts Matthew Nielsen and Seth DuCharme are joined by Sid Kamaraju to discuss litigating classified information and some of the nuances of the classification process. Prior to joining private practice, Sid was a...

ICLG: UK Renewable Energy 2023

DOJ to Companies: If You Step Up & Own Up, You Might Not Have to Pay Up

Late last year, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced material changes to the way it intended to investigate, prosecute, and resolve corporate cases. The changes were aggressive, leading us to title our update “DOJ’s Torpedoes Are in the Water: Be...

Competing Considerations in Intercreditor Agreements for Project Finance, Mining Streams and Royalties

East Coast Turns Focus to Offshore Wind Transmission

Many east coast states procuring offshore wind are now pivoting towards tackling the difficulties of interconnecting this significant resource. While some states, like New Jersey and New York, are working independently to address how to interconnect offshore wind projects efficiently...

Monitor/Sidebar Crossover Part 1: I Am The One Who Knocks

In the first of a two-part series on government investigations and inspections, Bracewell partners Kevin Collins and Seth Du Charme join Environmental Law Monitor host Daniel Pope for a discussion of best practices for preparing for government inspections at facilities...

Fifth Circuit Condemns Texas Transmission ROFR Law on Constitutional Grounds

On August 30, 2022, the Fifth Circuit issued an opinion condemning a far-reaching Texas law on electric transmission right-of-first-refusal (“ROFR”). The decision concerns a 2019 Texas law that restricted the ability to build, own, or operate new transmissions lines to...

Mistakes Pipeline Companies Make With PHMSA-Required Substance Testing

Under the Biden administration, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), like other federal regulatory enforcement agencies generally, is taking a more active approach to regulatory enforcement. One element of PHMSA regulation where covered operators are not uncommonly falling...

CSB Releases Guidance on Accidental Release Reporting

On August 30, 2022, the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (“CSB” or the “Agency”) issued a guidance document aimed at helping owners and operators of stationary sources and similar stakeholders understand and comply with CSB’s Accidental Release and...

EPA Proposes Changes to Risk Management Plan Rules

On August 19, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted the pre-Federal Register publication of its latest effort to revise the Risk Management Plan (RMP) rule – this time titled the “Safer Communities by Chemical Accident Prevention” or SCCAP rule...

Recent Crypto Bills

On this episode of Crypto Bits, Anne Termine and Sam Folb discuss two different pieces of legislation recently proposed that are intended to provide a regulatory framework for digital assets. The first bill is the Responsible Financial Innovation Act, proposed...

Your Word Is Your Bond: Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals Determines Surety Bonds Are Not Executory Contracts Even Through Multiparty Approach in In re Falcon V, LLC

Following an August 11, 2022 opinion from the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, certain irrevocable surety bonds will not be considered executory contracts in bankruptcy, even when a court applies a functional multiparty approach to the traditional Countryman...