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Inflation Reduction Act
Unusual Dynamics Of Upstream Distress - Environmental Law Seminar, Spring 2017
A high-level presentation on financial distress affecting upstream oil and gas companies. The presentation discusses factors that precipitated this distress (such as low commodity prices), the effects of such distress (such as accelerated decommissioning obligations), and highlights key challenges and takeaways of note.
Environmental Auditing and Audit Disclosure in a New Era
Tim Wilkins discusses what changes in the country’s regulatory direction and approach to enforcement mean for environmental compliance auditing programs and audit disclosure under EPA and State audit policies.
EPA Postpones Compliance Dates for More Stringent Requirements for Discharges from Coal Fired Power Plants
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has taken two recent actions that have resulted in postponement of the compliance dates for more stringent requirements in the effluent limitations guidelines and standards for the steam electric power generating point source category...
EPA Announces Methane Rule Reconsideration, Adding to List of Obama-Era Rules Under Review
On April 18, 2017, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the EPA will convene a proceeding for reconsideration of certain elements of the 2016 rule establishing methane emissions standards for the oil and gas industry (“Methane...
EPA Seeks Public Comment on Existing Regulations for Repeal, Replacement or Modification
On April 13, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it is seeking comments from the public on existing regulations that the Agency should consider repealing, replacing, or modifying. 82 Fed. Reg. 17793 (Apr. 13, 2017). EPA issued...
EPA Proposes to Delay the Effective Date of RMP Rule Amendments to 2019
On April 3, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule that would delay the effective date of the recent Risk Management Program (RMP) rule amendments to February 19, 2019. 82 Fed. Reg. 16146 (Apr. 3, 2017)...
President Trump Signs Executive Order “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth”
On March 28, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order titled “ Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth .” Touted by the administration as both “protecting the environment and promoting [the] economy,” [1] the Order aims to “promote clean and...
Texas Regional Haze: Fifth Circuit Grants EPA’s Motion to Remand the Texas Regional Haze FIP
On March 22, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit allowed EPA to revise and change the Texas Regional Haze Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) when it granted EPA’s motion to remand the plan to EPA for revision...
EPA Withdraws Oil and Gas Information Collection Request
On March 2, 2017, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt made it clear that he will follow through on President Trump's promise to reduce regulatory burdens by withdrawing the Information Collection Request (ICR) that the Obama EPA issued last November to...
EPA Withdraws Oil and Gas Information Collection Request
On March 2, 2017, new EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt made it clear that he will follow through on President Trump's promise to reduce regulatory burdens by withdrawing the Information Collection Request (ICR) that the Obama EPA issued last November to...
What Will Be the Fate of PHMSA’s Final Hazardous Liquids Pipeline Rule?
On January 13, 2017, just one week before President Trump’s inauguration, PHMSA released final updates to the Pipeline Safety Regulations applicable to onshore transportation of hazardous liquids (“Final Rule”) . The Final Rule was then subject to the Priebus Memo...
Recent Developments in Water
Sara Burgin covers a range of water issues, including: Nationwide Permits: What you need to know about the nationwide permits reissued by the Army Corps of Engineers Water Jurisdiction: What waters will be jurisdictional under the Trump administration NPDES Permit...
White House Issues Interim Guidance Memo on Implementation of "Two-for-One" Executive Order On Regulations, Invites Public Comment
On February 2, 2017, the Acting Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (“OIRA”) issued a guidance document (the “Interim Guidance”) intended to help clarify President Trump’s January 30, 2017 Executive Order titled “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory...
President Trump’s SCOTUS Nominee, Judge Neil Gorsuch, Suggests a Weakening of the Chevron Doctrine With Less Deference to Rulemaking Efforts from EPA, DOI and Other Federal Agencies
On January 31, President Donald Trump selected Judge Neil Gorsuch as his nomination for the United States Supreme Court seat left open by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia nearly a year ago. From an environmental law perspective, it is...
President Trump Directs Federal Agencies to Solicit Input from the Manufacturing Sector on Streamlined Permitting and the Reduction of Regulatory Burdens
In his first week in office, President Trump has signed several Presidential Memoranda and Executive Orders aimed at encouraging domestic infrastructure development. Many of these executive actions direct federal agencies to adhere to a pair of central tenets, i.e., expedited...