Inflation Reduction Act
Environmental Management Systems: Risk vs. Reward
Companies everywhere rely on written manuals, procedures, and other formal and informal systems intended to help them achieve environmental compliance and performance. Often overlooked are the many ways in which a company’s environmental management systems can create or increase unnecessary...
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.
Clean Air Act Residual Risk And Technology Review -Environmental Law Seminar, Spring 2017
This presentation explains EPA’s responsibility to conduct a Risk and Technology Review (RTR) of nearly 100 standards addressing hazardous air pollutants at various categories of stationary sources. It describes the components of the Risk Review and of the Technology...
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...
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...
Risk Management Program (RMP) Update: EPA Adopts Final Amendments to the RMP Rule
Partners Whit Swift and Matt Paulson will discuss the amendments to the RMP rule at 40 CFR Part 68 that EPA finalized on December 21, 2016. The talk will cover the changes to the RMP program that EPA adopted and...
The Trump effect on energy and environment law, manufacturing — an E&E News and ABA presentation
[video] What will a Trump administration mean for the energy and environment legal landscape, and do manufacturers stand to benefit? Bracewell LLP's Jeff Holmstead and the National Association of Manufacturers' Ross Eisenberg sit down for an in-depth discussion on the...
2016 Election: Outlook for the Clean Power Plan and Other Environmental Issues
Scott Segal, co-head of Bracewell’s Policy Resolution Group, and Jeff Holmstead, head of the Environmental Strategies Group at Bracewell, discuss how the next President and Congress will confront issues such as climate change, the Clean Power Plan, and other environmental...
U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board Releases Strategic Plan for 2017-2021
The U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (“CSB”) released its Strategic Plan for 2017-2021 today. The Strategic Plan is the result of 18 months of staff and stakeholder development and review. The plan serves as a blueprint for the...
PHMSA Implements New Emergency Safety Authority Effective Immediately
On October 3, 2016, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced an Interim Final Rule (IFR) establishing when and how it will issue Emergency Orders to address imminent safety hazards across the oil and gas pipeline industry. See...
EPA Advances Climate Goals by Expanding Refrigerant Regulations
On September 26, 2016, EPA released a Final Rule updating the Agency’s Refrigerant Management Program. See Protection of Stratospheric Ozone: Update to the Refrigerant Management Requirements under the Clean Air Act: Final Rule . The Final Rule is scheduled to...
Texas Adopts EPA's Definition of Solid Waste Rule and E-Manifest Requirements
On June 10, 2016, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (“TCEQ”) adopted amendments to its statewide hazardous waste rules to incorporate changes made by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to the federal hazardous waste program under the Resource Conservation...
Significant New Safety Requirements Proposed For Natural Gas Pipelines
On March 17, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a major proposal to revise the safety standards for onshore natural gas pipelines. The proposed rule follows years of study as well as specific...
EPA Hits Oil and Gas Industry With a Flurry of Proposed Methane Regulations
EPA took major steps on August 18, 2015 to curtail methane emissions from the oil and gas industry by simultaneously releasing four new proposed rules. These actions are part of the Obama Administration’s larger climate action plan, which focuses primarily...