Given the current economic stressors affecting the fossil fuel industry, there is growing political interest in investment policies that financial institutions are applying to that industry. On May 7, Republican lawmakers penned a letter to the Trump Administration that cited the economic instability of the COVID‑19 pandemic as the basis for a request for regulatory … Continue Reading
Control of nutrient loadings to US surface waters has widely proven to be a difficult task, and nutrient levels in many of our waterways continue to fail in satisfying the stated goals of the Clean Water Act. In 2015, the State of Montana established stringent water quality standards for nutrients. Recognizing the economic and social … Continue Reading
Stormwater permitting requirements for many industrial facilities are set forth in US EPA’s Multi-Sector General Permit for Stormwater Discharges Associated with Industrial Activity (MSGP) or state permits based on the MSGP. US EPA last issued the permit in 2015, which expires on June 4, 2020. While the current Administration does not appear to be predisposed … Continue Reading
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) now has until January 10, 2018 to act on the Grid Resiliency Pricing Rule proposal. As we previously reported, FERC had been facing a December 11, 2017 deadline set out in the Department of Energy (DOE) proposal, which calls for full recovery of costs for “fuel-secure” generating units in … Continue Reading
As the deadline imposed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) approaches for the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to determine whether to exercise its regulatory authority over the electricity market in a manner designed to throw a life line to coal and nuclear power generators, the FERC commissioners have not hesitated to publicly make … Continue Reading
Since President Nixon signed into law the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in 1973, the ESA has directed the identification and protection of endangered and threatened species in the United States. While President Obama remarked that his Administration had “seen more victories under the Endangered Species Act than any previous administration,” the Obama Administration generally applied the ESA … Continue Reading
Although the focus and priorities of a new US EPA administration under President-elect Trump remain unclear, regulatory changes may be in the works that could require certain industrial entities to either change how they handle stormwater discharges or face lawsuits brought by environmental groups. As described more fully below, US EPA entered into a settlement … Continue Reading
US EPA announced recently that it had awarded twenty-eight Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) grants totaling more than $12.5 million. Portions of this federal funding will provide financial assistance to owners of farmland who voluntarily act to reduce nutrient runoff from their land. The provision of federal funding to address issues in the Great Lakes … Continue Reading
On March 14, 2016, two new federal rules went into effect that could change the way in which the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is implemented throughout the United States. The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) finalized these rules to update the regulatory provisions on which the agencies … Continue Reading
The U.S. Internal Revenue Code will continue to provide tax incentives for renewable energy. On December 18, 2015, President Obama signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016 (“Act”), which sailed through both the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. The Act renews tax credit programs for both wind and solar electricity generation for a … Continue Reading
