The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recently released a prepublication version of its final rule establishing a greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measure. The final rule establishes a method for measurement of GHG emissions associated with transportation and requires state departments of transportation (State DOTs) and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) that have National Highway System (NHS) routes … Continue Reading
On May 25, 2023, the US Supreme Court, in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, ___ US_ (2023) (“Sackett”) held that “waters of the United States” for purposes of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”) refer “only to geographical features that are described in ordinary parlance as “streams, oceans, rivers and lakes’ and to … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2022, the US Supreme Court held that the Obama-era Clean Power Plan (CPP) “[c]apping carbon dioxide emissions at a level that [would] force” energy generation shifting from coal to natural gas to renewables nationwide was not within the statutory authority that Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act (CAA), codified as 42 … Continue Reading
On April 21, 2020, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published, in the Federal Register, their final rule (2020 Rule) revising the definition of “waters of the United States” and narrowing the scope of waters subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act. … Continue Reading
On February 17, 2015, the Ohio Supreme Court issued its long awaited decision in Ohio ex rel. Morrison et al. v. Beck Energy et al.., with a majority of the justices of the high court finding that R.C. §1509.02 gives the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) “sole and exclusive” authority to regulate the permitting, … Continue Reading
Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director James Zehringer announced that the Department will include tougher conditions in permits for horizontal drilling for oil and gas near faults or areas of past seismic activity. The new policy is a response to its investigation of recent seismic events in Poland Township, Mahoning County, Ohio which ODNR described … Continue Reading
On September 23, 2013, the Third Circuit denied GenOn Power Midwest LP’s Petition for Rehearing En Banc in the Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station, GenOn Power Midwest, L.P. appeal. As we previously reported, the petition sought review of the court’s September 3, 2013 decision finding that the Clean Air Act does not preempt state law … Continue Reading
On September 3, 2013, GenOn Power Midwest LP filed a Petition for Rehearing En Banc in response to last month’s decision by a panel of the the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals in Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station, GenOn Power Midwest, L.P., finding that the Clean Air Act (CAA) does not preempt state law tort claims brought by … Continue Reading
