July 27, 2017
On July 17, 2017, the governments of California’s Marin and San Meteo counties, as well as the city of Imperial Beach, filed three separate complaints in California Superior Court in their respective counties against 37 oil, gas, and coal companies. We have previously written about similar suits filed by citizen groups, states, and cities in federal court here.
Although most of these suits…
July 20, 2017
On July 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily recalled its mandate previously issued contemporaneously with the entry of its July 3rd opinion rejecting EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stay of portions of Obama-era “New Source Performance Standards” for the oil and gas sector. In rejecting Administrator Pruitt’s request for a longer extension of time to…
June 30, 2017
Several years ago, Murray Energy sued EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia under § 304(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act, which authorizes actions against EPA when it fails to perform an act or duty “which is not discretionary.” Murray sought to enjoin further rulemaking by EPA and the implementation of the Clean Power Plan until EPA explored the impacts of its Clean Air Act programs…
April 25, 2017
On April 20, 2017, a South Carolina federal district court dismissed an environmental group’s Clean Water Act (“CWA”) citizen suit against Plantation Pipe Line Company, Inc. (“PPL”) and its parent company, Kinder Morgan Energy Partner, L.P. PPL owns a 3,100 mile petroleum pipeline that leaked 369,000 gallons in December 2014. The leak was repaired within a few days of…
March 16, 2017
On November 10, 2016, EPA issued Information Collection Request requiring oil and natural gas companies to provide extensive information that EPA desired to develop regulations for reducing methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources.
The information request was sent to more than 15,000 owners and operators in the oil and gas industry. The request was comprised of two parts: An…
January 13, 2017
In combination with the release of the Stream Protection Rule (“SPR”), previously reported, the Obama administration released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“F&WS”) and the United States Office of Surface Mining (“OSM”) which expands the role of the OSM in delegated state program oversight and the consideration of…
November 28, 2016
My colleagues and I have the privilege of working with coal operators every day in the places where coal is mined in this country. From coal basins in Appalachia to Illinois to the Powder River Basin, we have had the pleasure of helping those who mine the coal that powers our homes and makes our steel.
In recent years, the challenges have been numerous, to put it mildly. Undoubtedly, many of those…
November 8, 2016
Seven environmental groups have sued EPA, seeking an order compelling it to act on a petition to require the development of a national ambient air quality standard (“NAAQS”) for ammonia. The Complaint alleges that EPA has failed to act on a petition the plaintiffs submitted in 2011, which sought to designate ammonia as a “criteria pollutant” under § 108 of Clean Air Act and to establish a…
November 8, 2016
Seven environmental groups have sued EPA seeking an order compelling it to act on a petition to require the development of a national ambient air quality standard (“NAAQS”) for ammonia. The Complaint alleges that EPA has failed to act on a petition the plaintiffs submitted in 2011 seeking to designate ammonia as a “criteria pollutant” under § 108 of Clean Air Act and to establish a NAAQS…
November 3, 2016
On October 3, in accordance with the October 17 federal court order, EPA submitted a proposed schedule for studying the employment impacts of its administration and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. As previously summarized here, the federal district court previously ruled that EPA failed to conduct mandatory evaluations of the employment effects of its enforcement of the Clean Air…
August 23, 2016
The Sierra Club and its acolytes have openly derided those who advocate using gas as a “bridge fuel.” Now, the group seeks to slow the construction of both a new gas-fired power plant in Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline slated to provide fuel to the Plant. The Appalachian Mountain Advocates (“Appalmad”), who serve frequently as counsel to the Sierra Club, have bragged…
June 7, 2016
We have previously reported about Murray Energy’s lawsuit against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray claims that EPA has failed to conduct studies on the impacts of its rules and enforcement policies on coal industry jobs pursuant to Section 321(a) of the Clean Air Act. EPA filed a motion for summary judgment in early May. Murray claims that EPA has…
July 27, 2017
On July 17, 2017, the governments of California’s Marin and San Meteo counties, as well as the city of Imperial Beach, filed three separate complaints in California Superior Court in their respective counties against 37 oil, gas, and coal companies. We have previously written about similar suits filed by citizen groups, states, and cities in federal court here.
Although most of these suits…
July 20, 2017
On July 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily recalled its mandate previously issued contemporaneously with the entry of its July 3rd opinion rejecting EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stay of portions of Obama-era “New Source Performance Standards” for the oil and gas sector. In rejecting Administrator Pruitt’s request for a longer extension of time to…
June 30, 2017
Several years ago, Murray Energy sued EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia under § 304(a)(2) of the Clean Air Act, which authorizes actions against EPA when it fails to perform an act or duty “which is not discretionary.” Murray sought to enjoin further rulemaking by EPA and the implementation of the Clean Power Plan until EPA explored the impacts of its Clean Air Act programs…
April 25, 2017
On April 20, 2017, a South Carolina federal district court dismissed an environmental group’s Clean Water Act (“CWA”) citizen suit against Plantation Pipe Line Company, Inc. (“PPL”) and its parent company, Kinder Morgan Energy Partner, L.P. PPL owns a 3,100 mile petroleum pipeline that leaked 369,000 gallons in December 2014. The leak was repaired within a few days of…
March 16, 2017
On November 10, 2016, EPA issued Information Collection Request requiring oil and natural gas companies to provide extensive information that EPA desired to develop regulations for reducing methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources.
The information request was sent to more than 15,000 owners and operators in the oil and gas industry. The request was comprised of two parts: An…
January 13, 2017
In combination with the release of the Stream Protection Rule (“SPR”), previously reported, the Obama administration released a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“F&WS”) and the United States Office of Surface Mining (“OSM”) which expands the role of the OSM in delegated state program oversight and the consideration of…
November 28, 2016
My colleagues and I have the privilege of working with coal operators every day in the places where coal is mined in this country. From coal basins in Appalachia to Illinois to the Powder River Basin, we have had the pleasure of helping those who mine the coal that powers our homes and makes our steel.
In recent years, the challenges have been numerous, to put it mildly. Undoubtedly, many of those…
November 8, 2016
Seven environmental groups have sued EPA, seeking an order compelling it to act on a petition to require the development of a national ambient air quality standard (“NAAQS”) for ammonia. The Complaint alleges that EPA has failed to act on a petition the plaintiffs submitted in 2011, which sought to designate ammonia as a “criteria pollutant” under § 108 of Clean Air Act and to establish a…
November 8, 2016
Seven environmental groups have sued EPA seeking an order compelling it to act on a petition to require the development of a national ambient air quality standard (“NAAQS”) for ammonia. The Complaint alleges that EPA has failed to act on a petition the plaintiffs submitted in 2011 seeking to designate ammonia as a “criteria pollutant” under § 108 of Clean Air Act and to establish a NAAQS…
November 3, 2016
On October 3, in accordance with the October 17 federal court order, EPA submitted a proposed schedule for studying the employment impacts of its administration and enforcement of the Clean Air Act. As previously summarized here, the federal district court previously ruled that EPA failed to conduct mandatory evaluations of the employment effects of its enforcement of the Clean Air…
August 23, 2016
The Sierra Club and its acolytes have openly derided those who advocate using gas as a “bridge fuel.” Now, the group seeks to slow the construction of both a new gas-fired power plant in Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline slated to provide fuel to the Plant. The Appalachian Mountain Advocates (“Appalmad”), who serve frequently as counsel to the Sierra Club, have bragged…
June 7, 2016
We have previously reported about Murray Energy’s lawsuit against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray claims that EPA has failed to conduct studies on the impacts of its rules and enforcement policies on coal industry jobs pursuant to Section 321(a) of the Clean Air Act. EPA filed a motion for summary judgment in early May. Murray claims that EPA has…
