December 10, 2015
A new study of the Barnett Shale in Texas, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contained conclusions that will likely inflame the debate surrounding methane emissions from oil and gas sites. The study shows that methane emissions are likely far higher than previously estimated and that a few high-emitting facilities are responsible for a majority of the…
November 16, 2015
We have previously written about Murray Energy’s lawsuit against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray Energy claims that EPA has failed to conduct studies required by Section 321 of the Clean Air Act about the effects of its rules and enforcement actions on jobs. The Court has permitted Murray Energy to conduct discovery, holding dispositive motions by EPA in abeyance…
November 11, 2015
By letter dated October 29, the Sierra Club served a “Notice of Intent to Sue” on four exploration and production companies claiming that their injection of waste fluids from the oil and gas industries has contributed to earthquakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The NOI cites the so-called “imminent harm” provision of RCRA. That provision authorizes citizens who have suffered…
November 5, 2015
On November 2, 2015, the WVDEP made a final determination to issue General Permit G70-B for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in regard to the Construction, Modification, Relocation, Administrative Update and Operation of Natural Gas Production Facilities Located at the Well Site. General Permit G70-B’s proposed benefit to the natural gas industry is the adoption of the…
November 2, 2015
Two weeks ago, two of our Lexington colleagues wrote about the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit staying the “Clean Water Rule.” The EPA and the Corps of Engineers promulgated this regulation to define what constitutes “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Although the agencies have gone to extraordinary lengths to defend the regulation as a mere “clarification,…
October 29, 2015
We have previously reported (in March 2015 and July 2015) on a challenge by the Sierra Club and other groups to EPA’s failure to respond to a petition requesting that EPA rescind the NPDES programs in Kentucky and West Virginia.
After false starts in federal district courts, the Sierra Club filed actions in both the Sixth Circuit and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging EPA’s…
October 26, 2015
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina has affirmed a very traditional issue of property rights in a very unusual setting. The district court affirmed that one may acquire ownership of a river by means of adverse possession. Equally significant is that adverse possession may be successfully asserted against the state.
The facts are highly unusual. Aluminum giant ALCOA…
October 21, 2015
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USF&WS”) has taken action on petitions to list both the Cumberland Arrow Darter and the Kentucky Arrow Darter as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. It has declined to list the Cumberland Arrow Darter, but has proposed to list the Kentucky Arrow Darter and has proposed critical habitat to protect the species.
Cumberland…
October 19, 2015
According to press accounts, the Oak Hill Town Council passed a non-binding resolution supporting a possible county ordinance that would outlaw the storage, disposal or injection of coal refuse slurry or the waste byproducts from hydrofracking within the boundaries of Fayette County, West Virginia. The Town Council referenced two model county ordinances posted on a website maintained by…
October 19, 2015
The Clean Air Act requires Title V operating permits for new and modified “major sources” and enhanced permit review (New Source Review or Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) Review) for “major stationary sources” of air pollutants. EPA’s regulations define a “stationary source” as “any building, structure, facility, or installation…
October 15, 2015
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently imposed a nationwide stay of the EPA’s controversial new “Clean Water Rule.” States and industry alike have viewed the Rule, effective on August 28, 2015, as an impermissible expansion of Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The Act governs discharges into “navigable waters,” vaguely defined by Congress to mean “waters of…
September 29, 2015
Introduction
On September 25, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a rule to address the management and disposal of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals at healthcare facilities. The proposed rule seeks to do the following:
December 10, 2015
A new study of the Barnett Shale in Texas, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contained conclusions that will likely inflame the debate surrounding methane emissions from oil and gas sites. The study shows that methane emissions are likely far higher than previously estimated and that a few high-emitting facilities are responsible for a majority of the…
November 16, 2015
We have previously written about Murray Energy’s lawsuit against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray Energy claims that EPA has failed to conduct studies required by Section 321 of the Clean Air Act about the effects of its rules and enforcement actions on jobs. The Court has permitted Murray Energy to conduct discovery, holding dispositive motions by EPA in abeyance…
November 11, 2015
By letter dated October 29, the Sierra Club served a “Notice of Intent to Sue” on four exploration and production companies claiming that their injection of waste fluids from the oil and gas industries has contributed to earthquakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The NOI cites the so-called “imminent harm” provision of RCRA. That provision authorizes citizens who have suffered…
November 5, 2015
On November 2, 2015, the WVDEP made a final determination to issue General Permit G70-B for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in regard to the Construction, Modification, Relocation, Administrative Update and Operation of Natural Gas Production Facilities Located at the Well Site. General Permit G70-B’s proposed benefit to the natural gas industry is the adoption of the…
November 2, 2015
Two weeks ago, two of our Lexington colleagues wrote about the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit staying the “Clean Water Rule.” The EPA and the Corps of Engineers promulgated this regulation to define what constitutes “waters of the United States” (WOTUS). Although the agencies have gone to extraordinary lengths to defend the regulation as a mere “clarification,…
October 29, 2015
We have previously reported (in March 2015 and July 2015) on a challenge by the Sierra Club and other groups to EPA’s failure to respond to a petition requesting that EPA rescind the NPDES programs in Kentucky and West Virginia.
After false starts in federal district courts, the Sierra Club filed actions in both the Sixth Circuit and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging EPA’s…
October 26, 2015
The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina has affirmed a very traditional issue of property rights in a very unusual setting. The district court affirmed that one may acquire ownership of a river by means of adverse possession. Equally significant is that adverse possession may be successfully asserted against the state.
The facts are highly unusual. Aluminum giant ALCOA…
October 21, 2015
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USF&WS”) has taken action on petitions to list both the Cumberland Arrow Darter and the Kentucky Arrow Darter as endangered or threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. It has declined to list the Cumberland Arrow Darter, but has proposed to list the Kentucky Arrow Darter and has proposed critical habitat to protect the species.
Cumberland…
October 19, 2015
According to press accounts, the Oak Hill Town Council passed a non-binding resolution supporting a possible county ordinance that would outlaw the storage, disposal or injection of coal refuse slurry or the waste byproducts from hydrofracking within the boundaries of Fayette County, West Virginia. The Town Council referenced two model county ordinances posted on a website maintained by…
October 19, 2015
The Clean Air Act requires Title V operating permits for new and modified “major sources” and enhanced permit review (New Source Review or Prevention of Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) Review) for “major stationary sources” of air pollutants. EPA’s regulations define a “stationary source” as “any building, structure, facility, or installation…
October 15, 2015
The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently imposed a nationwide stay of the EPA’s controversial new “Clean Water Rule.” States and industry alike have viewed the Rule, effective on August 28, 2015, as an impermissible expansion of Clean Water Act jurisdiction. The Act governs discharges into “navigable waters,” vaguely defined by Congress to mean “waters of…
September 29, 2015
Introduction
On September 25, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a rule to address the management and disposal of hazardous waste pharmaceuticals at healthcare facilities. The proposed rule seeks to do the following:
