Your Guide to Emerging Issues in Environmental Regulation and Litigation.
Can wave-energy be a green-power solution for coastal communities? That question may be at least partially answered in Newport, Oregon, a small seaside town cooperating with the U.S. Department of Energy in an attempt to convert wave power into electricity. Newport expects the project to provide enough energy to power thousands of its homes and …
The Environmental Protection Agency announced on Nov. 12 its final rule to further reduce methane emissions from oil and gas industries as required under the Inflation Reduction Act. In particular, Congress established a Waste Emissions Charge for high-emitting oil and gas facilities once emissions exceed 25,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year to …
We have relied upon lithium-ion batteries to power electric vehicles and mobile phones, among other things, almost since the inception of their respective industries. But the mining and processing necessary to manufacture these batteries provides one of their major drawbacks—not only does their production pose environmental and human costs, but their improper disposal can inject …
A couple of months ago, our blog published an article on the exploding ubiquity of Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) in the environment. TFA is a breakdown product of several hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC). It is regulated under the Montreal Protocol (MP), and hydrofluorocarbons (HFC) used mainly as refrigerants. Trifluoroacetic acid is (1) produced naturally and synthetically, (2) used …
Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) is a very reactive, brown-hued gas commonly produced when fuels are burned at high temperature by motor vehicles, chemical plants, etc. Industries will often intentionally oxidize NOx to produce lacquers, dies, and Nitric Acid, which is basic component in both fertilizers and explosives. When NOx is released into the atmosphere as an …
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on October 14 signed into law Assembly Bill X2-1, significantly increasing the authority of the California Energy Commission (CEC) to create requirements for the state’s oil refiners to preserve minimum inventories of state-compliant refined transportation fuels. Authored by assemblymembers Gregg Hart and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry in conjunction with Sen. Nancy Skinner, the …
During the first week of oral arguments of its new term, the U.S. Supreme Court heard City & County of San Francisco v. Environmental Protection Agency. (Audio of the roughly 90-minute proceedings can be found here.) This case marks the court’s first look at the Clean Water Act following its decimation last term of the …
The U.S. Supreme Court last week scheduled oral arguments for December 10 in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, a highly anticipated case that focuses on whether a federal agency should be required to consider environmental effects that it does not have direct authority to regulate and that do not occur near the project …
The ELM blog has covered several lawsuits filed over the past several years against major fossil fuel companies by plaintiffs seeking damages due to climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The claims in these lawsuits have been based on not only common law principles such as public nuisance, but also state laws, including California’s …
On October 16, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an attempt to block the implementation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) from power plants while the EPA is being challenged in pending court proceedings, but three justices indicated they had concerns with the rule’s legality. The October 16 …