Unpacking California's 2024 Zero Emission Fleet Mandate
West Virginia vs. EPA Part II: U.S. Supreme Court Applies the Major Questions Doctrine to limit EPA Regulatory Authority
[Webinar] Growing Greener: Navigating Environmental Laws in the Cannabis Industry
Nota Bene Episode 101: Catching up with Global Climate Regulation with Nico van Aelstyn
Schoenbrod: SCOTUS Ruling Helps EPA Deal With a "Stupid Statute"
Law Prof: The Clean Air Act Needs a Reboot
Welcome to the Tenth Issue of Currents 2024, our energy e-newsletter. Natural Gas is Not Going Away - While net-zero remains a dream for many, the electricity market is providing a wake-up call for anyone believing...more
EPA Proposes Removing Affirmative Defense Provisions from Eighteen Clean Air Act Emission Standards - In a proposed rule published on June 24, 2024, EPA has proposed to remove eighteen affirmative defense provisions for...more
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin and 24 other state Attorney Generals filed on May 9th a Petition for Review (“Petition”) in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia challenging the recent rule...more
This post is the second in a series on four key power plant rules that the Environmental Protection Agency recently released. It discusses the rule on requirements governing disposal of coal combustion residuals at inactive...more
EPA’s action finalizes aggressive emission reduction targets for certain subcategories of fossil fuel-fired power plants, based on implementation of carbon capture and sequestration. On April 25, 2024, the US...more
March and April have been busy months for vehicle emission regulation in the U.S. On March 20 and March 29 respectively, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) issued a set of final emission rules setting...more
Exercising one of its most important and far-reaching powers under the Clean Air Act, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has lowered the primary annual National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for fine particulate...more
The recently enacted Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) contains several new provisions related to methane emissions impacting oil and gas companies, including upstream and midstream. Companies who already report emissions to the...more
What’s Next in the Regulation of Methane Emissions? Previously in our sessions, I have discussed carbon dioxide and what policymakers should do about it. Last month I explained it in full in a speech to the Independent...more
The Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (“CASAC”) sent a February 4th letter to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) addressing the following subject: CASAC Review of the EPA’s Policy Assessment for...more
On April 6, 2021, more than 400 environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) submitted to EPA a “Petition for Rulemaking to Remove Methane and Ethane from ‘Negligibly Reactive’ Volatile Organic Compounds List.” If...more
It is a universal truth that closely reviewing an air permit will cure the worst case of insomnia. Isn’t that why you hire a lawyer? The pages are dense with legalese and technical jargon that make no practical sense....more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced it is proposing to retain the current Clean Air Act National Ambient Air Quality Standard (“NAAQS”) for particulate matter (“PM”). The PM standard includes...more
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and the U.S. Coast Guard (“USCG”) continue to signal interest in addressing air pollution from large ships and ocean-going vessels. Since statements made by EPA personnel in...more
EPA filed a status report on October 15 in the slow-moving mercury and air toxics (MATS) litigation, which is now Murray Energy Corp. v. EPA, No. 16-1127 (D.C. Cir., filed April 26, 2016). The case is a challenge to EPA...more
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Halloween published a draft policy assessment recommending that the current National Ambient Air Quality Standards (“NAAQS”) of 70 parts per billion (ppb) be...more
This is the eighth issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from...more
EPA recently released a final regional office realignment plan in response to President Trump’s March 2017 Executive Order 13781. That order required EPA and other federal agencies to improve efficiency, effectiveness, and...more
It seems to happen every year. A natural disaster disrupts fall football season, and interstates are full of evacuees gobbling up hotel rooms and squatting in the nearest safety zones. In those times, no one ever thinks of...more
Last week, I noted that EPA had been ordered to respond to a petition by Connecticut under § 126(b) of the Clean Air Act. This week, DOE was ordered to promulgate energy efficiency rules under the Energy Policy and...more
In late January, EPA issued a guidance memorandum related to major sources under § 112 of the Clean Air Act that will likely reduce participation in the program. ...more
A Volkswagen manager pleaded guilty to conspiracy and violating the Clean Air Act and could get seven years in prison. A Volkswagen engineer who agreed to testify against the Volkswagen manager was sentenced to three years in...more
On October 1, the Environmental Protection Agency issued a prepublication version of a final rule establishing a new National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone. The final rule lowers the primary and secondary...more
On October 1, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released its final rule lowering the ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) from 75 parts per billion (ppb) to 70 ppb nationwide (2015 Ozone...more
Many Americans listened last week to the admissions by the now former President of Volkswagen that the company had been “dishonest” and had cheated on the U.S. emissions tests. How was this happening at the world’s #1...more