Climate Change
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of May 30, 2022
Pipelines: PHMSA Announces New Rulemaking for Carbon Dioxide Pipelines ⚡
On May 26, 2022, the U.S. Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) announced a new rulemaking to update standards for carbon dioxide (CO2) pipelines. Additional new measures include an updated nationwide advisory bulletin and research solicitations to strengthen current pipeline safety. According to PHMSA, this rulemaking, and other enforcement actions, were initiated in response to the 2020 Satartia, Mississippi CO2 pipeline failure.
Climate Change: Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Affirms Denial of Exxon Mobil’s Motion to Dismiss Lawsuit
On May 24, 2022, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court entered an order […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of September 13, 2021
Pipelines: D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Rejects Petition to Rehear Decision to Remand FERC’s Certification Order for Spire STL Pipeline Project ⚡
On September 7, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied Intervenors Spire Missouri Inc. and Spire STL Pipeline’s petition for rehearing en banc to reconsider the court’s decision dated June 22, 2021, to vacate FERC’s certification order for the Spire STL Pipeline Project and remand with vacatur the case to the Commission for appropriate action. Environmental Defense Fund v. FERC, USCA D.C. Cir., No. 20-1016. The Spire STL Pipeline is an interstate […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of August 23, 2021
Climate Change: The U.S. Department of Treasury Announces Guidance on MDB Funding of Fossil Fuels and Clean Energy Projects
On August 16, 2021, the U.S. Department of the Treasury released a guidance document to assist Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) in funding and promoting the development of innovative sustainable projects rather than fossil fuel-based energy projects. In that regard, the U.S. Department of Treasury stated that it will “oppose” direct investment projects for new coal-based, oil-based energy, and upstream natural gas projects, among other things. The guidance document is titled Guidance on Fossil Fuel Energy at the Multilateral Development Banks […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of July 12, 2021
Infrastructure: California Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against California Natural Gas Infrastructure Ban ⚡
On July 6, 2021, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order dismissing a lawsuit brought by the California Restaurant Association against the city of Berkeley for the city’s recent natural gas infrastructure ban. California Restaurant Association v. City of Berkeley, No. 4:19-cv-07668. The ban, “Prohibition of Natural Gas Infrastructure in New Buildings,” (No. 7,672–N.S. Chapter 12.80) prohibits natural gas infrastructure in new buildings within the city. The ban was passed on July 16, 2019, by the Council of the City […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of June 28, 2021
Biofuels: U.S. Supreme Court Allows Non-Continuous Small Refinery Renewable Fuels Standard Blending Obligation Waiver Extensions ⚡
On June 25, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an opinion holding that a small refinery that previously received a waiver from Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) blending obligations may still receive an “extension” of the waiver even if it did not acquire a continuous waiver in previous years and allowed a previous exemption to lapse. HollyFrontier Cheyenne Refining, LLC, et al., v. Renewable Fuels Association, et al., No. 20-472. The court found that the term “extension,” which is undefined in […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of April 12, 2021
GHG Emissions: U.S. Court of Appeals Vacates EPA Rule that Regulated Source Categories for Greenhouse Gas Emissions ⚡
On April 5, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Rule that regulated source categories for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (State of California v. EPA, No. 21-1035). The EPA rule titled, Pollutant-Specific Significant Contribution Finding for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, and Process for Determining Significance of Other New Source Performance Standards Source Categories, was published in the Federal Register on January […]
President Biden Issues Major Executive Order Addressing Climate Change and Environment
Written by Chloe Marie
On January 20, 2021, his first day in office, President Joseph Biden issued an Executive Order on Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.
As the title indicates, President Biden seeks to put science and environmental justice at the forefront of national climate action. In order to do so, President Biden wrote that “the Federal Government must be guided by the best science and be protected by processes that ensure the integrity of Federal decision-making.” Consequently, and in this endeavor, the Executive […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – March 23, 2020
Federal Lands: Ohio District Court Rules that Wayne National Forest Leasing Decisions Failed to Account for Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing
On March 13, 2020, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio ruled that the decision to lease land for mineral extraction in the Wayne National Forest (Forest) failed to account for the impacts of hydraulic fracturing. (Center for Biological Diversity v. U.S. Forest Service, No. 2:17-cv-372). In October 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued an Environmental Assessment with a Finding of No Significant Impact on lands proposed for leasing in the Marietta Unit of the Forest. In […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – March 16, 2020
LNG Infrastructure: FERC Issues Final Environmental Impact Statement for Alaska LNG Project
On March 6, 2020, The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a Final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Alaska LNG Project (Project). The Final EIS concluded that the project would cause some impacts to the environment that could be reduced or mitigated through various proposed measures. However, FERC found that some permanent impacts of the Project would be significant and adverse to permafrost, wetlands, and forests in Alaska’s North Slope area. The project would also likely adversely affect six federally listed species: the spectacled eider, polar bear, bearded seal, Cook […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – January 20, 2020
Climate Change: Federal Court Dismisses Climate Change Lawsuit for Lack of Standing
On January 17, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit dismissed the Juliana v. United States climate change case, sending it back to the district court on the grounds that the children and youth plaintiffs did not meet Article III standing requirements (Juliana et al. v. United States of America, No. 6:15-cv-01517). In September 2015, a group of youth and children brought legal actions in the U.S. District Court for Oregon against the United States, alleging that the federal government failed to respond to climate change and should now […]
