Energy Legal Blog

Impediment to In House Attorneys Offering Services to Transmission and Marketing Affiliates

Sandy Rizzo — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:49:55 +0000

FERC Order No. 717-A purports to “clarify” FERC’s Standards of Conduct governing the relationship between transmission providers and their marketing affiliates by limiting the ability of certain utility legal, finance and regulatory employees to serve both the marketing and the transmission sides of the business. This order, if not stayed, takes effect November 23. Until this [...]

Fifth Circuit Decision Threatens a Tsunami of Climate Change Tort Cases While the Defense Bar Awaits a Circuit Split

Tracy Hester — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 19:25:44 +0000

On October 16, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit revived a lawsuit filed by residents and property owners along the Mississippi Gulf coast against several corporations in the energy, fossil fuels and chemicals industries alleging that the defendants were responsible for property damage caused by Hurricane Katrina. Comer v. Murphy Oil [...]

No Longer Whether, but Only How Will US Choose To Control Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Colette Fozard — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:42:50 +0000

Both the US Senate and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on September 30 moved ahead with programs to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Which program goes into effect will determine whether those emissions are controlled pursuant to a nationwide cap-and-trade program that ratchets them down approximately 80 percent below 2005 levels by 2050 or, at least initially, [...]

US v. Radley Pares Enforcement Authority Under the Commodities Exchange Act

Andrew McLain — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 22:18:48 +0000

The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas dismissed a twenty-six-count indictment that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and Justice Department had brought against four former BP traders for allegedly attempting to manipulate the TET propane market in 2004 in violation of the Commodities Exchange Act (CEA). In doing so, the court appears to have [...]

Industry Awaits Obama Administration Decisions on Offshore Oil Exploration

Michael Olsen — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 14:32:00 +0000

On September 21, the comment period ended for the Department of the Interior’s Draft Proposed Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2010-2015 (DPP). The DPP would replace the current program covering 2007-2012. With President Bush’s removal of the Executive withdrawal on offshore oil and gas exploration, along with Congress’ allowing its [...]

EPA Issues Final Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule

Nick Kosar — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 15:39:42 +0000

EPA’s new GHG Inventory Rule is now final and will require prompt attention by many business sectors to help ensure compliance effective January 2010. The rule establishes the most sweeping monitoring and reporting regime in memory and will serve as the basis for future policies and legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Companies and large [...]

NIST Seeks Public Comment on Smart Grid Framework

Tracy Davis — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 14:18:27 +0000

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) of the US Department of Commerce on September 24 released its first round of almost 80 draft “Smart Grid” standards, which are intended to establish a framework for Smart Grid development. These initial standards establish a conceptual model for the Smart Grid by (1) addressing how the [...]

State Regulators Continue Battles Against Federally-Approved Capacity Markets Despite Recent Setbacks

Andrew McLain — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:06:15 +0000

Maryland and New Jersey’s state utility boards August 24 petitioned the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to review FERC’s approval of PJM’s initial Reliability Pricing Model (RPM) capacity auctions. The state regulators, joined by more than a dozen other petitioners, argued before FERC that “[t]he absence of price discipline provided by new [...]

Apex Oil: Environmental Cleanup Liability Survives Bankruptcy

Nick Kosar — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:04:15 +0000

In U.S. v. Apex Oil, a three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit ruled 3-0 that EPA’s cleanup injunction against the corporate successor to a chemical company was not discharged in Chapter 11 because the injunction does not create a right to payment and, consequently, is not a ‘debt’ under the Bankruptcy Code. In essence, Apex had [...]

FCC Seeks Comment on Smart Grid Technologies

Tracy Davis — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 17:01:48 +0000

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 directed the Federal Communications Commission to develop a National Broadband Plan. To help develop that plan, the FCC has requested comment on how advanced telecommunications services and infrastructure, and broadband in particular, can help implement Smart Grid technology. In its request, the Commission recognizes Smart Grid as a [...]