Energy and Environmental Trends Watch

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By: Blank Rome

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Blank Rome LLP

Latest from Energy and Environmental Trends Watch

Margaret Anne Hill, Frank L. Tamulonis III, and Holli B. Packer ● The Supreme Court of the United States’ recent ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo[1]dealt a significant blow to the power of federal agencies by ending the 40-year-old precedent commonly known as “Chevron deference.” Loper has now removed the judicial mandate that courts apply “Chevron…

Margaret Anne Hill and Camila Thorpe ● On April 10, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) finalized the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation (“NPDWR”) for six per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”). PFAS, also known as “forever chemicals,” are widely used in industry and consumer products. According to the EPA, these chemicals have been linked to…

Margaret Anne Hill, Holli B. Packer, and Robert P. Scott ● The Environmental Protection Agency issued a final rule on March 14 that will require significantly reduced emissions from commercial facilities that sterilize medical devices and other equipment using ethylene oxide gas (“EtO Rule”). The EtO Rule amends the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (“NESHAP”), 40…

Margaret Anne Hill and Holli B. Packer ● On March 6, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) adopted amendments to the disclosure rules under the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Although the final rule is a scaled-back version of the proposal published on March 21, 2022, the new rule will require…

Brett A. Snyder and Lamiya N. Rahman  ● On October 25, 2023, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) released a draft roadmap addressing challenges to the interconnection of clean energy projects to the transmission grid. The roadmap, developed by the Interconnection Innovation e-Xchange (“i2X”),[1] identifies short-term (1–2 year), medium-term (2–5 year), and long-term (5+ year) solutions aimed at…

Jeanne M. Grasso and Dana S. Merkel The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“SNPR”) on October 18, 2023, modifying its initial proposed rule from three years ago on performance standards for vessel incidental discharges. 2023-22879.pdf (govinfo.gov) The SNPR addressed only three limited areas—ballast water, hulls and associated niche areas, and…

Jane Thomas ● In recent years, a string of cases has been brought before the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) challenging the Chevron doctrine, which states that courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable. Despite the numerous cases that have come before…

Mark R. Haskell, Brett A. Snyder, Lamiya N. Rahman, and Jane Thomas On July 28, 2023, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) unanimously approved Order No. 2023, a Final Rule designed to streamline the process by which generation resources can connect to the interstate transmission grid. At a high level, the Final Rule substantially revises the current pro…

Michael C. Lupton ● On May 25, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) issued a decision, Sackett v. EPA, which dramatically curtailed the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) authority to regulate certain wetlands under the Clean Waters Act (“CWA” or the “Act”). The CWA, enacted in 1972, has been the primary federal law regulating…