Tag: EPA

San Diego Joins Community Choice Aggregation Program⁠ – Set to Launch in 2021

On September 17, 2019 the San Diego City Council voted 7-2 to implement community choice aggregation (CCA), which included approving a resolution authorizing the city’s entry into a Joint Powers Agreement with the cities of Chula Vista, Encinitas, La Mesa and Imperial Beach, forming one of the largest CCAs in the state of California. Under … Continue Reading

States Split over Clean Power Plan and Affordable Clean Energy Rule

A coalition of more than 25 states, including Minnesota as of last week, and various cities have petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia for review of the Trump administration’s promulgation of the Affordable Clean Energy Rule (ACE Rule).  The ACE Rule repeals the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) and … Continue Reading

U.S. EPA Moves to Repeal Clean Power Plan

In a much-anticipated move, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing repeal of the Clean Power Plan (CPP).  The draft proposed rule outlines EPA’s revised interpretation of its authority under Clean Air Act section 111(d) to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from power plants only within the fenceline.  EPA concludes in the proposed rule that the … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Stays Clean Power Plan Implementation: Next Steps

Ed. – originally authored by Kevin Johnson and Thomas Wood. The U.S. Supreme Court’s order on February 9, 2016 staying EPA’s implementation of the Clean Power Plan (CPP) will create at least a year of uncertainty about the shape of the future electric power regulatory framework, with implications for states, utilities and other electric power … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Rolls Back EPA’s Regulation of Greenhouse Gases in Utility Air Regulatory Group Decision

The U.S. Supreme Court has delivered a stunner with its decision this morning in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. Environmental Protection Agency. The Supreme Court has curtailed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of stationary source greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under two Clean Air Act permitting programs – New Source Review Prevention of Significant Deterioration … Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Hears Arguments in Landmark Case on Federal Greenhouse Gas Regulation

My colleague, Daniel Lee, followed oral argument yesterday in the U.S. Supreme Court’s consideration of federal greenhouse gas (GHG) regulation in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, and provides this analysis: During oral argument for Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA this Monday, the Supreme Court conflicted over a number of issues including the application of Chevron deference,  … Continue Reading

Nebraska Sues U.S. EPA Over Proposed Greenhouse Gas Emissions Standards for New Power Plants

Nebraska filed suit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in federal court on Wednesday, challenging the agency’s newly proposed standards for greenhouse gas emissions from new power plants. Nebraska argues that EPA’s proposed regulation, officially released last week, violates the Energy Policy Act of 2005. The Act prohibits EPA from considering new technology or a level … Continue Reading

EPA Proposes 2013 RFS2 Volume Obligations

Last Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency released its proposed rule for the 2013 Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS2”) volume obligations. Every year the EPA is required to determine and publish the annual volume requirements for each class of renewable fuel that obligated parties will have to comply with for the upcoming year under the RFS2 program. The volumes required … Continue Reading

Requests to Waive US Renewable Fuels Standard Denied by EPA

The U.S  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced it has denied requests from the Governors of Arkansas and North Carolina to waive Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) volume requirements, based on the effects of the drought on feedstocks used to produce renewable fuel in 2012-2013. The petitions, filed in August, triggered a review process to determine … Continue Reading

Comment Period Closes for RFS Waiver Request: EPA Receives Nearly 30K Public Comments

The deadline for public comments on petitions seeking a waiver of the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) expired last night on October 11, 2012. The Governors of Arkansas and North Carolina had submitted separate requests, in letters dated August 13, 2012 and August 14, 2012,  asking for a waiver of RFS volume requirements. Under Section 211(o)(7)(A) … Continue Reading

D.C. Circuit Rejects Challenge to Introduction of E15 Ethanol Fuel Blend

In a decision released this morning, the DC Circuit rejected a challenge to the introduction of E15, a gasoline blended with 15 percent ethanol, under an EPA waiver grant. Currently, the national gasoline supply consists largely of E10, a 10 percent ethanol/gasoline blend. With fuel manufacturers confronting mandatory annual increases of renewable fuels under the … Continue Reading

EPA Releases Green Diesel Notice of Violation

Yesterday the EPA released the third major Notice of Violation ("NOV") against a biofuel producer in the past six months under the Renewable Fuel Standard ("RFS"). The NOV states that EPA has determined that Green Diesel, LLC of Houston, Texas, generated 60,034,033 invalid Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs') with a current market value of perhaps $85 million. Coming on the heels of the resolution of the Clean Green Diesel and Absolute Fuels NOVs, this NOV is likely to trigger immediate market reaction.… Continue Reading

BioEnergy Law Alert: EPA Issues Notice of Violation to Absolute Fuels

On February 2, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") issued a Notice of Violation ("NOV") of the Renewable Fuel Standard ("RFS") to Absolute Fuels, a company located in Lubbock, Texas. The NOV alleges that between August 31, 2010, and October 11, 2011, Absolute Fuels generated over 48 million Renewable Identification Numbers ("RINs") and that all … Continue Reading

Legal Challenge to Avenal Energy Project’s PSD Permit Filed with the Ninth Circuit

On November 3, 2011, the proposed Avenal Energy Project, a 600-megawatt natural gas-fired power plant proposed in the city of Avenal near Kettleman City in Kings County, California, encountered another legal challenge to providing electricity to the southern San Joaquin Valley. Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, and Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice challenged the … Continue Reading

Renewable Energy Law Alert: EPA Releases Draft 2012 Renewable Fuel Standards

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) has released a series of proposed rules relating to the Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”). Originally enacted by Congress in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and expanded by the Energy Independence Act of 2007, the RFS represents the country’s most comprehensive and effective policy in the energy security and … Continue Reading

Supreme Court Dismisses Common Law GHG Case Against Energy Producers

On June 20, 2011, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion on American Electric Power Co., Inc., et al. v. Connecticut, et al.  This case is significant because it dismissed a lawsuit in which several states and environmental groups sought court orders requiring large electrical utilities (alleged to be “the five largest emitters of carbon … Continue Reading

Energy Law Alert: EPA Publishes CO2 Geologic Sequestration Rule in Federal Register

On Friday, December 10, 2010, EPA published in the Federal Register its final rule governing the underground injection of carbon dioxide (CO2) for geologic sequestration (GS) under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). EPA released a pre-publication version of this rule back on November 22, 2010. Stoel Rives previewed the pre-publication version on our Renewable … Continue Reading

New REAP grants; EPA and USDA Promote Renewable Energy Generation from Livestock

    New programs are in place to step up the use of renewable energy on farms through new grants and feasibility surveys: 1.    USDA announced yesterday that it is soliciting applications for a total of four renewable energy programs.         a.     Rural producers and small businesses installing renewable energy systems can apply for grants … Continue Reading

Free Webinar on New Advanced Renewable Fuel Standard/RFS2

A quick follow up on my post last month regarding my colleague Graham Noyes’ white paper on the EPA’s sweeping revision of the federal Advanced Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2). On April 20, Graham and his co-author Clayton McMartin will participate in a live Q&A webinar with Biofuels Journal publisher Myke Feinman on the new RFS2. … Continue Reading

White Paper Explains New Advanced Renewable Fuel Standard/RFS2

My colleague Graham Noyes and Clayton McMartin of Clean Fuels Clearinghouse recently published a white paper on the massive and staggeringly complex revision of the federal Advanced Fuel Standard (RFS) issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on February 3, 2010. Graham and Clayton describe how this second generation renewable fuel initiative (RFS2) will bring … Continue Reading
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