The Army Corps of Engineers will not consider GHG impacts in its environmental review of PNW coal export facilities.
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Fourth White Paper Released by House Committee
By Graham Noyes on
The House Committee on Energy and Commerce released its fourth white paper on the Renewable Fuel Standard. The white paper discusses the energy impacts of the RFS and the changes in US energy demand in the five years since the RFS passed. The paper calls for comments regarding the impact of the RFS on demand, petroleum…
US Federal Social Price for Carbon Skyrockets
By Graham Noyes on
The Obama administration took another step forward with its greenhouse gas control program yesterday when it quietly posted its “Technical Update of the Social Cost of Carbon for Regulatory Impact Analysis under Executive Order 12866.”…
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RIN Futures Become a Reality
By Graham Noyes on
In a development that will increase liquidity and transparency in the RIN market, two major providers are making RIN future contracts available to be traded. Both CME Group and the IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) will have RIN products available to be traded by mid May.
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EPA Releases Green Diesel Notice of Violation
By Graham Noyes on
Posted in Biofuels, Regulation
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.
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Supreme Court Dismisses Common Law GHG Case Against Energy Producers
By Lee Smith on
Posted in California, Climate Change
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…
Injunction on California Cap & Trade Rules Stayed by Appeal
By Lee Smith on
Posted in California, Litigation
At the prompting of the Petitioners, on June 6, 2011, the San Francisco Superior Court delivered an order criticizing the California Air Resources Board for continuing to work on AB 32, Greenhouse Gas regulations, despite the injunction issued in the CEQA case and ordered them to appear to discuss the issue. However, late last week the Appeals…
California Adopts its Cap-and-Trade Program for Greenhouse Gas Emissions
By William H. Holmes on
After a full day of testimony and deliberation on December 16, 2010, the California Air Resources Board (ARB) adopted the state’s Cap-and-Trade Program on a 9-to-1 vote. The Program is promulgated under the California Global Warming Solutions Act (A.B. 32) as a market-based compliance mechanism to help achieve reduction of the state’s greenhouse gas (GHG)…
Energy Law Alert: EPA Publishes CO2 Geologic Sequestration Rule in Federal Register
By William H. Holmes on
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…
EPA Issues Final GHG Reporting Rule
By William H. Holmes on
Posted in Climate Change
On the topic of Greenhouse Gas reporting, my partner Tom Wood recently circulated this "heads up" about EPA’s final rule:
On September 22, 2009, EPA issued its final rule on greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting. Fossil fuel and industrial GHG suppliers, motor vehicle and engine manufacturers, and facilities that emit 25,000 metric tons or more of…