March 2010
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March 2010 Update: Climate Change
Jenner & Block’s Environmental, Energy & Natural Resources Law Practice, recently posted to Jenner & Block’s Climate Change Update Resource Center their March 2010 Update of Climate Change developments. Continue reading
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India and China Declare Support for Copenhagen Accord
On March 8 and 9, 2010, respectively, India and China submitted letters to the executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) indicating their support for the “Copenhagen Accord,” reached in December 2009 at the 15th Annual Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in Denmark. Continue reading
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Higher Clearing Price for Carbon Allowances at Seventh RGGI Auction
On March 10, 2010, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (“RGGI”), comprised of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine, Maryland, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, and New Hampshire, held its seventh auction of carbon dioxide (CO2) emission allowances. Continue reading
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Oregon, Washington Adopt Laws to Monitor and Reduce GHG Emissions
On March 18 and 19, 2010, Governor Ted Kulongoski (D) of Oregon and Governor Christine Gregoire (D) of Washington signed bills which pave the way for greater information about and potential reductions of GHG emissions in their states. Continue reading
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Wyoming Court: Coal-Fired Power Plant Need Not Control GHG Emissions
n March 5, 2010, Wyoming’s Supreme Court affirmed the issuance of a Clean Air Act (“CAA”) permit for a coal-fired power plant, holding that the plant is not required to limit Greenhouse Gas (“GHG”) emissions because GHGs are not subject to Best Available Control Technology requirements under the CAA. Continue reading
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BLM Settlement Requires Review of NEPA Obligations to Evaluate Climate Impacts
On March 18, 2010, the U.S. District Court for the District of Montana approved a settlement between the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) and the Montana Environmental Information Center under which BLM has agreed to review its duties under National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), the Federal Law Policy and Management Act (“FLPMA”), the Mineral… Continue reading
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EPA Settles Suit Challenging Failure to Act on Ocean Acidification
On March 10, 2010, EPA entered into a legal settlement with the Center for Biological Diversity (“CBD”) in which EPA agreed to sign, by March 15, 2010, a Federal Register notice seeking comments on ocean acidification as it pertains to § 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (“CWA”). Continue reading
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States Mount Joint Attack on EPA’s Endangerment Finding; Others Defend Finding
In late March, 2010, sixteen states sought permission to intervene in a lawsuit filed by Virginia in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Colombia Circuit, in which Virginia alleges that EPA’s finding that GHGs endanger the public health and welfare (“the endangerment finding”) is based on unsound science and would have adverse… Continue reading
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NOAA: Pacific Smelt Threatened by Climate Change
On March 18, 2010, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (“NOAA”) published its final determination to list a population of euchalon, also known as Pacific smelt, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). 75 Fed. Reg. 13012. Continue reading
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Jackson: GHG Emissions Requirements for Stationary Sources to Begin in 2011
On March 29, 2010, EPA formally announced that it had reconsidered its interpretation of the term “subject to regulation” under the Clean Air Act (“CAA”), and as a result, will delay the effective date of greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions requirements for stationary sources until at least January 2, 2011. 75 Fed. Reg. 17004. Continue reading