March 2010
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Bills Would Strip EPA Authority to Regulate GHG Emissions from Stationary Sources
n March 4, 2010, Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D.-W. Va.) and Reps. Nick Rahall (D-W. Va.), Rick Boucher (D-Va.) and Alan Mollohan (D-W. Va.) introduced identical bills, S. 3072 and H.R. 4753, that would suspend for two years the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) authority to regulate carbon dioxide (“CO2”) or methane emissions from stationary sources… Continue reading
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Australia to Postpone Implementation of Carbon Trading Until At Least 2013
On April 27, 2010, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced that implementation of the country’s carbon trading program, which would cap the amount of carbon dioxide that polluters could emit and require those emitters which exceeded the cap to purchase trading permits, would be delayed until at least 2013. Continue reading
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Southwestern States Put the Brakes on GHG Regulation
In April 2010, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico each took actions to limit the states’ plans to regulate GHGs. First, on April 13, 2010, a state judge in New Mexico issued a preliminary injunction preventing the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board (“EIB”) from considering or adopting a rulemaking petition to cap GHG emissions until the… Continue reading
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Power Plant in Texas to Capture 85% of Carbon Dioxide
n April 19, 2010, the Environmental Defense Fund (“EDF”) and Tenaska, Inc., announced that they had reached an agreement under which EDF agreed not to oppose a 600 megawatt coal-fired power plant Tenaska proposes to construct near Sweetwater, Texas, in exchange for Tenaska’s promise to capture and sequester 85% of the estimated 7.5 million tons… Continue reading
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CA Court: Refinery Changes Cannot Proceed Without GHG Mitigation Measures
On April 26, 2010, the California Court of Appeal of the First Appellate District upheld the injunction prohibiting modifications to Chevron’s Richmond, California oil refinery, holding that the City of Richmond improperly approved permits without requiring measures, mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA”), to mitigate the increased GHG emissions that would result from… Continue reading
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Industry Files Petition For Review of EPA’s Re-Interpretation of Johnson Memo
On April 2, 2010, the same day EPA published its final reinterpretation of the meaning of “subject to regulation” under the Clean Air Act, triggering regulation of GHG emissions from stationary sources in January 2011, several industry groups filed a petition for review of that final EPA action in the United States Court of Appeals… Continue reading
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Automakers Abandon Suits Against California’s GHG Emissions Standards for Vehicles
On April 6 and 7, 2010, automakers filed motions to withdraw their appeals in three lawsuits challenging California’s GHG emissions standards for vehicles. Continue reading
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EPA Proposes to Require Cogeneration Facilities to Report GHG Emissions
On April 12, 2010, EPA published notice of a proposal to require facilities subject to the mandatory GHG reporting rule, issued by EPA in October 2009, to report whether any of their GHG emissions come from combined heat and power generation, or “co-generation,” units at those facilities. Continue reading
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EPA, DOT Issue Joint Standards for Vehicle Fuel Economy, GHG Emissions
On April 1, 2010, EPA and the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) released joint fuel economy and the first ever greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emission limits for 2012-2016 model year light-duty vehicles, mandating that those vehicles decrease CO2 emissions each year until they achieve a combined average of 250 grams of CO2 per mile for model year… Continue reading
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Bills Would Provide Incentives for Development of Off-Shore Wind Energy
On April 19, 2010, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), along with Senators Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), Tom Caper (D. Del), Susan Collins (R-Me) and Olympia Snowe (D-Me), introduced a bill that provides funds to expand research and development (“R&D”) of offshore wind energy resources in the U.S. Continue reading