On September 11th the U.S. EPA released a proposal that relaxes requirements for how energy companies monitor and repair methane leaks. This proposal is among the many proposed rollbacks of Obama-era regulations. The draft proposal has not yet been published in the Federal Register. Under the proposal, companies would perform a leak inspection at least […]
This month, the Trump administration moved forward with a plan to unravel aggressive federal emissions and fuel economy standards. The EPA and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a joint statement Thursday unveiling their plan to replace those standards with something much more lax. Automakers have argued since the passage of the more stringent standards […]
On Tuesday morning the EPA revealed its proposed plan for replacing the Obama-era “Clean Power Plan.” The EPA says the new rule will give states more authority and create new jobs, taking the place of the “overly prescriptive and burdensome” Clean Power Plan. The new plan, titled the “Affordable Clean Energy” or “ACE” Rule, would […]
On July 11, 2018 the Air Resources Board announced that California’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped below 1990 levels in 2016. At the time AB 32 was passed, the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 was to be achieved by 2020. Governor Jerry Brown and other State officials said that the results prove the […]
On May 30, 2018, the California Public Utilities Commission (“CPUC”) approved wide-ranging proposals from the State’s large investor-owned utilities to expand electric vehicle infrastructure and rebate programs with a total budget of over $738 million. The order stems from the 2016 directive ordering investment owned utilities to propose projects that would advance the electrification of […]
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a court filing Wednesday that it “does not intend” to revisit a 2015 rule that tightened ozone standards, answering a lingering question that had both industry and environmental groups on edge. Article HERE.
It was not a surprise last Thursday, when U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan dismissed with prejudice New York City’s lawsuit against ExxonMobil, Chevron, ConocoPhillips, BP, and Royal Dutch Shell. The city’s lawsuit sought to hold these oil companies accountable for infrastructure damage related to climate change, claiming that the defendants knew that their production […]
A federal judge on Monday threw out a lawsuit brought by the cities of San Francisco and Oakland against fossil fuel companies over the anticipated costs of dealing with future climate change. The decision should raise a warning for other local governments around the United States that have filed similar suits, including New York City. […]
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge M. Christina Armijo found that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) must set aside 13 oil and gas leases covering approximately 20,000 acres of the Santa Fe National Forest. Specifically, Judge Armijo found that BLM’s greenhouse gas analysis was insufficient, and set aside the BLM’s finding of no significant […]
In early May, California became the first state in the country to require solar panels on all new homes, in an attempt to aggressively curb greenhouse gas emissions. The California Energy Commission (“CEC”) adopted updates to the state energy code’s building efficiency standards requiring solar photovoltaic systems on newly constructed residential buildings with three stories […]
