Environmental Updates

Energy Technology Connections: Your Law Firm Link to Industry News – November 2014

By Mintz Levin - Energy & Clean Technology Matters

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As the 2014 midterm elections come to a close, several key senate races remain too close to call. This electoral uncertainty, however, has not stopped many members of Congress from preparing for a brief but intense Lame Duck session or from looking further down the road to the next Congress. House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) released a memorandum on October 22 predicting that a Republican-controlled Senate would approve House-passed bills to eliminate the need for presidential permits for cross-border energy projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, establish deadlines for federal agencies to approve permits for constructing new natural gas pipelines, and streamline the permitting process for certain mining projects. Majority Leader McCarthy also said that the House will continue regulatory reform efforts that have stalled in the Senate.

 /  Published November 6, 2014 at 4:00 PM

Mexico’s Guidelines for Clean Energy Certificates Will Support Renewable Energy Development

By Michael Hindus, John B. McNeece III, Eric Save | Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

American Fuel Up On Cheaper Gas Over The Border Of Mexico

As part of a historic restructuring of its electrical power sector, Mexico will create a market for tradable Clean Energy Certificates, which many industry participants will be required to obtain. Draft guidelines proposed by the Mexican Ministry of Energy set forth the criteria for granting these clean energy certificates, a framework for buying and selling them, and a procedure for establishing the obligations of market participants to obtain the certificates. Final guidelines will be issued shortly.

 /  Published October 29, 2014 at 4:00 PM

EPA Draft Ruling Could Mean Significant Changes to How Stormwater Systems are Categorized

By Shawn Hagerty, Andre Monette | Best Best & Krieger LLP

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The last thing that public agency leaders want to hear is that looming changes may make operating and building new public infrastructure more challenging and expensive. Unfortunately, proposed changes by the Environmental Protection Agency to the Clean Water Act could ultimately stop, delay or increase the cost of public projects.

The federal Clean Water Act establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the United States and regulating the quality of those waters. The pending changes, if adopted, could greatly expand the jurisdictional reach of the CWA and change how municipal stormwater systems are categorized.

 /  Published October 21, 2014 at 4:00 PM