Expert Analysis

• 'Waters Of US' Meaning May Get 'Major Questions' Scrutiny

  

  After the U.S. Supreme Court's invocation of the so-called major questions doctrine in its recent decision in West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the court is primed to use this concept to restrict federal wetlands protections under the ambiguous term "waters of the United States," says Peter Alpert at Ropes & Gray.

• Cos. Should Engage With EPA On PVC Hazard Designation

  

  A pending petition to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to classify discarded polyvinyl chloride products as hazardous waste could have wide-ranging and unanticipated effects due to the ubiquity of PVC products — so potentially regulated industries should provide information to the EPA on the economic impact of such a move, say attorneys at Kilpatrick.

• Lessons From FERC New England Capacity Market Settlement

  

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's recent enforcement settlement with Salem Harbor Power Development illustrates the consequences for power market participants if they fail to report accurate information to independent system operators and regional transmission organizations, say attorneys at K&L Gates.

• Fed. Circ. Ruling May Curb Gov't Contract Procedural Suits

  

  The Federal Circuit's recent decision in Zafer Construction v. U.S. contains important takeaways for federal contractors and contracting officials on determining whether a request for equitable adjustment is a timely claim for a final decision, and will hopefully avert costly procedural litigation, say Aron Beezley and Sarah Osborne at Bradley.

• How Justices' EPA Ruling Thwarts The Will Of The People

  

  By reversing a long-standing presumption in favor of executive branch interpretations of ambiguous statutes, the U.S. Supreme Court's recent ruling limiting the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's powers to fight climate change blocks the will of the popular majority that elects the president, exacerbating our political system's dysfunction, says Jonathan Martel at Arnold & Porter.

• High Court's New EPA Ruling And Its Long-Term Implications

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's decision in West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will change the legal landscape in a number of ways — including constraining future climate regulations that may be advanced by the Biden administration and states, while providing litigants a powerful new administrative law precedent to challenge all kinds of agency rules, say attorneys at Beveridge & Diamond.

• Capturing Carbon In California: Opportunities And Challenges

  

  California is well situated to play a leading role in carbon capture and sequestration, but there remain barriers to widespread CCS deployment — including policy and regulatory hurdles, and the concerns of potentially affected communities, say Brian Israel and Samuel Pickerill at Arnold & Porter.

• EPA Ruling Signals Arrival Of 'Major Questions Doctrine'

  

  While the specific subject of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in West Virginia v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was how the EPA may regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the Clean Air Act, the ruling's lasting legacy will be the elevation of the so-called major questions doctrine, which could constrain federal regulatory authority in many areas, says Allison Wood at McGuireWoods.

• New P3 Authority Means Opportunities For Colo. Agencies

  

  A recently passed Colorado law expanding public-private partnerships changes state-level project finance and infrastructure dramatically, allowing virtually all state agencies to avail themselves of P3 benefits including cost and schedule savings, sharing of risk, and access to innovation and private sector efficiency, say Gregory Johnson and Peter Gould at Squire Patton.

• Texas Infrastructure Act And Renewables Projects: 1 Year In

  

  A year into implementation of Texas' Lone Star Infrastructure Protection Act, Jennifer Pier at Husch Blackwell discusses how renewable energy project developers, owners and investors planning projects in Texas can incorporate LIPA-related provisions into transaction and financing documents.

• How Cos. Can Track Infrastructure Act Projects — And Funds

  

  As federal funds from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act begin to flow to thousands of infrastructure projects across the nation, savvy contractors can determine which types of funded projects are likely to offer the best opportunities, and then follow the flow of federal money into those projects, says Nena Lenz at Fredrikson & Byron.

• Cos. Should Comment Now On New Offshore Wind Areas

  

  The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management's recent calls for information regarding potential wind energy areas along the Central Atlantic and Oregon coasts give developers an important opportunity to participate in creating a defensible environmental review process that will enable project development, says Andrew Glenn at Husch Blackwell.

• How FERC Proposal Will Guide Clean Grid Development

  

  The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's major new proposal on regional electric transmission planning and cost allocation appears likely to substantially reshape how the transmission system is built out to accommodate the clean energy future, say attorneys at Day Pitney.