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Expert Analysis

• High Court's Return To Wetlands Debate May Bring Clarity

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision to revisit the reach of the Clean Water Act, in its forthcoming consideration of Sackett v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, may help lift the clouds of uncertainty that have plagued jurisdictional wetlands determinations for decades, says Bryan Moore at Balch & Bingham.

• Electricity Market Competition Helps Consumers And Climate

  

  Lawmakers looking to combat climate change and increase consumer choice should encourage and expand competitive electricity supply markets, to free customers from inefficient and often corrupt vertically integrated monopoly utilities, says Todd Snitchler at the Electric Power Supply Association.

• What Infrastructure Act Means For Transmission Line Projects

  

  The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission authority to supersede state siting decisions for electric transmission projects, but environmental review requirements make a sudden acceleration of transmission line construction unlikely, say attorneys at Winston & Strawn.

• DOI's Vision For Offshore Wind: Obstacles And Opportunities

  

  The U.S. Department of Interior's recent announcement of its intent to open the U.S. coastline to large-scale offshore wind projects is promising, but wind developers must be ready to confront distinct technical and regulatory challenges in each coastal region, say attorneys at Holland & Knight.

• Jones Act Compliance Strategies For Offshore Wind Projects

  

  Offshore wind developers can use a number of strategies to get projects done while meeting the challenges of complying with Jones Act requirements for the use of vessels built, owned and operated by U.S. persons, say Jonathan Wilconis and Carl Valenstein at Morgan Lewis.

• Biden's Infrastructure Funding Comes With Strings Attached

  

  ​The bipartisan infrastructure funding bill enacted last November ​creates new jobs and business opportunities, but ​its ​changes to domestic preferences and Made in America enforcement also give rise to new compliance hazards for unwary manufacturers and government contractors, say Jeffrey Belkin and Grecia Rivas at Alston & Bird.

• NIMBYism Is Endangering America's Clean Energy Future

  

  The U.S. has made remarkable strides in recent years toward a cleaner, more sustainable energy future — but further progress is threatened by a not-in-my-backyard cancel culture that seeks to thwart every type of major energy development, says Albert Wynn at Greenberg Traurig.

• Science-Based Definition Of US Waters Won't Pass In Court

  

  The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers recently proposed a science-backed definition of "waters of the United States" for the Clean Water Act, but the U.S. Supreme Court is unlikely to be persuaded that science trumps a constitutional or statutory limit on the EPA's and the Corps' authority, says Jeffrey Porter at Mintz Levin.

• What Justices' Groundwater Ruling Means For State Disputes

  

  The U.S. Supreme Court's recent decision in Mississippi v. Tennessee aids future negotiations over interstate groundwater resources, both by explicitly informing states what the default rule is, and by implicitly giving states authority to trade off water rights across a broader spectrum of water resources, says Robin Craig at USC Gould School of Law.

• BGC-Cantor Suit Highlights Independent Directorship Issue

  

  The Delaware Chancery Court recently sent breach of fiduciary duties claims to trial in the disputed merger between BGC and a unit of Cantor Fitzgerald, highlighting both the legal benefits of seeking out directors that meet the court's criteria of independence from the controller, and the significant, negative impacts when they are not, say attorneys at Fried Frank.

• How Dealmakers Can Bridge M&A Differences In US, Europe

  

  As business continues to heat up globally, differing practices and norms in mergers and acquisitions can lead to misunderstandings between U.S. and European dealmakers, but a comparison of documentation structures and processes can help avert these complications, say Piotr Korzynski and Piotr Jaskiewicz at Baker McKenzie.

• Feds May Need Power To Take State Lands For New Grid

  

  The Biden administration's plan to move the U.S. electricity sector to renewable energy will require extensive new high-voltage transmission infrastructure, but since states have the ability to block construction of power lines, Congress will need to give federal regulators eminent domain authority over state-owned lands to get the job done, say attorneys at V&E.

• How Canceling The Border Wall Affects Gov't Contractors

  

  President Joe Biden's cancellation of the border wall project has left some federal contractors in the lurch, but including protective flow-down termination clauses in their contracts can guard against subcontractor liability and ensure recovery, says Adrien Pickard at Shapiro Lifschitz.