As one would expect, the 110-page document released by the Biden campaign of policy recommendations reached by its joint task forces with supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders includes a number of energy and environmental policy statements. The paper begins with the statement that “climate change is a global emergency,” and…
Our latest look at the judiciary is focused mainly on the federal appeals system, with a side of regulatory development thrown in for good measure. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit—Baptiste et al. v. Bethlehem Landfill Company In this case, decided on July 13, 2020, the plaintiffs,…
Here’s a report on several new decisions made over the past few days. U.S. SUPREME COURT U.S. Army Corps of Engineers v. Northern Plains Resources Council On July 8, 2020, the Court has issued a partial stay of the decision of the U.S. District Court for Montana, which had held…
Several interesting decisions have recently been made by federal and state courts. FEDERAL APPELLATE COURTS The U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals – ARCO Shifts from State to Federal and No Vigor for VIM On June 18, 2020, the court decided the case of Baker, et al. v. ARCO, holding…
Several interesting decisions were released by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on June 16, 2020. Solenex LLC v. Bernhardt, Secretary of the Interior This is an oil lease case involving land located in a region of “unique cultural and environmental significance.” The original lease by the…
A recent Executive Order by President Trump directs agencies to expedite reviews of infrastructure projects based on the emergency provisions of several key federal environmental laws. In “President’s Executive Order to Expedite Environmental Reviews of Infrastructure Pushes the Envelope on the Interpretation of Emergency Authorities,” colleagues Sheila McCafferty Harvey, Reza Zarghamee, Mona…
Co-head of Pillsbury’s Projects team, partner Robert A. James, authored the article “Oil Regulation 2020: United States,” in which he describes the key commercial aspects of the U.S. oil sector; national energy policies; major laws concerning production activities, reservoir ownership and mineral rights; environmental, health and safety regulations; and other…
Last week (June 1-7, 2020), the federal appellate courts released several important rulings. Town of Weymouth, et al. v. Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection On June 3, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals decided the case involving the Atlantic Bridge LNG pipeline project which received FERC ‘s approval in July…
The Fifth Circuit released three new decisions last Friday. On May 29, 2020. The US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit released three opinions in environmental cases: Stratta, et al. v. Roe, Director of the Brazos Valley Groundwater District; Environmental Integrity Project, et al. v. EPA; and American Stewards…
On May 26, 2020, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit decided three significant environmental law cases. Two of these cases involved whether global warming tort cases could be brought in California state courts on, for example, a public nuisance claim, and whether the defendant energy companies had…