This post was written by Nicolle Snyder Bagnell.
Pennsylvania's Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has just made available its proposed draft regulations for public comment. Comments must be received by the DEP by March 2, 2010. A copy of the regulations can be found here.
This post was written by Nicolle Snyder Bagnell.
In a move described as an "Aggressive Action to Protect Public, Environment as Marcellus Drilling Operations Expands," Pennsylvania's Governor Ed Rendell directed the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection ("DEP") to hire 68 new staff members today to work on natural gas well inspections and related oil and gas regulation. The additions will be made despite a moratorium on hiring at the DEP and will be funded entirely from the higher permit fees instituted last year for oil and gas drilling permits. In addition, Rendell commented on the DEP's proposed amendments to the current oil and gas regulations, which will be available for public comment beginning tomorrow, January 29, 2010, saying that the new regulations will:
This post was written by Larrry Demase, Jennifer Smokelin, Todd Maiden and David Wagner.
In this client update, Reed Smith attorneys (including COP15 delegates Larry Demase and Jennifer Smokelin) reflect on what transpired in Copenhagen and offer some advice regarding what regulated entities should do next.
Among other issues, the update discusses how to position your GHG-intensive business to minimize compliance costs in a carbon-constrained economy. It also addresses how to position your GHG emission reduction credits to serve as an asset. For example, regulated entities should make sure they have documented and verified all of the GHG credits to which they are entitled. One group of potential GHG credits that comes to mind after the economic downturn last year are credits available as a result of reduced GHG emissions. Consider: Have your facilities reduced GHG emissions in the past year, because of plant idling or reduced production capacity? Have you reduced your carbon footprint measurably and permanently? Or are you beginning to reduce your GHG emissions to improve efficiency? If so, some of these reductions in GHG emissions may be eligible for credits. These credits, which must be properly documented and verified, could potentially be sold or traded on various mandatory and voluntary markets (EU-ETS and/or the Chicago Climate Exchange, for example), or banked for compliance with the inevitable domestic cap-and-trade program.
In short, there may be opportunity here. Reed Smith can work with you to determine which GHG reductions at your facilities are eligible for credits, and help plan how to maximize the potential opportunities, or even how to profit from these credits.
This post was written by Chris Rissetto, Lou Naugle, Bob Helland, and David Wagner.
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") outlined what it terms a "rigorous accountability framework" for addressing pollution levels in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. Federal efforts to cleanup the Chesapeake Bay watershed have been ongoing for over 25 years and this is the first time that EPA has outlined a number of punitive measures intended to force compliance with pollution controls by the six Chesapeake Bay states – Delaware, Maryland, New York, Pennyslvania, Virginia and West Virginia – and the District of Columbia.
The update by Reed Smith describes the regulatory regime in place to address the harmful levels of pollutants in the watershed and discusses the punitive measures along with the legal issues they raise. The update also discusses what measures are expected in 2010, especially as they relate to the Chesapeake Bay total maximum daily load (TMDL) for nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment.
This post was written by David Wagner.
Last month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) reported in its Unified Agenda that two rules related to nanomaterials may be proposed this year. The first possible regulation is a reporting rule for as yet unspecified nanoscale materials under Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). A notice of this proposed rulemaking is slated for June 2010. The second possible regulation, under Section 4 of TSCA, is a test rule for certain multi-wall carbon nanotubes as well as nanoscale clay and alumina. USEPA reported that notice of the test rule is scheduled to be published in November 2010.
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