Holly Cook, Author at SGR Law

Apr 7, 2017

Coal Ash Decision Expands Clean Water Act to Include Groundwater Discharges

On March 23, the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that Dominion Power’s discharge of pollutants via a groundwater pathway was in violation of the Federal Clean Water Act (CWA). Sierra Club had filed a citizen suit against Dominion, arguing that discharges from coal ash ponds and related facilities were discharging pollutants including arsenic via groundwater to the Elizabeth River. The decision is notable in that prior to the March 23 decision, very few courts had considered the issue of authority under the CWA to address discharges to groundwater. Generally, EPA and state agencies have not sought… Read more

Mar 28, 2017

Appalachian Aid Agency Cut from President Trump’s Proposed Budget

Under President Trump’s proposed budget funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission, a federal-state partnership intended to create economic opportunities in thirteen Appalachian states would be eliminated. The Commission is an independent agency established in 1965 under President Linden Johnson as part of his War on Poverty. Many of the projects funded by the Commission involve the cleanup of abandoned mine sites, sometimes turning them into agricultural or recreational lands, and to provide training and jobs for workers dislocated from the coal and coal-fired power plant industries. The Commission’s annual operating budget is $146 million, and from October 2015 to January… Read more

Mar 21, 2017

Scott Pruitt Withdraws Obama Measure Requiring Reporting of Methane Leaks

Scott Pruitt, the new EPA administrator, has withdrawn an Obama era measure requiring oil and gas companies to submit data on methane leaks from their facility to the EPA. The notice came one day after representatives in the oil and gas states requested that he withdraw the measure. Many in the oil and gas industry saw the Obama era measure as a prelude to new regulations on existing oil and gas facilities. The notice, signed by Pruitt, states that the EPA “would like to assess the need” for the “data and reduce burdens on businesses while the agency assesses such… Read more

Mar 15, 2017

Company That Settled CERCLA Liability in Bankruptcy Can Pursue Contribution Claim

In January, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit reversed a District Court’s ruling that a company that settled its CERCLA liability with the federal government in a bankruptcy proceeding was barred from seeking contribution against another PRP. Instead, the 10th Circuit ruled in Asarco v. Noranda Mining, Inc., No. 16-4045 (10th Cir. 1/3/17), that Asarco is allowed to pursue a claim against another PRP for contribution for amounts Asarco overpaid in its settlement with EPA. Asarco filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005. In 2009, a global settlement agreement with EPA under which Asarco paid $1.79 billion… Read more

Mar 1, 2017

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Drop as Natural Gas Replaces Coal Power

U.S. greenhouse gas emissions declined by more than 2 percent between 2014 and 2015. This decline was assisted by the transition from coal to natural gas in multiple industries, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s annual draft report on emissions. The Energy Information Administration expects natural gas generating capacity to increase 8 percent in 2017 and 2018. For more information, contact Phillip Hoover.

Feb 21, 2017

EPA Sued by Homebuilders over Joint Liability for Stormwater Issues

In a lawsuit filed on February 6 in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, developers working on construction sites with multiple contractors have alleged that they should not be liable when another contractor causes a violation of the project’s NPDES stormwater permit. Historically, multiple operators at a single site are required to obtain individual permits but share responsibility for compliance for the entire project. The suit argues that the joint and liability language of the construction permit makes all contractors responsible for each other’s permit violations even when the contractors have no control over the operations… Read more

Feb 6, 2017

Trump’s Presidential Memo Encourages the Development of a Permit Streamlining Action Plan

In a January 24th Presidential Memorandum, President Trump urged the Commerce Department to develop a “permitting streamlining action plan” recommending policy and procedural changes that will boost domestic manufacturing. The manufacturing sector frequently cites regulatory requirements, including delays in the processing of necessary permits, as barriers to investment in domestic manufacturing projects. It is anticipated that the Trump memo could cover a number of environmental permits such as Title V operating permits, new source review permits, as well as national pollutant discharge elimination system permits. The policy contains no details; however, industry trade organizations are optimistic that the memo will… Read more

Feb 1, 2017

EPA Denies State Request to Expand Ozone Transport Regions

A petition, which was filed by several “downwind” states to expand the region of states required to take additional steps to control emissions of ozone-forming pollutants, is likely to be denied by the EPA. Authority to impose additional pollution control measures on stationary sources of ozone, precursor pollutants comes from the Cross-State Rule which states that emissions of ozone precursors can be more stringently regulated in states where emissions are causing a downwind state to address its own emissions of ozone precursor pollutants. The petition seeks to add the following states to the Ozone Transport Region: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan,… Read more

Jan 3, 2017

FERC Addresses Right of Solar Energy Qualified Facilities to Sell Power to Electric Utilities

Solar Panels - Solar Tariffs - Solar Energy

In a December 15 opinion, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) upheld the right of small power producers such as solar power facilities to sell power to their local utilities under the requirements of the Public Utilities Regulatory Policies Act of 1978 (PURPA). In a Declaratory Opinion, FERC ruled that a utility cannot require that a facilities study or interconnection agreement be obtained before the utility is required to purchase the power from the small power facility under a legally enforceable obligation. FERC regulations require that a utility purchase any energy and capacity made available by a Qualified Facility (QF). … Read more

Dec 19, 2016

EPA Raises Defense of Power Plant Carbon Rule in Federal Court

The US EPA has argued that carbon dioxide limits for newly constructed power plants fall squarely within the EPA’s Clean Air Act authority, thereby making arguments in a Federal Court which President-Elect Donald Trump’s Administrator nominee has already rejected. The incoming Trump Administration will be tasked with defending the new source performance standards for new and modified power plants which the President-Elect has vowed to repeal. The case is set for argument before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia on April 17th unless the Administration chooses to seek an abeyance of the lawsuit or possibly a… Read more