Latisha Lee, Author at SGR Law

Nov 13, 2019

Energy Companies Consider Petitioning Supreme Court to Review Obama Era Ozone Standards

A coalition of energy companies and business groups petitioned Chief Justice John Roberts for extra time to weigh whether or not to appeal a lower court’s decision that largely upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) 2015 ozone caps. In August, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld the Obama administration’s primary ozone standard of 70 ppb, which industry representatives maintain is too stringent. The industry challenge focused on two arguments: (1) that pollution standards should be looser to account for “background ozone” from natural sources; and (2) that the EPA should have considered “adverse economic, social,… Read more

Nov 7, 2019

USDA Issues Hemp Rule

On Tuesday, October 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) released the long-awaited interim final rule for the domestic production of hemp. As an interim final rule, it took effect immediately upon publication in the Federal Register on October 31, 2019. The rule allows for domestic hemp to be grown under the USDA program or a federally-approved State or Indian tribe’s plan. States and Indian tribes wishing to have primary regulatory authority over hemp production must submit a plan for approval by USDA that is in compliance with the rule’s requirements. The rule regulates where hemp can be grown,… Read more

Nov 11, 2019

Finance Leases, Operating Leases and Hybrids: GAAP and Tax Considerations

Over the past few years, there have been several recent changes in GAAP and tax rules that impact the treatment of leases. With some of these changes going into effect in 2020, it is an opportune time to review the cumulative effect of these changes. Caveat – The following discussion is intended to survey only tax and accounting aspects of leases, not the rules that would apply to determine ownership and title under state law, remedies, UCC issues, and the like. Those rules use tests that are often different from the tax and accounting standards and add additional complexity. Finance… Read more

Nov 6, 2019

EPA Proposes Relaxed Standards for Coal-Fired Power Plant

On November 4, the U.S. EPA announced its proposal that would rollback Obama administration regulations outlining the types of technology that coal-fired power plants must use to capture and treat wastewater that flows out of their facilities. In addition, the agency is also proposing delays to the closure requirement of coal ash ponds and landfills, allowing them to continue using the ponds through August of 2020. For more information on the EPA’s proposed coal combustion residue rules revisions, please click here. If you have any questions, please contact Phillip Hoover.

Oct 24, 2019

New Mexico Environment Department Announces Draft Hemp Final Rule

The New Mexico Environment Department (NMED) has released a draft final rule on hemp post-harvest processing, extraction, production, transportation, warehousing, and testing. The draft can be found here. NMED is currently accepting comments on the proposed final rule. Comments should be submitted by email to hemp.program@state.nm.us and reference a page and line number. NMED will also hold three public meeting to discuss the proposed final rule. The public meetings will be held on October 29, October 30, and November 5. Details on time and location can be found here. For more information contact Steve O’Day or Vickie Rusek.

Oct 23, 2019

Repeal of Obama-Era Clean Water Rules Sparks Litigation

As expected, the Trump administration’s appeal of the Obama Clean Water Rule, which took effect on October 22, has already sparked a number of legal challenges. The bulk of the anticipated litigation is expected to come from environmental groups and democrat led states accusing the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers of improperly narrowing the scope of the Clean Water Act. With the repeal of the Obama-Era rule, the definition of “Waters of the U.S.” revert back to the 1986 regulation which excludes most intermittent waterbodies. The Trump administration is expected to issue its own rule… Read more

Oct 15, 2019

Wind Power Industry Requests U.S. Tax Credits

A little over a year ago, the U.S. Wind Energy agreed to let its production tax credit lapse in 2020. Accord to representatives of the Washington-based American Wind Energy Association, the tax credits are now needed for the industry to maintain its cost advantage against competitive sources such as solar and natural gas. Citing President Donald Trump’s import tariffs on steel and other wind farm components, industry representatives claim that construction costs for on and offshore wind farms have risen by 28%. Wind Energy Association has indicated that it will lobby for the investment tax credit for wind energy to… Read more

Oct 8, 2019

Trump Administration Withdraws Tariff Exemption for Bifacial Solar Panels

The Trump Administration announced that effective October 28, it will be eliminating a loophole granted four months ago on tariffs for bifacial solar panels. The panels will now be subject to the 25% tariff on imported solar cells and modules that the Trump Administration announced in early 2018. The tariffs on imported solar equipment, introduced in January 2018 at 30% and stepping down by 5% every year until they expire in 2022, were part of the Trump Administration’s trade tariffs targeted against China, the current global leader in solar panel manufacturing. While the rescission is expected to benefit American panel… Read more

Oct 2, 2019

DC Circuit Provides Split Guidance on Wehrum Memo

In an August 20 opinion, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 that an EPA guidance document (the “Wehrum Memo”) providing that “major” sources of toxics air emissions can be reclassified as “area” sources if they reduce their emissions below the “major” source threshold is unreviewable in court because it is not a final agency action. Writing for the majority, Judge Robert Wilkins stated that the issue is governed by the two-prong test established by the 2016 Supreme Court opinion in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co. To be reviewable in… Read more

Sep 30, 2019

IRS Finalizes Safe Harbor for Rental Real Estate Activities

On September 24, 2019, the Treasury Department finalized a safe harbor for rental real estate activities which should provide some tax benefits for lessors and investors. We addressed the draft safe harbor in a previous tax blog posting which can be found here. In this posting, we provide a summary of the final version of the safe harbor and recommendations for maximizing the benefits available under it. Background IRC Section 199A is a tax incentive for pass-through entities and sole proprietorships. It effectively reduces the federal tax rate on income arising from certain activities by as much as 20%. Thus, if… Read more