Phillip Hoover Archives

Sep 13, 2017

SGR Congratulates Client, Cox Enterprises for their Water Conservation Initiatives at Manheim Georgia

Water Conservation: Spigot and Water Drop Illustration

The Georgia Water Coalition’s inaugural Clean 13 Report highlights extraordinary efforts on the part of businesses, industries, local governments, non-profits organizations, and individuals to protect the water and natural resources of Georgia. “Around the state, businesses and communities are making a difference for clean water,” said Joe Cook, advocacy and communication coordinator with Coosa River Basin Initiative, a Georgia Water Coalition member organization. “These may seem like small projects, affecting just an isolated area, but together they add up to big improvements for our water and communities.” SGR’s client, Cox Enterprises is being recognized for its water conservation initiatives at Manheim… Read more

Aug 1, 2017

New EPA Water Infrastructure Finance Website Open

On July 26, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opened a web-based portal to assist municipalities, counties, and communities in identifying grant, loan and other financial sources for infrastructure. Recent Safe Drinking Water Issues in Flint, Michigan and other communities involving lead in drinking water have increased focus on drinking water infrastructure needs and system investigation and replacement. EPA indicates that the Water Finance Clearinghouse has over $10 billion in water funding sources and over 550 resources to support local water infrastructure projects. Water Finance Clearinghouse consolidates and expands upon existing EPA-supported databases to create a one-stop-shop for all community water… Read more

Jun 20, 2017

Supreme Court Hands Chevron Victory In Ecuador Pollution Case

The U.S. Supreme Court has denied a certiorari petition seeking review of a decision that an $8.65 billion Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron Corporation was unenforceable in the United States. In 2014, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York blocked enforcement in the United States of an Ecuadorian judgment against Chevron. The District Court held, and the Second Circuit Court of Appeals later affirmed, that the Ecuadorian judgment was the product of fraud and racketeering. American lawyer Steven Donziger and Ecuadorians had sought to impose liability on Chevron Corporation for contamination in Ecuador linked to Texaco Petroleum,… Read more

Jun 15, 2017

Toshiba Backs Vogtle Nuclear Project

On June 9, Toshiba Corp. announced a $3.68 billion guarantee for the development of the Vogtle nuclear reactors. The guarantee is part of an agreement between Georgia Power, a subsidiary of the Southern Company, and Toshiba, the parent company of Vogtle contractor Westinghouse. Westinghouse was hired the primary contractor to build the Vogtle reactors, but filed for bankruptcy on March 29, 2017. The two Vogtle nuclear reactors in Georgia are co-owned by Georgia Power, Oglethorpe Power, MEAG Power and Dalton Utilities. According to a press release by Georgia Power, the agreement has been approved by the U.S. Department of Energy…. Read more

May 3, 2017

U.S. Wind Industry Has Biggest First-Quarter Installs In Eight Years

The U.S. wind industry had its strongest first quarter since 2009, adding nearly four times the capacity installed in the first quarter of 2016. Developers installed 908 utility-scale for a total of 2,000 megawatts of capacity. These installations coincide with the upcoming reduction in the value of federal Production Tax Credit for wind projects, which will drop by 20 percent each year for projects that start construction from 2017 through 2019. Xcel Energy Inc., Berkshire Hathaway Inc.’s MidAmerican Energy, Alliant Energy Corp, and DTE Energy Co. were responsible for nearly all of the recent utility wind capacity additions. Top installation… Read more

Apr 18, 2017

Trump Administration Seeks to Cut Clean Energy Division Budget

The White House is seeking to cut hundreds of millions of dollars from the budget of an Energy Department division that funds technological research in projects ranging from LED light bulbs to plug-in electric trucks. The Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, currently funded at $2.1 billion per year, would see its allocation slashed by at least $700 million under a proposal of the Office of Management and Budget. The proposed cuts come as President Trump, who did not support wind and solar power on the campaign trail, seeks to boost defense spending by $54 billion by offsetting the… 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 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