trending Market Intelligence /marketintelligence/en/news-insights/trending/ajRGCl2oP3jxXNtToSxKVQ2 content esgSubNav
In This List

FERC gets more time to act on DOE plan; more hearings on Clean Power Plan repeal

Podcast

Next in Tech | Episode 49: Carbon reduction in cloud

Blog

Using ESG Analysis to Support a Sustainable Future

Research

US utility commissioners: Who they are and how they impact regulation

Blog

Q&A: Datacenters: Energy Hogs or Sustainability Helpers?


FERC gets more time to act on DOE plan; more hearings on Clean Power Plan repeal

DOE's Perry reluctantly gives FERC more time to act on pricing proposal

Insisting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission already has had a "reasonable" amount of time to do so, U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry nevertheless agreed to give the commission another 30 days to take final action on his agency's proposal for shoring up financially struggling nuclear and coal-fired generating units.

The original DOE-imposed deadline was Dec. 11. On Dec. 7, FERC Chairman Kevin McIntyre sent a letter seeking the extension, noting that he and another of the commission's five members had been on the job for less than two weeks. In fact, McIntyre had been sworn in to the agency that very day.

EPA announces 3 more hearings on Clean Power Plan repeal

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced three additional hearings on its proposal to repeal the Clean Power Plan after facing pressure to do so from stakeholders on all sides of the issue.

In a Dec. 6 release, the agency announced new hearings for San Francisco; Gillette, Wyo.; and Kansas City, Mo. No additional details on the dates or locations are available at this time. "Due to the overwhelming response to our West Virginia hearing, we are announcing additional opportunities for the public to voice their views to the agency," EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt said in a statement.

Pruitt appears to opt for Clean Power Plan replacement — for now

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt caused a flurry of confusion during a Dec. 7 U.S. House hearing, when he said that he would be replacing the Clean Power Plan.

The statement was significant because it was the first time the EPA chief has admitted publicly that he will be replacing the rule he has formally moved to repeal. The agency has previously only committed to issuing an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking to solicit comment on a possible replacement.

FERC back to 5 commissioners as McIntyre sworn in as chairman

Republican energy attorney Kevin McIntyre was sworn in as chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on Dec. 7, giving the agency a full complement of five sitting commissioners for the first time since October 2015.

McIntyre joins Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur, a Democrat who has served several stints as either chairman or acting chairman since she joined the agency in July 2010, as well as more recent appointees Commissioners Neil Chatterjee, Robert Powelson and Richard Glick.

Wash. court allows environmentalists to intervene in Millennium Bulk lawsuit

A Washington state court has allowed environmental groups to join a lawsuit brought by Millennium Bulk Terminals-Longview against the state Department of Ecology.

According to Jan Hasselman, a staff attorney for Earthjustice, a Cowlitz County Superior Court gave the Power Past Coal coalition, which includes the Washington Environmental Council, Climate Solutions, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Sierra Club and Columbia Riverkeeper, leave to join the case.

Calif. attorney general says Oakland coal ban is constitutional

A municipal ban on handling and storing coal at the proposed Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal does not violate the Commerce Clause and should be upheld, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said.

Becerra filed an amicus brief Dec. 8 on behalf of the city of Oakland, which is being sued by the terminal developer. Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal's lawsuit claims the ban violates the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution as well as federal laws that grant the power to regulate rail transportation to federal agencies, not state or local governments.