It was this time last year that U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt created a Superfund Task Force to “provide recommendations . . ...
On July 2, 2012, the North Carolina Senate and House of Representatives voted to override Governor Perdue’s veto of Senate Bill 820, known as the Clean Energy and Economic Security Act (the “Act”), legalizing hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling within the State but delaying permitting until the General Assembly takes additional legislative action to allow it ...
Despite being home to the first natural gas well in the United States, the State of New York has prohibited the use of hydraulic fracturing within its borders. Since the election of Governor Andrew Cuomo, the question in the oil and gas industry is whether he will lift the ban. Shortly after his election, Governor Cuomo tasked the Department of Environmental Conservation with drafting rules to allow for hydraulic fracturing ...
In this long running case, the Court of Appeal has granted Dwr Cymru (on 26 July) leave to appeal the Competition Appeal Tribunal's (the CAT) finding that Dwr Cymru had abused its dominant position by setting an access charge that resulted in a margin squeeze on Albion Water (Albion). The Court of Appeal is due to hear the case later this year ...
South Africa is a party to a number of international environmental agreements, including the UN Framework Convention on Climate Control (“UNFCCC”), 1992, the Kyoto Protocol, 1997 and the Paris Agreement. In terms of the Paris Agreement, governments have made a commitment to ensure that global average temperatures remain below 2°C above pre-industrial levels. For South Africa, a country that relies heavily on fossil fuels to generate energy, this is a mammoth task ...
The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has revised its Rules of Practice and Procedure (Revised RPP) which govern the proceedings before the ERC through the issuance of ERC Resolution No. 01, Series of 2021.1 The Revised RPP took effect on April 13, 2021 (or 15 days after its publication in Business Mirror, a newspaper of general circulation). It allows the ERC to adapt to changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic and modernizes the ERC rules of procedure ...
Benefit corporation legislation created a new kind of corporation that is required to pursue a social and environmental mission in addition to creating economic benefits for its shareholders. California pioneered the model benefit corporation legislation with its passage in 2011, and Delaware passed its own form of benefit corporation legislation in 2013 ...
The mining sector is affected by constant changes in the market, along with exploration results and discoveries. The fast pace of this change results in trends developing on a micro or macro scale, and one of the re-emerging trends seen in the industry today is the use of strategic alliances for mineral exploration purposes. The nature and terms of a strategic alliance can vary greatly, depending upon the objectives of the parties ...
The Oregon legislature is currently considering, as part of its February 2022 session, three bills that form a comprehensive set of changes to the Oregon Forest Practices Act (Senate Bill 1501), create a small forestland owner tax credit (Senate Bill 1502), and update the forest harvest tax (House Bill 4055). The bills stem from negotiations between private forestry companies, small woodland owners, conservation groups, and fishing organizations ...
Amidst price wars, a global pandemic, and the diminished demand for oil, E&P borrowers and secured lenders face inevitable credit agreement defaults ahead (if not already). Although real property foreclosure of oil and gas assets is often seen as a secured lender’s primary remedy, negative oil prices, operational challenges and the potential for liability may leave some banks contemplating whether a real property foreclosure is the best course of action ...
This article aims to analyze the state of the Argentine mining industry, its growth potential, and briefly comment on certain situations in the current legal-regulatory system, which could be improved to accelerate its post-quarantine development. 1. The economic and mining situation in Argentina pre COVID-19 In Argentina, the pandemic has motivated the issuance of preventive and mandatory social isolation measures (the "Quarantine") ...
Local authorities will welcome a decision by the Court of Appeal that Powys County Council is not liable for contamination caused by a former landfill site operated by its predecessor. However, the decision is not such good news for landowners. Background Mr Price and Mrs Hardwick own a farm near Builth Wells in mid-Wales ...
Last November 6, the government of Québec held an important working session that brought together various northern partners for the purpose of ensuring the sustainable and socially responsible development of the vast territory covered by the Plan Nord.Back in the fall of 2008, the Québec government announced the introduction of this Plan Nord for the economic development of the territory of northern Québec ...
Switch2 Energy, Shoosmiths and BEIS came together to provide an update on how regulation, rising energy prices and decarbonisation targets are impacting heat network operators and customers. This first webinar looks at the background to heat networks, an update on policy and impending regulation ...
Electricity was first generated in Nigeria in 1866 when two generating sets were installed to serve the Colony of Lagos. In 1951, the government of Nigeria, through an Act of Parliament, established the Electricity Commission of Nigeria (ECN) to regulate and operate the power supply systems in Nigeria. Subsequently, the Niger Dam Authority (NDA) was established for the development of the Kanji Hydroelectric Dam ...
While immediate pandemic pressures may moderate short-term corporate progress on climate risk assessment and disclosure, there is little to suggest that regulatory and investor expectations have significantly diminished in 2020. Corporates may face increasing investor pressure to make a 'Paris-aligned' business strategy a central pillar of their corporate rebuilding and recovery plans, with a measurable pathway to net zero emissions ...
Just before Christmas 2011, the government presented a gift to the Polish energy sector in the form of a longawaited package of proposed new energy legislation, including a new Energy Law, the Gas Law and the Renewable Energy Sources Act ...
