Energy and Environment MonitorEnvironmental RegulationLittle Known Agency Assumes New Enforcement PowersOctober 19, 2016 A little known federal agency in charge of pipeline safety has just issued a new regulation that represents a major change in its enforcement authority over regulated pipelines. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, has announced an “Interim Final Rule” (IFR) on its website which will authorize it… Mining Doesn’t Cause Flooding? A Headline You’ll Never See in the Charleston GazetteOctober 6, 2016 In July 2001, localized heavy rains produced severe flooding in the southern West Virginia coalfields. See July 29, 2006 Register Herald article. Groups like the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition were quick to blame mining. Mass litigation against the logging and coal industries ensued and continued for another eight years. In June 2016, localized heavy rains produced devastating… ExxonMobil Sued by Climate Activists for Failure to Account for Climate Risks to Oil Storage Facility in MassachusettsOctober 4, 2016 The Conservation Law Foundation has sued Exxon in Massachusetts for failing to acknowledge and respond to climate-based risks posed to the environment by its petroleum terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The Complaint claims the terminal lies below the level of a storm surge that occurred in 1978 and if FEMA were to update flood hazard maps through the area, then the terminal would likely fall… Court Slaps Down EPA Over Improper Disclosure of Private InformationSeptember 21, 2016 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit handed the EPA an unexpected reversal last week in a case involving its unlawful disclosure of private information to environmental groups. The Eighth Circuit reversed a district court which had concluded that the farm organizations which sued EPA did not have standing to bring the action. More important, the circuit court addressed the merits of… OSM SIGNALS END TO SELF-BONDINGSeptember 14, 2016 The federal Office of Surface Mining (OSM) surprised no one on September 7 when it announced that it would commence rulemaking to revise its regulations governing the use of self-bonds at coal mining operations (81 Federal Register 61612). The announcement formally approves a petition filed in March by the predominantly Western environmental organization, WildEarth Guardians, to prohibit the use… West Virginia County Court Rules That Mine Operator Is Not Required To Prevent Subsidence Damage To Commercial Gas Lines Where Operator Has The Right To Subside But Has Duty To Compensate For DamagesSeptember 7, 2016 By Order of August 5, 2016, the Circuit Court of Marshall County, WV ruled that West Virginia’s surface mining rules do not require underground mine operators to take steps—or pay pipeline operators to take steps—in advance of mining to prevent damage to overlying pipelines where the miner has the common law right to subside the surface. Link to Order The Court also held, however, that… Sierra Club Expands War on Gas in Challenge to Air Permit for Gas Plant: Claims Emissions from Gas Supply Pipeline and Associated Compression Should be Included in AnalysesAugust 23, 2016 The Sierra Club and its acolytes have openly derided those who advocate using gas as a “bridge fuel.” Now, the group seeks to slow the construction of both a new gas-fired power plant in Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline slated to provide fuel to the Plant. The Appalachian Mountain Advocates (“Appalmad”), who serve frequently as counsel to the Sierra Club, have bragged… Court Allows Pipeline Opponents to Challenge Clean Water Act Permits Directly in Circuit Courts of AppealAugust 11, 2016 The Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) of 1938 grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) exclusive authority to regulate sales and transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce. To that end, Section 7 of the NGA empowers FERC to authorize the construction and operation of interstate transportation facilities—i.e., pipelines. FERC does so by determining whether a project serves the… EPA Proposes Amendments to NPDES Procedural RulesJuly 28, 2016 “A man always has two reasons for doing anything -- a good reason and the real reason.” J.P. Morgan Whenever an agency proposes to change the procedures it follows to make decisions, it must offer a good reason for the change. When an agency proposes to make multiple changes in its procedures, there is almost certainly a real reason for its proposal. This is why EPA’s May 18 (81 FR31344) proposed… Fourth Circuit Rejects Sierra Club’s Health Claims in Mining Permit AppealJuly 14, 2016 The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has unanimously upheld the Army Corps of Engineers’ issuance of a Clean Water Act § 404 permit to Raven Crest Contracting, LLC, a subsidiary of White Forest Resources, Inc. On August 10, 2012, the Corps issued a § 404 “dredge and fill permit” to Raven Crest for its Boone North No. 5 Surface Mine in Boone County, West Virginia. The Ohio… Do You Have a Permit for that Reclaimed Valley Fill? The Sierra Club Says You Need OneJuly 7, 2016 During surface mining, rock and dirt (known as “overburden” or “spoil”) is removed to access coal seams. This rock and dirt swells, leaving the mining operator with excess material after mining and regrading. In the steep slopes of Appalachia, the only place to safely store this excess material is in valleys and hollows in the form of valley fills. Typically, the valley fill material is… Do You Have a Permit for that Reclaimed Valley Fill? The Sierra Club Says You Need OneJuly 7, 2016 During surface mining, rock and dirt (known as “overburden” or “spoil”) is removed to access coal seams. This rock and dirt swells, leaving the mining operator with excess material after mining and regrading. In the steep slopes of Appalachia, the only place to safely store this excess material is in valleys and hollows in the form of valley fills. Typically, the valley fill material is… |
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