Publications
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01.23.2023FERC Proposes To Update Its Backstop Siting Authority for Electric Transmission FacilitiesUpdatesThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to update its regulations governing backstop siting authority for electric transmission projects.
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08.26.2022The Inflation Reduction Act and the Rise of Clean HydrogenUpdatesPresident Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act on August 16, 2022, which, among other things, uses the tax code to slow the effects of climate change by significantly investing in clean energy and reducing of greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030.
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02.02.2022
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04.19.2021FERC Issues Supplemental Proposed Rulemaking on Incentives for Transmission InvestmentUpdates
On April 15, 2021, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission supplemented the notice of proposed rulemaking (Supplemental NOPR) for transmission incentives it issued last year (2020 NOPR). In its Supplemental NOPR, FERC focused on one hotly contested incentive—the return on equity (ROE) adder for transmitting and electric utilities that join a regional transmission organization, independent system operator, or similar entity (Transmission Organization) and abandoned its proposal in the 2020 NOPR to increase the incentive from 50-basis-points to 100-basis-points. FERC also proposed to sunset the ROE adder three years after the recipient transfers control of its transmission facilities to a Transmission Organization.
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02.01.2021The Race to a Clean Electricity Future in Washington State Begins With WUTC and Commerce RulesUpdatesIn May of 2019, the Clean Energy Transformation Act (CETA) became law in Washington state and set bold decarbonization and renewable energy mandates for electric utilities
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01.29.2021Commissioners’ No Votes Speak Volumes About Upcoming Issues Facing FERCUpdatesThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission held its first monthly meeting of 2021 on January 19, welcoming new Commissioner Mark Christie to his first meeting and taking on a packed agenda.
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04.08.2020FERC Takes Further Actions in Response to COVID-19UpdatesThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (the commission) took numerous actions on April 2, 2020, to ease regulatory burdens across the electricity, natural gas, and oil pipeline industries in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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01.13.2020White House Proposes Overhaul of NEPA RegulationsUpdatesTaking the next step in its efforts to streamline the environmental review process for projects under federal jurisdiction, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) published proposed regulations on January 10 that would revamp the rules implementing the National Environmental Policy Act.
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03.25.2019Legal Landscape for Coal Ash Ponds Remains in FluxUpdatesFederal environmental law governing coal ash ponds used by many regulated electric utilities remains uncertain after a flurry of recent activity at the Environmental Protection Agency and in the courts.
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03.06.2018Natural Gas Importer Sues U.S. Customs for Rejecting NAFTA ClaimsUpdatesAn importer of natural gas from Canada filed suit on February 23, 2018, alleging that U.S. Customs and Border Protection unlawfully denied preferential treatment for its imports under NAFTA.
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01.11.2018FERC Terminates DOE’s Proposed Grid Resiliency Rulemaking Effort and Opens Its Own InvestigationUpdatesIn an order issued Monday, January 8, 2018, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission unanimously terminated the rulemaking proceeding it previously initiated in response to a directive issued last fall by U.S. Department of Energy Secretary Rick Perry.
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08.30.2017FERC Failed to Adequately Consider Environmental Impacts of Downstream GHG Emissions Under NEPA Says D.C. CircuitUpdatesThe U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia last week vacated and remanded a 2016 Order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission that had authorized construction and operation of the Southeast Market Pipelines Project.
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04.05.2017Executive Order Seeks Sweeping Reversal of Climate Change Policies to Favor U.S. Energy ProductionUpdatesPresident Donald Trump recently signed Executive Order 13783, an omnibus executive order aimed at reducing burdens on further development of domestic energy resources, with “particular attention” to oil, natural gas, coal and nuclear energy resources.
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02.17.2016Would the Supreme Court Stay EPA’s Clean Power Plan Today?UpdatesThe senior-most U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, passed away on February 13, 2016 just days after the Supreme Court, by a slim 5 to 4 majority, stayed the EPA’s enforcement of the Clean Power Plan.
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02.11.2016Supreme Court’s Stay on EPA’s Clean Power Plan Places States in LimboUpdatesOn Tuesday, February 9, 2016, only a few weeks after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied a multistate plea to stop the U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan, the United States Supreme Court issued a highly unusual judicial stay on the EPA’s implementation of the Clean Power Plan.
Presentations
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03.08.2023Wastewater Heat RecoverySpeaking Engagements
Speaker
Clean Tech Alliance Lunch Series / Seattle, WA -
01.23.2020Moving Forward to Optimize the Role of Natural Gas on the Future GridSpeaking EngagementsModerator
EUCI Conference / Denver, CO -
01.22.2020The Changing Regulatory Legal Landscape for Natural GasSpeaking EngagementsEUCI Conference / Denver, CO
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06.13.2019 - 06.14.2019Interconnection of Energy Storage Projects and Integration with GenerationSpeaking EngagementsLaw Seminars International Energy Storage Conference / Seattle, WA
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06.14.2018Affordable Hydrogen - From Renewable, Hawaii SourcesSpeaking EngagementsVERGE Hawaii / Honolulu, HI
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06.11.2018Energy Storage: SeattleSpeaking EngagementsLaw Seminars International / Seattle, WA
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07.2017Federal, State and Local Challenges to Natural Gas Infrastructure and Update on Changes at FERCSpeaking EngagementsAmerican Gas Association Legal Forum
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06.2010NERC Compliance 2010 - What to Expect Post Audit and Dealing with the Findings of the AuditorSpeaking EngagementsInfoNex