Posts from — December 2011

On Friday, December 2, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (”EPA”) released its third attempt at a Maximum Achievable Control Technology (“MACT”) standard for industrial boilers and process heaters under the Clean Air Act.  EPA’s latest proposal is a reconsideration of the final rule that was adopted in February and published March 21, 2011, which EPA promised to revise the same day it was released. [Read more →]

On November 29 and 30, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) held a Commissioner-led Technical Conference on electric reliability issues.  Of note, the Commission devoted an entire day of the conference to the impact of the EPA’s regulations on electric reliability. [Read more →]

On December 1, 2011, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) and EPA presented a united front in announcing the release of a DOE report, Resource Adequacy Implications of Forthcoming EPA Air Quality Regulations, which shows the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (“CSAPR”) and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) will not affect grid reliability. [Read more →]

On November 29, 2011, the National Journal Daily reported that the Edison Electric Institute (“EEI”) is seeking a national security exemption in order to provide more time to comply with the upcoming implementation of the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards rule (“MATS”). [Read more →]

On November 28, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced the beginning of a major reform of federal surface leasing regulations for American Indian Lands.  The Department of the Interior, as trustee responsible for managing approximately 56 million surface acres in Indian Country, currently processes requests for land leases and subleases without a defined process or deadline for review.  Attempts to engage in lease or mortgage transactions can languish for years. [Read more →]