Washington Energy Report > Troutman Sanders LLP

Category — New Legislation

House Bill to Address Reliability Impacts of EPA Rules Divides EPA and FERC

On May 9, 2012, the House of Representatives Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Energy and Power held a hearing on H.R. 4273: “Resolving Environmental and Grid Reliability Conflicts Act of 2012” and the “Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act of 2012.”  H.R. 4273 purports to resolve the conflict for an electric generator who may be asked by DOE to run for the sake of electric reliability, even though it may be unable to comply with the recent suite of EPA power plant regulations. [Read more →]

May 14, 2012   Comments Off

Volcker Rule Potentially Damaging to Energy Industry, Says Recent Study

On March 28, 2012, business information services company IHS Inc. released a report raising the possibility of detrimental impacts of the so-called “Volcker Rule” on the energy industry. [Read more →]

April 2, 2012   Comments Off

House Ag Panel Approves Bills to Roll-Back CFTC Oversight of Energy Swaps

On January 26, 2012, the House Agriculture Committee approved bills that would ease Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) regulation of swaps (i.e., over-the-counter derivatives) by energy companies under 2010 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  Swaps were never regulated by CFTC prior to Dodd-Frank. [Read more →]

January 30, 2012   Comments Off

Keystone XL Pipeline Debate Intensifies

President Obama’s decision to deny the Keystone XL Pipeline Presidential Permit application prompted debate among Congressional Officials and Department of State (“State Department”) Officials. [Read more →]

January 30, 2012   Comments Off

President Obama Signs the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011

On January 3, 2012, President Obama signed the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 (“Pipeline Safety Act” or the “Act”) into law.  This Act marks the culmination of bipartisan efforts in the House and the Senate to examine and improve the state of pipeline safety regulation. The Act gives enhanced safety review authority to the Department of Transportation (“DOT”). [Read more →]

January 9, 2012   Comments Off

House Passes Bill to Restrict EPA Power Sector Rules

The House of Representatives on Friday passed H.R. 2401, the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation Act (“TRAIN Act”).  The Act establishes an interagency federal panel to assess the cumulative impact of various EPA regulations and requires that the panel issue its report by next August.  The bill prevents EPA from proceeding with its recently promulgated Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (“CSAPR”) and finalizing its proposed Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) rule. [Read more →]

September 26, 2011   Comments Off

Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking by Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

On August 25, 2011, the Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”) issued an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) related to its safety program for natural gas transmission pipelines.  The ANPR asks for comment on various questions concerning whether pipeline integrity management (“IM”) requirements and other regulatory requirements relating to system integrity should be enhanced.  Written comments are due by December 2, 2011, though parties have already requested additional time to submit comments. [Read more →]

September 23, 2011   Comments Off

California Legislature Passes 33 Percent RPS

On March 29, 2011, the California Assembly passed Senate Bill X1-2, approving a 33 percent renewable portfolio standard (“RPS”) for the state. [Read more →]

April 1, 2011   Comments Off

GOP Bill to Prevent EPA from Regulating GHG Emissions Clears First House Hurdle

A bill authored by House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton (R-Mich.) to permanently strip the EPA of most authority to regulate greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emissions passed the House Energy and Power Subcommittee by voice vote on March 10, 2011.  H.R. 910, “The Energy Tax Prevention Act,” (the “Act”) was introduced on March 3, 2011 after February hearings on the draft bill at which Troutman Sander’s D.C. partner Peter Glaser testified.  [Read more →]

March 14, 2011   Comments Off

Transmission Cost Allocation Battle Moves To The Hill

On February 17, 2011, a bipartisan group of senators introduced the Electric Transmission Customer Protection Act that seeks to amend the Federal Power Act to ensure rates for power are assessed in proportion to measured reliability or economic benefit.  [Read more →]

February 18, 2011   Comments Off