Category — New Legislation

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 →]

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 →]

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 →]

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 →]

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 →]