Author: Goldberg Segalla

oil refinery
California / Regulations
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Law Gives California’s Energy Commission Ability to Nudge Oil Refiners to Make Better Inventory Decisions

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on October 14 signed into law Assembly Bill X2-1, significantly increasing the authority of the California Energy Commission (CEC) to create requirements for the state’s oil refiners to preserve minimum inventories of state-compliant refined transportation fuels.

Authored by assemblymembers Gregg Hart and Cecilia Aguiar-Curry in conjunction with Sen. Nancy Skinner, the law take effect in January 2025 and expands the powers of the recently created Division of Petroleum Market Oversite (DPMO) within the CEC.

DPMO was created last year as …

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Town-with-smog
California / Climate Change
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California Retains Jurisdiction Over Fossil Fuel Companies Named in Climate Change Lawsuits

The ELM blog has covered several lawsuits filed over the past several years against major fossil fuel companies by plaintiffs seeking damages due to climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions. The claims in these lawsuits have been based on not only common law principles such as public nuisance, but also state laws, including California’s consumer protection laws.

While these lawsuits have had slight differences, one common theme running through them is the defense raised by the oil companies that state courts, like California’s, lack …

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Nuclear reactors against blue sky
Nuclear Power Plants
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Betting on a power-industry glow-up, Big Tech goes nuclear to stop A.I.-driven energy meltdown

Artificial Intelligence is Big Tech’s newest toy. However, AI also requires massive amounts of energy to operate, which puts the industry’s climate commitments at risk. The sprawling data centers that Microsoft and other digital giants need are beginning to strain the nation’s existing power supplies. Meta Platforms recently reported last year’s emissions were roughly 70-percent above 2019 levels. Microsoft’s emissions jumped 40-percent in the three-year period through June 2023, while Google’s surged nearly 50-percent in the four years through December.

These energy needs have rapidly changed …

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Flag of California Republic in San Francisco
California
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California May Put Its Historic Climate Disclosure Laws on Hold

In an update to the Environmental Law Monitor’s continuing coverage of California’s historic climate disclosure laws, California State Sen. Scott Weiner put forth on August 13 proposals to Senate Bill 219 that would delay the effective date of the Golden State’s 2023 emissions and climate-related financial risk corporate disclosure laws.

As our readers may remember, signed into law back in November 2023, the legislation at issue were SB 253 and SB 261, which created landmark greenhouse gas emission and climate-related financial risk reporting requirements …

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Pipe line
Pipeline
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Appellate Court Vacates FERC’s Approval of $950M Natural Gas Pipeline Project

Late last month, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, in New Jersey Conversation Foundation, et al. v. FERC, unanimously vacated the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval of the Transcontinental (Transco) Gas Pipe Line Company Regional Energy Access Expansion Project.

The roughly $950 million gas pipeline project involves the construction and operation of over 36 miles of new natural gas pipeline facilities built by a Williams Co. subsidiary. In addition to the pipeline, the project called for the …

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close-up view of water flowing from tap into glass
EPA / SDWA
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EPA Seeks Input from Small Businesses on Proposed Regulations for Drinking Water

Opportunity knocks for water treatment entities to provide their input on new regulations about to be rolled out by EPA that could either boost or harm their businesses. The Regulatory Flexibility Act requires EPA to establish a panel, including small businesses that may be economically impacted before any revisions to regulations become effective. But beware, the deadline only provides one week to apply.

The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) requires the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to conduct a review every six years covering the existing …

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Landfill with blue sky and cumulus clouds
Clean Air Act / EPA
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EPA not Afraid of Changin’, Wants Landfills to Bring it (Methane Emission) Down

The Environmental Protection Agency intends to issue a rule updating its Clean Air Act emission standards for new and existing municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills to cut methane and other harmful landfill gas emissions. 

The rule follows another Clean Air Act-related proposal the EPA issued in January, designed to reduce emissions of nine pollutants, including smog- and soot-forming sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides by approximately 14,000 tons per year at MSW incinerators, as found here.

The EPA expects landfill operators to achieve these standards …

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Flag of California
Climate Change
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California will Soon Vote on Proposed $10 Billion Climate Bond

In one of its last official acts before starting its summer recess earlier this month, the California legislature passed a bill putting Prop 4 on the November ballot, which would allow the state to borrow $10 billion plus interest toward addressing climate change. Before it gained the moniker “Prop 4,” the bond measure was initially called SB 867 – The Safe Drinking Water, Wildfire Prevention, Drought Preparedness, and Clean Air Bond Act of 2024.

Passed on July 3 by both the California Senate and Assemblymembers, …

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High Angle View Of Beach
Emerging Issues
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Who Owns the Beach? A Waterfront Case in Maine Makes Waves

As coastal erosion continues to shrink beaches, the sand that remains has become ever more valuable; and in Maine, a battle over the beach has reached the state’s highest court.

In most coastal states, the intertidal land — (the land subject to the ebb and flow of the tides) — is owned by the state in trust for the public under the public trust doctrine. Thus, the public is generally entitled to use the intertidal zone for recreational purposes. Maine is one of only a few …

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Aerial view of Planet Earth with clouds
Emerging Issues
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GAO Study Greenlights Commercial Space Transportation

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for licensing the companies that charter private space transportation. To issue a license for commercial space travel, the FAA is required under the National Environmental Policy Act to assess how their licensees’ activities may impact the environment.

FAA policy requires before issuing a license for space travel that the agency assess 14 separate categories, including noise, coastal resources, and land use, for potential environmental impact. In addition to this environmental review, the FAA also assesses how commercial space …

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