[Source: BRACEWELL LLP] The COVID-19 pandemic is raising numerous concerns for renewable energy projects under development in the United States. First, will Congress address renewable energy industry concerns in the coming round of the COVID-19 legislative debate, or soon thereafter, by extending renewable energy tax credit programs or otherwise? Second, can renewable energy facilities under Read More…
Category: U.S. News
COVID-19 federal paid leaves explained
[Source: CalChamber] The federal government passed a coronavirus emergency relief package on March 18 that provides protected paid leave to workers impacted by COVID-19. In this episode of The Workplace podcast, CalChamber President and CEO Allan Zaremberg is joined by employment law expert Benjamin Ebbink and CalChamber Executive Vice President Jennifer Barrera to discuss what Read More…
E.P.A. updates plan to limit science used in environmental rules
[Source: The New York Times] The Trump administration has formally revised a proposal that would significantly restrict the type of research that can be used to draft environmental and public health regulations, a measure that experts say amounts to one of the government’s most far-reaching restrictions on science. The revisions made public Tuesday evening mean Read More…
NEPA climate overhaul could unleash energy projects
[Source: E&E NEWS] The White House is poised to exclude climate considerations from its controversial rewrite of rules surrounding the nation’s core environmental law. The Council on Environmental Quality’s proposed changes to National Environmental Policy Act guidelines will likely emerge this week. NEPA, signed into law by President Nixon, gives communities input and allows them Read More…
New study details economic impact of fracturing ban
[Source: Midland Reporter Telegram] As the 2020 presidential election campaign heats up, some candidates have called for a total ban on hydraulic fracturing while other groups support a “keep it in the ground” policy against producing fossil fuels. Such comments come as the Global Energy Institute, part of the US Chamber of Commerce, issued a Read More…
Environmental groups call for government to label ‘forever chemicals’
[Source: Newsweek] Eighty-two environmental organizations expressed concern on Tuesday that Senator Jim Inhofe had stripped language about so-called “forever chemicals” suspected to affect 400 U.S. military sites from the National Defense Authorization Bill. In a “skinny” NDAA bill submitted last month, Inhofe, the Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, removed language regarding pervasive Per-and Read More…
Courts say EPA not doing enough to fight cross-state smog
[Source: The Hill] Federal judges dealt a blow to the Trump administration late Tuesday, finding the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hasn’t done enough to limit cross-state air pollution. A panel of judges for the D.C. Circuit Court, which includes a Trump appointee, ordered the EPA to come up with a new plan for how to Read More…
Environmental groups are getting rich under Trump
[Source: Washington Examiner] Most major environmental groups have received millions more in donations since President Trump took office. The Trump administration has rolled back dozens of environmental regulations that have burdened agriculture and industry as part of its deregulatory agenda. Environmental groups such as Nature Conservancy and the Sierra Club are some of the loudest critics Read More…
Retiring worn-out wind turbines is a wasteful process
[Source: Blaze Media] Wind energy has a big waste problem. Those spinning blades on the horizon aren’t as green as you may think. A story from Harvest Public Media delved into what happens when those big turbines that dot horizons all over the United States reach the end of their usefulness and have to be scrapped. Read More…