Thursday, April 25, 2019
Sidley Austin | 1501 K Street N.W. | Washington, D.C. 20005
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Registration / Lunch & Keynote
1:00 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Program
5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Networking Reception

Government shut-down, climate change, inverse condemnation, energy & commodity regulation and enforcement – 2019 looks to be a pretty tumultuous year with lots of change.

Please join us for an in-depth discussion on evolving regulatory, transactional and business issues facing U.S. and international energy and commodities market participants.

Conference

Sidley Environmental Trends

Apr 09 2019

Environmental Trends Contributors

Topics discussed this week include:

Courts dismiss challenges to advisory panel membership policy.
Groups sue EPA for overdue spill regulations.
Environmental groups threaten suit over oil dispersant guidelines.
Court: Clean Air Act does not preempt odor nuisance claims.
Court holds that long-defunct companies may still face CERCLA liability.
New York close to banning plastic bags.
Environmental groups sue Iowa, asserting constitutional right to clean water.
Court strikes down Arctic drilling executive order.
Court rejects foreign policy objection to denial of Clean Water Act certificate.

Environmental Trends, General

Oil and Products Pipeline Declaratory Orders Suggest Changes to FERC Policy

Apr 04 2019

Emily P. Mallen and John Hebden

On March 27, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a trio of declaratory orders responding to uncontested Petitions for Declaratory Order (“PDOs”) that sought regulatory certainty for three distinct crude oil pipeline projects with contract commitments. The decisions, which governed filings made by Enterprise Crude Pipeline LLC (“Enterprise”) (Docket No. OR18-27-000), EnLink Crude Pipeline, LLC (“EnLink”) (Docket No. OR18-38-000), and EnLink Delaware Crude Pipeline, LLC (“EnLink Delaware”) (Docket No. OR19-3-000), consisted of one denial (Enterprise) and two approvals with conditions (EnLink and EnLink Delaware). Together, these three decisions suggest a notable departure from FERC’s prior declaratory order precedent, which had tended to approve uncontested PDOs without conditions. When coupled with another three declaratory orders issued on March 11, 2019, FERC’s latest round of declaratory orders indicates a trend towards greater scrutiny of pipeline projects regulated under the Interstate Commerce Act (“ICA”).

FERC, ICA, Petitions for Declaratory Order (PDO)

FERC Issues Wide-Ranging Call for Comments in Review of its ROE Policy

Apr 02 2019

Emily P. Mallen

On March 21, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) initiated an Inquiry Regarding the Commission’s Policy for Determining Return on Equity (“ROE”) that was published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2019. FERC is seeking comments on this Notice of Inquiry (“NOI”) in eight general areas, including the role its base ROE plays in investment decision-making, and whether FERC should reevaluate how it uses the discounted cash flow (“DCF”) methodology to set ROEs for jurisdictional rates. The DCF methodology has guided cost-of-service ratemaking at FERC since the 1980s. It is used to ascertain an investor’s required return for investing in a firm, and is applied using a proxy group of firms that face similar risks to the entity whose ROE is being determined, which defines a “zone of reasonableness” for the ROE. The use of a proxy group is intended to satisfy the “Hope” and “Bluefield” standards (named for a pair of 20th Century U.S. Supreme Court cases) that an ROE is commensurate with returns on investments in other enterprises having corresponding risks to assure confidence in the financial integrity of the enterprise to allow it to maintain its credit and attract capital. Comments on the NOI are due on June 26, 2019 and Reply Comments are due on July 26, 2019.

DCF, FERC, ROE

FERC Opens Inquiry on Improvements to Electric Transmission Incentives Policy

Apr 02 2019

Curtis Hart

On March 21, 2019, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or “Commission”) issued a notice of inquiry (“NOI”) in which the Commission addresses possible improvements to its electric transmission incentives policy. The NOI requests stakeholder comment on a wide range of issues related to the Commission’s current transmission incentives policies. FERC Chairman Neil Chatterjee said, “as I announced in November, I believe these policies are overdue for a fresh look with input from all stakeholders, not just those that happen to be parties to a pending complaint proceeding.” The NOI was published in the Federal Register on March 28, 2019. Comments on the NOI are due on June 25, 2019 and Reply Comments are due on July 25, 2019.

Electric transmission, FERC, FPA, NOI

Sidley Environmental Trends

Mar 12 2019

Environmental Trends Contributors

Topics discussed this week include

EPA final rule on monitoring NOx at power plants takes effect
EPA and Army Corps withdraw appeals on WOTUS Delay Rule
D.C. Circuit rejects NEPA analysis for Dominion Energy
Federal court says it has authority to impose injunctive relief for Ameren’s failure to obtain a required permit at its Rush Island facility

General

Sidley Environmental Trends

Feb 27 2019

Environmental Trends Contributors

Topics discussed this week include:

EPA issues PFAS action plan.
Supreme Court to hear CWA case on discharges through groundwater to waters of the United States.
District court dismisses lawsuit by environmental group and youth alleging that federal government violated their constitutional rights and public trust doctrine through Trump-era climate change policies.

General

2019 Spring Energy & Commodities Conference

Sidley Environmental Trends

Oil and Products Pipeline Declaratory Orders Suggest Changes to FERC Policy

FERC Issues Wide-Ranging Call for Comments in Review of its ROE Policy

FERC Opens Inquiry on Improvements to Electric Transmission Incentives Policy

Sidley Environmental Trends

Sidley Environmental Trends

Contact

Categories

Upcoming Events

2019 Spring Energy & Commodities Conference

Archives