Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

VORYS — Helping Clients With Their Energy and Environmental Needs

Category Archives: Environment

Subscribe to Environment RSS Feed

Sixth Circuit Rejects Groundwater Hydrological Connection Theory for CWA Jurisdiction

By Natalia Cabrera on Posted in Environment
On September 24, 2018, the Sixth Circuit held that the Clean Water Act (CWA) does not apply to pollutants that travel through groundwater before entering navigable waters in Tennessee Clean Water Network, et al. v. Tennessee Valley Authority, Case No. 17-6155. The defendant in this case, Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), operates a coal-fired power plant… Continue Reading

WOTUS Litigation Continues to Ebb and Flow

By Mac Taylor on Posted in Environment
On August 16, 2018, a federal district court judge in South Carolina issued a nationwide injunction which halts the effectiveness of USEPA’s “Delay Rule.”  83 Fed.Reg. 5200 et seq.  The Delay Rule purported to delay the effectiveness of the Obama WOTUS Rule until February 2020.  Because of this new ruling, the Obama WOTUS Rule is… Continue Reading

Pennsylvania Supreme Court Continues Rulings Against Municipal Zoning Authority

By Michael Vennum on Posted in Energy, Environment
On August 3, 2018, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court vacated another municipal zoning decision favorable to oil and gas development.  In its per curium order of Delaware Riverkeeper Network v. Middlesex Township (N0. 270 WAL 2017), the Supreme Court directed the Commonwealth Court to reconsider its previous decision upholding a local zoning ordinance that permitted oil… Continue Reading

USEPA Issues Supplemental Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Waters of the United States, Seeks Additional Comments

By Mac Taylor on Posted in Environment
On June 29, 2018, USEPA issued a supplemental notice of proposed rulemaking (the “Supplemental Notice”) to its July 2017 proposed action to repeal the 2015 definition of “waters of the United States” adopted under the Obama Administration.  The Supplemental Notice includes additional justification for the repeal of the 2015 definition, and also clarifies that USEPA is… Continue Reading

ODNR Temporary Orders for Oilfield Waste Remain in Effect

By Mac Taylor on Posted in Environment
On February 15, 2018, the Supreme Court of Ohio denied an appeal of a mandamus action seeking to force ODNR to rescind temporary orders that ODNR had issued to a number of facilities across the state for the storage, recycling, treatment, processing, or disposal of brine and other oilfield waste.  R.C. 1509.22(B)(2)(a) requires that “on… Continue Reading

U.S. Supreme Court Determines Jurisdiction for WOTUS Challenges

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy, Environment
On January 22, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court held that lawsuits challenging the joint EPA-Army Corps rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) must be filed in federal District Courts. The Supreme Court’s decision overturns the Sixth Circuit’s February 2016 decision that the federal Circuit Courts have exclusive jurisdiction, pursuant to Section 1369(b)(1) of… Continue Reading

New guidance for TSCA Nanoscale Rule

By David Edelstein on Posted in Environment
On August 14th, 2017, the U.S. EPA issued new guidance for the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”) Nanoscale Rule regulating chemical substances produced at the nanoscale (1-100 nm in at least one dimension).  The Nanoscale Rule will require all current and future manufacturers and processors to report to EPA when such nanoscale chemical substances are… Continue Reading

Governor Kasich Signs Senate Bill 2 Into Law

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Environment
On July 7, 2017, Governor Kasich signed Senate Bill 2 (SB 2), which addresses Ohio’s authority under several environmental regulatory programs. Notable provisions of SB 2 include: • Expanding Ohio EPA’s authority to take actions to abate contamination at locations where hazardous waste was disposed of to include locations where solid waste and construction and… Continue Reading

D.C. Circuit Vacates Stay of Oil and Gas Methane Emissions Rule

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy, Environment
This post provides an important update to our April 20, 2017 post regarding U.S. EPA’s reconsideration of its rule regulating methane emissions from the oil and gas industry (“NSPS OOOOa”). On June 5, 2017, EPA published a notice of reconsideration and partial stay of NSPS OOOOa. Specifically, EPA stayed the effectiveness of the fugitive emissions… Continue Reading

BLM Postpones Waste Prevention Rule Compliance Date

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy, Environment
On June 15, 2017, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued notice that it was postponing compliance date for certain sections of its Waste Prevention, Production Subject to Royalties, and Resource Conservation Rule, 81 Fed. Reg. 83008 (“Waste Prevention Rule”). The Waste Prevention Rule regulates the loss of natural gas through venting, flaring, and leaks… Continue Reading

White House Approves Keystone XL Pipeline

By Ilya Batikov on Posted in Energy, Environment
The White House issued a permit today approving Keystone XL, “bringing the mammoth oil pipeline a step closer to fruition more than a year after former President Barack Obama blocked its construction,” writes The Wall Street Journal. The paper notes that the pipeline, which will carry up to 830,000 barrels of oil a day once completed,… Continue Reading

Sixth Circuit Holds WOTUS Case Pending Supreme Court Review

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy, Environment
On January 25, 2017, the Sixth Circuit granted a motion to hold in abeyance litigation regarding U.S. EPA’s rule defining “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) pending the Supreme Court’s review of whether the Sixth Circuit has jurisdiction to hear the case. The Supreme Court granted certiorari to settle the jurisdictional issue on January 13,… Continue Reading

The Nanoscale Rule

By David Edelstein on Posted in Environment
On May 12, 2017, EPA’s first rule regulating chemical substances produced at the nanoscale will take effect as part of the Toxic Substances Control Act (“TSCA”).  The Nanoscale Rule, part of TSCA Section 8(a), will require all current and future manufacturers and processors to report to EPA when such nanoscale chemical substances are produced in… Continue Reading

U.S. E.P.A. Agrees to Review Drilling Waste Regulations to Settle Suit

By Ilya Batikov on Posted in Energy, Environment
In May of 2016, environmental groups sued the U.S. E.P.A., alleging that the agency failed to review and revise its regulations and state waste management plan guidelines regarding waste materials from oil and gas production as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.  On December 28, 2016, the court… Continue Reading

New Revisions to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Mitigation Policy

By David Edelstein on Posted in Environment
Effective November, 21, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) revised its guiding 1981 Mitigation Policy to provide a new structure for mitigation during permitting in order to diminish the impact of private development upon fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. The policy revision’s stated purpose is to replace project-by-project or single-source mitigation with… Continue Reading

BLM Issues Notice of Auction for Oil/Gas Leases in Wayne National Forest

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy, Environment
On October 17, 2016, the Bureau of Land Management released a Notice of Competitive Oil and Gas Internet-Based Lease Sale for approximately 1,600 acres of the Wayne National Forest in Monroe, Noble and Washington Counties, Ohio. The notice of the lease sale was issued shortly after the BLM issued a final Environmental Assessment and associated… Continue Reading

USFWS Proposes Endangered Listing for Rusty Patched Bumble Bee

By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy, Environment
On September 22, 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list the rusty patched bumble bee (Bombus affinis) as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act. The primary reason for the Service’s proposed listing is the 91 percent decline in the bumble bee’s population abundance and distribution since the late 1990s, according… Continue Reading