Energy Legal Blog

On August 16, 2011, EPA released a final rule that will impact chemical companies such as those that manufacture chemicals used in the oil and gas production or refining industries.  The final rule will modify the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) rule (76 Fed Reg. 50,816 – Aug. 16, 2011). Known as the Chemical Data Reporting (CDR) rule, it goes into effect on September 15, 2011 and greatly modifies the old IUR rule.  The requirements in the CDR rule are codified in a new part in the Code of Federal Regulations: 40 C.F.R. Part 711. 

The changes EPA made to the TSCA reporting obligations include the following: (more…)

On August 4, 2011, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed into law the Power NY ACT of 2011, a comprehensive energy bill that, among other things, reinstates and significantly revises Article X of the New York State Public Service Law. New Article X provides power project developers a more efficient, streamlined “one-stop” siting process. Both business and environmental groups sought the new law to remedy a patchwork of inconsistent local siting rules that had hampered project development efforts. New Article X reduces the capacity threshold from 80 to 25 megawatts, thereby allowing smaller generation projects, such as wind, solar and other renewable project developers, an opportunity to take advantage of the streamlined siting process. (more…)