A district court granted New York City's motion to dismiss a challenge to its statute prohibiting the use of fossil fuels in newly constructed residential buildings. Trade groups and a union argued the statute was preempted by the Energy Policy Conservation Act (EPCA) because it concerned "the ...
The Seventh Circuit vacated a preliminary injunction that had barred enforcement of an Indiana statute giving incumbent electric companies rights of first refusal (ROFRs) to build and operate new interstate transmission facilities that connect to facilities they own. Companies seeking to b...
The D.C. Circuit partially granted petitions for rehearing in a challenge to FERC's reauthorization of two liquefied natural gas terminals and an associated pipeline in Texas. In a prior opinion, the court held FERC erred by failing to issue supplemental EISs addressing its updated environmental jus...
The D.C. Circuit denied a petition to review FERC's authorization of an owner's request to surrender its license for a hydroelectric project on the Salmon Falls River between New Hampshire and Maine. A conservation group initially requested rehearing of the authorization, arguing the two dams from t...
A district court granted an electric transmission developer's motion for preliminary injunction against Indiana's 2023 law that granted incumbent transmission owners a right of first refusal to build transmission projects in their service areas. The developer argued the law blocked it from bidding o...
A district court granted in part nonprofit and public interest groups' motion for summary judgment in a challenge to the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') 2020 rule concerning regulation of genetically engineered (GE) organisms. The groups argued the rule effectively abandoned fe...
The First Circuit affirmed summary judgment for the U.S. government in a lawsuit concerning a plan to construct a large-scale commercial offshore wind energy facility off of Martha's Vineyard. Several entities associated with the commercial fishing industry challenged the approval process, asserting...
A district court on remand permanently enjoined the Public Utility Commission of Texas from enforcing a 2019 state law that limited the ability to build, own, or operate new transmission lines to owners of existing transmission facilities in Texas, in areas of the state not covered by the main grid ...
The D.C. Circuit, 2-1, denied petitions to review FERC's orders requiring a generator to upgrade its circuit breaker in order for another power source to safely connect to the regional transmission grid and requiring the new source to compensate the generator for direct costs of the upgrade. The gen...
The D.C. Circuit granted in part and denied in part a trade group's petition to review the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's (PHMSA's) 2022 revised safety standards for natural gas transportation. The group challenged five of the standards, alleging flaws in the rulemaking pro...