Wed Sep 2nd, On Environmental Law, by Bick Law LLP
On August 18, 2015, the Obama administration proposed a rule regulating methane leaks from new and modified oil and gas wells. This rule is part of Obama’s Climate Action Plan to cut methane emissions from U.S. oil and gas production by 40 to 45 percent by 2025 (compared to 2012 levels). Part of the plan is a new rule cutting emissions from new and modified oil and natural gas wells […]
Mon Aug 31st, On Environmental Law, by Bick Law LLP
On May 5, 2015, the State Water Resources Control Board (“SWRCB”) adopted an emergency regulation mandating urban areas to reduce potable water usage by 25 percent statewide between June 2015 and February 2016. The regulation was implemented in accordance with Governor Brown’s April 1, 2015 Executive Order on actions necessary to address California’s severe drought conditions. The provisions of the emergency regulation went into effect on May 18, 2015. As […]
Thu Aug 27th, On Environmental Law, by Bick Law LLP
Today, a North Dakota federal judge enjoined the implementation in 13 states of the Obama Administration’s new Clean Water Rule: “Definition of Waters of the United States” (also known as the Waters of the United States Rule, or WOTUS), which becomes effective tomorrow, August 28, 2015. The rule, proposed on June 29, 2015 in the Federal Register, redefines the Clean Water Act’s “navigable waters of the U.S.” to include “those […]
Wed Aug 26th, On Environmental Law, by Bick Law LLP
The Environmental Protection Agency said today it had underestimated the amount of water built up in an abandoned Colorado mine, resulting in a catastrophic release of toxic substances into the Animas River. EPA admitted in a report released following its investigation of the incident on August 5, that it could have foreseen the rupture and release and yet it did not have measures in place in preparation for that inevitability. […]