Climate Change and Resiliency
Federal Agencies Begin Rulemaking to Weaken Fuel Economy Standards
By: Nathaniel Eisen As one of numerous attempts by the Trump Administration to roll back Obama-era rules, in the coming weeks, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are expected to announce a proposed rule that would weaken the agencies’ 2012 national standards for vehicular greenhouse gas emissions and fuel…
New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan is Released
Today, New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo unveiled the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan: Charting a Course to 2,400 Megawatts of Offshore Wind Energy. On behalf of the State, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (“NYSERDA”) oversaw the preparation of the Master Plan and its 20 supporting studies. The…
New York State and City Pension Funds Will Divest from Fossil Fuel Companies
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio have both recently made significant climate change-related announcements: the State’s and City’s pension funds will divest billions of dollars from fossil fuel companies. These actions support state and local goals of reducing statewide greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030 and meeting the Paris Agreement…
DEC Challenges FERC’s Decision to Undercut Its Water Quality Certification Denial for Millennium Pipeline Project
In an October 13, 2017 letter, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (“DEC”) challenged the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) decision that, by failing to act, DEC had waived its authority to issue a Clean Water Act water quality certification for Millennium Pipeline Company LLC’s (“Millennium”) proposed Valley Lateral Project, a 7.8-mile natural…
New York State Submits Area Off Long Island to Federal Government for Potential Wind Leasing
This week, the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (“NYSERDA”) officially submitted an area off the coast of Long Island, referred to as an Area for Consideration for the Potential Locating of Offshore Wind Energy Areas, to the federal government’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”). NYSERDA is proposing that BOEM consider identifying…
New York Court of Appeals Denies Exxon Mobil’s Motion to Appeal in Ongoing Climate Change Investigation by New York Attorney General
On September 12, 2017, the New York Court of Appeals denied Exxon Mobil’s motion for leave to appeal a decision of the Appellate Division, First Department, which had held that the accountant-client privilege is not recognized in New York and therefore does not protect documents held by PricewaterhouseCoopers (“PwC”), Exxon’s auditor, from subpoena by New…
