Gibbons GreenSites

Gibbons GreenSites features articles, legislation updates, news and other information on green development projects, sustainability, state and international initiatives and climate change.

What's New ...

• Remember (the) Maine!: Supreme Court Raises Bar in FERC Proceedings for Non-Parties Who Challenge Electric Rates Set by Contract - The Federal Power Act (FPA), which gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) jurisdiction over interstate electricity sales, requires that all wholesale electricity rates be “just and reasonable,” including rates set by contracts between suppliers and purchasers. In its latest decision in this area, in NRG Power Marketing, LLC v. Maine Public Utilities Commission, No. 08-674, 558 U.S. -- (January 13, 2010), the Supreme Court, by an 8-1 vote, extended a doctrine first developed more than fifty years ago and made it extremely difficult for those who were not parties to the contract -- even states -- to challenge contractually set rates in FERC proceedings. (Posted 3/12/10)

• U.S. EPA Launches New Climate and Energy Website - On February 16, 2010, U.S. EPA launched a new State and Local Climate and Energy website which provides technical assistance, analytical tools, and outreach support to state, local, and tribal governments. Specific assistance includes: identifying and documenting cost-effective policies and initiatives that address climate change, including those that promote renewable energy, energy efficiency, and related clean technologies; measuring and evaluating the environmental, economic, and public health benefits of climate change and clean energy initiatives; offering tools, guidance, and outreach support for assessing the options and benefits of actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and fostering peer exchange opportunities for state and local officials to share information on best practices and lessons learned about innovative policies and programs. (Posted 2/17/10)

• U.S. Officially Agrees to Copenhagen Accord Target - The United States officially notified the UN that it will abide by the emission reduction goal of the Copenhagen Accords. U.S. climate envoy Todd Stern submitted America's target to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change as part of a Jan. 31 deadline negotiated in Copenhagen last year. Thus the U.S. promised that it will reduce global warming pollution about 17 percent below 2005 levels in the next decade. In doing so, Stern made a point of noting that the final figure could change depending on the outcome of U.S. legislation. [Click here for press release.] (Posted 2/4/10)

• US Securities and Exchange Commission Provides Guidance on SEC Disclosure Requirements - In response to prodding from institutional investors, on January 27, 2010, the US Securities and Exchange Commission voted to provide companies with interpretive guidance on existing SEC disclosure requirements regarding the impact that business or legal developments related to climate change may have on its business. The interpretive guidance identifies four examples of where climate change may trigger disclosure requirements including the impact of legislation and regulation, the impact of international accords, the indirect consequences of regulation or business trends and the physical impacts of climate change. [Click here for text of the SEC Guidance. Click here for SEC announcement.] (Posted 1/28/10)

• Green Home Remodeling Guidelines Version 1.0 - Rutgers’ Center for Green Building released New Jersey Green Home Remodeling Guidelines Version 1.0 during the New Jersey State League of Municipalities 94th Annual Conference in Atlantic City on November 20, 2009. The documentation details green building practices homeowners or remodeling professionals can incorporate into common home remodeling projects. [click here to download the guidelines] (Posted 1/27/10)

• "Green" Lease Forms Posted - The Real Property Association of Canada posted "green" lease forms for single building and multibuilding projects. The forms address sustainability principles and objectives and enable landlords and tenants to establish sustainability targets for energy, water, indoor air quality, and recycling. The forms also have provisions that enable landlords to carry out "green" renovations to existing building stock, and anticipate and provide for both carbon offsetting by a landlord, and future carbon trading. Users can also register to receive updates on the forms. (Posted 1/27/10)

• Changing the Climate for Greenhouse Gas Regulation: Decisions by Appellate Court and EPA May Help to Pave the Way for Comprehensive Federal Legislation (By: Paul M. Hauge) - Since late June, when the House narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the loud and rancorous debate over health care may have obscured another critical issue being considered by Congress: climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Decisions made public on successive days in September by a federal appellate court and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, may go a long way toward making wide-ranging federal controls over greenhouse gas emissions a reality. (Posted 12/3/09)

• Accounting for Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming in Financial Disclosures (By: John H. Klock) - A troika of decisions should send chills through the halls of many utilities and corporations. The first horse of the troika is the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court that says that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the authority to regulate greenhouses gases (GHG) under the Clean Air Act (CAA), 42 U.S.C. § 7401 et seq., and can be compelled to do so. The second horse is the decision by the Second Circuit granting states the power to abate GHG under the federal common law of public nuisance. (Posted 12/3/09)

• EPA Proposes to Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Largest Sources (By: Paul M. Hauge) - On September 30, just days after finalizing its new rule on mandatory reporting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, EPA announced that it is proposing to use existing Clean Air Act provisions to limits such emissions from the largest sources of such emissions. The proposed rule, which focuses on sources that emit more than 25,000 tons of GHGs per year, would subject hundreds of new sources and modifications to existing sources to EPA review each year. In total, according to EPA, some 14,000 large sources would come under the proposed rule, which requires them to obtain operating permits that include limits on GHG emissions.
  
  Click here for the EPA’s announcement.
  
  Click here for Administrator Lisa Jackson’s statement.
  
  Click here for information on the proposed rule. (Posted 10/6/09)

• Changing the Climate for Greenhouse Gas Regulation: Decisions by Appellate Court and EPA May Help to Pave the Way for Comprehensive Federal Legislation - Since late June, when the House narrowly passed the American Clean Energy and Security Act of 2009, the loud and rancorous debate over health care may have obscured another critical issue being considered by Congress: climate change and the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions. Decisions made public on successive days in September by a federal appellate court and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), however, may go a long way toward making wide-ranging federal controls over greenhouse gas emissions a reality. (Posted 9/25/09)

• University of Warwick produces World’s first “Green” Racing Car - On May 4, 2009, researchers at the University of Warwick revealed a Formula 3 racing car that runs on chocolate waste and vegetable oil, has soybean oil foam seats, vegetable body parts and is 95% biodegradable. It is expected to be able to reach speeds of 125 mph. The car meets all Formula 3 racing specs except its engine, which runs on biodiesel.
  
  The University’s Warwick Manufacturing Group and the Warwick Innovative Manufacturing Research Centre wanted to build a car from sustainable and renewable materials as an example of can be achieved using today’s technologies. Sustainability requires production from raw materials to the “end of useful life” disposal in a manner that creates the least resource depletion and environmental damage. The Warwick racing car with potato body and carrot steering wheel is a delightful model of what can be accomplished with imagination, science and commitment. Does this augur a new trend in “green” automobile names ... like the Toyota Tomato and the Saab Soybean? (Posted 5/7/09)

• The Feds Are Not Alone in Tackling Greenhouse Gas Emissions - On March 10, 2009, the federal government ushered in newly proposed rules for reporting greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs). The week didn't end with EPA's announcement. New York state followed suit the very next day (March 11, 2009) and announced a new initiative to include greenhouse gas emissions in the state's environmental review of large-scale projects.
  
  New York state and the federal government are out front in heralding the first mandatory GHG compliance obligations in the country. Accurate reliable and transparent greenhouse gas reporting is the necessary foundation of emerging greenhouse gas trading systems, whether at the federal or state level. (Posted 3/25/09)

• EPA Region 2 Announces “Clean & Green” Policy for Remediation Projects
  On March 17, 2009, in the spirit of green for St. Patrick’s day, Region 2 posted its “Clean & Green” policy for remediation projects. The policy establishes a preference for sustainable technologies and practices, such as use of renewable energy, cleaner fuels, greenhouse gas emission reduction technologies, water conservation and sustainable site design. The policy applies to Superfund cleanups performed by potentially Responsible Parties, as well as by EPA and Army Corps of Engineer contractors. It will also apply to RCRA corrective action cleanups performed under EPA oversight and cleanup work under EPA’s Brownfields grant program. Of course it will apply to work on federal facilities. (Posted 3/25/09)

• The Environmental Group (John Klock) worked with the Governmental Affairs Department (Paul St. Onge) to submit an application under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 (stimulus package) to get funding on the Route 21 project in Belleville, NJ. Since the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust had set a deadline for applications for submittal of the Planning, Design and Application documents of March 9, 2009, we worked with the Town of Belleville to sponsor the project and completed the application on time. These projects had to demonstrate a high degree of readiness to proceed through permitting, financing and into construction by February 17, 2010 in line with the time frames established in the ARRA. If granted we plan to be ready by September 1, 2009 to complete the environmental remediation necessary to construct a Lowe's Home Improvement Center in Belleville, NJ.

Regional Climate Change Initiatives

• Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI)
  
• Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord
  
• Western Climate Initiative (WCI)
  
• Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (MWCOG)
  

For more information on states participating in regional or individual climate control and greenhouse gas emissions initiatives, see the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's "Climate Change - State and Local Governments" Website.

Recent Articles

"So you want to build a “green” building?," MidAtlantic Real Estate Journal, September 26 - October 9, 2008 (Susanne Peticolas, Eileen D. Millett)