Gibbons Law Alert

Gibbons Law Alert

Author: John H. Klock

Opening the Flood Gates?: U.S. Supreme Court Holds That Takings Clause Covers Temporary Flooding

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On December 12, 2012

When government actions cause flooding of your land, does it constitute a “taking” that triggers the Fifth Amendment’s requirement of “just compensation?” Supreme Court precedent dating back to 1872 teaches that when the flooding is permanent, such as when a new dam creates a lake, a compensable taking has occurred. But what if the flooding is only temporary? Can that constitute a taking? The Federal Circuit said, “Never.” In Arkansas Game and Fish Commission v. United States, the Supreme Court disagreed, and said, “Sometimes.”

Pennsylvania Appellate Court Injects Uncertainty Into Fracking Industry

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On December 8, 2011

An 1881 deed and an 1882 Supreme Court decision formed the background for a very modern controversy recently addressed by the Pennsylvania Superior Court. The decision, Butler v. Estate of Powers, casts a shadow over ownership rights in natural gas contained in the Marcellus Shale formation, and has left many companies in the “fracking” industry uncertain about what they own.

Remember (the) Maine!: Supreme Court Raises Bar in FERC Proceedings for Non-Parties Who Challenge Electric Rates Set by Contract

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 12, 2010

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.

Construction Projects and Compliance with New Stormwater Rules

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On March 9, 2010

On February 1, 2010 all construction projects that are over one acre in size must comply with the United States Environmental Protection Agency rules that were published on December 1, 2009. Essentially, the new rules are deigned to control discharges from the construction site such as sediment, turbidity, nutrients and metals. See Final Rule at 74 Fed. Reg. 62,996, 63,0003-04, 63,032 (December 1, 2009). The rule is national in scope and to the extent a state’s regulations are not as demanding the federal standard must be met. Any new construction permits after February 1, 2010 to which the act applies musts comply with the federal standard.

Accounting for Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming in Financial Disclosures

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Posted in Environmental and Green Issues

On December 3, 2009

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. The third horse is the decision by the Fifth Circuit that takes the final step and states that private citizens affected by global warming have the right to bring private nuisance suits.

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