Uncategorized

Subscribe to Uncategorized via RSS

On January 11, 2012, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the “Volcker Rule” requirements of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.  Under the proposed rule, banks would be banned from trading on their own accounts, and would be allowed to make only limited investments in private-equity and hedge fund groups. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) provided the electric utility industry with an early Christmas gift last year.  On December 21, 2011, EPA issued its “UMACT” rule, setting forth maximum achievable control technology (“MACT”) standards for coal and oil generating stations. Troutman Sanders has prepared a memorandum summarizing the rule here.  The rule can be appealed 60 days after publication in the Federal Register.  We expect publication in the Federal Register at some point during January 2012.

On January 3, 2012, President Obama signed the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty and Job Creation Act of 2011 (“Pipeline Safety Act” or the “Act”) into law.  This Act marks the culmination of bipartisan efforts in the House and the Senate to examine and improve the state of pipeline safety regulation. The Act gives enhanced safety review authority to the Department of Transportation (“DOT”).

On January 4, 2012, FERC and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (“NARUC”) announced they will host three forums on reliability issues facing the electric utility industry with the issuance of new Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) emissions requirements. (See December 5, 2011 edition of the WER)  The three reliability forums will coincide with three annual NARUC meetings, and the forums stem from a recent NARUC resolution that called for collaboration with EPA and FERC to address reliability concerns.