On December 2, 2011, the U.S. International Trade Commission (“ITC”) voted 6-0 that there was a reasonable indication that the U.S. solar panel and cells industry has been injured or is threatened with injury by imports of crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells and modules from China.

On December 9, 2011, FERC issued a stipulation and consent agreement between the Commission’s Office of Enforcement (“Enforcement”) and Atmos Energy Corporation (“Atmos”), the parent company of Atmos Energy Marketing, Inc. (“AEM”) and Trans Louisiana Gas Pipeline, Inc. (“Trans La”) assessing a civil penalty of $6,364,029 and ordering the disgorgement of $5,635,971, plus interest for the unjust profits from shipper-must-have-title violations.

On Friday, December 2, 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) released its third attempt at a Maximum Achievable Control Technology (“MACT”) standard for industrial boilers and process heaters under the Clean Air Act.  EPA’s latest proposal is a reconsideration of the final rule that was adopted in February and published March 21, 2011, which EPA promised to revise the same day it was released.

On November 29 and 30, 2011, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC” or the “Commission”) held a Commissioner-led Technical Conference on electric reliability issues.  Of note, the Commission devoted an entire day of the conference to the impact of the EPA’s regulations on electric reliability.

On December 1, 2011, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) and EPA presented a united front in announcing the release of a DOE report, Resource Adequacy Implications of Forthcoming EPA Air Quality Regulations, which shows the EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (“CSAPR”) and the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (“MATS”) will not affect grid reliability.

On November 28, 2011, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced the beginning of a major reform of federal surface leasing regulations for American Indian Lands.  The Department of the Interior, as trustee responsible for managing approximately 56 million surface acres in Indian Country, currently processes requests for land leases and subleases without a defined process or deadline for review.  Attempts to engage in lease or mortgage transactions can languish for years.

On October 27, 2011, the Commission held a Technical Conference on last September’s Revised Policy Statement on Penalty Guidelines.   Overall, various members from the Energy industry provided feedback to the Commission, and the industry representatives repeatedly asked for: (1) increased transparency, (2) more communication, (3) more detail on what exactly comprises an effective compliance program, and (4) what determines a penalty amount. 

On November 15, 2011, the Energy in a Warming World Initiative, a three-year research collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists and more than a dozen scientists, issued a peer-reviewed report, “Freshwater Use by U.S. Power Plants: Electricity’s Thirst for a Precious Resource.”  The report is the first systematic assessment of power-plant water use, its relationship with fresh water systems and the low-quality of data currently available on the topic.