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On November 29, 2023, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in a critically important administrative law case, Securities and Exchange Commission v. Jarkesy, No. 22-859.

We have recently seen an increase in audits by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) Office of Enforcement (“OE”) that take issue with the way electric utilities and interstate natural gas pipelines allocate overhead costs to construction projects.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC” or “Commission”) October 18, 2023 Open Meeting (the “October Open Meeting”) and October 27, 2023 issuance of rehearing of remand orders for the Texas LNG Brownsville LLC and joint Rio Grande, LLC and Rio Bravo Pipeline Company, LLC projects provide further evidence of the re-solidification of the Driftwood Compromise we discussed in our earlier update following the September 21, 2023 Open Meeting (the “September Open Meeting”).

On October 30, 2023, President Biden issued an Executive Order (“Order”) that drastically increased the U.S. government’s engagement with artificial intelligence (“AI”).

On October 25, 2023, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit heard the Liquid Energy Pipeline Association’s (“LEPA”) challenge to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (“FERC”) rulings, including two rehearing orders, from its most recent five-year review of the oil pipeline rate index (Nos. 22-1257 and 22-1258).

As public companies anticipate the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (“SEC”) final climate disclosure rules, which are expected to be released sometime fourth quarter of 2023, California has beaten the federal government to the punch.

Large partnerships are facing a sea change in tax enforcement.

Carbon capture and sequestration (“CCS”) projects represent a critical pillar in many companies’ strategies to navigate the low-carbon transition.

As part of its Federal Sustainability Plan, the Biden administration has issued a proposed rule that would revise the Federal Acquisition Regulation (“FAR”) to incentivize federal government buyers to prioritize the acquisition of sustainable products and services.

On August 29, 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (“Corps”) released the text of a rule further revising the definition of “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) that the agencies had finalized earlier this year (the “January 2023 Rule”).

The U.S. Government has long made clear its desire to restrict certain outbound U.S. investments, but it was unclear whether a restriction would come through executive or legislative action.

In a concerted effort to meet the Biden administration’s aggressive carbon-reduction goals, the Department of Energy (“DOE”) unveiled a pre-publication copy of a forthcoming proposed rule on August 10, 2023, aimed at fast-tracking the development of high-voltage electric transmission facilities.