E2 Law Blog : Environmental Lawyers & Attorneys : Greenberg Traurig Law Firm : Climate Change, Energy Legislation

In this month's column in The Legal Intelligencer/Pennsylvania Law Weekly, I discuss Pennsylvania's State Water Plan, which was recently amended to designate "critical water planning areas."  Passed in 2002, the Water Resourcees Planning Act (Act 220) called for six regional committees and one statewide committee to develop the Plan and then to designate these "critical water planning areas."  The State Water Plan attempts to avoid potential water resource conflicts created by residential land use, agriculture, and -- the most water-intensive activity -- thermo-electric power plants.  While it receives a great deal of press currently, water used to support development of Marcellus Shale natural gas wells receives only cursory treatment in the current Plan because of the age of the available data.  Click here to view the full article.

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From Stephen C. Jones of GT Philadelphia:

The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) is a consortium of states and Canadian provinces which, as of 2012, are supposed to initiate a regional greenhouse gas cap and trade program.  Given that the proposed Midwestern Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord seems to be going nowhere, WCI would be the only US cap and trade program other than the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic's Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), and the only such program that attempts to cover all segments of the economy.  Arizona and several other states have indicated over the last year or two that they will not be ready to participate.  This has left only two states, California and New Mexico, that were making any significant progress toward participating in WCI.  Last week, New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez sent a strong signal that New Mexico is reconsidering its participation.  Citing their "anti-business stance," Governor Martinez has dismissed all members of the state's Environmental Improvement Board that cast votes approving New Mexico's cap and trade regulations.  Whether the next step will be the repeal of the regulations is not clear, but it is appearing more and more likely that California, and perhaps a few Canadian provinces, will be the only members of WCI.

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From Jeffrey Collier of GT West Palm Beach:

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is working with private landowners, conservation groups and federal, tribal, state and local agencies to develop a new national wildlife refuge and conservation area of approximately 150,000 acres in the Kissimmee River Valley south of Orlando, Florida.  The Kissimmee River discharges into Lake Okeechobee, which serves as the headwaters for The Everglades.  The goals of the refuge are to improve water quality north of Lake Okeechobee, restore wetlands, and connect existing conservation lands and important wildlife corridors to support the greater Everglades restoration effort.  In addition to improving water quality, the proposed conservation area and refuge would protect important habitat for 88 federal and state listed species.  To view the press release, click here.

 

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