An EPA public hearing this week moves Florida closer to becoming only the third state to assume control of Clean Water Act (CWA) section 404 dredge-and-fill permitting. Meanwhile, the American Bar Association (ABA) is hosting its annual conference on environmental, energy and natural resources law.
404 Permitting
EPA on Oct. 21 is holding the first of two public hearings on Florida’s request to take over from the Army Corps of Engineers the issuance of dredge-and-fill permits in the state. Florida is the first state or tribe to submit a complete package to EPA requesting to administer the CWA section 404 program since 1994. And if approved, Florida would join New Jersey and Michigan in issuing the dredge-and-fill permits.
ABA Conference
The ABA Section of Environment, Energy and Resources is holding a weeklong virtual conference beginning Oct. 19. Former Obama administration officials John Cruden, who served in the Justice Department, and Gina McCarthy, who was the head of EPA, will present the keynote address.
Supreme Court
George Mason University’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State is hosting an Oct. 23 webinar previewing the Supreme Court’s new term. Panelists will include Jonathan Adler of Case Western Reserve University, Aditya Bamzai of the University of Virginia, and Katie Townsend of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
GHG Controls
Resources for the Future is revisiting the future of carbon pricing in a virtual event Oct. 20. The commenters will reflect on what has changed in the past year, and how various election outcomes could influence the path forward.
Panelists at an ABA virtual event Oct. 22 will discuss state and federal laws that have contributed to historic changes in the power generation mix along with upcoming changes in the law that will likely further affect the mix. The program will also cover how technological advances may affect the range of legal options for lowering greenhouse gas emissions and the legal challenges already being posed by recent changes in the generation mix.
The Environmental Law Institute (ELI) is holding a webinar Oct. 23 on achieving municipal climate mitigation targets through alternative proteins.
Water Infrastructure
Comments are due Oct. 19 on EPA’s proposed changes to its guidance for determining water utilities’ ability to pay for water infrastructure projects to meet CWA compliance requirements. Water utilities are calling the proposal a major step forward but are urging the agency to make some refinements to its proposed approach.
Climate Risks
Ceres is holding an interactive discussion Oct. 20 on its new report, Financing a Net-Zero Economy: Measuring and Addressing Climate Risks for Banks. The virtual event will discuss the report’s findings, the banking sector’s exposure to climate risk, and what banks can do to better assess, disclose, and mitigate that risk to protect themselves, their stakeholders, the financial system and broader society.
On Oct. 21, ELI is holding a webinar on safeguarding tribal cultural heritage from the impacts of climate change.
Oil & Gas Infrastructure
The Colorado Energy Research Collaboratory is hosting an Oct. 22 webinar on insights from energy infrastructure and oil and gas development, drawing from surveys, interviews, news media analysis and analysis of public policy spanning 15 states.
Economic Stimulus
Joseph Aldy, professor of practice of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, will explore in an Oct. 19 online event the potential design of and prospects for climate-oriented economic stimulus, drawing on lessons learned from U.S. spending on clean energy in the 2009 Recovery Act.
