Tag Archives: federalism

FERC Proposes to Implement Expanded Transmission Siting Authority

On December 15, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) issued a notice of proposed rulemaking in which the Commission proposes to implement its newly clarified authority under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) to issue permits if a state denies an applicant’s request to site transmission facilities in a designated National Interest Electric Transmission Corridor (“National Corridor”).

Such change has potential—in certain cases—to tilt the balance of transmission permitting authority toward FERC and away from the states (where such authority traditionally has been held),… More

Federalism and the Regulation of PFAS

There has been much angst at the state level that EPA has not moved faster to develop drinking water or cleanup standards for PFAS.  One of the states affected by the pace of EPA’s regulatory efforts is New Hampshire.  Taking up the mantle, New Hampshire enacted legislation requiring the Department of Environmental Services to take a variety of actions with respect to PFAS.  One required action is the development of a plan for the establishment of surface water quality standards for four PFAS compounds.… More

Intervenors Have Rights, Too: The First Circuit Blocks a Settlement Under the Telecommuncations Act

In an interesting decision issued late last week in Industrial Communications and Electronics v. Town of Alton, the First Circuit Court of Appeals held that private citizens who had intervened to defend a local zoning limit on cell tower height could continue to do so, notwithstanding that the cell tower provider and the municipal defendant were prepared to settle the case. 

Industrial Communications sought to build a 120’… More