Company: PAGP
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001581990-25-000006
Chunk: 398

Company: PLAINS GP HOLDINGS LP
Filing Date: 2025-02-28
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 398
---
 Corps to make jurisdictional determinations. At this time, it is difficult to judge how impactful these revisions will be. In an April 2020 decision, Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, SCOTUS held that, in certain cases, discharges from a point source to groundwater could fall within the scope of the CWA and require a permit. The Court rejected the EPA’s and Corps’ assertion that groundwater should be totally excluded from the CWA. In response to SCOTUS’ decision, EPA published a draft Maui Guidance on November 27, 2023 which was intended to clarify when certain discharges to groundwater may require a CWA permit. Preliminarily, it appears that this draft guidance requires additional clarity and considerations to better understand permitting requirements specific to groundwater discharges. To date, the guidance has not been finalized and whether or how the current Trump Administration will pursue revisions to the guidance is uncertain. To the extent any new rule or judicial decision expands the scope of the CWA’s jurisdiction in areas where we or our customers conduct operations, such developments could delay, restrict or halt permitting or development of projects, result in longer permitting timelines, or increased compliance expenditures or mitigation costs for our and our customers’ operations, which may reduce the rate of production from operators.

Endangered Species

The federal Endangered Species Act (the “ESA”) and comparable state laws may restrict exploration, development and production activities that may affect endangered and threatened species or their habitats. The ESA provides broad protection for species of fish, wildlife and plants that are listed as threatened or endangered in the United States and prohibits the taking of protected species. Similar protections are offered to migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, Canada’s Species at Risk Act, and other analogous state and provincial laws and regulations. Under the ESA, federal agencies are required to ensure that any action authorized, funded or carried out by them is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of listed or endangered species or modify their critical habitats. New projects may require approvals and environmental analysis under these and other laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act. The resulting costs and liabilities associated with lengthy regulatory review and approval requirements could materially and negatively affect the viability of such projects.

Other Regulations

Transportation Regulation

Our transportation activities are subject to regulation by multiple governmental agencies. Our historical operating costs reflect the recurring costs resulting from compliance with these regulations. The following is a summary of the types of transportation regulation that may impact our operations.

Interstate Liquids Regulation in the United States.  Our common