Source: http://acoel.org/2009/06/default.aspx
Timestamp: 2019-04-26 13:04:03+00:00

Document:
On June 22, 2009, the Supreme Court held 6-3 that the Corps, rather than EPA, has authority to permit the discharge of a rock and water mixture called “slurry” from a mine froth flotation process to a nearby lake, reversing the Ninth Circuit’s decision that the proposed discharge would violate the EPA’s performance standard and §306(e) of the Clean Water Act. Coeur Alaska, Inc. v.. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council et al., __U.S.__ (No. No. 07–984, June 22, 2009). Section §402(a) of the Clean Water Act forbids the EPA to issue permits for fill materials falling under the Corps’ §404 authority. Because §404(a) empowers the Corps to “issue permits . . . for the discharge of . . . fill material,” and the agencies’ joint regulation defines “fill material” to include “slurry . . . or similar mining-related materials” having the “effect of . . . [c]hanging the bottom elevation” of water, 40 C.F.R. §232.2, Justice Kennedy's opinion for Court states, the slurry Coeur Alaska wishes to discharge into the lake falls within the Corps’ §404 permitting authority. The Clean Water Act is ambiguous on the question whether §306 applies to discharges of fill material regulated under §404, however EPA’s internal “Regas Memorandum” states that the performance standard applies only to the discharge of water from the lake into the downstream creek, and not to the initial discharge of slurry into the lake. The dissent , written by Justice Ginsburg, takes the view that a discharge covered by a performance standard must be authorized, if at all, by EPA.
On May 2, 2009, Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar held a public meeting just outside Las Vegas, in the Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area, to announce the opening of four new BLM offices to handle renewable energy permitting. The offices will be located in Nevada, Arizona, California and Wyoming, and have been designed to address the backlog of pending renewable energy project applications. The DOI estimates that 200 solar applications and over 25 wind projects are pending with the BLM in the western states.
I was one of the 25 or so attendees lucky enough to have the honor and privilege to be invited to a meeting with Secretary Salazar prior to the public meeting where this announcement was made. This earlier meeting was attended by developers of solar, wind and geothermal projects and others in the renewable energy industry. I was impressed by Secretary Salazar’s level of knowledge about both renewable projects and the BLM permitting process, as demonstrated by his comments and questions. Secretary Salazar also announced that $305 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act(ARRA) monies will be used for BLM projects to restore landscapes, spur renewable energy development on public lands, and create jobs. I left the meeting with confidence in the Secretary’s commitment to renewable energy and to the implementation of changes, policies and programs that will convert renewable energy from a noble goal to a reality.
On behalf of Richard Curley (Golden, CO) and myself, I am writing to extend a personal invitation to attend the July 9 & 10 Santa Fe, New Mexico “National Advanced Conference on Natural Resource Damages Litigation.” The course will be held at the La Fonda Hotel in Santa Fe.
The course agenda is packed with vital information of high value to any attorney who is, or may someday be, involved in the expanding world of NRD litigation. Attendees will also get a chance to meet and interact with this extraordinary faculty in a selective and intimate environment, including a catered, cost-free reception on the evening of July 9.
Please take a moment to review the brochure from program sponsor Law Seminars International (see http://www.lawseminars.com/detail.php?SeminarCode=09NRDNM). If, as I hope, you are able to join us, please take advantage of the $150 discount offered to friends and clients of Farella Braun + Martel LLP. To do so, please mention the “FBM Discount” in the comments box of the registration page or when registering by phone at (800) 854-8009.
This is an exciting opportunity to see this august assemblage of environmental experts at one national program. The atmosphere of Santa Fe is an added bonus. We hope to see you there.
Buried within ACES’ cap-and-trade emissions plan are a series of provisions that detail how big banks, hedge funds, and traders can use complex securities and derivatives to profit from the new carbon allowance market. We all watched aghast as “credit default swaps” and similar financial alchemy led to the melt down of Wall Street and the credit markets. Do these types of investments have a proper role in climate change and energy legislation? In a bill that already has plenty of political and policy hurdles, why add financial regulation?
Title III, Subtitle D of ACES, entitled “Carbon Market Assurance”, amends the Federal Power Act to create a financial instrument known as a “regulated allowance derivative”, which can include a “swap agreement”, and directs the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to establish regulations for these financial vehicles. Title III, Subtitle E of ACES, entitled "Additional Market Assurance", addresses transactions in derivatives involving energy commodities such as coal, gasoline, and natural gas. These provisions open the door for financial institutions to partake in the new market created by ACES’ emission allowances. It allows companies, funds, and traders to purchase and trade emission allowances, and to devise complex derivative instruments to sell and trade, picking up commissions and charging fees along the way. As a result, the theoretical value of the allowances and their derivatives will be determined, in large part, by the manipulation and speculation of financial parties with little or no concern for carbon emission standards or federal climate policy beyond immediate monetary gain.
Simply put, the emerging market for new carbon allowances created by the bill could be (at best) undermined or (at worst) commandeered by financial contrivances that are already partially responsible for the nation’s current financial instability. The fundamental value of the new cap-and-trade 'products' will necessarily fluctuate as the emissions market adjusts and stabilizes. If big banks and hedge funds can use puts, swaps, options and other speculative instruments, which the federal government has yet to capably regulate, the stability of emissions allowances and carbon trading could be placed at risk. The chaos visited upon the economy at large by these and other financial instruments should cause hesitation and serious consideration as to whether they belong in Congress' first attempt at comprehensive climate change legislation.

References: §306
 §402
 §404
 §404
 §232
 §404
 §306
 §404