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Environmental and Energy Brief
Perspectives for the Environmental and Energy Community
Department of Transportation Announces a Streamlined Regulatory Exemption Process for Autonomous Vehicles
On June 13, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced changes to the process for exempting autonomous vehicle companies from the Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS) under 49 C.F.R. Part 555. Part 555 offers an important route for the sale and deployment of innovative autonomous vehicles. The recent announcement evidences a desire to speed up agency decisions on Part 555 exemptions, though the application process will continue to be a substantial undertaking.
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Adam M. Raviv
Washington, D.C.
adam.raviv@sidley.com
Proactive Risk Management in the Face of Opposition to Data Centers and Crypto Mining
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing, and cryptocurrency continues to drive unprecedented U.S. demand for energy. This acceleration is encountering an increasingly organized wave of opposition, particularly to the siting of electric generation assets required to operate data centers and crypto mining facilities. A new report from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP), A Pollution Footprint the Size of Texas, sharply criticizes the permitting of new natural gas power plants in Texas — many of which are being built for proposed to power data centers and crypto mines.
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Justin A. Savage
Washington, D.C.
jsavage@sidley.com
Peter Whitfield
Washington, D.C.
pwhitfield@sidley.com
Brittany A. Bolen
Washington, D.C.
bbolen@sidley.com
Caleb J. Bowers
Los Angeles
cbowers@sidley.com
EPA Drops Suit Against eBay
On April 24, 2025, the United States, on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, voluntarily dismissed the government’s appeal of a district court order rejecting claims that eBay violated the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA), and the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). This means the district court’s dismissal of the case against eBay will stand.
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Samuel B. Boxerman
Washington, D.C.
sboxerman@sidley.com
Joshua J. Fougere
Washington, D.C.
jfougere@sidley.com
Randi Singer
New York, Palo Alto
randi.singer@sidley.com
Hannah Posen
Chicago
hposen@sidley.com
Kevin R. Rubino
San Francisco
krubino@sidley.com
Department of Energy Blocks Shutdown of Coal-Fired Power Plant and Oil- and Gas-Fired Generator Units With Federal Emergency Orders
On May 23, 2025 and May 30, 2025, the Department of Energy (DOE) issued two emergency orders under its Federal Power Act (FPA) Section 202(c) authority effectively delaying the closure of two power plants. DOE Order No. 202-25-3 (hereinafter, the Campbell Order) requires the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO) and Consumers Energy to “take all measures necessary” to ensure that the 1,560 MW coal-fired J.H. Campbell Power Plant (Campbell Plant) in West Olive, Michigan — originally slated for retirement on May 31, 2025 — is “available to operate” until the expiration of the order on August 21, 2025. DOE Order No. 202-25-4 (hereinafter, the Eddystone Order) similarly requires PJM Interconnection (PJM) and Constellation Energy to keep 760 MW of oil- and gas-fired peaking capacity — also set to retire on May 31, 2025 — at the Eddystone Generation Station (Eddystone Station) in Pennsylvania available until August 28, 2025. There is also the potential of extensions of these expiration dates.
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Kenneth W. Irvin
Washington, D.C.
kirvin@sidley.com
Christopher J. Polito
Washington, D.C.
cpolito@sidley.com
Riley Desper
Washington, D.C.
rdesper@sidley.com
Priya Kareddy
Washington, D.C.
priya.kareddy@sidley.com
Deregulatory Announcements at the U.S. Department of Transportation: A Sign of Bigger Things to Come?
On May 29, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced more than 50 deregulatory actions at the three operating administrations of the department that focus on road transportation: the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The Secretary of Transportation was quoted as saying, “my department is slashing duplicative and outdated regulations that are unnecessarily burdensome, waste taxpayer dollars, and fail to ensure safety.”
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Adam M. Raviv
Washington, D.C.
adam.raviv@sidley.com
Supreme Court Makes Major Course Correction, Limiting Scope of NEPA Reviews and Demanding Judicial Deference to Agency in Uinta Basin Rail Case
In Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado, the Supreme Court held that under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), an agency evaluating a particular project is not required to consider the effects of other future or geographically separate projects that may be built or expanded if the proposed project were approved, thus closing the door to the expansive NEPA analyses demanded by project opponents in many cases. The Court also separately stressed that the “central principle of judicial review in NEPA cases is deference,” underscoring that NEPA grants agencies discretion to determine the scope of the review and that their discretionary decisions should not be extensively second-guessed by a court. The cumulative impact of these holdings are much more than a minor course correction and should both significantly limit the scope of future NEPA analyzes and strengthen the defensibility of such analyzes in court.
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Raymond A. Atkins
Washington, D.C.
ratkins@sidley.com
C. Frederick Beckner III
Washington, D.C.
rbeckner@sidley.com
Timothy K. Webster
Washington, D.C.
twebster@sidley.com
Peter Whitfield
Washington, D.C.
pwhitfield@sidley.com
Kathleen Mueller
Washington, D.C.
kmueller@sidley.com
Brooklyn Hildebrandt
Los Angeles
bhildebrandt@sidley.com
SB 54 Regulations Public Comment Period Open Until June 3, 2025
CalRecycle has released amendments to the proposed regulations implementing California’s Plastic Pollution Prevention and Packaging Producer Responsibility Act (SB 54) and published its Report to the Legislature describing the program’s broader implementation. CalRecycle is accepting public comments on the proposed changes to the regulations through tomorrow, June 3, 2025.
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Maureen F. Gorsen
Century City
maureen.gorsen@sidley.com
Caleb J. Bowers
Los Angeles
cbowers@sidley.com
Sophia E. Wallach
Los Angeles
swallach@sidley.com
OSHA Updates Site-Specific Targeting Program Based on Injury/Illness Rates: What Employers Should Know
On May 20, 2025, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced an updated directive to its Site-Specific Targeting (SST) inspection program. This program is OSHA’s primary mechanism for scheduling planned inspections at non-construction establishments with 20 or more employees.
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Alana Genderson
Washington, D.C.
alana.genderson@sidley.com
Jason S. Mills
Washington, D.C.
jason.mills@sidley.com
Caleb J. Bowers
Los Angeles
cbowers@sidley.com
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Samuel B. Boxerman
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Keturah A. Brown
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Grace Dickson Gerbas
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Terence T. Healey
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Kenneth W. Irvin
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Casey Khan
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Brooklyn Hildebrandt
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Hannah Posen
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