“NIMBY” Case Heads to Court
Posted on Jul 23, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Litigation | Comments Off on “NIMBY” Case Heads to Court
A case between a wealthy North Carolina video game developer, Tim Sweeney, and the Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation (Rutherford) is headed to court on August 12. Sweeney claims that his land will lose $10.6 million in value if the coop runs a power line through it as planned. The trial will focus on whether Rutherford needs to build the 12-mile line and whether there are...
Trash-Burning Plant Does Not Count Toward Renewable Standard
Posted on Jul 18, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy, Renewable Energy | Comments Off on Trash-Burning Plant Does Not Count Toward Renewable Standard
An Arizona court has overturned an Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC) decision finding that a trash-burning power plant counts toward state renewable energy goals. Mohave Electric Cooperative proposed to build the plant near Phoenix as part of its effort to obtain 15 percent of its electricity from renewable resources by 2025. The ACC may appeal the decision. Click here for the...
Supreme Court to Consider Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Posted on Jul 2, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Supreme Court to Consider Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to weigh in on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Cross-State Air Pollution Rule. This rule aims to limit emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide produced from coal-generated power in upwind states, which in turn hampers downwind states from meeting national ambient air quality standards in accordance with the Clean Air Act’s “good...
NRECA and EPA Spar over Review of Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
Posted on Jun 11, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on NRECA and EPA Spar over Review of Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plea for further review of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule, which was thrown out by an appeals court. The rule’s purpose was to slash interstate emissions from power plants under federal “good neighbor” provisions that allow the EPA...
NRECA Challenges FERC Regulation Under Order 1000
Posted on Jun 4, 2013 in Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on NRECA Challenges FERC Regulation Under Order 1000
The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) is appealing three provisions of a major transmission planning and cost allocation rule issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). According to legal briefs filed by the NRECA, FERC’s Order 1000 violates the Federal Power Act in terms of reciprocity, cost allocation and public policy requirements involving...
D.C. Circuit Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Hear Coop’s Appeal
Posted on May 29, 2013 in Environmental, Financing, Litigation | Comments Off on D.C. Circuit Court Lacks Jurisdiction to Hear Coop’s Appeal
The U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled earlier this week that it does not have jurisdiction to hear Sunflower Electric Power Corporation’s appeal of a district court ruling related to the failure of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to prepare an environmental impact statement in connection with Sunflower’s expansion of a coal-fired power plant...
North Carolina Coop Begins Hearings on Transmission Line Route
Posted on May 29, 2013 in Grid & Infrastructure, Land Use, Litigation | Comments Off on North Carolina Coop Begins Hearings on Transmission Line Route
This week Rutherford Electric Membership Corporation (REMC) began hearings regarding the value of land in the Box Creek Wilderness area near Union Mills, North Carolina. REMC began condemnation proceedings in January in order to obtain a transmission line easement to connect various substations. The transmission line addition will provide supplemental transmission capacity to 5,000...
Appeals Court Rejects Challenges to Georgia Nuclear Power Plant Expansion
Posted on May 29, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation, Regulation & Policy | Comments Off on Appeals Court Rejects Challenges to Georgia Nuclear Power Plant Expansion
On May 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit rejected the petition of several environmental groups to delay the permitting of two new units at the Alvin W. Vogtle Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia. The petitioners sought to delay the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s grant of combined construction and operating licenses to ensure that the units’ environmental...
Michigan Coop Ends 12-Year Tax Dispute with Local Townships
Posted on May 20, 2013 in Litigation, Tax | Comments Off on Michigan Coop Ends 12-Year Tax Dispute with Local Townships
Cherryland Electric Cooperative’s (Cherryland) 12-year litigation with three holdout local townships was settled in advance of a hearing before the Michigan Supreme Court. The controversy, which concerned excess personal property taxes paid by cooperatives from 1999 through 2001, was caused by miscalculations from a flawed form provided by the Michigan Tax Commission. Cherryland had...
Utilities Victorious in Case Asserting Utility Poles Should be Subject to Environmental Regulation
Posted on Apr 9, 2013 in Environmental, Litigation | Comments Off on Utilities Victorious in Case Asserting Utility Poles Should be Subject to Environmental Regulation
A federal appeals court ruled against the Ecological Rights Foundation in finding that utility poles should not be regulated under the Clean Water Act. With fewer customers per mile of line than the industry average, coops would have felt a disproportionate impact of any regulation. The National Rural Electric Cooperative Association filed a brief in this case supporting the position...
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