John E. Griffith Jr., a partner in DLA Piper’s Baltimore office, has been selected to receive The Daily Record’s 2015 Leadership in Law award.

The award recognizes 27 members of the legal community for outstanding work throughout Maryland. Griffith was selected from more than 70 nominees. Winners must have devoted time and energy to bettering the legal profession, as well as the communities in which they live and work. They must also have mentored future professional and community leaders.

Griffith is co-chair of the firm’s global Environmental Health and Safety Group and chair of the US Environmental Practice Group. With more than 35 years of experience representing high profile clients in a broad range of matters involving environmental issues, he is highly regarded both within DLA Piper and the legal community. Additionally, Griffith is involved in a variety of pro bono projects, including the firm’s Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) program, which assists disabled veterans whose disability stems from military service, Conservation International (CI), a science-based conservation organization on legal agreements required for the implementation of forest carbon conservation projects in Peru and the Nature Conservancy on projects related to creation and restoration of oyster reefs.

The winners were honored at an awards dinner Nov. 19 at the BWI Hilton in Baltimore.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. must pay a $159.5 million civil fine for its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil well whose blowout that caused the largest U.S. offshore oil spill, reports Reuters.

But in his ruling, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier in New Orleans said Anadarko was not at fault for the spill.

His order said “the company’s 25 percent ownership stake in the Macondo well made it part of the “polluting enterprise” responsible for the April 20, 2010, disaster, which began with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, killing 11 workers.”

Read the article.

New Hampshire’s Supreme Court upheld a record $236 million judgment Oct. 2 against Exxon Mobil for its use of a gasoline additive that contaminated groundwater in the state, the Associated Press reports.

The original verdict came after a four-month trial in April 2013 when a jury found Exxon Mobil liable for contamination by the chemical MTBE.

A company spokesman said an appeal is under consideration.

“MTBE contamination has been found in New Hampshire because someone spilled gasoline in New Hampshire, not because it was added to gasoline in a refinery in another state,” spokesman Todd Spitler said. “The state should have sued the parties responsible for spilling gasoline, not the refiners who were compelled by law to add oxygenates to gasoline.”

Read the story.

Oil industry technology has improved over the last five years since the BP drilling platform explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, writes Mintek Mobile Data Solutions in a paper published on its website.

“Enhanced blow-out protectors, built by BP, are in place to prevent these measures from hopefully not happening at this magnitude, and, even internationally, new technology is being handled remotely to control the oil and gas networks. Also, oil rigs are being secured by energy sectors, but this still doesn’t protect them from cyber-attacks,” the paper says.

“In fact, ‘32% of attacks on critical national infrastructure were targeted on energy firms in 2014.’ This is due to hackers being able to get into the system and override it, however with Government involvement and better maintenance practices in place, we should be able to get our waters to a cleaner state and keep it that way for years to come.”

The paper lists five improvement made to prevent similar disasters in the future.

Read the article.

A recent settlement under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Extraction Enforcement Initiative provides insight into EPA’s approach under the Clean Air Act and highlights the type of “beyond compliance” requirements on which industry should focus, reports King & Spalding in a white paper.

“Given its patchwork of regulatory authority over operations in the oil and natural gas industry, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has adopted a national enforcement initiative to focus its efforts,” the paper says. “Through its Energy Extraction Enforcement Initiative, EPA has been steadily targeting the energy industry.”

Advanced air emissions monitoring tools that EPA pursues in its settlements may expose settling companies to future litigation based not on the compliance demonstration method of the applicable air rule, but rather on broader Next Generation technology, the authors write.

Read the white paper.

The Obama Administration’s first comprehensive survey and analysis of the nation’s basic energy infrastructure needs for the 21st century provide a critical analysis of vulnerabilities in the energy transmission, storage, and distribution systems in the United States, according to a white paper published by Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

The report includes specific recommendations for investments in energy infrastructure upgrades and new policies designed to promote responsible development of domestic energy sources and to facilitate more timely environmental review and permitting decisions, the paper says. “Priorities outlined in the report will likely shape legislative and administrative actions that could affect markets and shape commercial opportunities in the energy sector.”

Read the white paper.

Penn State Extension has posted online a recorded webinar about the current state of knowledge of methane emissions from the production of shale gas and the importance of learning more about the effects of those emissions.

The webinar covers why we care about methane emissions into the atmosphere, including a primer on methane’s role in the earth’s climate, the current state of knowledge of these emissions, methods used to measure methane emissions from gas production, and the current research to improve our knowledge of methane emissions from gas production activities.

The presenter is Kenneth J. Davis, Professor in the Department of Meteorology and Earth and Environmental Systems Institute at Pennsylvania State University.

Watch the on-demand webinar or download the slides.

Hogan Lovells has published a white paper discussing the aggregating sources for the purposes of Clean Air Act permitting in the oil and gas sector.

The clear judicial trend is to adopt physical adjacency as the aggregation test and to find that geographically dispersed upstream oil and gas wells, compressor stations, and other facilities are separate emissions sources, the paper’s authors conclude.  Nothing in PennFuture indicates that trend will change anytime soon.

“The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and the D.C. Circuit recently offered some regulatory relief to oil and gas operators under the Clean Air Act (CAA) with respect to aggregating sources for the purposes of CAA permitting,” they write. “On February 23, 2015, the District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania issued an opinion that, consistent with the Sixth Circuit and D.C. Circuit opinions, held certain oil and gas operations should not be aggregated, while indicating that the question of interrelatedness (a concept rejected by the Sixth Circuit) could be appropriate in determining the scope of a stationary source.”

Read the white paper.

The International Risk Management Institute has posted a free on-demand webinar that provides an overview of the hydraulic fracturing process, including its relevant exposure to ranch and farm owners and the inherent risks as passive exposure or active participant. Graphics show the extent of exposure in the agribusiness U.S. geography.

On its website, the IRMI says a case study of a “fracking” claim is presented with a discussion of relevant coverage concerns. A hypothetical of risk management and transfer options based on a potential land lease by an agribusiness customer to a hydraulic fracturing driller is explored.

“Attendees can obtain a deeper understanding of how to better evaluate environmental exposures related to hydraulic fracturing operations in proximity to agricultural operations,” IRMI says. “After listening to this webinar, you will understand how to assist your clients or your company in identifying and managing the risks.”

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Advanced Energy Economy presents a free on-demand webinar discussing how advanced energy technologies can be utilized by grid operators to safeguard reliability as states modernize their electric power systems under the Clean Power Plan.

The North American Electricity Reliability Corporation (NERC) issued a report in November that raised questions about the potential impact of EPA’s Clean Power Plan (CPP) on the reliability of the electric system, AEE says on its website.

In this technical review of the NERC report commissioned by the Advanced Energy Economy Institute (AEEI), the Brattle Group explores the technology, operational, and market options that will allow states and power system operators to meet CPP requirements without compromising reliability.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Penn State Extension presents a free on-demand webinar aimed at answering the question: What happens to the water after the fracking process?

Some flows back to the surface and some of this flowback is treated locally and some is transported for injection into deep disposal wells. The program will describe the procedure and explain the physics of the movement of the liquids involved.

Lead presenter is Dr. Terry Engelder, Professor of Geosciences at Penn State University.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

When hydrofracturing of a shale-gas well occurs, millions of gallons of water is injected deep underground at high pressure. Normally, only a fourth to a fifth of that volume flows back above ground. Where does the rest of it go?

That’s the topic of a free, Web-based seminar offered by Penn State Extension‘s Marcellus Education Team, now available on-demand.

The webinar, “The Fracking-Water Nexus: Issues Encountered by Industry,” features Terry Engelder, Penn State professor of geosciences and a leading authority on the shale-gas play. He discusses research on residual treatment water in shale-gas development and production.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Multiple compounding factors are driving national movement toward a more modern electricity grid, one that enables a cleaner energy future, reports the Interstate Renewable Council in a new white paper.

IREC says this report offers a unique look at easing that transition, and offers five insightful approaches for state utility regulators who, ultimately, will facilitate this transition through the rules and regulations that govern the electricity system and electric utilities.

“IREC seeks to provide regulators with some practical pathways for consideration as they address the changing roles and interests of customers and utilities,” says IREC’s Regulatory Program Director, Sara Baldwin Auck.

Download the white paper.

The Enivronmental Law Institute recently sponsored sponsored a seminar taking a look a the critical energy and eivironmental issues that will shape 2015. That event is now available online as an on-demand webinar.

With the GOP now in control of Congress, President Obama forging ahead with his climate policies, environmental and energy issues will be grabbing lots of news headlines in 2015, the orginization says on its website.

ELI, the Society of Environmental Journalists and the Environmental Change and Security Program of the Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars staged the third annual “Year Ahead on Environment and Energy” event, where leading reporters and editors discussed the critical issues that will shape 2015.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Bloomberg BNA has published the 2015 Outlook, which offers a comprehensive exploration of all the top issues facing the environment and energy industry.

The 60-page report is available for complimentary download.

Crafted by the Daily Environment Report editorial team, this report includes expert coverage on:

• EPA’s upcoming carbon emissions for power plants ruling
• Final guidelines of “waters of the U.S.”
• Decisions on ozone standards and updated standards on oil and gas drilling and production

Download the report.

Clean Energy Group and Croatan Institute have posted an on-demand webinar on the first comprehensive study of U.S. institutional investors’ appetite for green bonds.

On the Clean Energy States Alliance site, the organization says the study, “What Investors Want: How to Scale-Up Demand for US Clean Energy and Green Bonds,” provides a blueprint for growing the market for fixed-income securities to finance clean energy projects and solve climate problems.

In this webinar, guest speakers from Clean Energy Group and Croatan Institute discuss their findings.

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Riker Danzig will present a complimentary morning seminar updating on Site Remediation Jan. 29, from 8 a.m. until 11:50 a.m. Eastern time. The live seminar will be at the Westin Governor Morris, Morristown, NJ.

Businesses, industry, developers and lenders — and their Licensed Site Remediation Professionals (“LSRPs”) — continue to face new challenges in remediation, redevelopment and financing, and litigation over contaminated sites, Riker Danzig says in its invitation to the seminar. Although practice under the Site Remediation Reform Act and LSRP Program is maturing, new issues continue to emerge and the regulatory landscape is evolving and changing.

The live seminar will include:

• Update on the NJDEP Site Remediation Program, Assistant Commissioner Mark Pedersen (invited)
• Developments at the LSRP Licensing Board
• Regulatory compliance and practice tips
• Discussion of the N.J. Spill Act, off-site and comingled plumes and recent litigation.

The attorneys in the firm’s Environmental Practice Group, among the foremost practitioners on these topics, will discuss these subjects and provide an ample question and answer session.

The program is being submitted for approval for CEC credit by the Site Remediation Professional Licensing Board and CPC credit by the State Board of Professional Engineers.

For practicing attorneys, this program has been approved by the Board on Continuing Legal Education of the Supreme Court of New Jersey for 3.6 hours of total CLE credit. This program has been approved for 3.5 New York CLE Credits.

Please call 973-538-7278 ext.7558 with any questions.

Register for the seminar.

Opower has made available a complimentary on-demand webinar discussing how behavioral design can be a powerful tool across different industries including energy efficiency providers.

In the utility sector, behavior design can be instrumental in motivating customers to take action on saving energy and participate in efficiency programs at a higher rate, Opower says on its website. “Whether you’re working to encourage customers to turn down their thermostat, sign up for a new rate plan, or purchase a more efficient appliance, applying behavioral design to your communications is a proven strategy to help you achieve greater results,” the site says.

The webinar covers:

•    Behavioral design principles that are proven to influence consumer behavior
•    Learn why communications that look similar often yield different results and how you can achieve your desired outcomes
•    Dynamic, targeted user experience approaches will keep customers active and engaged
•    Best practices from behavioral design case stories from multiple industry types

Watch the on-demand webinar.

Adam Welz/CREDO Action

For six years while shale gas extraction in New York was in a state of indefinite hold pending environmental and health reviews, landowners and oil and gas firms talked about “takings,” reports the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

The concept of takings, like eminent domain, requires the government to compensate private property owners for assets taken away because of government action.

When New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced he planned to permanently ban high volume hydraulic fracturing — the practice used to pull gas out of the Marcellus Shale, for example — legal minds and oil and gas hopefuls said the time is right for a takings lawsuit.

Read the story.

The Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solution’s Climate and Energy Program offers an in-depth on-demand explanation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan, which the EPA proposed in June, to control carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants under section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act.

The presentation clearly describes the four “building blocks” used by the EPA to determine each state’s unique emissions goal and provides an example calculation of state emissions goals.

Nicholas Institute experts also discuss the significance of state emission goals given ongoing changes in the electricity sector, outline state compliance plan requirements, and summarize pivotal areas of flexibility available to states.

Watch the on-demand webinar.