January 27, 2021

Explore Solvaire: Babst Calland’s Affiliated Alternative Legal Service Provider

We understand the unprecedented challenges facing our organizations. Now, more than ever, we realize how critical it is for our clients to seek cost efficiencies while making legal, operational, financial and ‘game changing’ business decisions.

Solvaire, Babst Calland’s affiliated Alternative Legal Service Provider – with its enhanced AI-enabled processes and machine learning capabilities – can help to increase efficiency, while lowering project costs. For more than 21 years, Solvaire has effectively designed, performed, and implemented complex buy-side diligence projects, discovery projects and tailored document management solutions. Solvaire’s track record and satisfied clients speak for themselves.

Check out Solvaire’s new website and request a free consultation to learn how Solvaire can work with your team to provide superior diligence, discovery and document management services – on time, with accuracy and consistency and within a budget that provides price certainty.

To stay informed about Solvaire news, latest case studies and content, as well as innovative business and technology enhancements, sign up for updates here.

Explore Solvaire, and unlock the value it provides.

On behalf of Babst Calland and Solvaire, we look forward to serving you on your next project.

Chris Farmakis
Chairman, Babst Calland
President, Solvaire

January 25, 2021

California Announces the Opening of the Vehicle Fleet Reporting System for Entities with Operations in the State

Environmental Alert

(by Julie Domike and Gina Falaschi)

On January 15, 2020, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced the opening of the reporting system for the Large Entity One-Time Reporting Requirement for vehicle fleet owners. This reporting requirement was passed by CARB as part of its June 2020 adoption of the Clean Trucks Rule. As the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) has not yet approved the regulation, businesses may voluntarily provide information at this time if they wish to begin the reporting process ahead of the April 1, 2021 deadline.

The Large Entity One-Time Reporting Requirement seeks to gather information about how medium- and heavy-duty vehicles are being operated by individual fleets and entities in order for CARB to: (1) determine where zero-emission vehicles may now be suitable; (2) identify the barriers to adoption of zero-emission vehicles; and (3) define necessary vehicle characteristics to meet different fleet needs.

Many businesses, organizations, and government entities must comply with this requirement on or before April 1. An entity must report if it operates a facility in California and: (1) had more than $50 million in revenues in 2019 from all related subsidiaries, subdivisions, or branches, and has at least one vehicle; (2) owns 50 or more vehicles; (3) dispatches 50 or more vehicles into or throughout California; or (4) is a government agency (federal, state, local, and municipalities) that has at least one vehicle. This reporting requirement applies to owners of on-road vehicles with a manufacturer gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) greater than 8,500 pounds; light-duty vehicles, such as cars and small pick-ups, are not covered by this requirement.

The report must contain general information about the entity and its operations, as well as information about the vehicles it owns and operates. …

January 15, 2021

Navigating business continuity in a new era

Pittsburgh Business Times

Nothing highlights the urgent need for business continuity planning like a devastating, prolonged global pandemic.

Without question, this global pandemic has forced businesses, large and small, to face and adapt to a new normal. They’ve had to deal with state­ mandated closures, layoffs, employee safety threats, new remote work environments, cybersecurity concerns, supply chain interruptions, real estate lease adjustments, and a myriad of other serious business continuity challenges.

Many of those same issues will haunt the business community this year and possibly beyond, even amidst what one might hope would become a strong post-pandemic period of recovery. And that, said Don Bluedorn, managing shareholder and environmental attorney of Pittsburgh law firm Babst Calland, is why more businesses need to consider a longer-term view of their future – including adaptable disaster plans that take into account business continuity in times of unexpected disruptions.

Bluedorn spoke recently with the Pittsburgh Business Times about business continuity planning.

“This has been a unique year,” said Bluedorn, who not only advises businesses but also has had to confront the pandemic himself as chief executive of one of Pittsburgh’s largest law firms. “There’s an old saw that ‘tough times don’t last, but tough people and tough businesses do. And I think that’s certainly true during this pandemic and the difficult economic construct we all have had to face.”

Business Continuity: Pre- and Post-Pandemic

Of course, Bluedorn was quick to point out the importance of ongoing business continuity or disaster planning even without the cloud of a pandemic hovering overhead.

“A SWOT analysis of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats still applies,” he said. “But I think people need to look more broadly than that now. …

January 14, 2021

EPA issues draft guidance for ‘functional equivalent’ test for point source discharges to surfacewater through groundwater

The PIOGA Press

(by Lisa Bruderly)

On December 10, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued for public comment its draft guidance regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s County of Maui “functional equivalent” analysis within the Clean Water Act (CWA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program (85 Fed. Reg. 79489). The comment period closed on January 11.

In County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund, 140 S. Ct. 1462 (2020), the Supreme Court held that an NPDES permit is required in instances when a point source discharge of a pollutant through groundwater to a navigable water is the “functional equivalent” of a direct pollutant discharge from a point source into a navigable water. Babst Calland discussed the Supreme Court’s April 23, 2020, decision and its far-reaching implications in the May 2020 PIOGA Press article “Potential Clean Water Act liability extends to discharges to groundwater that reach surface water.”

The Supreme Court offered a non-exclusive list of seven factors to consider on a case-by-case basis:

  • Transit time;
  • Distance traveled;
  • Nature of the material through which the pollutant travels;
  • Extent to which the pollutant is diluted or chemically changed as it travels;
  • Amount of pollutant entering the navigable waters relative to the amount of the pollutant that leaves the point source;
  • Manner by or area in which the pollutant enters the navigable waters; and
  • Degree to which the pollution (at that point) has maintained its specific identity.

Emphasis on threshold requirements for NPDES permits

The draft guidance stresses that the County of Maui decision did not change the structure of the NPDES permit program, and, at most, only adds another step in determining whether an NPDES permit is required under a limited number of scenarios. …

January 14, 2021

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service finalizes ‘habitat’ definition under Endangered Species Act

The PIOGA Press

(by Robert Stonestreet)

On December 16, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service adopted a final regulation to define the term “habitat” for use when designating “critical habitat” areas under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). 85 Fed Reg 81411. The ESA already defines the term “critical habitat,” which in general means areas designated as essential to preserve or promote recovery of threatened or endangered species regardless of whether those species are actually present in the area. The term “habitat,” however, is not itself defined in the ESA or pre-existing regulations.

The Service proposed two potential “habitat” definitions in August 2020 for public comment. In the final rulemaking, the Service chose to adopt a “habitat” definition markedly different than the two definitions proposed for public comment back in August. The adopted definition reads as follows:

For the purposes of designating critical habitat only, habitat is the abiotic and biotic setting that currently or periodically contains the resources and conditions necessary to support one or more life processes of a species.

According to the Service, abiotic means “derived from non-living sources such as soil, water, temperature, or physical processes” and the term biotic means “derived from living sources such as a plant community type or prey species.” The preamble portion of the Federal Register entry notes that the phrase “resources and conditions” is intended to clarify that habitat “is inclusive of all qualities of an area that can make that area important to the species.”

Compare that definition to the two definitions proposed for public comment on August 5, 2020, which appear below:

     Primary Proposed Definition: The physical places that individuals of a species depend upon to carry out one or more life processes. …

January 14, 2021

President signs law reauthorizing federal pipeline safety program

The PIOGA Press

(by Keith Coyle and Brianne Kurdock)

On December 27, President Donald J. Trump signed the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (2020 PIPES Act) into law. Adopted as part of a broader federal spending and COVID-19 relief package, the signing of the 2020 PIPES Act represents the culmination of a multiyear effort to reauthorize the nation’s federal pipeline safety program. The prior reauthorization of the federal pipeline safety program, enacted in the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (2016 PIPES Act), expired on September 30, 2019.

The 2020 PIPES Act authorizes general funding for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Admin – istration’s (PHMSA) gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs of $156.4 million for fiscal year 2021, $158.5 million for FY 2022, and $162.7 million for FY 2023, with additional amounts authorized in each of these fiscal years from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for hazardous liquid pipeline safety and the user fee program for underground gas storage facilities. The 2020 PIPES Act also prescribes specific funding amounts that PHMSA must use for certain activities, including for recruitment and retention of federal pipeline safety personnel, operational expenses, and federal grant programs.

In addition to authorizing funding levels through FY 2023, the 2020 PIPES Act contains several amendments to the federal pipeline safety laws. Some of the key changes are highlighted below.

Title I of the 2020 PIPES Act:

  • Establishes a new three-year program for advancing pipeline safety technologies, testing and operational practices.
  • Adds an operator’s self-disclosure to the list of factors that PHMSA must consider in assessing administrative civil penalties.
  • Recognizes additional due process protections for PHMSA enforcement proceedings, including that:
    • An operator be allowed to request that matters of fact and law be resolved in a consent  agreement and consent order.

    • …

January 13, 2021

Solar Growth in West Virginia

Pittsburgh, PA

Renewables Law Blog

(By Christopher Hall)

Following the passage of West Virginia Senate Bill 583 in early 2020, West Virginia has seen an uptick in the number of new proposed renewable energy projects.  SB 583 established a new incentive program supporting the development of renewable energy facilities on former industrial sites.  Berkeley County, in the eastern panhandle, recently announced a proposed 100 MW solar facility to be built on a 750 acre brownfield site previously used as a manufacturing facility.  Read more.

Tags: , , , , , 

January 12, 2021

PHMSA Publishes Gas Regulatory Reform Final Rule

Pipeline Safety Alert

(by Keith Coyle and Ashleigh Krick)

On January 11, 2021, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA or the Agency) published a Final Rule amending the gas pipeline safety regulations at 49 C.F.R. Parts 191 and 192.  Adopted as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce or eliminate unnecessary regulatory burdens, PHMSA estimates that the Final Rule will result in approximately $130 million in annualized cost savings for pipeline operators.  Although the effective date of the Final Rule is March 12, 2021, the Agency provided a deferred compliance date of October 1, 2021, for the new amendments.

Additional information about the Final Rule is provided below.

Distribution Integrity Management Program Exemptions and Farm Taps 

  • Consistent with the policy announced in PHMSA’s March 2019 Exercise of Enforcement Discretion, the Final Rule provides operators with the option to maintain pressure regulating devices on farm taps under either the distribution integrity management program (DIMP) requirements or 49 C.F.R. § 192.740. The Final Rule exempts farm taps originating from unregulated production and gathering pipelines from the DIMP requirements, the overpressure protection inspection requirements in § 192.740, and the annual reporting requirements in Part 191.
  • The Final Rule does not amend PHMSA’s regulations to provide additional clarity in determining what qualifies as a farm tap or where production, gathering, or transmission piping ends and distribution service line piping begins in farm tap configurations. The Agency stated that these definitional issues will be addressed in a guidance document that remains under development or in a future rulemaking proceeding.  In the preamble to the Final Rule, PHMSA emphasized that any portion of a farm tap originating from an unregulated pipeline that meets the definition of service line must still comply with all applicable Part 191 and 192 requirements.

    • …

January 8, 2021

Solar Investment and Wind Production Tax Credits Extended

Renewables Law Blog

(By Christopher Hall)

The recently approved federal spending bill for 2021 appropriations (December 27, 2020) included extensions to the federal solar investment tax credit (ITC) and wind production tax credit (PTC).  The ITC and PTC provide significant financial incentives to the growing renewable energy industry. The ITC is a tax credit that can be claimed on federal corporate income taxes for a percent of the cost of a solar photovoltaic (PV) system that is placed in service.  The ITC, which was scheduled to step down from 26% to 22% in 2021, has been extended at its current 26% rate for an additional two years through 2023.  The PTC is a per-kilowatt-hour (kWh) tax credit for electricity generated using qualified energy resources including wind, and was scheduled to phase down from 60% of the original credit to 40% in 2021.  The new spending bill included an extension of the 60% rate for an additional year through 2021. Projects must be commenced prior to the expiration of the new extension deadlines in order to qualify for the current tax credit rate. Please click here for more information.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , 

January 4, 2021

Moving Forward: Has your business continuity plan changed for 2021?

Smart Business

(by Sue Ostrowski featuring Donald Bluedorn)

A business continuity plan helps protect your business both today and into the future in a way consistent with your goals and culture. But it’s not just about planning for contingencies this time. The pandemic has changed the way businesses need to approach their plans, says Attorney Donald C. Bluedorn II, managing shareholder at Babst Calland.

“Things are much different than a year ago, and along with business and operational contingencies, companies should review their legal and regulatory risks and opportunities as well,” he says.

Smart Business spoke with Bluedorn about how to ensure your business continuity plan moves your business seamlessly forward.

What changes during the pandemic are now either beneficial or detrimental to Business operations?

Businesses need to reimagine how they operate and create a proactive mindset around challenges the business or industry is facing. Are there any advantages or savings in how you operated last year that are sustainable or should be adopted?

Concerns with significant legal and contractual commitments are likely to emerge. And as people re-enter the physical workplace, or not, there may be employment issues. In addition, new leadership at the federal level could pose legal challenges and create evolving tax issues. In the Western Pennsylvania region, this could result in changes to energy regulations, a risk for some but an opportunity for others. Environmental compliance and regulatory obligations are also likely changing, and trusted advisers can help you navigate these challenges and incorporate them in your plan.

It’s an opportune time to review your plan from a business risk or legal and regulatory perspective. Are vendors fulfilling their commitments and are you fulfilling your own contractual obligations? …

January 4, 2021

President Trump Signs Law Reauthorizing Federal Pipeline Safety Program

Pipeline Safety Alert

(by Keith Coyle and Brianne Kurdock)

On December 27, 2020, President Donald J. Trump signed the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (2020 PIPES Act) into law.  Adopted as part of a broader federal spending and COVID-19 relief package, the signing of the 2020 PIPES Act represents the culmination of a multi-year effort to reauthorize the nation’s federal pipeline safety program.  The prior reauthorization of the federal pipeline safety program, enacted in the Protecting Our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (2016 PIPES Act), expired on September 30, 2019.

The 2020 PIPES Act authorizes general funding for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) gas and hazardous liquid pipeline safety programs of $156.4 million for fiscal year (FY) 2021, $158.5 million for FY 2022, and $162.7 million for FY 2023, with additional amounts authorized in each of these FYs from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund for hazardous liquid pipeline safety and the user fee program for underground gas storage facilities.  The 2020 PIPES Act also prescribes specific funding amounts that PHMSA must use for certain activities, including for recruitment and retention of federal pipeline safety personnel, operational expenses, and federal grant programs.

In addition to authorizing funding levels through FY 2023, the 2020 PIPES Act contains several amendments to the Federal Pipeline Safety Laws.  Some of the key changes are highlighted below.

Title I of the 2020 PIPES Act:

  • Establishes a new 3-year program for advancing pipeline safety technologies, testing, and operational practices.
  • Adds an operator’s self-disclosure to the list of factors that PHMSA must consider in assessing administrative civil penalties.
  • Recognizes additional due process protections for PHMSA enforcement proceedings, including that:
    • An operator be allowed to request that matters of fact and law be resolved in a consent agreement and consent order.

    • …

January 2, 2021

CWA § 404 Nationwide Permits (NWPs)

RMMLF Water Law Newsletter

(By Lisa M. Bruderly)

On September 15, 2020, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) published proposed revisions to certain nationwide permits (NWPs) under section 404 of the Clean Water Act (CWA), 33 U.S.C. § 1344, for discharges of dredged and fill material into waters of the United States. See Proposal to Reissue and Modify NWPs, 85 Fed. Reg. 57,298 (proposed Sept. 15, 2020). At that time, the Corps proposed to reissue all NWPs, rather than only reissuing those with proposed changes. However, on January 13, 2021, the Corps published the final NWP rule, reissuing only 12 existing NWPs, issuing four new NWPs, and reissuing the NWP general conditions and definitions with limited modifications. See Reissuance and Modification of NWPs, 86 Fed. Reg. 2744 (Jan. 13, 2021). The 16 reissued/issued NWPs are effective on March 15, 2021, and will expire on March 14, 2026.

Of particular interest to the oil and natural gas industry is the Corps’ decision to divide the existing NWP 12 (utility line activities) into three NWPs, depending on the type of utility line: oil and natural gas pipeline activities (NWP 12), electric utilities and telecommunications (NWP 57), and utility lines for water and other substances (NWP 58).

State/Regional NWP Conditions

On September 30, 2020, the Corps’ Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh Districts proposed, in SPN-20-62, draft state/regional conditions for the proposed NWPs, as well as a list of “Final 2020 Nationwide Permit Suspensions” for Pennsylvania, among other states/geographic locations. The proposed regional conditions for Pennsylvania pertained to 22 NWPs and six general conditions, including the requirements for completing a pre-construction notification (PCN). The Corps’ Districts asked for comments on the proposed regional conditions and on the need for additional regional conditions to help ensure that the adverse environmental effects of authorized activities would be no more than minimal. …

January 14, 2021

Babst Calland Names Three New Shareholders: Ben Clapp, Alyssa Golfieri and Gary Steinbauer

Babst Calland recently named Ben Clapp, Alyssa E. Golfieri, and Gary E. Steinbauer as shareholders in the Firm.

Ben Clapp is a member of the Environmental, Energy and Natural Resources, and Emerging Technologies groups. Mr. Clapp advises clients on the environmental components of complex transactions, including identifying and analyzing significant environmental liability and compliance issues arising in connection with mergers and acquisitions, asset sales, securities offerings, project financings, and corporate restructurings, and works to resolve, manage, allocate or mitigate these environmental risks in the client’s best interest.  Mr. Clapp assists buyers, sellers, financing sources, and underwriters in transactions taking place across a wide range of industries, including the upstream, midstream, and downstream oil and gas sectors, renewable energy, real estate, utilities, chemicals, manufacturing, mining, pharmaceuticals, pulp and paper, and food and beverage.

Mr. Clapp is a 2008 graduate, cum laude, of the American University Washington College of Law.

Alyssa E. Golfieri is a member of the Public Sector and Energy and Natural Resources groups. Ms. Golfieri’s practice focuses primarily on municipal and land use law, with an emphasis on zoning, subdivision, land development, and municipal ordinance enforcement. Ms. Golfieri represents the Firm’s municipal clients on a wide array of local government issues, including the preparation of zoning and land development ordinances pursuant to the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code, the processing of land development applications, responses to record requests submitted under the Pennsylvania Right-to-Know Law, navigation of public bidding matters, abatement of property maintenance issues, defense of Notices of Violations before zoning hearing boards and magisterial district judges, and compliance with both the Pennsylvania Sunshine Act and the Pennsylvania Public Official and Employee Ethics Act. Ms. Golfieri has also served as assistant solicitor for several years, and is currently the solicitor for the Borough of Ford City. …

December 23, 2020

Congress Reauthorizes Pipeline Safety Act as Part of Year-End Spending and COVID-19 Relief Package

Pipeline Safety Alert

(by Keith Coyle and Ashleigh Krick)

On December 21, 2020, the U.S. Congress passed the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2020 (the Act) as part of a larger year-end spending and COVID-19 relief package.  The Act reauthorizes the federal pipeline safety program through September 30, 2023, and establishes annual funding levels for the 2021, 2022, and 2023 fiscal years.  The Act also makes other important changes to the federal pipeline safety laws administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA or the Agency).

The Act requires PHMSA to issue new rules for gas pipeline leak detection and repair programs and idle pipelines, update the operations and maintenance standards for certain large-scale liquefied natural gas facilities, and finalize outstanding rulemakings for gas gathering lines, class location changes, and the definition of unusually sensitive areas.  The Act establishes additional due process protections for PHMSA enforcement actions, authorizes a new declaratory order proceeding, and obligates PHMSA to consider an operator’s self-report in assessing a civil penalty.  Other noteworthy provisions in the Act include authorizing the implementation of a new pipeline safety testing program, the performance of various research and development studies, and the creation of a National Center of Excellence for Liquefied Natural Gas Safety.  Lastly, the Act contains various new requirements for distribution lines in response to the 2018 incident in Merrimack Valley, Massachusetts.

The Act does not include several provisions that Congress proposed in earlier versions of the legislation.  For example, the Act does not eliminate PHMSA’s obligation to consider the costs and benefits of changes to the pipeline safety regulations or prohibit the use of direct assessments as part of a pipeline operator’s integrity management program.  …

December 17, 2020

RLUIPA’s Land Use Provisions Remain Essential Against Religious Discrimination

The Legal Intelligencer

(by Krista-Ann Staley and Anna Jewart)

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized persons Act of 2000 (RLUIPA), 42 U.S.C. Sections 2000cc et seq, a federal statute that protects the rights of individuals and institutions to use land for religious purposes, in addition to protecting the rights of persons confined to institutions to exercise their faiths. Coincidentally, the anniversary comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions have severely limited our ability to gather safely, causing many churches, synagogues, temples, mosques and other places of worship to close or limit attendance. This context provides a unique opportunity to review two decades of RLUIPA’s application.

One key component of RLUIPA is the protection of the ability to gather and congregate without government intrusion. While earlier legislation, such as the Church Arson Prevention Act, 18 U.S.C.A. Section 247, protected places of worship against arson, vandalism, or other violent interference, RLUIPA protects the ability to establish or build those places of worship. To do so, it specifically addresses local land use regulations, including the application of zoning regulations and permitting practices.

Congress enacted RLUIPA in the late 1990s, following nine hearings over three years. Those hearings examined religious discrimination in land use decisions. They revealed what Congress described as “massive evidence” of widespread discrimination by state and local officials in cases involving individuals and institutions seeking to use land for religious purposes. This discrimination most often impacted minority faiths and newer, smaller or unfamiliar denominations, and could be coupled with racial and ethnic discrimination. RLUIPA, drafted with bipartisan support, unanimously passed both houses of Congress and was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000. …

Top