Climate Change & Carbon Management
In recent years, the federal government’s approach to addressing carbon emissions has shifted dramatically and culminated in one of the largest expansions of environmental regulations in our nation’s history. Jackson Walker attorneys are helping our clients withstand this regulatory uncertainty by challenging unwarranted rules in the federal court system, developing projects that capture and utilize carbon emissions, and obtaining the necessary permits for project operation.
Litigation
Jackson Walker attorneys have represented clients in coordination with numerous state Attorney Generals challenging certain GHG regulations, including the Clean Power Plan, before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Project Development
Jackson Walker’s leadership in developing innovative solutions to issues for our energy clients continues, both domestically and internationally, and encompasses experience in all sectors of carbon management. Jackson Walker attorneys assist client develop new projects that employ carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology and continue to conduct permitting work at the state level, working with TCEQ to obtain necessary GHG permits.
CCUS Incentives
Since 2003, attorneys in the firm’s Climate Change & Carbon Management Group have been central to the development of regional incentives for the capture, transportation, utilization, and storage of carbon dioxide. Jackson Walker continues to play a central role in the development of expanded incentives in these areas, including enhanced tax and regulatory incentives, transportation-specific incentives, as well as provisions to address liability and ownership issues associated with geologic sequestration.
- During recent legislative sessions, on behalf of power generation and technology interests, our attorneys assisted in the drafting and passage of several pieces of legislation, the net result of which is the most comprehensive financial and regulatory incentive package in the nation for new electric power generation technology and related carbon dioxide storage projects, including enhanced oil recovery projects.
- Before EPA and TCEQ, we represented coalitions of electrical generating companies regarding the implementation of the Clean Air Interstate Rule, the Clean Air Mercury Rule, and the Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston/Galveston State Implementation Plans. This included developing emissions specifications for attainment demonstrations and system cap compliance mechanisms.
- We regularly represent trade associations in rulemaking processes, including TCEQ’s Overburden Removal Policy, Sand and Gravel Permit by Rule, the Anti-Circumvention Rule, and EPA’s CCR and Greenhouse Gas initiatives.
August 26, 2022
Speaking Engagements
Mike Nasi to Moderate “Governors Energy Caucus” Panel at the SSEB Annual Meeting
As Special Counsel to the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB), Mike Nasi will moderate a panel featuring South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, and former Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant at the SSEB Annual Meeting on August 30, 2022.
August 1, 2022
Speaking Engagements
Mike Nasi Briefs United Nations on CCUS as a Solution to Energy Poverty and CO2 Emissions
At a high-level briefing for the Group of 77 and China, Mike Nasi joined a panel that addressed how the commercial-scale adoption of Carbon Capture Utilization and Storage (CCUS) can lower emissions of CO2 and assure global energy growth.
July 6, 2022
Insights
U.S. Supreme Court Endorses Major Questions Doctrine as Interpretive Canon in EPA Ruling
By Michael Nasi, Jennifer Caughey, Taylor Holcomb, & Cody Vaughn
The United States Supreme Court held in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency (No. 20-1530) that EPA may not rely upon Section 111(d) of the Clean Air Act to “force a nationwide transition away from the use of coal.” Citing the “major questions doctrine,” the Court explained that a Congressional delegation of “unprecedented power” requires a clear statement that is simply not present in the Clean Air Act.
April 28, 2022
Speaking Engagements
Mike Nasi Speaks on Houston’s Viability as a Potential CCUS Hub
Michael J. Nasi joined Hon. Brent Bailey (Mississippi Public Service Commission), Mahak Agrawal (Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy), and Charles McConnell (University of Houston Center for Carbon Management) for a panel discussion on “Advancing Innovation with CCUS Hubs: A Case Study of Houston, Texas.”
December 13, 2021
Speaking Engagements
Mike Nasi Covers U.S. Policies Surrounding Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage at RECS 2021
Michael Nasi joined a panel discussion on “CCUS Policy and Policymaking” during the RECS 2021 program on December 6, 2021. Fellow panelists included Steven M. Carpenter, Ph.D. (Enhanced Oil Recovery Institute), Sallie Greenberg, Ph.D. (Illinois State Geological Survey – University of Illinois), and Michael Weiner (Van Ness Feldman LLP and Carbon Utilization Research Council).
October 5, 2020
Mentions
Daily on Energy, Presented by Citizens for Responsible Energy Solutions: Fossil-Heavy States Try to Get Ahead of Biden and SCOTUS With Power Plant Carbon Plans | Washington Examiner
West Virginia is likely to be the first state to move, Austin partner Mike Nasi said. The state is on track to soon advance part of its plan, covering the 700-megawatt Longview Power coal plant.
