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Inflation Reduction Act
Federal Agencies Agree to Speed Project Permitting
The U.S. DOT and 10 other federal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on April 9, 2018, which became effective on April 10, 2018. The MOU [1] is intended to implement Executive Order 13807 (Aug. 15, 2017), which established...
Final Gas Mega Rules Expected to be Issued in 2019
The Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC) convened in Washington D.C. at the end of March, 2018, to continue discussions from May and December 2017 regarding PHMSA’s proposed gas and gathering pipeline mega rule (“Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipelines”...
As Steel Tariff Becomes Effective, Commerce Issues Rule for Exclusions
Building off of President Trump’s “Made in America” campaign commitment, the Trump Administration issued a tariff on steel imports on March 8, 2018. The proclamation finds that the imposition of duties on steel articles is necessary to ensure that steel...
PHMSA Opens Enforcement Hearing to the Public
In a surprising turn of events this week, PHMSA approved a request from the media to attend a hearing in the Agency’s Southwest Region offices in Houston yesterday. An environmental reporting service (E&E News) submitted a request to PHMSA last...
Investing in Upstream Oil and Gas in Mexico
Bracewell's Mexico team is comprised of leading energy lawyers in Houston and London and we are one of the few law firms that have been involved in all aspects of the liberalisation process.
Treasury and IRS Issue Guidance Concerning Carried Interests Held Through S-Corporations
On March 1, 2018, the Treasury Department and the IRS issued an advanced version of Notice 2018-18, stating that forthcoming Treasury regulations would provide that applicable partnership interests, commonly referred to as carried interests, held by S-corporations will be subject...
Who Is Watching The Watchmen?: CFTC Penalizes Registrant For Outsourced IT Security Lapses
On February 12, 2018, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) settled charges against AMP Global Clearing LLC (AMP), a futures commission merchant (FCM), for the company’s failure to adequately supervise one of its IT providers, which led to the unauthorized...
FAQ: Reversal of "Once In Always In"
On February 8, 2018, ERM and Bracewell presented a webinar that took a look at the legal and technical issues related to EPA’s January 25th memo reversing the long standing “Once In Always In” policy. With this policy change, facilities...
A View from Washington: Environmental Regulatory Reform and Infrastructure Principles
In the March installment of our Environmental Essentials for In-House Counsel webinar series, Brittany Pemberton and Christine Wyman shared insights to be learned from the Administration’s proposed budget and talked briefly about several recent regulatory reforms, including methane rules affecting...
Recent Developments in the Private Funds Industry
1. SEC's OCIE Announces 2018 Examination Priorities 2. Tax Reform: Impact on Funds 3. New DOJ Approach to Remote Data Storage — Go Get It!
What to Watch: Five Key Features of the Infrastructure Package
The President has announced more details regarding the new national infrastructure initiative that he referenced during his State of the Union address. The details suggest the Administration is taking a new approach to infrastructure—coupling traditional infrastructure concepts with modern approaches...
Suspension and Debarment: It's Not Just for Government Contractors
Companies facing environmental enforcement actions are at increased risk of being suspended and/or debarred because of a number of environmental statutory debarment mandates, state and local enforcement activities, as well as increased federal agency focus on debarring companies and individuals...
HSR Notification Thresholds Increase for 2018
The Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) has announced the annual revisions to the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act (“HSR Act”) thresholds, which will become effective on February 28, 2018. The revised thresholds will apply to any transaction closing on or after the...
The Tax Cuts and Job Acts: Its Impact on the Energy Industry Webinar
Learn about the TCJA provisions that are most relevant to the energy industry, as well as how the reform affects business taxes, financing transactions and renewable energy credits.
Surprise – EU Data Privacy Laws Could Impact You, Too!
On May 25, 2018, the European Union’s data privacy regime is getting an upgrade and like many operating system upgrades, the EU’s new approach (the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR) is designed to improve individual protections. It will also...