August 31, 2019
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Legal Victory: Ozone Air Quality Standards
A federal appeals court recently rejected industry and state challenges to Obama-era air quality standards, which Policy Integrity had defended in an amicus brief. The court’s decision is consistent with our arguments. Jack Lienke explained in E&E News that the ruling will make it extremely difficult for the Trump administration to weaken ozone standards in the future.
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Annual Conference on September 24
Policy Integrity is hosting its annual conference on Tuesday, September 24 at the New York University School of Law. Experts and policymakers from around the country will explore how we can better estimate, prepare for, and communicate the high cost of inaction in the face of the climate crisis. To learn more about the event, see the speaker lineup, and RSVP, visit our event page.
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Commentary: ACE Lawsuit and Energy Storage Policies
Richard Revesz spoke to The New York Times about the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy rule, which was recently challenged by a coalition of 29 states and cities. A judicial decision to uphold the new rule, he explains, “would have a devastating effect on the ability of future administrations to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.”
Dr. Burcin Unel published a piece in Energy Central on the role of distributed energy resources in the transition to clean energy. She lays out the three policy improvements needed to unlock the full benefits of energy storage.
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Bialek and Shrader to Present at RFF Workshop
Current and former Policy Integrity economic fellows Dr. Sylwia Bialek and Dr. Jeffrey Shrader were selected as distinguished researchers for a September 16 workshop held by Resources for the Future, where they will be presenting their research on costs of compliance with federal environmental regulation. Dr. Bialek and Dr. Shrader are among a group of top environmental policy researchers who were awarded a grant for retrospective analysis of environmental laws.
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American College of Environmental Lawyers Honors Revesz
The American College of Environmental Lawyers has elected Richard Revesz as an honorary fellow. Revesz, recognized by ACOEL as “one of the nation’s leading scholars in environmental law and a major voice on the subject of regulatory law,” is the eighth honorary fellow in the organization’s history, joining a group that includes former EPA administrator William Ruckelshaus and David Sive, widely regarded as the father of U.S. environmental law.
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Amicus Brief: Title X Women’s Health Services
We filed an amicus brief in the Fourth Circuit, supporting a preliminary injunction of a new rule that imposes onerous new restrictions on healthcare providers in the federal Title X program. The rule, which would force the shutdown of numerous women’s health clinics, was recently enjoined by a number of district courts, though those injunctions have been stayed pending appeal. Our brief argues that the court should affirm the preliminary injunction because the Department of Health and Human Services failed to adequately assess the harms that the rule will cause. We previously filed several briefs in district and appellate courts supporting an injunction of HHS’s flawed rule.
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Recent Energy Publications
A revised version of Richard Revesz and Dr. Burcin Unel’s paper, Managing the Future of the Electricity Grid, was included in Environmental Law Reporter’s Environmental Law and Policy Annual Review as one of the top environmental law articles published last year. The new article gives a brief overview of challenges and solutions related to deployment of energy storage in the grid. Dr. Unel also co-authored Electricity Simulations on the Distribution Edge, which was included in IAEE Energy Forum’s Montreal Special Issue.
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In Memoriam: Charles “Chuck” Klein
Chuck Klein, a longtime member of our advisory board, passed away last week. Chuck provided invaluable support and guidance to Policy Integrity, encouraging the growth of our work in electricity policy and helping foster collaborations with scholars at NYU Tandon School of Engineering, among other contributions. Chuck’s input continues to strengthen our work and mission, and he will be deeply missed.
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More from This Month
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