Recent Projects

The New York Public Service Commission (PSC) requested input on its initial report on the New York Power Grid Study. Our comments recommend steps the PSC can take to not only achieve emissions reduction goals, but also give appropriate priority to environmental justice.

A new rulemaking by the Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) delays the effective date of its previously-finalized Valuation Reform and Civil Penalty Rule and seeks input on several questions. We submitted comments focusing primarily on a question about the role of climate impacts in setting royalty policy.

The Department of Energy called for input on its prioritization process for energy conservation rulemakings. We submitted comments detailing immediate, mid-term, and long-term actions that DOE can take to more efficiently set energy conservation standards and deliver greater benefits to consumers, public health, and the environment.

The Department of the Army proposed a rule that would have the agency quantify the greenhouse gas emissions of significant actions but does not require impacts to be assessed using the social cost of carbon. We submitted comments urging the Army to not adopt the provision. Its environmental analyses should consider monetized climate impacts.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's interim final rule delays the application of its 2016 inflation adjustment of the penalty for violating the corpoate average fuel-economy (CAFE) standards. We submitted comments explaining that the rule is untimely under the Inflation Adjustment Act, whose deadlines to amend the intial catch-up inflation adjustment expired years ago.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) proposed a rule that would preclude banks from taking climate risks into account when making decisions regarding the provision of financial services. We submitted joint comments explaining how OCC fails to consider or justify serious costs imposed by the rule. Climate risks pose a significant threat to the economic and operational health of firms in the energy sector and to the stability of the financial system as a whole.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) proposed Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act benefit and payment parameters for the 2022 coverage year that could cause significant health costs. We submitted comments on several elements of the proposed rule, including (1) its authorization of entirely privatized insurance marketplaces; (2) its promotion of the use of private enrollment websites by enrollment assisters; (3) its reduction of marketplace user fees; and (4) its continued reliance on a 2019 change to the formulas used to calculate premium-adjustment percentages and cost-sharing limits for consumers.

Our comments on the Revised Cross-State Air Pollution Rule Update for the 2008 Ozone NAAQS identify critical flaws in the proposal's design and regulatory impact analysis. The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) unreasonably low valuation of climate effects also contributes to its selection of an inefficient policy alternative. We submitted joint comments detailing how EPA's flawed analysis harms public health and the environment.

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has proposed to retrospectively and prospectively establish an "expiration date" for each of its regulations. Under the proposed rule, regulations would be automatically rescinded unless HHS first completes a restrospective review of the regulation's effects on small entities pursuant to the Regulatory Flexibility Act. We submitted comments criticizing the proposal, which is neither lawful nor rational.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proposed a policy statement on carbon pricing in organized wholesale electricity markets. We submitted comments encouraging FERC to strengthen its proposal by making specific clarifications. We later submitted reply comments addressing points made by other commenters and providing further guidance on how FERC can improve its final policy statement.