Left open by the Supreme Court’s decision in American Electric Power Co. v. Connecticut, 131 S. Ct. 2527  (2011), was the question of whether state law nuisance claims for the emission of carbon dioxide were viable in the face of the Clean Air Act.  That question continued to be answered in the negative with the decision of the Western District of Pennsylvania last month in Bell v. Cheswick Generating Station, GenOn Power Midwest, L.P. (W.D. Penn. Oct. 12, 2012) (attached), which was appealed to the Third Circuit the Friday before Thanksgiving.1    In ...

West Virginia today and Virginia yesterday became the seventh and eighth states to obtain the benefits of a federal Major Disaster Declaration in connection with Superstorm Sandy.  They follow New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Maryland and Delaware.  What does that mean?  Money.  Lots of money.  A key question will be whether that money goes to improving the resilience of the community for the next severe storm. As the FEMA announcements point out, eligible state and local governments may obtain: • Payment of not less than 75 percent of ...

"A Rare Solar Success Story" trumpets the American version of The Wall Street Journal today in an article about LDK Solar, a Chinese solar wafer manufacturer.  We agree with "Solar" and "Story" but the rest of the headline does not match reality.  (In fact, the Asian version is a little less over-the-top:  "Despite Troubles, China's LDK Solar to Keep Humming.")     First, let's consider whether LDK Solar is rare.  As described in the article it has a $500 million government loan guarantee. That sounds like something we remember about Solyndra LLC. Secon...

You've just weathered a post-tropical cyclone.  Your garage is flattened.  Do you have a hurricane deductible?  Or will your regular deductible apply?  The answer can be worth thousands of dollars as a hurricane deductible is not a fixed amount but is calculated based on a percentage of your home’s insured value.  These questions loom large as the process of recovery from what-was-at-one-time-known-as Hurricane-Sandy gathers steam and homeowners get the lights back on.  The news services and trade press have been all over this topic in the last few days with...