Articles

Harrell & Dodane: Final ACE rule trumps CPP, lets states set standards

On June 19, United States Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler signed the final version of the Affordable Clean Energy rule that was initially proposed on Aug. 21, 2018. The ACE final rule repeals and replaces the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, which attempted to impose first-ever carbon dioxide emission standards on existing fossil fuel power plants.

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McGimpsey: Digital water pivots utilities from reactive to proactive

Data has transformed how every industry does business, including utilities. The term “digital water” is a hot topic right now as more water and wastewater utilities look to improve operations and communications with customers. While it can be challenging for utilities to take steps toward implementing digital water technologies, those that do could see significant benefits across multiple departments.

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Indiana takes steps to improve water sustainability

Hoosier lawmakers, utilities and water policy lawyers in recent years have begun to look more closely at supply and demand. Legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2019, for example, ties certain funding sources to evidence of effective water study and communication. Meanwhile, some of the state’s biggest utilities have begun efforts to increase collaboration so that water resources might be shared.

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In contamination case, 7th Circuit cleans up messy preclusion fight

Even though none of the businesses disagreed over who contaminated a manufacturing site, the question of who should pay for the cleanup became a fight over claim preclusion that ended with the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals offering instructions on how the lawsuit should have been defended.

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Reversal: USDA farm wetlands ruling arbitrary and capricious

A Hancock County farm family denied U.S. Department of Agriculture benefits since the removal of nine trees from their farm in the 1990s prevailed in litigation against the agency. The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals entered judgment for the family, finding USDA’s rulings in the case arbitrary and capricious.

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Majority of Indiana justices rule for NIPSCO in rate fight

Asserting in a 3-2 decision that allowing a group of angry industrial ratepayers to prevail could cause the lights to go out and the furnace to switch off, a split Indiana Supreme Court has upheld a utility’s petition to raise customers’ electric bills. The NIPSCO Industrial Group had challenged Northern Indiana Public Service Co.’s second […]

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New trial ordered in suit over deadly propane explosion

An appellate panel has ordered a new trial in a negligence case arising after a propane tank explosion killed two people in Clinton County. The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled that admission of a verbatim hearsay opinion read into evidence by a defense expert witness was prejudicial to the deceased couple’s estate. 

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Zipping into statutes: Overview of new laws for 2019

Although the $34 billion budget dominated the session, legislators introduced and considered more than 600 bills each in both the Senate and the House. The ones they passed covered a variety of matters, including hate crimes, hemp, gambling, foster parents, electricity generation and, of course, electric scooters.

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SCOTUS sides with Virginia in uranium mining ban case

The United States Supreme Court sided with the state of Virginia on Monday, finding nothing improper about its decades-old ban on mining radioactive uranium. The ruling leaves in place the commonwealth’s prohibition on mining the largest uranium deposit in the United States.

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