AES resolves investigation by NY Attorney General Cuomo with agreement to disclose climate-change risks to investors
In his latest use of New York's Martin Act as an environmental enforcement tool, on November 19, 2009, New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo announced an agreement with The AES Corporation requiring AES to disclose material risks associated with climate change in its annual report to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The agreement resolves an investigation that began with Mr. Cuomo’s September 14, 2007 letters and accompanying subpoenas to AES and four other energy companies.
Continue Reading...Environmental advocates challenge permit for Centralia coal plant
On November 2, EarthJustice filed a petition asking the EPA to block the renewal of an air pollution permit for TransAlta Corporation’s coal-burning power plant in Centralia, Washington. The Southwest Clean Air Agency (“SWCAA”) had renewed the permit on September 17, and on September 28, the Sierra Club and other likeminded groups appealed the renewal. The November 2 petition alleges violations of the federal Clean Air Act and state pollution laws. In particular, the petitioners oppose the permit because it does not contain emissions limits for greenhouse gases or mercury, and because it does not require the best controls for regional haze-pollution.
Continue Reading...SEC's Division of Corporate Finance revises guidelines for shareholder proposals covering climate risks
On October 27, 2009, the SEC’s Division of Corporate Finance revised its guidelines regarding the grounds on which a public company can exclude from its proxy materials shareholder proposals relating to environmental, financial or health risks, including those seeking disclosure of climate-related risks. Issued as part of Staff Legal Bulletin No. 14E (CF) (“SLB 14E”), the revised guidance seeks to address the Division’s concern that the existing analytical framework may have led to the “unwarranted exclusion” of proposals related to an evaluation of risk – formerly seen as an aspect of ordinary business operations and therefore excludable under Rule 14a-8(i)(7) – but which focus on “significant policy issues.”
Continue Reading...EPA rejects permit for BP Whiting refinery
On October 16, responding to a petition filed by environmental groups, US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson objected to the operating permit issued by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM) for BP North America's refinery in Whiting, Indiana. BP is expanding the refinery, which is twenty miles south of Chicago on Lake Michigan, to handle high sulfur Canadian crude oil. The EPA had previously approved an air permit for the project, concluding that the increase in refining capacity would not lead to an emissions increase sufficient to reach the “major modification” threshold. Under that determination, BP was not required to install additional pollution control devices or take other steps to reduce emissions and meet Clean Air Act requirements. However, environmental groups predict that the expansion will create approximately as much new global warming pollution as a new 300-400 megawatt coal plant, about a 40 percent increase from current refinery levels.
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