Dirt Alert

The Nebraska Legislature convened a Special Session on July 25, 2024.  Governor Jim Pillen called the Special Session “to fix the state’s property tax crisis.” Under legislative rules, senators had three legislative days to introduce legislation.  Senators introduced 81 bills and 24 constitutional amendments.  All of those received a public […]

Dirt Rd. Dev. LLC v. Hirschman, 316 Neb. 757 (2024) Howard County required a landowner to obtain a conditional use permit (“CUP”) for a feedlot expansion.  The landowner challenged that decision.  The lower court upheld Howard County’s interpretation of its zoning regulations.  The Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed.  The court’s holding […]

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) recently issued a long-awaited rule governing development and cost-allocation for electrical transmission lines.  On May 13, 2024, FERC adopted Order Numbers 1920 and 1977. These orders express FERC’s goal to meet the nation’s growing demand for reliable electricity and may impact energy generation facilities […]

On May 9, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published new emissions guidelines and performance standards for fossil fuel-fired power plants. A copy of the guidelines and standards is online here. In this rule, the EPA created a new suite of best systems of emission reduction (“BSERs”) for different categories […]

For years, Midwest refiners have converted corn into ethanol.  More recently, as regulators have pursued climate goals, ethanol has gained nationwide acceptance as an energy source that can reduce carbon emissions in the transportation industry.  We summarize three regulatory initiatives that may continue driving markets for ethanol and associated technologies, […]