On January 28, 2013, the Treasury Department issued its final regulations under Sections 1471, et seq. of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), otherwise known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”).  There is now a clear timetable for foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), as defined in Code Section 1471(d...

Earlier this month, the Federal Highway and Transit Administrations published guidance outlining two steps it will take to accelerate the environmental review process for certain projects. The guidance was the direct result of two provisions in the 2012 Transportation bill (MAP-21) mandating streamlined action under the National Environmental Policy Act for certain Environmental Impact...

EPA’s innovative attempt to regulate the amount of stormwater flowing into an impaired creek was recently struck down by a federal court in Virginia. Faced with a creek with benthic impairment (i.e., there weren’t a sufficient number of healthy organisms living near the bottom of the creek), EPA looked to reduce the amount of sediment flowing into the creek. Since almost...

The fiscal cliff legislation temporarily ends the uncertainty surrounding the extension of tax credits related to wind facilities that generate electricity. Under current law, the production tax credit (the “PTC”) applied to wind facilities that were operational by the end of 2012. The legislation amends the Code and provides that such PTC is available for wind facilities...

The newly passed American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 contains provisions related to a Roth IRA account. Currently, employee deferral plans, like 401(k), 403(b) or 457(b) plans, may have a Roth feature to allow employees to contribute to such plans on an after-tax basis with earnings thereon tax-free when distributed. Plans currently may allow employees to convert their traditional (pre-tax)...

As everyone knows, the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (aka, the “Fiscal Cliff Deal”) was passed by the U.S. House of Representatives late in the evening on January 1, 2013. The legislation includes provisions related to tax relief, business tax extenders, energy tax extenders, and the federal budget, among other issues.

To help you navigate this legislation, we have...

The effort to grow the U.S. economy has led to predictable stalemates on trade policy and international commerce over the past couple of years. As a result of disputes involving environmental, labor, and competiveness concerns, most free trade initiatives stalled in Congress or during international negotiations over the past two years. However, the 2012 elections made trade issues more visible...

The extraordinary increase in the production of natural gas from shale formations in the U.S. played a central role in the 2012 elections. As President Obama and Governor Romney campaigned throughout the battleground states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Colorado and elsewhere, the campaign often seemed to be a contest as to who could praise the positive impacts of domestic shale gas...

President Obama describes his energy policy as an "All of the Above" approach that encourages production of traditional fossil fuels while supporting the growth of renewables. Despite an increase in overall U.S. energy production over the past four years, output in federal waters of the Gulf of Mexico has dropped well below recent government projections and onshore energy production...