Late yesterday afternoon, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) published on its website what it characterizes as a “rough draft” of its forthcoming emergency[1] rule (the “Draft Rule”), which is 79 pages in length. This Draft Rule comes nine days after the agency’s release of an Interpretive Rule implementing, in part, the new Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”), a summary of which is available here ...
On February 3, 2015, House Bill 2574 (“HB 2574”) was introduced in the West Virginia Legislature. HB 2574 proposes to remedy the unintended consequences to businesses created by the passage of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act”) during the 2014 regular session of the Legislature immediately following the contamination of the Elk River from Freedom Industries, Inc ...
By the time you are reading this, the October 1 deadline to register all aboveground storage tanks (“ASTs”) in West Virginia has passed, and the world is still turning. If you have not yet registered your ASTs, it is still a good idea to register any tanks that qualify as ASTs as soon as you can. However, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) is proceeding with implementation of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act, W. Va ...
On August 7, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Summit Petroleum Corp. v. United States EPA, et al., Case Nos. 09-4348/10-4572, dealt the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") a major setback in its efforts to aggregate multiple, often disperse, emitting units in the oil and natural gas industry as a single stationary source - thus subjecting them to more stringent controls under the Clean Air Act ("CAA") ...
2016 was the driest year in South Africa since rainfall records began in 1904‚ with the current drought predicted to continue well into 2017. Climate variables resulting in such devastating droughts are giving rise to increased competition for dwindling water resources in parts of South Africa. When water is critical to the ongoing operation of a business, it is important to establish precisely what right a business has to water and how to protect this right ...
The Trump Administration has signaled its intent to roll back the scope of federal jurisdiction under the Clean Water Act in an Executive Order issued on February 28. The Executive Order directs U.S. EPA and the Corps of Engineers to consider rescinding or revising the "Clean Water Rule," which defines when the Clean Water Act applies to wetlands, ponds, intermittent streams, and other water bodies that have a "significant nexus" to "navigable waters ...
On February 21, 2017 the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in the case San Luis and Delta-Mendota Water Authority v. Haugrud found that water releases under California Fish and Game Code Section 5937 to keep fish in "good condition" creates an exception to the requirement to obtain a water right permit change from the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB). The Haugrud case addresses the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) 2013 release of Trinity River water from the Lewiston Dam ...
The February issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) includes an international briefing article by SyCipLaw partner Aaron Roi B. Riturban entitled “Philippines: Promoting foreign investment”. The article focuses on Republic Act no. 10881, which lifts the foreign investment limitations found in laws governing adjustment companies, lending companies, financing companies, and investment houses. Read the article online at the IFLR website ...
The World Bank Group has released Enabling the Business of Agriculture 2017. The report presents data on legal barriers for farmers, entrepreneurs and businesses operating in agriculture in 62 countries and across the topics of land, seed, fertilizer, machinery, water, livestock, finance, markets, transport, and information and communication technology (ICT). SyCipLaw's Rose Marie M. King-Dominguez, Alan C. Fontanosa, Franco Aristotle G. Larcina and Ruben P ...
ARIPO Developments: Amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization’s (“ARIPO’s”) amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the “Protocol”), came into effect on 1 January 2017 and includes some important changes ...
The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 – what you need to knowDo LLPs have independent legal personality? The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 (the “Act”) came into force on 3 January 2017, and provides for the establishment of limited liability partnership (“LLP”) structures in Mauritius. The LLP is a welcome and awaited addition to the various types of vehicles that can be created in Mauritius ...
In its most important constitutional judgment ever, the UK Supreme Court has this morning confirmed that the UK Parliament in Westminster, rather than the British Government, must decide on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The Court has in this respect upheld the decision of the High Court as reported in our “Brexit Update ...
The election of Mr. Donald J. Trump as President of the United States has resulted in much consideration by corporates of existing strategies with respect to Iran. Mr. Trump’s lack of experience in public office and some of his election campaign statements continue to cause anxiety. Will Mr ...
Effective January 1, 2017, new rules will govern the taxation of mutual fund corporations structured as ?switch funds?. Investors switching between funds will no longer be able to do so without incurring taxable capital gains. This article summarizes the impact of such changes. Description of "switch funds" under the current regime In Canada, most mutual funds are structured as trusts and some are structured as corporations (referred to as ?corporate class funds?) ...
For about two years now, most renewable energy projects, particularly wind farm projects, have been financed using a so-called “hybrid” model, i.e. a combination of medium-term bank debt and long-term financing or private placements. The term “hybrid” is derived from the vocabulary of the Public-Private Partnerships industry, particularly projects involving an operational and maintenance component as part of a long-term concession ...
A federal appeals court has rejected two challenges to the environmental review of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority's (Metro's) planned subway expansion in Downtown Los Angeles. The "Regional Connector" project, approved in 2012, will create a three-station, underground link through Downtown that will allow passengers to travel from points on the Metro Gold Line to the Blue and Expo lines without having to transfer trains ...
Trade mark law may be contained in statutes, but judges are the ones who interpret the statutes. Judges are also the ones who eventually decide whether one trade mark is confusingly similar to another. It is these factors that make the “Question the Trade Mark Judges” event that recently took place at University College London so fascinating for anyone interested in trade marks ...
Over the summer, several European blue chips, certain Fortune 500s and major Asian corporates accelerated their entry strategy for Iran. Some are investing in Iran pursuant to the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act 2002 (“FIPPA”), which, amongst other things, provides a sovereign guarantee from the Iranian government ...
Africa Tax in Brief Ethiopia: Treaty and amending protocol with the Netherlands enter into force The Ethiopia-Netherlands Income Tax Treaty, 2012 and the exchange of notes, signed on 10 August 2012, entered into force on 1 September 2016, and the amending protocol to the treaty, signed on 18 August 2014, will enter into force on 30 September 2016. The exchange of notes generally applies from 1 September 2016 ...
Dangro Invest A/S that has farm land investments in Poland has just been sold to an American pension fund. Plesner has advised Dangro Invest A/S's board of directors with respect to the transaction.Dangro Invest A/S was previously owned by 416 private shareholders, primarily Danish farmers, and over a number of years the company has built up a commercial plant cultivation business in Poland ...
Farms run as a family business tend to follow a partnership structure. However there is often a reluctance to commit the terms of the partnership to paper or else to keep the terms of an existing agreement up to date. However ensuring that your Partnership Agreement is up to date and reflects your wishes is essential for succession and tax planning purposes.Partnership Agreements Farming businesses can use different business structures ...
Ever since Serbia’s Stabilisation andAssociation Agreement with the EU (‘SAA’) entered into force in September 2013, Serbian media have paidsignificant attention to the country’s obligations concerning the acquisitionof agricultural land by foreigners. The fear of one part of the public appearsto be that, due to the application of the SAA, large portions of Serbianagricultural land will be sold out to foreigners ...
The Second Eastern Economic Forum was held on 2nd and 3rd December in Vladivostok. The participants presented various investment projects ready for implementation. On 3rd September Maxim Alekseev, ALRUD Law Firm Senior Partner, participated in Russia-ASEAN session. Its primary topic was discussion of the declaration on main areas of cooperation between Russia and ASEAN adopted on Russia-ASEAN summit held in Sochi on 19-20 May, 2016 ...
