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Expert Analysis

• 5 Key Issues In Acquiring Transportation Infrastructure Assets

  

  There is a growing trend of governmental agencies contracting and leasing viable operating transportation infrastructure assets. Such opportunities for the private sector may exist in connection with any contemplated upgrade, extension or other modification of an asset that a governmental entity needs to finance, say José Morán and Juan Gonzalez of Baker McKenzie. 

• California Is Filling The Gaps In The Clean Water Act

  

  As the Trump administration takes steps to shrink the scope of federal Clean Water Act jurisdiction, California has issued regulations establishing stricter oversight of discharges to waters in the state. Members of the regulated community must understand the state's expansive new definitions of "waters" and "wetlands," says Joshua Bloom of Environmental General Counsel.

• Now In Congress: Budget, Nominations, Mueller Report

  

  As both chambers of Congress grapple with difficult decisions on appropriations bills, there is partisan rancor over President Donald Trump's budget proposal, the report of special counsel Robert Mueller, and rule changes for debate over presidential nominations, says Layth Elhassani of Covington & Burling.

• How Rebuilding America's Infrastructure Is Going So Far

  

  Despite piecemeal legislative efforts, little has been done in two years to further President Donald Trump’s promise to rebuild America's crumbling infrastructure — but a federal infrastructure bill may be on the horizon, say attorneys at Jones Day.

• Rules For Mass. Discrimination Claims Could Get Revamped

  

  While most of the proposed procedural changes at the Massachusetts Commission Against Discrimination appear to be designed for the convenience and efficient operation of the commission, a few may leave some complainants at a disadvantage, say Brian MacDonough and Jaclyn McNeely of Sherin and Lodgen.

• What EU Investment Screening Will Mean For Dealmakers

  

  Last week, the European Council approved a regulation to screen foreign direct investment into European Union member states on national security grounds. Dealmakers considering near-term transactions with a nexus to the EU will need to evaluate how the new regulations may impact deal timelines, disclosures, certainty and costs, say attorneys with Kirkland & Ellis LLP.

• Constitutional Force-Pooling Arguments Face Uphill Battle

  

  Opponents of oil and gas development in Colorado have brought constitutional challenges to the state's process for force-pooling mineral rights in federal court. But their Fifth and Fourteenth Amendment arguments were recently rejected by a federal court in Ohio in a separate case, say Ivan London and Zachary Fitzgerald of Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner LLP.

• Contractors Should Prepare For Border Wall Reallocation

  

  The funding provisions of President Donald Trump's national emergency declaration for the border wall could affect hundreds of military construction projects, contractors and subcontractors. Smart contractors should act now to protect their interests, says Lucas Hanback of Rogers Joseph O’Donnell PC.

• Now In Congress: State Of The Union, Border Wall, Syria

  

  Amid concern that the impasse over a southern border wall might lead to another government shutdown, President Donald Trump's first State of the Union address since the Republican Party lost control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections offered a blend of bridge-building and confrontation, says Layth Elhassani of Covington & Burling LLP.

• Can A Driller Trespass While Fracking On Its Own Lease?

  

  In Briggs v. Southwestern Energy Company, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will review whether a driller can be held liable in trespass for hydraulically fracturing a well located entirely on its own lease site. The decision could spur a wave of litigation in the nation's largest shale gas producing region, says Donald Jackson of McGinnis Lochridge.

• Constitutional Challenges To Pipeline Takings Face Obstacles

  

  In a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court, the plaintiffs in Berkley v. Mountain Valley Pipeline claim the Natural Gas Act does not preclude district court review of constitutional objections to the law. However, their arguments are at odds with Supreme Court precedent, says Clay Massey of Alston & Bird LLP.

• 2 Circuits Clear Up NGA Questions For Pipeline Cos.

  

  Recent decisions from the Sixth and Eleventh Circuits address several common procedural issues in a manner favorable to pipeline companies seeking immediate possession in Natural Gas Act condemnations, says Arthur Schmalz of Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP.

• Receiverships May Be Particularly Useful For New Industries

  

  Now more than ever, receiverships can help troubled enterprises when bankruptcy is not an option. In addition to Ponzi schemes and securities and real estate fraud, receiverships are increasingly used in cryptocurrency matters and cases of EB-5 immigrant investor program fraud, say Ira Bodenstein of Fox Rothschild LLP and Brian Soper of BMS.