By Patrick J. Paul On January 14, 2021, Colorado published its Greenhouse Gas Pollution Reduction Roadmap, representing the most substantive planning process the state has ever undertaken on climate leadership, pollution reduction and clean energy transition. The Roadmap is a testament to the efforts of numerous state agencies including the Colorado Energy Office and the Departments of […]
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By Patrick J. Paul On January 14, the Federal Aviation Administration approved the first fully automated commercial drone flights by granting Massachusetts-based American Robotics, Inc. permission to operate drones without hands-on piloting and “beyond-visual-line-of-site” (BVLOS) through January 31, 2023. Weighing less than 20 pounds, American Robotics’ Scout drones utilize acoustic technology to detect and avoid […]
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by Patrick J. Paul As the page is turned on 2020 and some hope exists with respect to a COVID-19 vaccine, Arizona finds itself with the dubious distinction of leading the nation in COVID-19 cases per 100,000. Against this regrettable backdrop, Governor Ducey earlier today announced $500,000 in funding to support a wastewater testing pilot […]
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by Patrick J. Paul Traditionally, Labor Day weekend in the United States means “back-to-school.” In this pandemic year, however, many schools remain closed indefinitely to in-person learning, while others opened early with the goal of completing the semester coincident with Thanksgiving break in November, thus limiting travel and the potential for future spread. As educational […]
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by Lucas J. Narducci and Amanda Reeve There is no question that the Coronavirus Disease 19 (“COVID-19”) pandemic has been taking its toll on public health, and it is doing so in more ways than some folks may be aware. Environmental programs which are instrumental in protecting the public health in Arizona; but are statutorily […]
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by Patrick J. Paul Having recently been granted an emergency Part 107 waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, Novant Health, Inc., a not-for-profit, integrated healthcare system headquartered in North Carolina, in partnership with San Francisco-based drone delivery company, Zipline, has commenced medical drone delivery for the first time in the United States. Novant announced the […]
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by Matt Derstine With states now modifying their stay-at-home orders and social distancing restrictions, the long-term effects of the Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) pandemic on energy and infrastructure projects remains unclear. But there have been several immediate impacts ranging from supply chain and labor force disruptions, to delays arising from the stay-at-home orders and the financial impact […]
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by Patrick Paul As the case for drone use to help respond to the coronavirus pandemic, whether to enforce social distancing guidelines, announce current developments, or deliver needed medical and food supplies, grows internationally, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on April 14, 2020, announced the enabling of drone use for COVID-19 response efforts within the […]
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by Fred Breedlove The demands on government and private water providers to address the declining availability of water resources in the southwest did not get a reprieve, unfortunately, when the COVID-19 virus emerged in February. Last August, I wrote that even though the snowpack that feeds the Colorado River was 145% of normal for 2018-2019, […]
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By Patrick Paul, Chris Colyer and Michael Ford On April 10, 2020, the U.S. EPA published “Interim Guidance on Site Field Work Decisions Due to Impacts of COVID-19.” Directed specifically to the Agency’s Regional Administrators, the interim guidance was issued for response actions related to cleanup and emergency response sites where EPA is the lead agency […]
