On June 17, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule to approve Texas’s application for primary permitting and enforcement responsibility (primacy) for carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration wells...more
6/25/2025
/ Carbon Capture and Sequestration ,
Drinking Water ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Permits ,
Proposed Rules ,
Railroads ,
Regulatory Requirements ,
State and Local Government ,
Tax Credits ,
Texas ,
Underground Injection Wells
On May 29, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous opinion in Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado that dramatically changes the way courts scrutinize federal agencies’ environmental reviews under the...more
6/2/2025
/ Chevron Deference ,
Energy Projects ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Litigation ,
Infrastructure ,
Judicial Authority ,
NEPA ,
Oil & Gas ,
Railways ,
Rulemaking Process ,
SCOTUS ,
Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v Eagle County Colorado ,
Statutory Interpretation
Newly confirmed Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wasted little time implementing many of President Trump’s initial energy executive orders (EOs), unleashing a round of Secretary’s Orders (SOs) this past Monday that push fossil...more
2/6/2025
/ Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Executive Orders ,
Fossil Fuel ,
Infrastructure ,
Mining ,
Offshore Drilling ,
Oil & Gas ,
Outer Continental Shelf ,
Regulatory Reform ,
Renewable Energy ,
Secretary of the Interior ,
Trump Administration
In a busy few days for the pipeline industry, the Supreme Court provided sorely needed relief by issuing a stay of the Montana District Court’s order vacating Nationwide Permit (NWP) 12 for the oil and gas industry. While...more
Last fall a federal court in the Western District of Texas upheld a challenge to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (Service) decision to list the lesser prairie chicken (LEPC) as a threatened species under the federal...more
On September 4, 2015, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the misdemeanor convictions of Citgo Petroleum Corporation and Citgo Refining and Chemicals Company, L.P. (collectively Citgo) for “taking” migratory birds in...more
9/16/2015
/ Appeals ,
Criminal Prosecution ,
Energy Projects ,
Energy Sector ,
Incidental Take Permits ,
Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy ,
Reversal ,
Strict Liability ,
Takings Clause ,
US Fish and Wildlife Service
Last week, in a decision that surprised many, a federal court in Texas overturned the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s (Service) decision last year to list the lesser prairie chicken (LEPC) as “threatened” under the federal...more
On March 20, 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) released its long-awaited final rule for hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian land. The rule establishes new requirements to ensure wellbore integrity, protect...more