Residents in three Ohio counties have sued the state after Secretary of State Jon Husted invalidated three ballot proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing projects in Fulton, Medina, and Athens counties. The bans, if passed,...more
Regulators in Oklahoma have issued new restrictions on underground injection control wells in the vicinity of the Arbuckle formation – a 122 square mile area that recently experienced a cluster of minor earthquake activity,...more
In the wake of Texas’ recent “ban on banning hydraulic fracturing,” Oklahoma lawmakers have passed a similar law—SB 809—prohibiting municipal governments from regulating oil and gas drilling at the local level. The bill now...more
With Congress and the White House mired in partisan gridlock and preoccupied by issues like the federal debt ceiling, the Affordable Care Act rollout, and the Edward Snowden leak investigation, states again took the lead on...more
On Tuesday, Voters in Johnson County, Illinois rejected a local referendum designed to pressure county commissioners into enacting a ban on hydraulic fracturing.
Specifically, the referendum—technically a non-binding...more
On Wednesday, a Nebraska trial court struck down a state law allowing Governor Dave Heineman’s to approve the proposed route for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL Pipeline. The decision comes just weeks after the State...more
In a draft complaint circulated to its members this week, the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York—a group of pro-drilling landowners—laid out several claims against state agencies and Governor Andrew Cuomo as a result of...more
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Ohio landowners do not have a contractual right to terminate their oil and gas leases with Chesapeake Exploration LLC based on Chesapeake’s failure to match third-party...more
On Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed new legislation to regulate hydraulic fracturing. The law—which is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2014—is California’s first comprehensive regulation of fracturing...more