A recent state-law challenge by environmental groups to an aspect of crude-by-rail transportation has teed up the question of federal supremacy over railroad regulation. Because federal law generally preempts state regulation...more
In the first salvo of a larger environmental-industry showdown impacting Western shale development, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced Wednesday (Nov. 12, 2014) that the Gunnison Sage Grouse would be granted...more
While the Deepwater Horizon oil spill has largely disappeared from the news headlines, for the parties involved in the litigation, the legal machinations, particularly with respect to liability, have a long way still to...more
9/24/2014
/ BP ,
Civil Monetary Penalty ,
Clean Water Act ,
Deepwater Horizon ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Gross Negligence ,
Halliburton ,
Negligence ,
Oil & Gas ,
Punitive Damages ,
Transocean
On September 15, 2014, the New Mexico Supreme Court entered a decision in First Baptist Church of Roswell v. Yates Petroleum Corp., a case that could call into question the validity of royalty agreements and division orders...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
Republican lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives have proposed a tax increase on oil and gas production in the state, focusing specifically on wells using “horizontal drilling“ in conjunction with hydraulic...more
On June 25, 2013, President Obama released his Climate Action Plan (the Plan) detailing the current administration's comprehensive strategy to address climate change....more
7/18/2013
/ Barack Obama ,
Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Energy ,
Climate Action Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Oil & Gas ,
Renewable Energy
During 2012, several states adopted new statutory and regulation programs addressing the exploitation of shale resources within their boundaries. Continuing a common election year theme, Congress took no significant formal...more
2/5/2013
/ Bureau of Land Management ,
Clean Air Act ,
Diesel Fuel ,
Energy Policy ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fracking ,
Fracking Bans ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Jurisdiction ,
Oil & Gas ,
Preemption ,
Shale Gas ,
Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA)