Energy and Environment MonitorOil and Gas DevelopmentBill Aimed at Eliminating “Chevron Deference” Passes Arizona SenateApril 12, 2018 Last week the Arizona State Senate passed a bill that would amend that state’s administrative procedure law to kill its version of the “Chevron” doctrine, which requires courts to defer to an agency’s reasonable interpretation of statutes within its purview. The doctrine originates from the landmark 1984 Supreme Court case Chevron U.S.A., Inc. v. Natural Resources Defense Council, which set… FERC Sidesteps New York’s Denial of CWA §401 Certification Giving Go-Ahead to Millennium Pipeline Company SpurOctober 9, 2017
“For any company desiring to construct a natural gas pipeline, all roads lead to FERC.” Millennium Pipeline Company, L.L.C. v. Seggos, 860 F.3d 696, 698 (D.C. Cir. 2017). In a significant and already controversial decision issued in mid-September, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) granted approval for Millennium Pipeline Company L.L.C. (“Millennium”)… Sierra Club Links Up with Libertarian Landowners in Continued Opposition to Gas DevelopmentSeptember 7, 2017 Opponents of natural gas development do not have the resources to challenge individual well permits in the Marcellus and related shale gas basins. Instead, they understand that the future of the industry depends on assembling the rights to draw gas from fractionated ownership and on the ability to attract higher prices by building transmission pipelines to carry the gas to new markets. So, the… Third Circuit Rejects Challenge to Corps of Engineers’ Permit for PipelineAugust 31, 2017 On August 23, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the Corps’ decision to issue a Clean Water Act § 404 “fill” permit to a pipeline developer for 13 miles of pipeline in Pennsylvania. See Delaware River Network v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 17-1506 (3rd Cir. Aug. 23, 2017). The Riverkeeper’s challenge was an original action filed in the 3rd Circuit pursuant to the… California Plaintiffs Seek to Address Climate Change Via State Tort SuitsJuly 27, 2017 On July 17, 2017, the governments of California’s Marin and San Meteo counties, as well as the city of Imperial Beach, filed three separate complaints in California Superior Court in their respective counties against 37 oil, gas, and coal companies. We have previously written about similar suits filed by citizen groups, states, and cities in federal court here. Although most of these suits… Virginia Supreme Court Largely Affirms Right of Pipeline to Conduct Property Surveys and Examinations without Landowner ApprovalJuly 26, 2017 The Virginia Supreme Court issued two opinions on July 13, 2017, addressing the rights of pipelines to survey property without landowner permission. In the first, Chaffins v. Atlantic Coast Pipeline, LLC, the Court considered what constitutes adequate prior notice by a pipeline company to gain access for surveys and property evaluation in the absence of landowner approval. In the second, Palmer… D.C. Circuit Temporarily Recalls Its Mandate in Seesaw Battle Arising Out of EPA’s Efforts to Roll Back Obama-Administration Methane Gas Rules.July 20, 2017 On July 13, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit temporarily recalled its mandate previously issued contemporaneously with the entry of its July 3rd opinion rejecting EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s stay of portions of Obama-era “New Source Performance Standards” for the oil and gas sector. In rejecting Administrator Pruitt’s request for a longer extension of time to… Pennsylvania Court Rules that DEP Applied Wrong Standard in Requiring Compressor Station and Natural Gas Well Pad to Aggregate Air Emissions for Permitting PurposesJune 15, 2017 In a decision issued on June 2, 2017, a Pennsylvania court disagreed with the conclusions of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Hearing Board (EHB) that a compressor station and natural gas well pad owned and operated by two separate business entities should be considered a single source of air emissions regulated by a single air permit simply because they… “What Goes Down Will Come Up”June 5, 2017 The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth circuit issued an opinion on May 22nd which illustrates the difficulty for an oil and gas producer to win a subsurface claim without having to go to trial, even when the plaintiff has relatively weak facts to support its claim. The case involved the disposal of fracking wastes from producing shale oil in the Eastern District of Arkansas. Because the… Delaware Riverkeeper Asks Third Circuit to Expedite Review of Corps-Issued Permit for PipelineMay 9, 2017 We have written before about the effect of the Natural Gas Act on environmental permits issued for pipelines. Generally, the Natural Gas Act preempts the effect of many local laws on pipelines, but preserves obligations to obtain permits under the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts. Nonetheless, in 2005, Congress amended the Natural Gas Act to provide that challenges to those permits are to be heard… EPA Reconsidering Methane RuleMay 4, 2017 In an April 18, 2017 letter to oil and gas industry leaders, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) Administrator Scott Pruitt announced that the agency will reconsider its June 3, 2016 methane emissions rule following a petition from three oil and gas industry associations. See EPA Letter here. The industry petition raised objections concerning provisions for receiving an alternative… South Carolina Federal Court Upholds Distinction Between Point Source and Non-Point Source PollutionApril 25, 2017 On April 20, 2017, a South Carolina federal district court dismissed an environmental group’s Clean Water Act (“CWA”) citizen suit against Plantation Pipe Line Company, Inc. (“PPL”) and its parent company, Kinder Morgan Energy Partner, L.P. PPL owns a 3,100 mile petroleum pipeline that leaked 369,000 gallons in December 2014. The leak was repaired within a few days of… |
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