March 9, 2017
On November 10, 2016, EPA issued an Information Collection Request requiring oil and natural gas companies to provide extensive information that EPA desired to develop regulations for reducing methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources.
The information request was sent to more than 15,000 owners and operators in the oil and gas industry. The request was comprised of two parts: An…
February 13, 2017
According to the Nelson County Times, a trial court in Nelson County, Virginia has ruled that the Virginia statute authorizing natural gas companies to conduct surveys means what it says. The Virginia statute provides that:
Any firm, corporation, company, or partnership, organized for the bona fide purpose of operating as a natural gas company … may make such … surveys for its…
January 30, 2017
According to a recent publication by Inside Climate News, a group claiming to have played a pivotal role in the efforts to block the Keystone XL Pipeline, is here to help wage war against the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. A group known as Bold Alliance bills itself as a network of “small and mighty” groups in rural states (Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana and Oklahoma), which…
December 20, 2016
The oil and gas industry is working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) to obtain an “incidental take” permit to cover potential effects of industry activities on five bat species located in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act prohibits unpermitted “takes” of protected species, but authorizes the USFWS to issue permits for “takes” incidental…
October 19, 2016
A little known federal agency in charge of pipeline safety has just issued a new regulation that represents a major change in its enforcement authority over regulated pipelines. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, has announced an “Interim Final Rule” (IFR) on its website which will authorize it to…
October 7, 2016
The Conservation Law Foundation has sued Exxon in Massachusetts for failing to acknowledge and respond to climate-based risks posed to the environment by its petroleum terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The Complaint claims the terminal lies below the level of a storm surge that occurred in 1978 and if FEMA were to update flood hazard maps through the area, then the terminal would likely fall…
September 16, 2016
On September 15, 2016 the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a decision resolving key issues involving the application of Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act, R.C. § 5301.56. The Dormant Mineral Act was first enacted in 1989 to facilitate the termination of dormant mineral interests, but was amended in 2006 to require notice to the holder of a severed mineral interest and the recording of certain instruments…
August 23, 2016
The Sierra Club and its acolytes have openly derided those who advocate using gas as a “bridge fuel.” Now, the group seeks to slow the construction of both a new gas-fired power plant in Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline slated to provide fuel to the Plant. The Appalachian Mountain Advocates (“Appalmad”), who serve frequently as counsel to the Sierra Club, have bragged…
August 17, 2016
In 2009, Congress asked EPA to examine the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources. In June 2015, EPA released for external review a draft report entitled “Assessment of the Potential Impacts for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources.” The Executive Summary observed that the Assessment “synthesizes available scientific literature and data to assess the…
August 11, 2016
The Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) of 1938 grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) exclusive authority to regulate sales and transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce. To that end, Section 7 of the NGA empowers FERC to authorize the construction and operation of interstate transportation facilities—i.e., pipelines. FERC does so by determining whether a project serves the…
April 20, 2016
In a case of first impression in West Virginia, on April 15, 2016, Judge David W. Hummel, Chief Judge of the 2nd Judicial Circuit (Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler Counties, West Virginia), entered an order ruling that there is an implied right to pool an oil and gas lease. The case, American Energy – Marcellus, LLC v. Poling, et al., Civil Action No. 15-C-34 H, involved an 1894 lease held by…
February 22, 2016
The Sierra Club has sued Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and New Dominion in federal court in Oklahoma. The complaint alleges that waste injection by all three companies has contributed to an increase in the number and severity of earthquakes throughout Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Specifically, it claims that the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma has increased more than 300 fold, from a…
March 9, 2017
On November 10, 2016, EPA issued an Information Collection Request requiring oil and natural gas companies to provide extensive information that EPA desired to develop regulations for reducing methane emissions from existing oil and gas sources.
The information request was sent to more than 15,000 owners and operators in the oil and gas industry. The request was comprised of two parts: An…
February 13, 2017
According to the Nelson County Times, a trial court in Nelson County, Virginia has ruled that the Virginia statute authorizing natural gas companies to conduct surveys means what it says. The Virginia statute provides that:
Any firm, corporation, company, or partnership, organized for the bona fide purpose of operating as a natural gas company … may make such … surveys for its…
January 30, 2017
According to a recent publication by Inside Climate News, a group claiming to have played a pivotal role in the efforts to block the Keystone XL Pipeline, is here to help wage war against the Atlantic Coast and Mountain Valley Pipelines. A group known as Bold Alliance bills itself as a network of “small and mighty” groups in rural states (Nebraska, Iowa, Louisiana and Oklahoma), which…
December 20, 2016
The oil and gas industry is working with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) to obtain an “incidental take” permit to cover potential effects of industry activities on five bat species located in Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act prohibits unpermitted “takes” of protected species, but authorizes the USFWS to issue permits for “takes” incidental…
October 19, 2016
A little known federal agency in charge of pipeline safety has just issued a new regulation that represents a major change in its enforcement authority over regulated pipelines. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), an independent agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation, has announced an “Interim Final Rule” (IFR) on its website which will authorize it to…
October 7, 2016
The Conservation Law Foundation has sued Exxon in Massachusetts for failing to acknowledge and respond to climate-based risks posed to the environment by its petroleum terminal in Everett, Massachusetts. The Complaint claims the terminal lies below the level of a storm surge that occurred in 1978 and if FEMA were to update flood hazard maps through the area, then the terminal would likely fall…
September 16, 2016
On September 15, 2016 the Supreme Court of Ohio issued a decision resolving key issues involving the application of Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act, R.C. § 5301.56. The Dormant Mineral Act was first enacted in 1989 to facilitate the termination of dormant mineral interests, but was amended in 2006 to require notice to the holder of a severed mineral interest and the recording of certain instruments…
August 23, 2016
The Sierra Club and its acolytes have openly derided those who advocate using gas as a “bridge fuel.” Now, the group seeks to slow the construction of both a new gas-fired power plant in Virginia and the Atlantic Coast Pipeline slated to provide fuel to the Plant. The Appalachian Mountain Advocates (“Appalmad”), who serve frequently as counsel to the Sierra Club, have bragged…
August 17, 2016
In 2009, Congress asked EPA to examine the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources. In June 2015, EPA released for external review a draft report entitled “Assessment of the Potential Impacts for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources.” The Executive Summary observed that the Assessment “synthesizes available scientific literature and data to assess the…
August 11, 2016
The Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) of 1938 grants the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (“FERC”) exclusive authority to regulate sales and transportation of natural gas in interstate commerce. To that end, Section 7 of the NGA empowers FERC to authorize the construction and operation of interstate transportation facilities—i.e., pipelines. FERC does so by determining whether a project serves the…
April 20, 2016
In a case of first impression in West Virginia, on April 15, 2016, Judge David W. Hummel, Chief Judge of the 2nd Judicial Circuit (Marshall, Wetzel and Tyler Counties, West Virginia), entered an order ruling that there is an implied right to pool an oil and gas lease. The case, American Energy – Marcellus, LLC v. Poling, et al., Civil Action No. 15-C-34 H, involved an 1894 lease held by…
February 22, 2016
The Sierra Club has sued Chesapeake Energy, Devon Energy and New Dominion in federal court in Oklahoma. The complaint alleges that waste injection by all three companies has contributed to an increase in the number and severity of earthquakes throughout Oklahoma and southern Kansas. Specifically, it claims that the number of earthquakes in Oklahoma has increased more than 300 fold, from a…
