On January 27, 2023, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a ruling involving claims for negligent infliction of emotional distress (“NIED”) absent physical damage. In Spencer v. Valero Refining Meraux, LLC, 2022-00469 (La. 1/27/23), — So. 3d –,[1] the Court reversed several lower court decisions that awarded the plaintiffs damages for NIED absent physical
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) recently released its 2023 draft Coastal Master Plan, which is required by law to be updated every six years. The most recent draft is the fourth update since it was first adopted by the Louisiana Legislature in 2007 following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005.[1]
In a recent decision, the United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals remanded to state court a case brought by landowners against the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) and several past and present owners and operators of an industrial facility (“Facility Defendants”), finding that LDEQ was not improperly joined, and therefore the case could
On September 14, 2022, the 19th Judicial District Court revoked air permits issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) under Louisiana’s Prevention and Significant Deterioration (“PSD”) regulations[1] for a Formosa Plastics facility (“FG LA”) planned to be built in St. James Parish.[2] The court ruled that LDEQ erred in issuing
On August 30, 2022, the Texas Railroad Commission approved proposed regulations relating to Class VI wells utilized for injecting and sequestering carbon dioxide in geologic formations. This is an important step towards obtaining primary enforcement authority (or “primacy”) over the Safe Drinking Water Act Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) Class VI well permitting program, which currently
In a recent blog post, we discussed a proposed ordinance before the Livingston Parish Council to ban injection and disposal wells in Livingston Parish. Yesterday, the council unanimously voted to pass the ordinance, which places a one-year moratorium on injection and disposal wells. To read more, click here.
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Last week, the Livingston Parish Council introduced a proposed ordinance that would place a moratorium on “the construction of disposal wells and injection wells in the Parish of Livingston.”[1] Although not limited to Class VI injection wells—which are those wells utilized for the injection and permanent sequestration of carbon dioxide—the proposed ordinance is clearly
In response to various pressures on the energy industry to reduce the environmental impact associated with excess carbon dioxide emissions, many energy companies are investigating carbon capture and sequestration projects as a means of reducing their carbon emissions. In addition to reducing carbon emissions, carbon capture and sequestration projects often qualify for valuable income tax
In Litel Explorations, LLC v. Aegis Development Co., LLC, 21-0741 (La. App. 3 Cir. 4/6/22), –So. 3d–, the Louisiana Third Circuit denied the LDNR’s claims for recovery of over 6.3 million dollars in emergency costs from prior operators of an orphaned well. The Court held that, when the LDNR spends monies from the Oilfield
Congress has dedicated $4.7 billion to orphan well plugging, remediation, and restoration activities nationwide through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”). A substantial portion of this money will be apportioned to the various states based on each state’s capacity and ability to effectively utilize the funds to plug orphan wells. Louisiana Senate Bills 23