The carbon credit market continues to evolve as oil and gas companies face increasingly stringent regulations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Operators may now have the potential to sell carbon credits in exchange for the P&A of inactive, shut-in, or temporarily abandoned wells.
The EPA estimates that there are over 3 million known abandoned and
This week, in a split 7-2 opinion authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the Supreme Court held that Montana state law claims brought by private landowners against Atlantic Richfield Company (“ARCO”) for alleged impacts from the Anaconda Smelter Superfund site are not preempted by CERCLA and are not precluded by ARCO’s settlement of EPA’s CERCLA claims; however, any restoration damages awarded to the landowners must be spent on actual restoration of the property, as required by Montana state law, and restoration must be conducted in a manner either approved by the EPA or consistent with the EPA’s already-approved remedial action plan.Continue Reading ARCO v. Christian: Supreme Court Allows State Law Claims for Restoration Damages in Excess of EPA Superfund Cleanup, but EPA Must Approve Any Additional Remedial Action
A group of Louisiana landowners, Weyerhaeuser Company, and the Pacific Legal Foundation filed Petitions for Writs of Certiorari this month asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (USFWS) decision to designate 1,544 acres of private land in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana as critical habitat for the endangered dusky gopher frog.
Continue Reading Dusky Gopher Frog’s Louisiana Critical Habitat Spawns U.S. Supreme Court Writ
The Department of Interior looks to roll back previous Obama Administration regulations concerning hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands.
Continue Reading Trump’s DOI to Repeal Fracking Regulations for Federal Lands
On November 23, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) confirmed its authorization of the construction of a $3.5 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana and rejected the Sierra Club’s request for rehearing on the matter.
In an April 15, 2016 Order, FERC authorized Magnolia LNG, LLC to site, construct, and operate a new LNG terminal and liquefaction facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana designed to export 8 million metric tons of domestically-produced natural gas per annum, with a capacity equivalent to pipeline receipts of up to 1.4 billion standard cubic feet per day (Magnolia LNG Project).
Continue Reading FERC Rejects Sierra Club’s Request for Rehearing and Green Lights $3.5B LNG Export Facility in Lake Charles, Louisiana
In a May 4, 2016 opinion, Louisiana’s Third Circuit Court of Appeal made clear that venue was not proper in Concordia Parish—where plaintiff filed suit for damages resulting from the loss of its drilling rig in LaSalle Parish—because: (1) the tortious conduct allegedly occurred and damages from the loss of the drilling rig were sustained
On April 29, 2015, the United States Supreme Court adopted the long anticipated amendments to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. Pending Congressional review, the amendments will become law on December 1, 2015. Together, the adopted amendments evidence the Court’s emphasis on promoting cooperative case management and reducing the delays and considerable costs often associated