The Texas Supreme Court distinguished several Texas appellate court decisions and held the exculpatory clause in a joint operating agreement (“JOA”) applicable not just to operational activities undertaken by the operator, but to all activities of the operator under the JOA. Reeder v. Wood County Energy, LLC, No. 10-0887, slip op.
Liskow & Lewis
D.C. Circuit Vacates EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
On August 21, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated EPA’s Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR). EPA issued CSAPR in August 2011 pursuant to Sec. 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) of the Clean Air Act (the “good neighbor” provision) which requires that State Implementation Plans contain adequate provisions…
Fifth Circuit Vacates EPA’s Disapproval of the Texas Flexible Permits Program
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
On August 13, 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit vacated the Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) disapproval of revisions to the Texas State Implementation Plan (“SIP”) dealing with the state’s Flexible Permits program. State of Texas v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, No. 10-60614 (5th Cir.
New Air Standards for Oil & Gas Industry May Force HAP Area Sources into Major Source Status
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
By Robert E. Holden and Carlos J. Moreno
On August 16, 2012, EPA published a new rule that revises the NESHAP Subpart HH standards for the oil and gas industry. 77 Fed. Reg. 159 (Aug. 16, 2012). The Final Rule wassigned on April 17, 2012, but publication in the Federal Register did not occur until…
Air Permitting: Sixth Circuit Vacates Single Stationary Source Aggregation Determination for E&P Facilities Due to EPA’s Unreasonable Interpretation of Adjacent
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
On August 7, 2012, in a 2-1 decision in Summit Petroleum Corp. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit vacated the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) determination that a natural gas sweetening plant and sour gas production wells commonly owned by Summit Petroleum…
Louisiana Legislature Modifies Oilfield Cleanup Legislation
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
By Rob McNeal
Updated June 15, 2012
Significant revisions and amendments to Louisiana’s oilfield cleanup legislation, La. R. S. 30:29 (commonly known as Act 312) obtained final legislative approval on May 31, 2012 and are expected to become law shortly. Procedures have been added to expedite the remediation of oilfield contamination, the procedures for the…
EPA Issues New Air Regulations for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
By Stephen Wiegand
On April 17, 2012, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for natural gas wells that are hydraulically fractured.
The rule aims to reduce levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during well completion. …
Supreme Court of Texas Revises Opinion in Pipeline Common-Carrier Case
By Liskow & Lewis on
The Supreme Court of Texas recently delivered a revised opinion discussing the power of eminent domain exercised by a common carrier CO2 pipeline. In Texas Rice Land Partners, LTD v. Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas, LLC, No. 09-0901, 2012 Tex. LEXIS 187 (Tex. Mar. 2, 2012), the Court was asked if a landowner…
EPA Proposes Significant Changes to NPDES Permit for Oil and Gas Facilities in the GOM OCS
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Environmental
On March 7, 2012, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published in the Federal Register a proposed NPDES general permit for discharges from oil and gas facilities in the western and central portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico (the “proposed permit”). See 77 Fed. Reg. 13601 (Mar.
Fifth Circuit holds purchase and sales agreement complies with Statute of Frauds
By Liskow & Lewis on
Posted in Contracts
Preston Exploration Co., L.P. v. GSF, L.L.C., Cause No. 10-20599, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1873 (5th Cir. Tex. Feb. 1, 2012)
The Fifth Circuit recently vacated a judgment in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, holding that the lower court had improperly conflated “two distinct…