Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of June 26, 2023

Pipelines: Federal Judge Orders Natural Gas Company to Remove Pipeline from Tribal Land ⚡
On Friday, June 16, 2023, a federal judge in the Western District of Wisconsin issued an order in the case of Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation v. Enbridge Energy Company, Inc., finding for the plaintiff tribe.  The tribe had brought suit against Enbridge, which owns and operates a pipeline that crosses 12 parcels of tribal land, on July 23, 2019, alleging that the pipeline is at risk of erosion and rupture due to erosion of the nearby Bad River.  The court enjoined Enbridge to remove the pipeline from the Band’s territory within three years.  Additionally, Enbridge is required to pay the Band $5,151,668 for trespass and continue paying any further profits made from the pipeline while it operates in trespass.

National Energy Policy: DOE Announces $135 Million in Funding for Industrial Decarbonization Projects
On Monday June, 15, 2023, the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) published a bulletin announcing $135 million in funding for forty projects intended to reduce emissions from the industrial sector.  The funding will be allotted to 9 chemical decarbonization projects, 10 iron and steel decarbonization projects, 3 food and beverage products decarbonization projects, 5 cement and concrete decarbonization projects, 6 paper and forest products decarbonization projects, and 7 cross-sector decarbonization technologies projects.  The selected projects will be carried out by 36 universities, National Laboratories, and companies across 21 states.

 

Oil & Gas Law & Policy Resources of Interest

Gabrielle Coppola and Keith Laing, Stellantis Limits Gasoline-Car Sales Over California Rules (Jun. 17, 2023)

Benoit Berthelot, TotalEnergies CEO Says Greenwashing Criticism Is Unfair (Jun. 17, 2023)

James Fernyhough, Woodside Greenlights $7.2 Billion Mexico Deepwater Oil Project (Jun. 19, 2023)

Julia Fanzeres, Oil Drifts Lower on Concern Chinese Stimulus Will Come Up Short (Jun. 20, 2023)

John Mcfarland, Carbon Capture and Underground Storage (Jun. 20, 2023)

Chris McConnachie, Why Climate Litigation in South Africa Matters (Jun. 21, 2023)

Shariff N. Bakarat, Clean Energy Tax Credit Transferability Guidance Issued (Jun. 22, 2023)

Kenneth J. Markowitz, This Week’s Climate Policy Update (Jun. 22, 2023)

Follow us on Twitter @AgShaleLaw—Top #ShaleLaw Hotlinks Jun. 19 – Jun. 23

 Cheniere signs LNG supply agreement supporting Sabine Pass expansion (Oil & Gas Journal)

Oil & gas with LNG as centrepiece getting a $40 billion slice of Shell’s investment pie (Offshore Energy)

Civitas enters Permian basin in deals worth $4.7 billion (Oil and Gas Journal)

Project Greensand CCS receives DNV safety approval (Oil and Gas Journal)

More are sure to come.’ States fret over gas ban lawsuits (Politico)

Mountain Valley Pipeline asks FERC for extension to finish Southgate project in NC (NC Newsline)

New Land Grab by Oil Giants Is Deep Underground (The Wall Street Journal)

Judge orders stretch of pipeline that crosses tribal land to shut down in three years (The Hill)

EU countries fail to agree energy reforms after coal subsidy clash (Reuters)

House OKs second gas stove bill, ‘REINS Act’ (E&E News)

Houston-area oilfield services company banks on gas exports with planned IPO (The Houston Chronicle)

FERC OKs TC Energy’s North Baja Pipeline Expansion (Hart Energy)

Court gives Enbridge 3 years to reroute part of Line 5 pipeline in Wisconsin (Oil and Gas Journal)

European Commission formally adopts rules on renewable hydrogen (Offshore Energy)

FEDERAL ACTIONS – EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE

U.S. Department of Energy

DOE Announces Over $21 Million to Advance Commercialization of Clean Energy Solutions (Jun. 22, 2023)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA Settles with Three Honolulu Facilities to Prevent Oil Spills (Jun. 20, 2023)

EPA proposes denying Midwest Generation’s request for more time to close an unlined coal ash pond at Waukegan, Illinois, facility (Jun. 21, 2023)

FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Federal Register Jun. 19– Jun. 23, 2023):

Environmental Protection Agency

88 FR 39801 Proposed Rule—Comment Period: “Air Plan Approval; Missouri; Revisions to the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule SO2 Group 1 Trading Program” (Jun. 20, 2023)

88 FR 40816 Notice: “Announcing the 2024 Chemical Data Reporting Submission Period” (Jun. 22, 2023)

Federal Energy Regulatory Commission

88 FR 39418 Notice: “Florida Gas Transmission Company, LLC; Notice of Application and Establishing Intervention Deadline” (Jun. 16, 2023)

88 FR 39837 Notice: “Combined Notice of Filings (Natural Gas & Oil Pipeline Rate and Refund Report)” (Jun. 20, 2023)

88 FR 39837 Notice: “New England Winter Gas-Electric Forum; Supplemental Notice of Second New England Winter Gas-Electric Forum” (Jun. 20, 2023)

Internal Revenue Service

88 FR 40400 Notice: “Credit for Renewable Electricity Production and Publication of Inflation Adjustment Factor and Reference Price for Calendar Year 2023” (Jun. 21, 2023)

Other Agencies

Tennessee Valley Authority

88 FR 39903 Notice: “Cheatham County Generation Site Environmental Impact Statement” (Jun. 20, 2023)

U.S. HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE

H.R.4239: “To amend the Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 to establish the Rural Innovation and Partnership Administration and to amend the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to establish the Rural Future Partnership Fund to invest in the rural areas of the United States to achieve their preferred future while maximizing their contribution to the well-being of the United States, and for other purposes.” Referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Financial Services, and Energy and Commerce (Jun. 21, 2023).

U.S. SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE

H.R.1640: “Save Our Gas Stoves Act” Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources (Jun. 15, 2023)

State Actions – Executive and Legislative

PENNSYLVANIA EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Pa. Bulletin Vol. 53, No. 24—Jun. 17, 2023)

Department of Environmental Protection

53 Pa.B. 3204 Notice: “APPLICATIONS FOR NATIONAL POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM (NPDES) PERMITS AND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT (WQM) PERMITS UNDER THE CLEAN STREAMS LAW AND FEDERAL CLEAN WATER”

Environmental Hearing Board

53 Pa.B. 3193 Proposed Rulemaking: “Practice and Procedure”

 

Written by:
Josh Narey, Research Assistant
Lonzie Helms, Research Assistant
Jackie Schweichler, Staff Attorney