October 20, 2025
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of October 20, 2025
National Energy Policy: FERC Begins Process to Remove 53 Energy Regulations ⚡
On October 1, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) announced the end to 53 regulations which will sunset in 1 year after public comment. (Docket No. RM25-14-000). These regulations relate to natural gas data collection, public notices for pipelines, import/export applications, and other energy rules that FERC determined to be “outdated” based on currently enforced regulatory practice. This decision aligns with the April 2025 Executive Order on “Zero-Based Regulatory Budgeting to Unleash American Energy,” which instructs federal agencies to implement provisions to promote innovation in energy production, including sunset termination provisions. According to FERC Chairman David Rosner, the move reflects a “common-sense commitment to a fast and fair regulatory process,” emphasizing the importance of aligning regulations with statutory mandates. FERC issued a Direct Final Rule that sets a conditional one-year sunset date for the identified regulations. In the event of significant backlash, FERC states they plan to initiate a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to further evaluate concerns before finalizing any changes.
Offshore Drilling: U.S. District Court Rules that the Federal Government Cannot Indefinitely Remove From Drilling Portions of the Outer Continental Shelf
On October 2, 2025, the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana ruled that President Biden’s attempts to block certain coasts from oil and gas drilling indefinitely exceeded his authority. Louisiana v. Biden, No. 2:25-CV-00071, 2025 LX 471030 (W.D. La. Oct. 2, 2025). On January 6, 2025, President Biden issued a memorandum labeling certain parts of the Outer Continental Shelf immune from oil and gas development. Plaintiffs, including Louisiana, Georgia, and the American Petroleum Institute, filed suit, alleging that Constitution and the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) preempt the withdrawal. The court reasoned that any withdrawal made under §12(a) of OCSLA (which states, “[t]he President of the United States may, from time to time, withdraw from disposition any of the unleased lands of the outer Continental Shelf.” 43 U.S. Code § 1341) must be such that subsequent presidents have the ability to revoke or modify them. Louisiana, No. 2:25-CV-00071 at 15. As the order issued by President Biden was indefinite, that exceeded his authority under §12(a). As such, summary judgement is granted in favor of plaintiffs, and the withdrawal has been revoked.
Oil and Gas Leasing: District Court Rules that Shell May Have Breached its Contract When it Cancelled Oil and Gas Leases due to Record Search Issues
On September 30, 2025, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania ruled that whether an oil and gas lease cancelled by Shell was a breach of contract was a question for the jury. Warner v. Shell Legacy Holdings, LLC, No. 1:19-cv-326, 2025 LX 419117 (W.D. Pa. Sep. 30, 2025). In this case, the plaintiffs had negotiated leases with SWEPI, the predecessor in interest to Shell, for the rights to the oil and gas under their properties. Once a lease was signed, SWEPI would conduct a time-consuming title search, and then would issue a bank draft, where the leasing bonuses were determined. However, in Venango County, the plaintiff’s county, the courthouse set a time limit on the amount of time allowed for record searching. As such, the leases in that county were cancelled, leading to the plaintiffs suing for breach of contract. The court examined all parts of the contract, including the transactional documents, the intent of the parties, the consideration, and determined that there was an issue of material fact as to the party’s intent to be bound by the lease agreements, despite consideration being adequate. Further, the court ruled that there were also questions of material fact about the issue of breach. As such, the case was remanded to trial.
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CENTER PROGRAMS & RESOURCES
Understanding the Basics of Pennsylvania’s Seasonal Farm Labor Law
On Friday, October 24, 2025, from 12 noon–1:00 pm ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), will present the next webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:
“Understanding the Basics of Pennsylvania’s Seasonal Farm Labor Law”
- October 24th from 12 noon-1:00 PM ET. More Information and Registration Here
Mid-Atlantic Ag and Resource Law Conference with WVU Extension
On Tuesday and Wednesday October 28–29, 2025, West Virginia University (WVU) and WVU Extension will host the 2025 Mid-Atlantic Agricultural and Resource Law Conference, co-sponsored by Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law.
- October 28th from 3:00 PM- 8:00 PM. More Information and Registration Here
Understanding Immigration Compliance: I-9s, Audits and ICE Raids
On Friday, October 31, 2025, from 12 noon–1:00 ET, the Penn State Center for Agricultural and Shale Law, alongside the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture’s (PDA) Agricultural Business Development Center (ABDC), will present the next webinar in the Understanding Agricultural Law Educational Series, a course designed to develop subject matter literacy and competence on fundamental issues of agricultural law for attorneys and business advisors who work with or represent agricultural or rural clients but may not necessarily specialize in agricultural law:
“Understanding Immigration Compliance: I-9s, Audits and ICE Raids”
Guest Presenter: Jacob Monty, Esq., Monty & Ramirez LLP
- October 31st from 12 noon-1:00 PM. More Information and Registration Here
On November 20th at 12pm noon, Center Staff Attorney Jackie Schweichler will present a session on legal considerations for agritourism businesses. This presentation will be part of the session, “Cultivating Opportunity: A Practical Guide to Starting and Managing Agritourism Operations.”
- November 20th from 12 noon-1:00 PM. More Information and Registration Here
Follow us on Twitter @AgShaleLaw to see the latest with our #ShaleLaw HotLinks
Connect with us on Facebook.
Penn State Farmland Energy Legal Podcast: Listen to the latest episode here.
Oil & Gas Law & Policy Resources:
Urmi, ‘The Scope of Climate Reparation Claims at Future COPs and Beyond’ (October 14, 2025)
Sartain, “All” Really Means “All” in Texas: Court Affirms Broad Assignments Despite Ambiguous Exhibits (October 16, 2025)
Tarzikhan, The Role of International Human Rights Law in Climate Reparations (October 16, 2025)
Leivadarou, Governmental Climate Duties in Comparative Perspective: Civil, Common, and European Legal Traditions (October 17, 2025)
FEDERAL ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PRESS RELEASES
Energy Department Closes Loan Guarantee to Strengthen U.S. Grid Reliability (October 16, 2025)
Energy Department Announces Fusion Science and Technology Roadmap to Accelerate Commercial Fusion Power (October 16, 2025)
FEDERAL EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Federal Register October 13–20, 2025)
Energy Department
90 FR 48268 Proposed Rule: “Implementing Voluntary Agreements Under the Defense Production Act” (October 15, 2025)
Land Management Bureau
90 FR 48373 Notice: “Notice of Intent To Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement for the Proposed Castle Mountain Mine Phase II Expansion, San Bernardino County, California and Clark County, Nevada” (October 20, 2025)
Natural Resources Revenue Office
90 FR 38938 Rule: “Offshore Distribution Cap Changes” (October 13, 2025)
Other Agencies
U.S. HOUSE ENERGY AND COMMERCE COMMITTEE
H.R. 5751 – CPUC Act (Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce October 14, 2025)
H.R.5765 – To direct Federal departments or agencies to implement certain definitions for the terms affordable, reliable, and clean energy, and for other purposes. (Referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce October 17, 2025)
U.S. SENATE ENERGY AND NATURAL RESOURCES COMMITTEE
S.3016 – A bill to require the Secretary of Energy to study new technologies and opportunities for recycling spent nuclear fuel. (Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources October 16, 2025)
STATE ACTIONS—EXECUTIVE & LEGISLATIVE
PENNSYLVANIA DEPT. OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PRESS RELEASES
Getting Permitting Done: Under the Shapiro Administration, DEP Eliminates Historic Permit Backlog (October 15, 2025)
PENNSYLVANIA EXECUTIVE AGENCIES (Pa. Bulletin Vol. 55, No. 42 – October 18, 2025)
Department of Environmental Protection
55 Pa.B. 7343: State Water Plan Ohio, Great Lakes and Upper/Middle Susquehanna Water Resources Planning Committee Meetings Location Change
Written by:
Benjamin Aronovitch, Research Assistant
Caden Dean-Sauter, Research Assistant
Jackie Schweichler, Staff Attorney
