pipelines
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of June 7, 2021
Pipelines: FERC Approves Gulf Run Pipeline in Louisiana ⚡
On June 1, 2021, the Federal Energy and Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order approving the February 2020 application of Enable Midstream Partners, LP (Enable) subsidiary Enable Gulf Run Transmission, LLC, to build and operate its 134-mile Gulf Run Pipeline. The project will take shale gas to the company’s Red River Parish Westdale compressor station and from there to Starks, Louisiana (Nos. CP20-68 and CP20-70). According to an announcement from Enable, the pipeline is expected to be finished and in operation by the end of 2022.
Pipelines: Federal […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of May 31, 2021
GHG Emissions: Supreme Court Remands Three Climate Cases Back to Courts of Appeals for Further Consideration ⚡
On May 24, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a list of orders granting petitions of certiorari for climate change–related lawsuits filed against various fossil fuel companies. The Court remanded the cases back to their respective circuits, pursuant to the Court’s May 17, 2021 decision in BP P.L.C., et al., Petitioners v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, No. 19-1189. Proper jurisdiction—state or federal—is at issue in all three cases, and prior Court of Appeals’ rulings had ordered that they be […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of May 24, 2021
GHG Emissions: Supreme Court Remands Baltimore Climate Change Suit Back to Court of Appeals ⚡
On May 17, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an opinion remanding back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit a Maryland climate change suit brought by the Mayor and City of Baltimore against multiple oil companies, including BP, Chevron, CITGO, ConocoPhillips, Marathon Petroleum, and Shell Oil. BP P.L.C., et al., Petitioners v. Mayor and City Council of Baltimore, No. 19-1189. The oil companies had petitioned for a writ of certiorari after unsuccessfully attempting to remove the case from Maryland state […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of May 17, 2021
Air Quality: EPA Rescinds Clean Air Act Benefit-Cost Rule ⚡
On May 14, 2021 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) posted in the Federal Register an interim final rule titled, “Rescinding the Rule on Increasing Consistency and Transparency in Considering Benefits and Costs in the Clean Air Act Rulemaking Process” (86 FR 26406). The recission retracts the December 2020 rule promulgated by the previous administration (85 FR 84130). The December 2020 rule required the agency to include in the preamble of all proposed “significant” Clean Air Act regulations the results of a benefit-cost analysis demonstrating “a clear causal or […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of May 10, 2021
Pipelines: North Carolina DEQ Reissues Clean Water Act Certification Denial for Mountain Valley Pipeline’s Southgate Project ⚡
On April 29, 2021, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s (DEQ) Division of Water Resources announced its second denial of 401 Water Quality Certification and Jordan Lake Buffer Authorization for the Southgate Extension of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP). DEQ’s reissuance of denial follows the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit’s March 2021 vacatur and remand of the agency’s August 2020 denial, which instructed DEQ to “explain why the Department chose denial over conditional certification.” […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of April 26, 2021
National Energy Policy: Secretary of the Interior Revokes Orders Deemed Inconsistent with Executive Order on Climate Policies ⚡
On April 16, 2021, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, issued a Secretary’s Order revoking previous orders deemed inconsistent with Executive Order (EO) 13990. The EO titled, Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis, was signed by President Biden on January 20, 2021. The Secretary’s Order revoked twelve orders, issued by previous Secretaries of the Interior, related to energy development. The Secretary’s Order also directed a review of Interior policies, rules, and regulations to […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – April 19, 2021
Pipelines: Dakota Access Petitions Court of Appeals for Rehearing on Pipeline Decision ⚡
On April 12, 2021, Dakota Access, LLC petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbus Circuit for a rehearing of a January 2021 court decision. (Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, No. 20-5197). The January court decision vacated the subsurface easement used by Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL) to traverse beneath Lake Oahe. The January decision found that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (the “Corps”) violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by issuing the pipeline easement in 2017 […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of March 29, 2021
Pipelines / Water Quality: Court of Appeals Denies Review of FERC Order Regarding Water Quality Certification for Natural Gas Pipeline Project ⚡
On March 23, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied a petition to review a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) order regarding the water quality certification for the Northern Access 2016 pipeline project (Pipeline Project). (New York State Dep’t of Envt’l Conservation v. FERC, No. 19-1610). The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) filed a petition for review after FERC ordered that DEC waived their authority to rule on water quality certification […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of March 8, 2021
Water Quality: Court of Appeals Reverses Lower Court Decision that Enjoined Use of New Clean Water Act Rule in Colorado ⚡
On March 2, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit reversed a lower court decision that had enjoined the use of section 404 of the Clean Water Act in Colorado. (State of Colorado v. EPA, Nos. 20-1238, 20-1262, 20-1263). In April 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers (Agencies) published the Navigable Waters Protection Rule: Definition of the “Waters of the United States.” The Navigable Waters Protection Rule (NWPR) defines Waters […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of March 1, 2021
Pipelines: Court of Appeals Denies Emergency Stay of Mountain Valley Pipeline Construction ⚡
On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit denied an Emergency Motion for Stay Pending Appeal regarding Mountain Valley Pipeline construction in Appalachian Voices v. FERC, Docket nos. 20-1512 and 21-1040. Several environmental groups filed an Emergency Motion for Stay after the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued orders allowing the pipeline project to continue construction. The Motion requested that that the court stay new pipeline construction to prevent environmental damage along the proposed pipeline route. The court denied […]
