Shale Law Weekly Review
The following information is an update of recent local, state, national and international legal developments relevant to shale gas. Subscribe for updates.
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 15, 2025
Methane Emissions: EPA Extends Deadline for Compliance with Methane Emissions Limits⚡
On December 3, 2025, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a final rule, titled “Oil and Natural Gas Sector Climate Review: Extension of Deadlines in Standards of Performance for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources and Emissions Guidelines for Existing Sources,” which extends the time in which oil and gas facilities have to comply with methane emission standards (40 CFR part 60, subparts OOOb, OOOc). In March of 2024, the previous administration set new source performance standards for oil and gas sources facilities. The new 2025 rule extends the compliance […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 8, 2025
Offshore Drilling: DOI Releases Plan for 34 Offshore Lease Sales Over 5 Year Period⚡
On November 14, 2025, the Department of the Interior released a Secretary’s Order titled, “Unleashing American Offshore Energy.” This order directs the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to terminate the 2024–2029 National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program, which created 3 lease sales between 2024-2029. The newly proposed Order would include up to 34 separate lease sales, totaling over 1.27 billion acres, from 2026-2031. Twenty-one lease sales would take place off the coast of Alaska, 7 within the Gulf of Mexico, and 6 off […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of December 1, 2025
GHG Emissions: Pennsylvania Repeals RGGI as Part of FY2025-2026 Budget Signing ⚡
On November 12, 2025, Governor Josh Shapiro announced he was signing the FY2025-2026 budget into law. As a part of this, Shapiro signed House Bill 416. This bill abrogates or repeals 25 Pa. Code Chapter 145, removing Pennsylvania from RGGI. The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) is a program that limits carbon dioxide emissions from large fossil-fuel power plants and requires generators to hold allowances equal to their emissions. Participating RGGI states establish an individual CO2 Budget Trading Program, where generators may purchase allowances for […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 17, 2025
Pipelines: FERC Releases Environmental Assessment for the Heartland Project ⚡
On October 10, 2025, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) released an environmental assessment prepared for ANR Pipeline Company’s Heartland Project in Wisconsin. The proposal aims to supply up to 473,000 dekatherms per day of additional firm transportation capacity and involves approximately 68.9 miles of new pipeline, 1.5 miles of replacement pipeline, three new compressor stations, two new meter stations, upgrades to existing metering facilities, and modifications to related infrastructure. FERC states that the assessment was completed in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and concludes that the […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 10, 2025
Oil and Gas Leasing: Interior Department Reopens 1.56 Million Acres of Alaska’s Coastal Plain for Energy Development ⚡
On October 23 2025, the Department of the Interior announced it has reopened 1.56 million acres of Alaska’s Coastal Plain for potential oil and gas development with a Coastal Plain Oil and Gas Leasing Program Record of Decision, citing its importance to U.S. energy production and security. This move reverses restrictions put in place by the prior administration and aligns with directives outlined in Executive Order 14153, Secretarial Order 3422, the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, and […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of November 3, 2025
Pipelines: PA DEP Approves Permits for Pennsylvania Sections of Northeast Supply Enhancement Project ⚡
On November 1, 2025, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published notice in Pennsylvania Bulletin, approving parts of the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project. The DEP approved compressor stations in Lancaster and Chester counties, and the Quarryville Pipeline loop. Once completed, the loop will be roughly ten miles long, and travel through four townships in two counties. The entire Northeast Supply Enhancement Project will total 37 miles across three states and is estimated to increase firm gas supply by 13%.
LNG Exports: Regulatory Dispute Over Second […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of October 27, 2025
Public Lands: Congressional Review Act Invoked Against BLM Management Plans ⚡
On October 8, 2025, the U.S. Senate approved a resolution under the Congressional Review Act (CRA) aimed at overturning the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) resource management plan (RMP) for the Miles City Field Office in Montana. The Senate also voted to approve similar resolutions of the North Dakota Field Office and the Central Yukon RMPs, after the House passed all three resolutions earlier in September. The Miles City Field Office RMP, which was effective as of November 20, 2024, designated zero acres of BLM-administered coal lands […]
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 […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of October 13, 2025
Water Quality: Appeal Filed After Court Denies Injunction in New Freeport Water Contamination Case ⚡
On September 15, 2025, The Center for Coalfield Justice announced that the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied a request for preliminary injunction in a class action lawsuit involving residents of New Freeport’s claims of water contamination. Hice v. EQT Corp., No. 2:24-cv-896 (W.D. Pa. June 20, 2024). In the class action complaint, residents alleged that EQT negligently “injected hazardous chemicals and industrial waste into the water supply of surrounding residents” as part of their gas drilling operations. In denying […]
Shale Law Weekly Review—Week of September 29, 2025
Infrastructure: PA PUC Issues Order to Speed Up Identification of Old, At-Risk Pipes ⚡
On September 11, 2025, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PA PUC) issued a final order aimed at speeding up the identification of older, “at-risk” plastic pipes used to transport natural gas. Starting in 1998, and then again in 1999, 2002 and 2007, the National Transportation Safety Board issued reports that plastic pipes installed between the 1960s and the 1980s were at a higher risk of cracking and leaking, and as such should be replaced. In 2024, the PA PUC issued a tentative order accelerating the process […]
