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 – Week of June 14, 2021
Pipelines: Court of Appeals Denies Abeyance of Jordan Cove Pipeline Challenge ⚡
On June 7, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued an order denying a motion to put the Jordan Cove Pipeline case on hold. Deborah Evans, et al v. FERC, No. 20-01161; FERC Nos. CP17-494-000 and CP17-495-000. Jordan Cove Energy Project L.P. (Jordan) and Pacific Connector Gas Pipeline, LP’s (Pacific) put forward a motion to hold in abeyance the case challenging the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) March 2020 authorization of the Jordan Cove liquefied natural gas […]
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 May 3, 2021
Methane Emissions: U.S. Senate Passes Resolution Disapproving Emissions Standards Rule ⚡
On April 28, 2021, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution disapproving the 2020 oil and gas emissions standards rule. The 2020 rule titled, Oil and Natural Gas Sector: Emission Standards for New, Reconstructed, and Modified Sources Review, rescinded methane-specific requirements of the 2016 new source performance standards. (85 FR 57018). The resolution must also be passed by the U.S. House of Representatives before being sent to the President for his signature. If the resolution is signed into law, the resolution will reinstate the 2016 new source performance […]
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 April 12, 2021
GHG Emissions: U.S. Court of Appeals Vacates EPA Rule that Regulated Source Categories for Greenhouse Gas Emissions ⚡
On April 5, 2021, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit vacated an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Rule that regulated source categories for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. (State of California v. EPA, No. 21-1035). The EPA rule titled, Pollutant-Specific Significant Contribution Finding for Greenhouse Gas Emissions From New, Modified, and Reconstructed Stationary Sources: Electric Utility Generating Units, and Process for Determining Significance of Other New Source Performance Standards Source Categories, was published in the Federal Register on January […]
