U.S. EPA to Propose TRI Reporting Rule for Natural Gas Plants
On October 22, 2015, U.S. EPA issued a formal response to a Petition, submitted by a group of environmental organizations in 2012, to add the Oil and Gas Extraction Sector (defined by SIC code 13) to...
View ArticleSupreme Court of Ohio Decides That Oil and Gas Leases Are Title Transactions...
On November 5, 2015, the Supreme Court of Ohio answered two questions concerning the Ohio Dormant Mineral Act (DMA). In Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. v. Buell, the Court held that under the DMA: (1) a...
View ArticleObama Rejects Keystone XL Pipeline
The Obama administration rejected a presidential permit for the Keystone XL pipeline. The Wall Street Journal reports: The Obama administration rejected the Keystone XL pipeline Friday, capping a...
View ArticleOhio Supreme Court Will Hear Oral Arguments on DMA Look-Back Period
The Supreme Court of Ohio will hear oral arguments in Eisenbarth v. Reusser today, November 17th, 2015. The appellants in Eisenbarth contend that (1) the 1989 version of the DMA (1989 DMA) had a...
View ArticleObama Administration Seeks Increased Regulation of Oil and Gas Industry
In 2016, the Obama administration plans to increase regulations over the oil and gas industry, according to an article by Law360. The article reports that among other things, the U.S. Environmental...
View ArticleOhio: Oil and Gas Production Grew in Q3 2015
Oil and gas production in Ohio rose in the third quarter of this year. The Columbus Dispatch reports: The state’s energy producers reported 5.7 million barrels of oil and 245 billion cubic feet of gas...
View ArticleSupreme Court of Ohio Hears Oral Arguments About Lease Validity
On December 15, 2015, the Supreme Court of Ohio heard oral arguments in two consolidated cases: Hupp et al. v. Beck Energy and Claugus Family Farm v. Seventh District Court of Appeals. In Hupp, the...
View ArticleRecent Ohio Oil and Gas Decisions
We have summarized two recent Ohio oil and gas cases that may be of interest to you. Mobberly v. Wade (7th Dist.) – Ohio’s Seventh District Court of Appeals granted summary judgment in favor of an oil...
View ArticleSupreme Court of Ohio To Hear Oral Arguments On Oil and Gas Issues
The Supreme Court of Ohio will hear oral arguments in three oil and gas cases this week. On Tuesday, January 5th, the Court will hear Lutz v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C. This case concerns the...
View ArticleUSFWS Issues Final 4(d) Rule for Northern Long-Eared Bat – Allows Broader...
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (“USFWS”) provided notice today that it has finalized its 4(d) Rule for the Northern Long Eared Bat (“NLEB”). The NLEB was listed on April 2, 2015, (80 FR 17974) as...
View ArticleOhio Supreme Court Decides Perpetual Lease Issue
Only one month after oral argument, the Supreme Court of Ohio issued its decision in the consolidated cases of Hupp v. Beck Energy Corporation (renamed on appeal as Hustack v. Beck Energy Corporation)...
View ArticleRecent Oil, Gas, and Energy Decisions
We wanted to make you aware of several recent oil, gas, and energy decisions: FERC v. Elec. Power Supply Ass’n, ___ U.S. ___, 2016 U.S. LEXIS 853 (Jan. 25, 2016)—The United States Supreme Court held...
View ArticleSupreme Court Bars Implementation of Clean Power Plan Pending Further Review
On February 9, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an emergency stay barring the implementation of U.S. EPA’s Clean Power Plan. The Court’s order prevents implementation of the Clean Power Plan until...
View ArticleSixth Circuit Retains Jurisdiction over Challenges to WOTUS Rule
On February 22, 2016, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled that it – not the federal district courts across the country – has jurisdiction to adjudicate challenges to the EPA-Army...
View ArticleOhio Court Of Appeals Issues Decision on Effect of Pugh Clause, Expansion of...
On March 4, 2016, the Ohio Seventh District Court of Appeals in Summitcrest, Inc. v. Eric Petroleum Corp., et al., addressed several issues concerning oil and gas leases in Ohio. In its decision, the...
View ArticlePennsylvania Court Upholds Sublease of Production Rights
The Pennsylvania Superior Court recently held that a sublease of production rights under 250 acres in Greene County did not alter the habendum clause of a 50 year old oil and gas lease or sever rights...
View ArticlePA: Royalty Dispute Class Action Fails
The Superior Court of Pennsylvania recently sided with a lessee in a class action royalty dispute. In Hall v. CNX Gas Co., LLC, the lease contained a royalty provision providing that royalties were to...
View ArticleSixth Circuit Denies En Banc Review of WOTUS Jurisdictional Issue
This entry is a follow-up to our blog post on February 23, 2016 regarding the Sixth Circuit’s decision that it has jurisdiction to adjudicate challenges to the EPA-Army Corps WOTUS rule. On April 21,...
View ArticlePennsylvania Commission Approves Controversial Oil and Gas Regulations
Despite formal disapproval by Pennsylvania House and Senate Committees, the Commonwealth’s Independent Regulatory Review Commission, on April 21, 2016, in a 3-2 decision, approved contentious oil and...
View ArticleUSEPA Sued to Tighten Disposal Regulations
A number of environmental groups have filed suit against the USEPA, alleging that the agency failed to update its rules for the disposal of oil and gas drilling waste, and calling on it to issue more...
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