August 17, 2021 | Category:
News
On July 7, 2021, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy announced that the State of Alaska is suing the United States for not releasing withdrawals on nearly 28 million acres of federal land in Alaska. (https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2021/07/07/alaska-sues-biden-administration-for-breaking-promises-on-federal-land-orders/.) Numerous temporary withdrawal orders were issued dating back to the 1970s that have not been released and which restrict the use […]
August 16, 2021 | Category:
News
On June 29, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion regarding natural gas companies’ ability to condemn state-owned rights-of-way. In PennEast Pipeline Company, LLC v. New Jersey (2021) — S.Ct. —, Case No. 19-1039 (“PennEast”), PennEast, a natural gas company, sought to condemn land in which the State of New Jersey asserted a property […]
August 12, 2021 | Category:
News
The White House on Wednesday made the embarrassing move to call on OPEC and its allies to boost oil production as pump prices climb, underscoring alarm over the U.S. loss of energy independence under President Biden. Domestic producers said Mr. Biden should have looked to them to bolster the nation’s oil supply. Instead, Mr. Biden turned to OPEC, a cartel […]
August 3, 2021 | Category:
News
On July 23, 2021, the Biden Administration published a notice of intent (“Notice”) to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (“PEIS”) “to support future Federal review of and action on decommissioning applications for platforms, pipelines, and other facilities,” including the current 23 platforms and associated wells, facilities and pipelines, located off of the Southern California […]
July 24, 2021 | Category:
News
The Sixth District Court of Appeal upheld the County of Monterey’s certification of an EIR for a residential project in the unpublished decision Carmel Valley Association, Inc. v. County of Monterey (Cal. Ct. App., May 19, 2021, No. H046187) 2021 WL 1999807. The case had a long history, as the original project application was filed […]
July 9, 2021 | Category:
News
The State of North Dakota (“State”) filed a complaint on July 7, 2021 (“Complaint”), in the United States District Court for the District of North Dakota (Case No. 1:21-cv-00148-DMT-CRH) regarding the Biden Administration’s cancellation of oil and gas lease sales within the State. The State named in the Complaint the United States Department of the […]
July 8, 2021 | Category:
News
In the case Oregon Natural Desert Association v. United States Forest Service (9th Cir. 2020) 957 F.3d 1024, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals considered the issuance of grazing permits, grazing permit modifications, and annual operation instructions (AOIs) issued by the U.S. Forest Service on seven allotments in a national forest. Environmental organizations, including Center […]
July 7, 2021 | Category:
News
In furtherance of the Biden Administration’s on-going war against the oil and gas and mining industries, the Secretary of the Interior (“Secretary”) issued Order No. 3401 (“Order”) on June 1, 2021. The Order was issued pursuant to Section 4(a) of Executive Order 13990 (Jan. 25, 2021), which placed a temporary moratorium on all activities of […]
July 6, 2021 | Category:
News
In April of 2020 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, which sets the definition for “Waters of the United States” which waters are under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) and EPA. (https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-01/documents/navigable_waters_protection_rule_prepbulication.pdf.) This 2020 rule, issued under the Trump Administration, set forth a definition of […]
July 6, 2021 | Category:
News
On June 1, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a petition for a writ of certiorari filed by Next Energy, LLC to hear its case alleging a regulatory taking by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources relating to Illinois’ 2012 moratorium on issuance of permits for horizontal hydraulic fracturing wells, and Illinois’ subsequent onerous regulation […]