January 29, 2016
We live in an increasingly digital world, but with advancement comes greater risk. Data breaches, leaks and even employee use of social media can all put your company at risk. To address these issues, Jackson Kelly is pleased to introduce its Data Privacy and Security Team. These attorneys, representing the Firm across a number of practice areas and locations, work with clients to identify…
January 19, 2016
In 2010 or 2011, the Legislature amended the West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act to impose a $1,500 fee for the transfer or assignment of permits by adding the highlighted language:
d) No transfer, assignment or sale of the rights granted under any permit issued pursuant to this article may be made without the prior written approval of the secretary, application for which…
January 19, 2016
Fayette County, West Virginia is home to the New River Gorge. It is also home to the newest local ordinance affecting the oil and gas industry. On January 12, 2016, the County adopted an “Ordinance Banning the Storage, Disposal or Use of Oil and Natural Gas Waste in Fayette County, West Virginia.” Just days later, EQT Production Company sued the County Commissioners in federal court…
January 19, 2016
As readers of our blog may recall, we have written numerous articles about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services’ handwringing for at least two years over the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLE Bat) (see Here and Here). I use the pejorative purposefully. The NLE Bat has a natural range that covers 37 states from the Atlantic Coat to the Great Plains and half of Canada. It is afflicted, like other bat…
January 18, 2016
On January 15, 2016, the Obama Administration suspended its federal coal leasing program. The partial moratorium was ordered to accommodate an evaluation of the leasing program by the Interior Department. The Administration has announced a comprehensive review of the program, evaluating aspects such as federal royalty rates and environmental factors related to climate change. This announcement…
January 13, 2016
Though some believe little of consequence is ever accomplished by government in the week between Christmas and the New Year. Pennsylvania’s courts have proven that notion wrong. Both the state’s Supreme Court (see Matt Tyree’s article from last week) and Commonwealth Court published important decisions on December 29 in cases involving the state’s Department of Environmental…
January 7, 2016
On December 29, 2015, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of EQT Production Company (EQT) in a procedural challenge to a fine levied by the Department of Environmental Protection for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PADEP). The ruling allows EQT to obtain pre-enforcement judicial review, via a declaratory judgment proceeding, of PADEP’s interpretation of “ongoing discharges” under…
December 10, 2015
A new study of the Barnett Shale in Texas, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contained conclusions that will likely inflame the debate surrounding methane emissions from oil and gas sites. The study shows that methane emissions are likely far higher than previously estimated and that a few high-emitting facilities are responsible for a majority of the…
November 19, 2015
In 1996, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a “Biological Opinion and Conference Report” to the Office of Surface Mining which concluded that so long as the provisions of the state and federal surface mining programs, which included information gathering and reporting obligations concerning endangered species, were followed then surface mining was not likely to jeopardize the existence of…
November 16, 2015
We have previously written about Murray Energy’s lawsuit against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray Energy claims that EPA has failed to conduct studies required by Section 321 of the Clean Air Act about the effects of its rules and enforcement actions on jobs. The Court has permitted Murray Energy to conduct discovery, holding dispositive motions by EPA in abeyance…
November 11, 2015
By letter dated October 29, the Sierra Club served a “Notice of Intent to Sue” on four exploration and production companies claiming that their injection of waste fluids from the oil and gas industries has contributed to earthquakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The NOI cites the so-called “imminent harm” provision of RCRA. That provision authorizes citizens who have suffered…
November 5, 2015
On November 2, 2015, the WVDEP made a final determination to issue General Permit G70-B for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in regard to the Construction, Modification, Relocation, Administrative Update and Operation of Natural Gas Production Facilities Located at the Well Site. General Permit G70-B’s proposed benefit to the natural gas industry is the adoption of the…
January 29, 2016
We live in an increasingly digital world, but with advancement comes greater risk. Data breaches, leaks and even employee use of social media can all put your company at risk. To address these issues, Jackson Kelly is pleased to introduce its Data Privacy and Security Team. These attorneys, representing the Firm across a number of practice areas and locations, work with clients to identify…
January 19, 2016
In 2010 or 2011, the Legislature amended the West Virginia Surface Coal Mining and Reclamation Act to impose a $1,500 fee for the transfer or assignment of permits by adding the highlighted language:
d) No transfer, assignment or sale of the rights granted under any permit issued pursuant to this article may be made without the prior written approval of the secretary, application for which…
January 19, 2016
Fayette County, West Virginia is home to the New River Gorge. It is also home to the newest local ordinance affecting the oil and gas industry. On January 12, 2016, the County adopted an “Ordinance Banning the Storage, Disposal or Use of Oil and Natural Gas Waste in Fayette County, West Virginia.” Just days later, EQT Production Company sued the County Commissioners in federal court…
January 19, 2016
As readers of our blog may recall, we have written numerous articles about the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Services’ handwringing for at least two years over the Northern Long-Eared Bat (NLE Bat) (see Here and Here). I use the pejorative purposefully. The NLE Bat has a natural range that covers 37 states from the Atlantic Coat to the Great Plains and half of Canada. It is afflicted, like other bat…
January 18, 2016
On January 15, 2016, the Obama Administration suspended its federal coal leasing program. The partial moratorium was ordered to accommodate an evaluation of the leasing program by the Interior Department. The Administration has announced a comprehensive review of the program, evaluating aspects such as federal royalty rates and environmental factors related to climate change. This announcement…
January 13, 2016
Though some believe little of consequence is ever accomplished by government in the week between Christmas and the New Year. Pennsylvania’s courts have proven that notion wrong. Both the state’s Supreme Court (see Matt Tyree’s article from last week) and Commonwealth Court published important decisions on December 29 in cases involving the state’s Department of Environmental…
January 7, 2016
On December 29, 2015, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania ruled in favor of EQT Production Company (EQT) in a procedural challenge to a fine levied by the Department of Environmental Protection for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (PADEP). The ruling allows EQT to obtain pre-enforcement judicial review, via a declaratory judgment proceeding, of PADEP’s interpretation of “ongoing discharges” under…
December 10, 2015
A new study of the Barnett Shale in Texas, published by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), contained conclusions that will likely inflame the debate surrounding methane emissions from oil and gas sites. The study shows that methane emissions are likely far higher than previously estimated and that a few high-emitting facilities are responsible for a majority of the…
November 19, 2015
In 1996, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service issued a “Biological Opinion and Conference Report” to the Office of Surface Mining which concluded that so long as the provisions of the state and federal surface mining programs, which included information gathering and reporting obligations concerning endangered species, were followed then surface mining was not likely to jeopardize the existence of…
November 16, 2015
We have previously written about Murray Energy’s lawsuit against EPA in the Northern District of West Virginia. There, Murray Energy claims that EPA has failed to conduct studies required by Section 321 of the Clean Air Act about the effects of its rules and enforcement actions on jobs. The Court has permitted Murray Energy to conduct discovery, holding dispositive motions by EPA in abeyance…
November 11, 2015
By letter dated October 29, the Sierra Club served a “Notice of Intent to Sue” on four exploration and production companies claiming that their injection of waste fluids from the oil and gas industries has contributed to earthquakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas. The NOI cites the so-called “imminent harm” provision of RCRA. That provision authorizes citizens who have suffered…
November 5, 2015
On November 2, 2015, the WVDEP made a final determination to issue General Permit G70-B for the Prevention and Control of Air Pollution in regard to the Construction, Modification, Relocation, Administrative Update and Operation of Natural Gas Production Facilities Located at the Well Site. General Permit G70-B’s proposed benefit to the natural gas industry is the adoption of the…
