Mealey's Fracking
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April 26, 2019
Offshore Fracking Injunction Stands, Federal Judge Says
LOS ANGELES — A federal judge in California on April 23 refused to reconsider his previous ruling approving a permanent injunction against an offshore hydraulic fracturing practice called well stimulation treatments (WST) until the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) consults with a federal agency and completes a process mandated under federal law (Environmental Defense Center, et al. v. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, et al., No. 16-8418, C.D. Calif.).
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April 26, 2019
Trump Administration Considers Opening 1.6M Acres To Fracking In California
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — The California office of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on April 25 released a supplemental environmental impact statement (SEIS) in which the agency considers opening a combined 1.6 million acres of public lands and federal mineral estate for hydraulic fracturing.
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April 25, 2019
Native American Tribes: District Court Should Settle Pipeline Case Mootness Issue
SAN FRANCISCO — Two Native American tribes on April 23 filed a joint brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals contending that a district court is “properly situated to consider mootness” as well as vacatur and, therefore, a lawsuit against the Trump administration concerning the Keystone XL pipeline should be remanded for further consideration (Indigenous Environmental Network, et al. v. U.S. Department of State, et al., No. 18-36068, 9th Cir.).
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April 24, 2019
Coastal Towns: Seismic Testing For Offshore Drilling Hurts Marine Life, Economy
CHARLESTON, S.C. — Three towns filed an amicus curiae brief in South Carolina federal court on April 23 arguing that seismic air-gun testing used for oil and gas surveys pertaining to potential offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean “has known deleterious impacts” on marine wildlife and would damage the local economies of coastal towns (South Carolina Coastal Conservation League, et al. v. Wilbur Ross, No. 18-3326, D. S.C.).
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April 19, 2019
U.S. Government: Tribes’ Pipeline Lawsuit ‘Moot,’ Should Be Dismissed
SAN FRANCISCO — The U.S. Government on April 8 filed a brief in the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that it should remand for dismissal as moot a lawsuit brought by Native American tribes who contend that the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline would threaten their land and water because it would transport hydraulically fractured oil (Indigenous Environmental Network, et al. v. U.S. Department of State, et al., No. 18-36068, 9th Cir.).
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April 19, 2019
Authority To Modify National Monuments Supported By Law, Trump Administration Says
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration on April 17 filed a brief in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, contending that President Donald J. Trump had authority under the Antiquities Act to reduce the size of two national monuments because the plain language of the act is “consistent with presidential modification authority” (The Wilderness Society, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2587, Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2591, D. D.C.).
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April 19, 2019
Fracking Pipeline Company: Landowners’ Supreme Court Petition ‘Has No Merit’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A pipeline company on April 17 filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court arguing that a petition filed by landowners who contend that district courts are not empowered to enter preliminary injunctions giving private companies immediate possession of land before final judgment in condemnation proceedings under the Natural Gas Act (NGA) “has no merit” (Lynda Like, et al. v. Transcontinental Gas Pipeline Company LLC, No. 18-1206, U.S. Sup.).
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April 18, 2019
Panel Reverses Arbitration Ruling In Coverage Dispute Over Environmental Damage
NEW ORLEANS — The Fifth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 17 reversed a federal court’s finding that a site pollution legal liability insurer waived its subrogation rights under an onshore master services agreement (MSA) but affirmed the court’s dismissal of the breach of contract claim against the insurer for lack of personal jurisdiction (Halliburton Energy Services Inc. v. Ironshore Specialty Insurance Co., No. 17-20678 consolidated with No. 18-20239, 5th Cir., 2019 U.S. App. LEXIS 11255).
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April 12, 2019
SqueezeFrac Product Targeted In New Texas Federal Patent Case
HOUSTON — A provider of oil and gas services on April 2 accuses a competitor of patent infringement in a new complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas (Schlumberger Technology Corporation v. EnerPol LLC, No. 19-1196, E.D. Texas).
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April 8, 2019
Native American Tribe, Trump Administration: Fracking Lease Ruling Was ‘Incorrect’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A Native American tribe filed an amicus curiae brief in the District of Columbia Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on April 5 arguing that a lower court’s decision, which held that the federal government’s cancellation of a hydraulic fracturing lease was “arbitrary and capricious,” was incorrect. The Trump administration also filed a brief contending that the lower court’s decision should be reversed (Solenex LLC v. David Bernhardt, et al. No. 18-5345, D.C. Cir.).
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April 8, 2019
Professors: President Trump’s Monument Reduction Not Permitted By Federal Law
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A group of law professors on March 27 filed a revised amicus curiae brief in the District of Columbia District Court contending that the President Donald J. Trump’s decision to reduce the size of national monuments, which would allow access to land for hydraulic fracturing, was not authorized by the Antiquities Act (Hopi Tribe, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2590; Utah Diné Bikéyah, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2605; and Natural Resources Defense Council, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2606, D. D.C. [consolidated]).
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April 8, 2019
Judge: Agencies Violated Law Related To Fracking Permits; Parties Told To Confer
DENVER — A federal judge in Colorado on March 27 ruled that the Trump administration “acted in an arbitrary and capricious manner and violated” federal law by not taking a hard look at the foreseeable indirect effects resulting from the combustion of oil and gas related to hydraulic fracturing well permits on federal land. The judge ordered the government and environmental groups to “confer and attempt in good faith to reach an agreement as to remedies” (Citizens for a Healthy Community v. U.S. Bureau of Land Management, No. 17-2519, D. Colo., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51722).
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April 5, 2019
Pennsylvania High Court Should Affirm Fracking Capture Rule Decision, Family Says
HARRISBURG, Pa. — A landowner family filed a brief in the Pennsylvania Supreme Court on April 3 contending that it should affirm a lower court’s ruling and not expand the rule of capture pertaining to natural gas located under the family’s property, as desired by a hydraulic fracturing company, because those minerals belong to the family in keeping with “the centuries old concepts of property ownership” (Adam Briggs, et al. v. Southwestern Energy Production Company, No. 63MAP, 2018, Pa. Sup.).
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April 4, 2019
Shareholders: Fraud Committed During Fracking Acquisition; Consolidation Sought
HOUSTON — A group of shareholders on April 1 moved in Texas federal court to consolidate their class action against a hydraulic fracturing company with another case, contending that the actions present “virtually identical factual and legal issues” regarding allegations of securities fraud pertaining to a company acquisition (FNY Partners Fund LP, et al. v. Alta Mesa Resources Inc., et al., No. 19-1027, S.D. Texas).
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April 3, 2019
Judge Cuts Fracking Company’s Award To Avoid Bankrupting Local Municipality
PITTSBURGH — A federal judge in Pennsylvania on March 31 awarded the attorneys for a hydraulic fracturing company fees totaling $102,979.18 rather than an amount more than six times as much, in a local fracking ordinance dispute in which the company voluntarily reduced its award request because it said it “did not wish to bankrupt” the local municipality involved in the lawsuit (Pennsylvania General Energy Company LLC v. Grant Township, No. 14-209, W.D. Pa.).
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April 2, 2019
Judge Rules Trump Executive Order Allowing Alaska Offshore Drilling Is ‘Unlawful’
FAIRBANKS, Alaska — A federal judge in Alaska on March 29 ruled that an executive order issued by President Donald J. Trump that opened areas of the Outer Continental Shelf off the coast of Alaska for oil and gas drilling is “unlawful” because it exceeded the president’s authority under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA) (League of Conservation Voters, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-101, D. Alaska).
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April 1, 2019
Company: Pipeline Petition Has ‘No Merit’; U.S. Supreme Court Should Deny Review
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A pipeline company on March 27 filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court contending that it should deny a petition filed by environmental groups who claim that a lower court erred when it held that federal law preempted the review process for the construction of a pipeline that would carry hydraulically fractured gas through several counties in Pennsylvania. The pipeline company argues that the groups’ petition has “no merit” (Delaware Riverkeeper Network, et al. v. Secretary of Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, et al., No. 18-1106, U.S. Sup.).
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March 22, 2019
Colorado County Government Sets Fracking Moratorium, Awaits Outcome Of State Bill
BRIGHTON, Colo. — The Board of Commissioners in Adams County, Colo., on March 20 unanimously approved a moratorium on new hydraulic fracturing facilities in the county while the state Senate considers legislation that “enhances local governments' ability to protect public health, safety, and welfare and the environment by clarifying, reinforcing, and establishing their regulatory authority over the surface impacts of oil and gas development.”
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March 22, 2019
Judge: 2 Fracking Claims Valid, 1 Dismissed Based On Express Lease Language
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — A federal judge in Oklahoma on March 21 issued three separate opinions in one case pertaining to hydraulic fracturing lease disputes with three different groups of leaseholders. In two of the opinions, the judge denied fracking companies’ motions to dismiss; in the third, the judge dismissed the leaseholders’ claim (Dorsey J. Reirdon v. Cimarex Energy Company, et al., No. 16-445, E.D Okla., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 46984).
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March 21, 2019
Judge: Agency Failed To Take ‘Hard Look’ At Climate Impact Of Fracking Leases
WASHINGTON, D.C. — A judge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on March 19 ruled that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to take a “hard look” at the impact its approval of hydraulic fracturing drilling leases would have on climate change and enjoined the agency from authorizing more drilling in Wyoming while the BLM satisfies its obligations under federal law (WildEarth Guardians, et al. v. Ryan Zinke, No. 16-1724, D. D.C., 2019 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44995).