Mealey's Fracking
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October 5, 2018
Parties Debate Federal Law Regarding Fracking Lease Sale Before 10th Circuit
DENVER — Attorneys for an environmental advocacy group and the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) presented oral arguments before the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 24 in which they debated whether the DOI followed federal law when it conducted the sale of leases for hydraulic fracturing (Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, et al. v. U.S. Department of the Interior, et al., No. 17-4134, 10th Cir.).
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October 5, 2018
Mineral Company: Fracking Lease Dispute Should Be Dismissed, Title Not Slandered
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A mineral management company on Sept. 10 filed a brief in New Mexico federal court contending that a hydraulic fracturing company’s case against it for breach of contract in a mineral lease assignment should be dismissed because the fracking company does not have a claim for slander of title (Marathon Oil Permian LLC v. Ozark Royaly Company LLC, et al., No. 18-548, D. N.M.).
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October 5, 2018
Putative Class: Correction Needed Regarding Fracking Royalty Payment Calculation
PITTSBURGH — A putative class of landowners on Sept. 11 filed a brief in Pennsylvania federal court, arguing that the court should issue an order correcting the method used for calculating fracking royalty payments that are in dispute between the landowners and a hydraulic fracturing company (Donald C. Frederick, et al. v. Range Resources – Appalachia LLC, No. 08-288, W.D. Pa.).
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October 5, 2018
Company: Employee Not Bound By Fracking Agreement With Former Employer Halliburton
DALLAS — A hydraulic fracturing company on Sept. 25 sued Halliburton Co. in Texas state court seeking declaratory judgment that one of its employees is not bound by a noncompetition agreement with Halliburton because during the time he worked for that company he was involved in a different aspect of the fracking business (Cudd Pumping Services Inc., et al. v. Halliburton Company, No. DC-18-14590, Texas Dist., Dallas Co., 193rd Judicial Dist.).
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October 5, 2018
Initiative To Increase Space Between Homes, Fracking Wells Set For Colorado Ballot
DENVER — The Colorado secretary of State on Aug. 29 issued a statement of sufficiency indicating that a measure that would increase the amount of space needed as a buffer zone between new oil and gas development operations and homes, schools and playgrounds has qualified for the November ballot.
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October 5, 2018
County In Colorado: Fracking Companies Violated Leases And Easement Violations
BOULDER, Colo. — The Boulder County Commissioners on Sept. 25 filed two lawsuits in Colorado state court against hydraulic fracturing companies, contending that they violated leases and easements when they developed their oil and gas extraction plans (Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County v. 8 North LLC, et al, No. 2018CV30925, Colo. Dist., Boulder Co., and Board of County Commissioners of Boulder County v. Crestone Peak Resources Operating LLC, No. N/A, Colo. Dist., Boulder Co.).
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October 4, 2018
Trump Administration: Groups’ National Monument Cases Have ‘Incurable Defects’
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Trump administration on Oct. 1 filed a brief in District of Columbia federal court contending that groups opposing the reduction in size of two national monuments have filed their lawsuits prematurely and the cases themselves “suffer multiple, incurable defects” (Grand Staircase Escalante Partners, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2591, D. D.C., The Wilderness Society, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2587, D. D.C. [consolidated]).
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October 4, 2018
Judge Excludes Fracking Expert For Failing To Comply With Rules Of Procedure
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal judge in West Virginia on Oct. 3 granted a hydraulic fracturing company’s motions to exclude the expert testimony of landowners who contend that the company’s fracking wells are responsible for contaminating their properties, concluding that the expert failed to comply with the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (Charles Raymond Adams, et al. v. Chesapeake Energy Corporation., No. 17-4038, S.D. W.Va., 2018 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 170670).
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October 2, 2018
Groups: Government Agency’s Rescission Of Methane Rule For Fracking ‘Ignores’ Law
SAN FRANCISCO — The Sierra Club and 17 other environmental groups on Sept. 28 sued Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke and other members of the Trump administration in California federal court, challenging the administration’s decision to rescind the 2016 Waste Prevention Rule that pertains to methane flaring by hydraulic fracturing operations, arguing that the decision “ignores” the administration’s legal obligations (Sierra Club, et al. Ryan Zinke, et al., No. 18-5984, N.D. Calif.).
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September 24, 2018
Landowner: 10th Circuit Should Rehear Fracking Case Against Trump Administration
DENVER — A landowner filed a petition for rehearing in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sept. 20, arguing that the panel erred when it ruled that he could not establish entitlement to equitable tolling because he had not taken any action to pursue his rights regarding a hydraulic fracturing lease dispute prior to filing a lawsuit against the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) (Merrill Chance v. Ryan Zinke, et al., No. 17-5057, 10th Cir.).
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September 21, 2018
Trump Administration: Tribes’ Request Is An ‘Unnecessary Burden’ On Agencies
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Donald J. Trump and other federal authorities on Sept. 7 filed a brief in District of Columbia federal court, arguing that the Hopi Tribe and other parties have access to “the full array of public notice and other tools regarding activities on public lands” and their new request for information about mining activity on lands formerly designated as national monuments places “an unnecessary burden” on government agencies (Hopi Tribe, et al. v. Donald J. Trump, et al., No. 17-2590, D. D.C.).
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September 21, 2018
Residents Appeal Earthquake Case Against Fracking Companies To 10th Circuit
DENVER — A putative class of landowners on Aug. 21 filed a notice of appeal in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals following the dismissal of a case in which the plaintiffs sought to recover the cost of earthquake insurance premiums from a number of injection well operators after determining that the plaintiffs failed to state claims upon which relief could be granted (Matt Meier, et al. v. Chesapeake Operating LLC, et al., No. 18-6152, 10th Cir.).
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September 20, 2018
Report: More Than 55 Percent Of Pennsylvania Fracking Wells Use Secret Chemicals
PELHAM, Mass. — A report by the Partnership for Policy Integrity (PFPI) published Sept. 11 found that hydraulic fracturing companies in Pennsylvania injected at least one undisclosed chemical into 55 percent of the state’s fracking wells and that exemptions in Pennsylvania law “virtually guarantee” the use of “secret chemicals” in fracking operations.
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September 20, 2018
En Banc Court Affirms Penalty Against Fracking Company For Wastewater Leak
HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court on Sept. 10 ruled en banc and affirmed a $1,137,295.76 penalty against a hydraulic fracturing company for contamination of the state’s groundwater and other waterways that came from a leaking wastewater impoundment pond in violation of state law (EQT Production Co. v. Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, No. 844 CD 2017, Pa. Comm., 2018 Pa. Commw. LEXIS 486).
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September 20, 2018
California, New Mexico: Trump Administration Violated Law With Methane Rule Repeal
SAN FRANCISCO — The attorneys general for the states of California and New Mexico on Sept. 18 filed a complaint in a California federal court, contending that the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) violated three federal laws when it repealed the 2016 Waste Prevention Rule that pertains to methane flaring by hydraulic fracturing operations (California, et al. v. Ryan Zinke, et al., No. 18-5712, N.D. Calif.).
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September 20, 2018
Fracking Groups Tell 10th Circuit That Methane Rule Will Cost Them $115M
DENVER — Two hydraulic fracturing industry trade groups on Sept. 17 filed a joint brief in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that if the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with regard to hydraulic fracturing operations is fully in effect, fracking companies “will face approximately $115 million in costs to fully comply with the rule” (Wyoming, et al. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al., 18-8027, 10th Cir.).
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September 18, 2018
Russian Investor: Fracking Company’s ‘Fraudulent Scheme’ Cost Him $2.6 Million
SAN ANTONIO — A Russian citizen on Sept. 17 sued a hydraulic fracturing company in Texas federal court for securities fraud, seeking damages allegedly caused by the company’s “fraudulent scheme” in which he says the company violated federal laws and “successfully tricked” him into investing $2.6 million (Nikolay Rastorguev v. David Sepiachvili, et al., No. 18-966, W.D. Texas).
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September 14, 2018
Trump Administration: Methane Fracking Appeal ‘Moot’; Rule Will Be Replaced
DENVER — The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) on Sept. 12 filed a brief in the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals arguing that a case brought by the state of Wyoming challenging the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule issued by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) with regard to hydraulic fracturing operations is “prudentially moot” because it is a challenge to an order that pertains to a regulation that will “imminently be replaced” (Wyoming, et al. v. United States Department of the Interior, et al., 18-8027, 10th Cir.).
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September 10, 2018
SEC Says Man Aided, Abetted $15M Fraudulent Fracking Investment Scheme
SAVANNAH, Ga. — The Securities and Exchange Commission on Sept. 5 filed a complaint for violations of federal securities laws against a man the agency contends aided and abetted an investment scheme in which he and others sold $15 million of fraudulent securities in hydraulic fracturing operations to more than 150 investors (Securities and Exchange Commission v. Robert William Dorrance, No. 18-209, S.D. Ga.).
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September 10, 2018
Landowners File Notice Of Appeal To 10th Circuit In Fracking Earthquake Case
OKLAHOMA CITY — A group of landowners on Aug. 30 filed a notice for permission to appeal an Oklahoma federal court’s ruling to the 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, contending that the district court wrongly dismissed their case against hydraulic fracturing companies that the landowners say are liable for causing earthquakes (Lisa West, et al. v. Chapparal Energy LLC, et al., No. 18-600, 10th Cir.).