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- Defining America's Wetlands: The Supreme Court's Decision in Sackett v. EPA On May 25, 2023, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of landowners seeking to build a modest home on "wetlands" in Sackett v. EPA. This ruling represents not only a clarification of a major law relevant to companies seeking to develop land near water bodies, but also a significant limitation on the EPA's... Continue Reading...
- Latest Energy and Environmental Law Developments in the 2023 Louisiana Legislative Session The 2023 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature wrapped on June 8, 2023. During this session, the Louisiana Legislature enacted a number of bills in the energy and environmental sector of the law. Below is a brief summary of all new relevant adopted provisions: Energy Act 150 (SB 103) changes the name of the Department... Continue Reading...
- Lawful and Reasonable: Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Approval of Alaska's Liquefied Natural Gas Project On Tuesday, May 16, 2023, the D.C. Circuit denied in part and dismissed in part a petition for review filed by environmental groups, the Center for Biological Diversity, and the Sierra Club (collectively, "Petitioners"). Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. FERC, D.C. Cir., No. 20-01379, 5/26/2023. The petition sought a review of the Federal Energy Regulatory... Continue Reading...
- Case on Fishing Boat Monitors Could Upend Forty Years of Chevron Deference On May 1, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari to Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo [1] – a D.C. Circuit decision that upheld agency deference under Chevron v. Natural Resources Defense Council. [2] Chevron has stood for nearly 40 years on the principle that agencies should be armed with the flexibility to craft regulations... Continue Reading...
- DOJ's Decision Not to Appeal the Fifth Circuit's Decision in Trafigura Trading Creates Oil Export Tax Refund Opportunities and Uncertainty UPDATE – In its Action on Decision (AOD 2023-01, 2023-10 IRB 502), the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") announced its acquiescence to the holding of the Fifth Circuit in Trafigura Trading LLC v. United States, No. 21-20127, 29 F.4th 286 (5th Cir. 2022), i.e., that Internal Revenue Code ("IRC") Section 4611(b)(1)(A) imposes a tax on exports... Continue Reading...
- Louisiana Supreme Court on Mental Anguish Without Physical Injury The Louisiana Supreme Court answered the question of when general damages are recoverable for mental anguish by tort plaintiffs who suffer no physical injury in Spencer v. Valero Refining Meraux, LLC. In this action which involved the claims of four plaintiffs, an accident, fire, and explosion occurred at the Valero refinery in Meraux, Louisiana at... Continue Reading...
- Court Finds that Addressing Cumulative Impacts of Air Toxics Required for Air Permitting in Louisiana The 19th Judicial District Court in Baton Rouge, Louisiana issued a decision on September 14, 2022, vacating a proposed industrial facility's permit issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality ("LDEQ") and finding that LDEQ violated the federal Clean Air Act and its duty under the Public Trust Doctrine.[1] Although the decision concerns permitting for... Continue Reading...
- Louisiana to Receive Federal Funding to Help Address Thousands of Orphaned Oilfield Sites throughout the State The U.S. Interior Department recently announced that it is awarding Louisiana with about $47 million to be used to plug and abandon the orphaned well sites throughout the state. This is part of phase one of many under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which was signed by President Biden in November. Louisiana first turned... Continue Reading...
- Taylor Energy Company Agrees to Pay Over $43 Million and Transfer $432 Million Decommissioning Trust Fund to the United States for Longest Running Oil Spill in U.S. History On December 22, 2021, Taylor Energy Company LLC ("Taylor Energy"), a Louisiana based oil and gas company, and the United States Department of Justice reached a settlement concerning Taylor Energy's role in the longest running oil spill in United States history. The oil spill began in September 2004 when Hurricane Ivan crossed the northeastern Gulf... Continue Reading...
- CCUS and Property Rights: Considerations Facing Potential Storage Operators in Louisiana The current administration's focus on climate change has prompted a renewed interest in carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS). In July of this year, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a report to Congress stating the Biden administration "is committed to accelerating the responsible development and deployment of CCUS to make it... Continue Reading...
