Law Commons^™

Importing Energy, Exporting Regulation, James W. Coleman

Fordham Law Review

This Article identifies and addresses a growing contradiction at the heart of United States energy policy. States are the traditional energy regulators and energy policy innovators—a role that has only grown more important without a settled federal climate policy. Federal regulators and market pressures, however, increasingly demand integrated national and international energy markets. Deregulation, the rise of renewable energy, the shale revolution, and new sources of motor fuel precursors like crude and ethanol have all increased interstate energy trade.

This Article shows how integrated national energy markets are driving states to regulate imported fuel and electricity based on how it …

Public Utilities Law, William T. Reisinger

University of Richmond Law Review

This article explains, at a high level, some of the major changes to electric regulation in Virginia in recent years. It also discusses how the General Assembly's new policies have affected retail electric rates and the development of new generation facilities, including renewable energy resources, in the Commonwealth since 1999.

Slides: Details Of The Regulatory Framework: Air Quality Regulation Of Oil And Gas Development, Olivia D. Lucas

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: Olivia D. Lucas, Esq., Counsel, Faegre Baker Daniels

22 slides

Onshore Oil And Gas Regimes In Atlantic Canada:, Michael P. Simms, Carole Chan

Dalhousie Law Journal

The focus ofoiland gas development in the Atlantic region has for many years been on the offshore areas. However, there is active exploration and some production onshore, and it is likely that interest and investment will increase in this sector in coming years. This paper considers the legislative regimes for onshore oil and gas development in the Atlantic provinces-including tenure arrangements, surface access issues, operational regulation, pooling and unitization provisions, royalties and abandonment and liability-with comparisons to schemes applicable in western Canada. The existing legislative regimes in the Atlantic region date back many years, and are likely to be the …

Regulation Of Alternative Energy Projects In Atlantic Canada, David Henley, Christopher Stewart

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper reviews the current regulatory regime for alternative energy projects, including wind power tidal power and biomass energy, in the Atlantic provinces. At present the regulatory approaches vary across the provincial jurisdictions, with a more consistent federal regime alsogoverning some aspects of operations, and some involvement of municipal authorities. To varying degrees the four provinces have committed to enhancing the proportion of energy supply derived from these sources. If these goals are to be met, investors and developers are likely to expect a streamlining of the regulatory process across the region in coming years, reflecting a maturing industry

Deepwater Horizon: Lessons For The Offshore, Wiley Spicer

Dalhousie Law Journal

This paper reviews the regulatory framework governing offshore oil and gas operations on the continental shelf. Offshore exploration comprises both marine and industrial elements, regulated through a complex web of national (coastal state) regulation and international conventions, the latter primarily directed towards the marine aspects of operations. Following the Deepwater Horizon disaster of 2010, the adequacy of current regulatory approaches came under increased scrutiny It is argued in this paper that the growing complexity of the industry, coupled with increasing activity in deepwater and Arctic environments, requires development of a more robust system of international regulation.

Slides: Thoughts On Regulatory Mechanisms For Natural Resource Development: Alternatives To Command And Control, Including A Look At Open Source Approaches, Stanley Dempsey

Natural Resource Industries and the Sustainability Challenge (Martz Winter Symposium, February 27-28)

Presenter: Stanley Dempsey, Chairman, Royal Gold

17 slides

Traditionally-Structured Electric Utilities In A Distributed Generation World, Joseph P. Tomain

Faculty Articles and Other Publications

This article argues that the twenty-first century challenge to the electric industry is different in kind from previous challenges. Further, past responses to past challenges are inadequate to meet the convergence of demands posed on investor owned electric utilities by new technologies, new markets, and new regulations. Instead, the twenty-first century challenge requires a dramatic new response as electric utilities face a new economic order and as they seek revenue protection and assurances of financial stability from their regulators.

This article will first explore current industry characteristics and challenges in Part II. Part III will then discuss the current situation …

Clearing The Air: The Misguided Ruling Of Eme Homer And The Future Of Interstate Pollution Regulation, Spencer King

LSU Journal of Energy Law and Resources

No abstract provided.

Agenda: Water, Oil And Gas: Nuts And Bolts Of Oil And Gas Leases, Surface Use Agreements, And Water Rights For Non-Oil And Gas Attorneys, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment, Rocky Mountain Land Use Institute (Denver, Colo.), Colorado Bar Association. Natural Resources & Energy Section

Water, Oil and Gas: Nuts and Bolts of Oil and Gas Leases, Surface Use Agreements, and Water Rights for Non-Oil and Gas Attorneys (September 26)

This third program in the Water, Oil, and Gas 101 series was designed to provide those who don’t practice in the area with essential information regarding leases, surface use agreements, siting considerations for oil and gas facilities, the resolution of disputes before the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), the ins and outs of nontributary and produced nontributary ground water, and water rights as an asset.

Program topics include:

• Oil and Gas Leases
• Surface Use Agreements (SUAs)
• Government’s Role in Authorizing Locations for Oil and Gas Development
• Technical Aspects of Nontributary and Produced Nontributary Ground Water
• Produced Nontributary Ground …

Agenda: Changing Regulatory Frameworks For Shale Development And "Social License To Operate", University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment

Changing Regulatory Frameworks for Shale Development and "Social License to Operate" (July 24)

Rapid development of unconventional shale resources in recent years has raised a series of regulatory issues both here and abroad. Because of the "distributed" nature of shale development and the significant increase in wells in key basins, local land-use conflicts have also erupted in certain areas of the country, leading to restrictions and moratoria on drilling by state, county, and municipal governments and raising questions about the industry's continued social license to operate in key jurisdictions. This moderated panel discussion will assess the current regulatory framework governing shale gas development and the changing dynamics among federal, state, and local regulation …

Market Power In Power Markets: The Filed-Rate Doctrine And Competition In Electricity, Sandeep Vaheesan

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

State and federal initiatives have opened the American electric power industry to competition over the past four decades. Although the process has not occurred uniformly across the country, wholesale electricity markets exist everywhere today. Independent power producers can construct generation facilities and sell their output to utilities and industrial customers through bilateral contracts. In many regions, centralized power markets now facilitate the sale of billions of dollars in electricity annually through auctions. Although market forces have replaced direct price regulation in electricity, antitrust enforcement has not expanded its role commensurately. A lack of competition has been a serious problem in …

Deep Water Offshore Oil Exploration Regulation: The Need For A Global Environmental Regulation Regime, Naama Hasson

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

Government regulation of deepwater offshore explorations has found it either difficult to evaluate the environmental impact, or too costly to perform the required review.1 Corporate self-regulation without effective government oversight will not adequately reduce the risk of accidents within the offshore oil exploration industry, nor will it ensure that corporations prepare effectively to respond to a major spill. The potential, near-term, financial benefit for the oil company prevails over the lowprobability risk that a major spill will occur. Recognizing that current domestic regulation lacks effective, continuous monitoring of complex offshore operations, another form of regulation appears necessary. If already-emerging principles …

Fractured Focus: Tribal Energy Development And The Regulatory Contest Over Hydraulic Fracturing In Indian Country, Mitchell Davis

Washington and Lee Journal of Energy, Climate, and the Environment

No abstract provided.

Smart Regulation And Federalism For The Smart Grid, Joel B. Eisen

Law Faculty Publications

This Article examines the “Smart Grid,” a set of concepts, technologies, and operating practices that may transform America’s electric grid as much as the Internet has done, redefining every aspect of electricity generation, distribution, and use. While the Smart Grid’s promise is great, this Article examines numerous key barriers to its development, including early stage resistance, a lack of incentives for consumers, and the adverse impacts of the federal-state tension in energy regulation. Overcoming these barriers requires both new technologies and transformative regulatory change, beginning with the development of a foundation of interoperability standards (rules of the road governing interactions …

Toward A Sustainable Future: An Environmental Agenda For The Second Term Of The Obama Administration, David M. Uhlmann

Other Publications

Much was at stake in the Presidential election of 2012, which was marked by heated debate over the trajectory of the economy, the expiration of the Bush tax cuts, and the fat of the President's health care plan. The candidates disagreed about nearly every issue from foreign policy and the war on terror to a woman's right to choose and same-sex marriage. Lost amid the din and never mentioned in the Presidential debates or most of the campaign speeches was another divisive topic: how our environmental laws and policies should address global climate change and chart a sustainable future for …

Roles For State Energy Regulators In Climate Change Mitigation , Brandon Hofmeister

Michigan Journal of Environmental & Administrative Law

The construction of new power plants in the United States carries the risk of significantly contributing to global climate change. After concluding that the current federal regulatory response to climate change risks from power plants is inadequate, this Article examines three potential roles for state energy regulators to play as a bridge climate mitigation strategy until a cohesive federal policy is enacted. State energy regulators have received relatively little attention as potential climate change regulators, but they are well positioned to analyze and mitigate climate change risks from new power plants. The Article considers the advantages and drawbacks of state …

Enhancing The Investor Appeal Of Renewable Energy, Felix Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

This article introduces an investor-oriented framework for the evaluation of renewable energy policy, applies these newly developed criteria to a qualitative comparison of the primary policy instruments, and offers recommendations to enhance the investor appeal of renewable energy in the United States.

The multi-trillion dollar task of scaling renewable energy technologies to mitigate climate change, ensure energy security, and create green jobs is one of the most daunting challenges of the twenty-first century. It is, in fact, too great a challenge for either the public or private sector to shoulder alone. Rather, public policy must catalyze private investment in renewable …

Mobilizing Public Markets To Finance Renewable Energy Projects: Insights From Expert Stakeholders, Paul Schwabe, Michael Mendelsohn, Felix Mormann, Douglas J. Arent

Faculty Scholarship

Financing renewable energy projects in the United States can be a complex, time consuming, and expensive process. Currently, most equity investment in new renewable power production facilities is supported by tax credits and accelerated depreciation benefits, and is constrained by the pool of potential investors that can fully use these tax benefits and are willing to engage in complex financial structures. For debt financing, non-government lending to renewables has largely been provided by foreign banks that may be under future lending constraints due to economic and regulatory conditions.

To discuss these and other renewable energy financing challenges and to identify …

The Oil And Gas Evolution: Learning From The Hydraulic Fracturing Experiences In North Dakota And West Virginia, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

This Article discusses major differences and similarities in U.S. oil and gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing through a comparison of the experiences in North Dakota and West Virginia. Although there are other parts of the country experiencing growth in oil and gas extraction, Pennsylvania and Texas as but two examples, North Dakota and West Virginia are particularly apt for comparison. Both states have relatively small populations, meaning that the impact of large-scale energy extraction in each state is likely to have a large impact on the state, economically, environmentally, and socially.

This Article focuses on three main areas of comparison. …

Can We Regulate Our Way To Energy Efficiency? Product Standards As Climate Policy, Noah M. Sachs

Law Faculty Publications

In this Article, I demonstrate that the regulatory strategy for energy efficiency is working. Although information disclosure, financial incentives, and other softer alternatives to regulation play a vital role in reducing energy demand, these should be viewed as complements to efficiency regulation, rather than replacements. The regulatory approach has led to substantial cost and energy savings in the past, it has enjoyed bipartisan political support, and it targets products and behaviors that are difficult to address through other policy tools. Given the politics of climate change in the United States, which make federal carbon taxes or a cap-and-trade system infeasible, …

Requirements For A Renewables Revolution, Felix Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

This Article identifies and analyzes the obstacles presently barring the rise of renewables, evaluates the role of the current policy favorite emission pricing, and offers design recommendations for a comprehensive U.S. renewables policy.

Successful climate change mitigation requires a timely shift to renewable sources of energy, such as sunlight, wind or tides, to decarbonize today’s high-carbon electricity sector. But market pull alone is not strong enough. This Article discusses the most widely cited economic barriers and identifies and evaluates additional obstacles related to the electricity sector’s regulatory framework.

Emission pricing is largely considered the most efficient policy to drive the …

Slides: Collaborative Planning And Lessons Learned, Matt Sura

Best Management Practices (BMPs): What? How? And Why? (May 26)

Presenter: Matt Sura, University of Colorado Law School

48 slides

The Texas Wind Estate: Wind As A Natural Resource And A Severable Property Interest, Alan J. Alexander

University of Michigan Journal of Law Reform

In 2011, Texas is again at the forefront of an energy boom: the wind energy boom. In 2006, Texas surpassed California and became the US. state with the most installed capacity to produce wind energy, and Texas' level of installed capacity has continued to grow. But the law has not kept pace with this growth. Similar to the initial growth of the oil and gas industry in Texas, the wind energy industry was also born, and continues to grow, in the absence of clear legal and regulatory standards. Lack of regulation in the early development of the oil industry contributed …

Toward Legitimacy Through Collaborative Governance: An Analysis Of The Effect Of South Carolina's Office Of Regulatory Staff On Public Utility Regulation, William H. Ellerbe

Michigan Telecommunications & Technology Law Review

In 2004 the South Carolina General Assembly instituted a major reform to its system of public utility regulation. Previously, the Public Service Commission, the administrative agency in charge of regulating public utilities, both adjudicated utility proceedings and, through its staff,a advocated for the public interest. A scandal concerning revelations of extensive ex parte communications between regulated utilities and members of the Public Service Commission led to the 2004 reform, which created the Office of Regulatory Staff (ORS) as a separate agency to perform the Commission's advocative functions. In my research, I use data on fuel factor proceedings before and after …

North Dakota Expertise: A Chance To Lead In Economically And Environmentally Sustainable Hydraulic Fracturing, Joshua P. Fershee

Joshua P Fershee

North Dakota is uniquely, and largely favorably, situated to benefit from hydraulic fracturing, and has already reaped many such benefits. During the recent economic crisis, North Dakota’s housing market has been stable, unemployment has been remarkably low, and the state has maintained a strong and increasing budget surplus at a time when many states were operating budget deficits. But these benefits have not come without some costs.

This Article seeks to put the current North Dakota oil boom in context and help provide a path for developing legislative and regulatory policies that prolong and reinforce sustainable and beneficial oil development. …

Agenda: Opportunities And Obstacles To Reducing The Environmental Footprint Of Natural Gas Development In The Uintah Basin, Utah State University. Bingham Entrepreneurship And Energy Research Center, University Of Colorado Boulder. Natural Resources Law Center. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project, Houston Advanced Research Center. Environmentally Friendly Drilling Systems Program

Opportunities and Obstacles to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development in Uintah Basin (October 14)

A public workshop to discuss “Opportunities and Constraints to Reducing the Environmental Footprint of Natural Gas Development” was held in Vernal, Utah on October 14, 2010 at the Vernal campus of Utah State University. The workshop was sponsored by Utah State University, The Bingham Energy Research Center; The University of Colorado Natural Resources Law Center; and the Houston Advanced Research Center, Environmentally Friendly Drilling Program.

The meeting included presentations and panel discussions on:

• Trends and environmental issues related to natural gas development
• Examples of environmental innovations being used in the Uintah Basin
• Examples of innovation & tools from outside the …

Algunos Apuntes Sobre Las Relaciones Entre El Derecho Administrativo Economico Y El Concepto Anglosajon De La Regulacion, Ramon Huapaya Jr.

Ramon Huapaya Jr.

Se trata de una investigación en la cual se compara el paralelo de las experiencias entre el Derecho Administrativo Económico y el concepto anglosajón de la Regulación, mostrando las coincidencias de los sistemas continentales y anglosajones de intervención administrativa en la economía.

Offshore Windfall: What Approval Of The United States' First Offshore Wind Project Means For The Offshore Wind Energy Industry, Michael P. Giordano

University of Richmond Law Review

This comment explores the Cape Wind project with an emphasis on its role as the first United States offshore wind energy project. Part II of this comment explains the potential energy resource that offshore wind provides and examines some of the economic, technological, and regulatory challenges facing the development of offshore wind projects in United States waters. Part III of this comment introduces the Cape Wind project as a case study by briefly describing the particular political struggles and permitting challenges faced by its developers. Part IV of this comment analyzes how DOI approval and the eventual construction of Cape …

Off The Grid: Federal Jurisdiction And The Canadian Electricity Sector, Ian Blue

Dalhousie Law Journal

The author argues that the federal government should empower the National Energy Board to regulate transmission access on provincial electricity systems including the authority to order a provincial utility to construct new facilities, for the purpose of creating a truly national electricity system and facilitating interprovincial and international electricity sales. First, because Canada needs a national regulator who can address the creeping Americanization of the Canadian electricity sector arising from the U.S. legislation and decisions of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Second, because Canada needs a nationalbody to facilitate the movement ofnon-greenhouse gas sources of electricity to markets where it …