Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law Commons^™

Kansas, Steven A. Rhodes, Sarah Trainer

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Illinois, Joseph Negaard

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Colorado, Diana S. Prulhiere, David R. Little

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Arkansas, Andreah Riedel

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Alaska, Steven A. Rhodes, Zachary H. Barrett

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Piper Hampton

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Community Empowerment In Decarbonization: Nepa’S Role, Wyatt G. Sassman

Washington Law Review

This Article addresses a potential tension between two ambitions for the transition to clean energy: reducing regulatory red-tape to quickly build out renewable energy, and leveraging that build-out to empower low-income communities and communities of color. Each ambition carries a different view of communities’ role in decarbonization. To those focused on rapid build-out of renewable energy infrastructure, communities are a potential threat who could slow or derail renewable energy projects through opposition during the regulatory process. To those focused on leveraging the transition to clean energy to advance racial and economic justice, communities are necessary partners in the key decisions …

The Case For Corporate Climate Ratings: Nudging Financial Markets, Felix Mormann, Milica Mormann

Faculty Scholarship

Capital markets are cast as both villain and hero in the climate playbill. The trillions of dollars required to combat climate change leave ample room for heroics from the financial sector. For the time being, however, capital continues to flow readily toward fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive industries. Drawing on the results of an empirical study, this Article posits that ratings of corporate climate risk and governance can help overcome pervasive information asymmetries and nudge investors toward more climate-conscious investment choices with welfare-enhancing effects.

In the absence of a meaningful price on carbon, three private ordering initiatives are trying to …

An Exclusive Property Model For The Common Heritage Of Mankind: A Multilateral Regime For Natural Resources In Outer Space, Yun Zhao, Xiaodao Li

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The concept of the Common Heritage of Mankind (CHM) remains uncertain and controversial. This article starts with an analysis of the legal status of the CHM to identify the legal subjects who can exercise rights to the CHM and what types of rights they have. It is argued that an exclusive property model is the one successfully implemented in the law of sea regime., i.e., the CHM is defined as an exclusive property of mankind. Mankind, as a separate entity, can have ownership over the CHM, while other entities can only exercise usufruct to the CHM. This article moves further …

Bahr V. Regan, Aspen B. Ward

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In June 2015, the Lake Fire burned through California’s San Bernardino National Forest. Three hundred miles east of the fire, six air quality monitors exceeded NAAQS in Phoenix, Arizona. Arizona’s Department of Environmental Quality petitioned the EPA to exclude those exceedances to avoid stricter regulatory burdens and the need for contingency measures. Applying the Exceptional Events Rule, the EPA permitted the petition to exclude the data therefore allowing Phoenix to successfully demonstrate attainment of the ozone NAAQS by the July 2018 deadline. Petitioners sought review of the EPA’s final decision and were denied their petition for review by the Ninth …

Does The Criminal Enforcement Of Federal Environmental Law Deter Environmental Crime? The Case Of The U.S. Resource Conservation And Recovery Act, Dr. Joshua Ozymy, Dr. Melissa L. Jarrell

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice are tasked with the investigation and prosecution of hazardous waste crimes occurring under the U.S. Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). For criminal sanctions to be effective, the probability of detection and severity of punishment must be significant enough to raise the cost to benefit ratio to deter environmental crimes. While research examines sanctioning under RCRA, little work examines the plausibility of the deterrent effect of criminal sanctions. Through content analysis of all environmental crime prosecutions resulting from EPA criminal investigations, 1983-2019, we explore the probability of detection and …

Hypocrisy On The High Seas: An Examination Of The Conflicting Policy Goals And Actions Of The International Community Regarding Illegal, Unreported, And Unregulated Fishing, Peter J. Tamburello

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Fish and the fishing industry are one of the main sources of food protein and commerce in many areas of the world, whether it be from traditional and artisanal fishing practiced in Somalia and other undeveloped countries or large scale international commercial fishing from rich and industrialized nations. The world’s oceans are currently being plagued by overfishing both from legally authorized activities and Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing. The purpose of this paper is to examine the problems plaguing the world’s fisheries with an eye towards the environmental damage and economic harm that stem from it. It is also to …

The Survival Of Animal Care Organizations Impacted By The Covid-19 Pandemic In 2020, Juan Fernando Torrico

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

This note assessed how animal care organizations and the animals in their care were impacted, negatively and positively, by the coronavirus pandemic. Several animal care organizations in the United States–including animal shelters, rescues, sanctuaries, and zoos–were contacted directly, and invited to share their experiences from the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. They provided valuable in-depth insight into how government shutdowns and social distancing impacted their facility; if any of the animals in their care tested positive for COVID-19; how the animals in their care were affected indirectly by COVID-19; if they sought and received any government assistance to keep them operational; …

Watery Grave: One Of The Death Care Industry’S Greenest Options Is Still Illegal In Thirty-One States And That Needs To Change, Jacob Steele

Environmental and Earth Law Journal (EELJ)

Alkaline hydrolysis is an eco-friendly cremation alternative that uses water, a gentle chemical solution, and heat to break down bodies instead of fire. It has a carbon footprint that is 75% less than that of standard cremation and eliminates the possibility of soil and groundwater pollution created by traditional burials. The problem is that it is illegal and unavailable to citizens in at least 31 states. This comment examines the history, process, and legality of alkaline hydrolysis while proposing the rapid federal or mass state legalization of the method as a solution to many of the problems the death care …

Held V. State, Alec D. Skuntz

Public Land & Resources Law Review

On March 13, 2020, a group of 16 Montana children and teenagers filed a complaint in the First Judicial District, Lewis and Clark County against the State of Montana and several state agencies. These young Plaintiffs sought injunctive and declaratory relief against Defendants for their complicity in continuing to extract and release harmful amounts of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. Plaintiffs premised their argument on the Montana Constitution’s robust environmental rights and protections. The Defendants filed a motion to dismiss which the District Court granted in-part and denied in-part. Held provides a roadmap for future litigation by elucidating …

When Fast-Tracking Slows You Down: Reconsidering Nationwide Permit 12 Use For Large-Scale Oil Pipelines, Megan Rulli

Dickinson Law Review (2017-Present)

The consumption of oil pervades everyday life in America. The network of pipelines transporting oil from field to consumer is largely invisible. Until a major news event bursts pipelines onto headlines, this indispensable and invisible system fuels the country without fanfare. At the same time, concern over global climate change has made new large-scale projects for fossil fuel extraction and consumption highly controversial. The Keystone XL (“KXL”) pipeline was originally designed to transport crude oil extracted from oil sands in Canada to the Gulf of Mexico for international export. After more than a decade of false starts, the project currently …

Park County Environmental Council V. Montana Department Of Environmental Quality, 477 P.3d 288 (Mont. 2020), Holly Seymour

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Montana Supreme Court held in 2020 that loopholes in the Montana Environmental Procedure Act ("MEPA") review process violate Montana's constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. The holding sets a strong precedent requiring statutory protections to prevent harm to the environment before it occurs.

Toward Rationality In Oil And Gas Leasing: Building The Toolkit For Programmatic Reforms, Rachel Rothschild, Max Sarinsky

Other Publications

For decades, the federal government has inadequately considered the environmental harms of oil and gas extraction in its management of public lands and waters. As a result, fossil-fuel developers have been handed vast swaths of land at bargain prices, causing dangerous levels of greenhouse gas pollution that exacerbates climate change while depriving the public of more beneficial uses of the land.

That is all likely to change soon. A week into his term, President Biden called for a comprehensive review of the oil and gas program.1 That review is now underway and is likely to result in substantial programmatic reforms …

Vecinos Para El Bienestar De La Comunidad Costera V. Ferc, Malcolm M. Gilbert

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The D.C. Circuit Court remanded three Brownsville, TX LNG approval orders to FERC for failing to adequately explain conclusions around environmental justice and climate concerns. The Court ordered FERC to reevaluate whether the projects are in the public interest. The LNG terminals and pipeline will disproportionately impact low-income, minority communities, and substantial greenhouse gas emissions from production and export will contribute to anthropogenic climate change. This case note explores the role that environmental justice and climate change play in federal agency decision-making processes, analyzes the legal framework for the Court's decision, and discusses how the outcome of this litigation could …

The State Of The Oil And Natural Gas Industry In Oklahoma: The Oil And Gas Industry Moving Forward Post Mcgirt/Murphy, Kallen Burton Snodgrass

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Purpa: Bastion, Bridge, Or Bygone? Constitutional And Consumer-Generator Considerations, Lauren Watson

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Stop Pushing People Into The Pool: How Oklahoma’S Forced Pooling Laws Can Better Resemble An Open Market, Kale Hajek

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Finding Our New Normal: Reevaluating Force Majeure Within Oil And Gas Contracts In The Wake Of Covid-19, Piper Hampton

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Birds, The Bees, And Equitable Relief: Limitations And Restrictions On Judicial Relief Under Nepa, Through The Lens Of Lakes And Parks All. Of Minneapolis V. Fed. Transit Admin., 928 F.3d 759 (8th Cir. 2019), Wesley B. Hazen

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

That T-Rex Is Mine! A Note On The Montana Supreme Court Decision Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc, Bryce Hayden

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Are You In Or Are You Out? An International Comparison Of Nuclear Integration Or Discontinuation, Tyler Self

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Case Note On Citgo Asphalt Refining Co. V. Frescati Shipping Co., 140 S. Ct. 1081 (2020), Yuanyuan Zhang

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Impact Of Rcra And Mcgirt On Tribal Solid Waste Regulations, Jonathan W. Reiswig

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction & Front Pages, Piper Hampton

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Five Years After The Adoption Of The Paris Agreement, Are Climate Change Considerations Reflected In Mining Contracts?, Tehtena Mebratu-Tsegaye, Perrine Toledano, Martin Dietrich Brauch, Mara Greenberg

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Domestic laws are the ideal legal instrument to regulate the mining sector’s contribution to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Even so, as a stop-gap-measure, governments may consider updating model mining development agreements (MMDAs) or negotiating climate­-related contractual provisions. This CCSI paper explores whether governments are using, and how they can use, investor–state mining contracts to advance climate goals. We synthesize our findings and recommendations for six categories of provisions: integrating renewable energy into mining products, reducing deforestation, requiring a climate risk assessment and community vulnerability assessment, regulating water use, requiring tailings dam design justifications, and integrating climate risks into closure …