Energy and Utilities Law Commons^™

Building A Better Process: Improving Washington State's "Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council" Review Procedures To Better Encourage Public Participation, Gregory L. Porter

Washington Journal of Environmental Law & Policy

Washington State's Energy Facility Site Evaluation Council (EFSEC) is responsible for siting the state's energy facilities. The current process can frustrate robust public participation. One reason is that applicants must submit a single, comprehensive, application and these submissions have grown to enormous size and complexity. Local groups struggle with responding to these complex applications in time. Additionally, the council uses quasi-judicial adjudication where the applicant is represented by professional counsel, but local groups may lack the financial support to retain comparable counsel. Washington should learn from how New York overhauled its energy facility siting process in 2011. New York's Board …

How Oil And Gas Companies Can Help Meet The Global Goals On Energy And Climate Change, Lisa E. Sachs, Nicolas Maennling, Perrine Toledano

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

The sustainable development goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement lay out a global consensus on the need to curb human-induced climate change and to achieve sustainable development. These concepts are linked. The urgency of addressing climate change is critical for global efforts to reduce poverty and advance sustainable development, but also climate-change mitigation must be pursued in a manner consistent with ending poverty, promoting economic development, respecting human rights, and ensuring social inclusion. CCSI and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) have published a briefing note summarizing the ways in which international oil and gas companies can help expand …

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Future Of Patent Troll Legislation And Its Effects On The Energy Industry, John David Weidman

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

A Review Of The Department Of Defense’S Energy Conservation Investment Program, Donald Cantrell

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction, Mason W. Smith

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

I’Ll Take The Benefits If You Pay The Costs: Weighing The Equities Of Public And Private Funding Sources For Hydroelectric Dam Decommissioning, Dominique R. Scalia

American Indian Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Earthquakes In The Oilpatch: The Regulatory And Legal Issues Arising Out Of Oil And Gas Operation Induced Seismicity, Monika U. Ehrman

Georgia State University Law Review

This article reviews the scientific theories and studies regarding induced seismicity, in addition to examining the current regulatory framework and litigation arising out of these seismic events. Lastly, it provides strategies to aid stakeholders and identifies challenges likely to arise in the future.

Part I of this Article provides a review of the geoscience theories regarding natural and induced seismicity. Part II reviews the current scientific literature regarding a possible relationship between certain oil and gas operations and induced seismicity. Part III reviews the existing regulatory structure addressing seismicity in affected states, including possible applicable environmental legislation. Part IV discusses …

Living Tiny Legally, James G. Rollin

Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019

Over the last 40 years, the average new United States house has increased in size by more than 1,000 square feet, from an average size of 1,660 square feet in 1973 (earliest year available from the Census Bureau) to 2,687 square feet last year (Perry, 2016). In that same time period, there was a 91% increase in home square footage per inhabitant and a decrease in average household size. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average home in the United States costs approximately $358,000 to build, an increase of roughly $200,000 since 1998. Meanwhile, the average annual income in …

Gone With The Wind: State Preemptive Power, Steven Ferrey

Suffolk University Law School Faculty Works

This article examines whether eminent domain power, exercised by states, can be extended to non-conventional actors and stakeholders if they are supplying a service that serves a broader or ‘public’ purpose. The article analyzes the Kelo decision and its progeny to discern the current, evolving shape of extension of eminent domain power to unconventional actors and purposes.

Grid Modernization And Energy Poverty, Shelley Welton

Faculty Publications

Grid modernization holds the alluring promise of rationalizing electricity pricing, saving consumers money, and improving environmental quality all at the same time. Yet, we have seen only limited and patchwork regulatory initiatives towards significant grid modernization in the United States. Outside of a few leading states, state energy regulators appear loath to embrace fullthroated versions of the project. This article argues that the underdiscussed problem of energy poverty in the United States is a critical contributing factor in the gap between grid modernization’s possibilities and our regulatory reality. Only by explicitly understanding how the issues of grid modernization and energy …

Clearing The Fog: A Historical Analysis Of Environmental And Energy Law In Colorado, Lucas C. Satterlee

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.

State Regulation Of Oil And Gas Pools On State, Federal, Indian And Fee Lands, C. Gene Samberson

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Richardson, Elmo R., The Politics Of Conservation: Crusades And Controversies, 1897-1913, Ernest A. Engelbert

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Milner, J. B., Community Planning: A Casebook On Law And Administration, Ira Michael Heyman

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

What’S Shakin’? Ladra V. New Dominion, Llc: A Case Of Consequence For The Hydraulic Fracturing Industry And Those Affected By Induced Seismicity, James Patrick Logan

Pace Environmental Law Review

This analysis is accompanied by a study of a 2015 ruling of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, Ladra v. New Dominion, LLC. The case considered the possibility of a private tort action by homeowners against the operators of injection wells proceeding within the state’s judicial system, rather than simply being subject to review by a state regulatory agency. The court ultimately decided that the case would be allowed to continue within the judicial system instead of in front of a regulatory agency. This case, while not providing a “silver bullet” precedent with which future claimants can automatically win their cases …

Dual Environmentalism: Demand Response Mechanisms In Wholesale And Retail Energy Markets, Sarah M. Main

Pace Environmental Law Review

This note argues that a dual jurisdictional approach to demand response programming is better suited to mitigate environmental harms than an “either-or” regulatory model. Through an exploration of FERC’s authority over wholesale demand response, state authority over retail-level demand response, and implications for electricity and capacity markets arising out of the Court’s decision in FERC v. EPSA, this note will offer effective legal mechanisms for mitigating environmental costs, while fostering environmental benefits. The next section of this note analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of state and federal regulatory approaches to demand response in isolation.

Based on this assessment, this note …

The Wto Agreements And The Regulation Of Energy Markets: Is There A Good Fit?, Ravi Soopramanien

Pace Environmental Law Review

This paper focuses on this second wave of WTO RE disputes. It will assess whether or to what extent policy instruments requiring increased use of RE in national electricity grids, notably FiT, RPS and EA regulations, are consistent with WTO legal obligations. Part II of this paper will discuss energy markets, and the issues that are presented through incorporation of RE into national grids. Part III will shift focus to the WTO. It will introduce the WTO and relevant WTO law, with a particular emphasis on the Appellate Body’s conclusion in its Canada – RE/FiT report. Part IV will assess …

Alternatives For Recovery Of Attorney's Fees In Environmental Litigation, Fritz Ledbetter

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.

Res Judicata: Will It Stop Instream Flows From Being The Wave Of The Future?, Harold A. Ranquist

Natural Resources Journal

No abstract provided.