Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law Commons^™

A Court’S Continuing Obligation To Ensure Fairness Of Class Action Settlements, Filip Grzelak

University of Miami Law Review

In April 2010, Deepwater Horizon, a BP-operated drilling rig, exploded killing eleven workers and poisoning the waters of the Gulf of Mexico with 210 million gallons of oil. Some 90,000 cleanup workers become involved in the response; many became sick after exposure to crude oil and Corexit, a chemical used to disperse the oil. A class action against BP ensued. A settlement was reached in 2013 and provided for a two-phased compensation mechanism, which class action experts praised for effectiveness and fairness.

Soon, however, it became clear that the settlement was neither effective nor fair. Many cleanup workers were denied …

Appalachian Voices V. State Water Control Board, Thomas C. Mooney-Myers

Public Land & Resources Law Review

The Virginia State Water Control Board certified the issuance of permits for the construction of a natural gas pipeline that traversed over 300 miles of Virginia in addition to other states. Local environmental groups and individuals petitioned the Fourth Circuit to review the certification under the Administrative Procedure Act. The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals gave deference to the agency’s actions and denied the petition for review.

Offshore Drilling: Combating Regulatory Uncertainty With Contract Law Protection, Jordan M. Steele

Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial & Commercial Law

Offshore drilling accounts for billions of dollars in tax revenue every year. It is a pillar of the energy industry and is crucial to the economy. A recent flurry of deregulation, accelerating with the arrival of the Trump administration, highlights the tremendous impact politics has upon the profitability of this sector. The Secretary of the Interior, under the direction of the President, wields the power to regulate and make determinations into where, when, and how private companies can drill offshore. These private companies have contracts with the government for the opportunity to produce and develop oil or gas on the …

The Nationalization Of The Dutch Owned Plantations In North Sumatra: To Whom The Communal Land Belong?, Edy Ikhsan

Indonesia Law Review

This article has been developed through an analysis of primary and secondary sources concerning the nationalization’s policy of the Dutch enterprises in Indonesia as had been conducted by Soekarno’s regime back in 1958. The impact of this said policy has been so much felt very strongly to these days, most especially on the ex-concessionary lands of the Dutch enterprises in North Sumatera. The flaws made by the Indonesian government in interpreting the terminology of Concession to the Cultivation Rights on Lands, in the said nationalization policy, have created various endless conflicts among central and regional governments, state-owned enterprises, the Sultanates …

Indigenous Environmental Network V. United States Department Of State, Seth Sivinski

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Pipelines are an extremely efficient way to move large amounts of oil and gas across long distances. However, pipelines have become a lightning rod for environmentalists opposing the lines’ construction and the energy sector which considers the lines a must to achieve energy independence and security. Pipelines are massive projects often crossing interstate and international boundaries. As a result, they are subject to an extensive amount of government regulation with an accompanying assortment of legal challenges. Indigenous Environmental Network v. United States Department of State is the latest case in the Keystone XL pipeline saga, wherein the United States District …

Maralex Resources, Inc. V. Barnhardt, Bradley E. Tinker

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Maralex Resources v. Barnhardt, Maralex and property owners brought an action to protect private property from BLM inspections of oil and gas lease sites. The Tenth Circuit looked at the plain meaning of a congressional statute and held in favor of Maralex, finding that BLM lacked authority to require a private landowner to provide BLM with a key to inspect wells of their property. The Tenth Circuit held BLM has the authority to conduct inspections without prior notice on private property lease sites; however, it is required to contact the property owner for permission before entering the property.

Murray V. Bej Minerals, Llc, Brett Berntsen

Public Land & Resources Law Review

Part of a dispute some 66 million years in the making, Murray v. BEJ Minerals, LLC considered for the first time whether dinosaur fossils—specifically a one-of-a-kind specimen containing entombed “dueling dinosaurs”—qualified as “minerals” for the purposes of a property transaction under Montana law. Finding no consistent statutory or dictionary definition for “mineral,” the Ninth Circuit relied on a test previously utilized by the Montana Supreme Court to hold that the dinosaur fossils constituted minerals due to their rare and exceptional qualities and were therefore part of the property’s mineral estate. The decision was promptly nullified, however, as the Ninth Circuit …

Hoopa Valley Tribe V. Ferc, Fredrick Aaron Rains

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Hoopa Valley Tribe v. FERC, the Hoopa Valley Tribe challenged the intentional and continual delay of state water quality certification review of water discharged from a series of dams on the Klamath River in California and Oregon. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the states of Oregon and California, and PacifiCorp, a hydroelectric operator, were implementing an administrative scheme designed to circumvent a one-year temporal requirement for review imposed on states by the Clean Water Act. This scheme allowed PacifiCorp to operate the series of dams for over a decade without proper state water quality certification. The United States …

Appeal No. 0966: Hardesty Production V. Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Review of Chief's Order 2018-242

Recent Case Decisions

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Gaping Hole: Darning International Corporate Liability For Environmental Disasters And Human Rights, Veronica Threadgill

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Give Me Disproportionate Economic Hardship Or Give Me Death: The Application Of Administrative Review To The Renewable Fuel Standard – Sinclair Wyoming Refining Co. V. Epa, Andrew Rasbold

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

There Will Be Blood: The New Rules Of Oklahoma Oil And Gas Civil Liability, Hunter W. Mattocks

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

The Vicissitudes Of Life: Meier V. Chesapeake Operating, Kelsee Kephart

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Cybersecurity And Offshore Oil: The Next Big Threat, Jamie Crandal

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Editor's Introduction And Front Pages, Collin Mccarthy

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

States Rise To The Front Of Climate Legislation, But Can A State-Level Carbon Tax Work?, Katelyn Nicasio

Indiana Law Journal

This Note uses two recent Massachusetts carbon tax proposals to discuss the costs and benefits of such state-level climate change legislation but discusses similar regional proposals as well. Although a state carbon tax poses some limitations and concern for the increased tax burden relative to other states that have not imposed a tax, the adoption of state carbon taxes represents an important advancement in climate policy. Part I overviews legislative tactics used to combat climate change thus far, including common policy responses, and the current attitude of federal legislators toward the global climate crisis. Part II introduces the advantages and …

Letting Go Of Stability: Resilience And Environmental Law, Robert L. Fischman

Indiana Law Journal

Historic variation in the environment once served as a reliable guide to future behavior. Sustainability promised continuity of ecological and social structures and functions within the known envelope of historic variation. Now climate change and other environmental stressors are tipping systems into behaviors that no longer remain within the confines of precedent. Social-ecological systems are neither persistent nor predicable. Letting go of stability releases us from untenable expectations of steady maintenance of some natural order. Resistance to change will continue to play a role as environmental law suppresses disruptions and buys time. But resistance will eventually yield the stage to …

Innovative Financing Solutions For Community Support In The Context Of Land Investments, Sam Szoke-Burke

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Communities affected by agricultural, forestry, and other resource investments urgently need increased funding for legal and technical support. Without support, communities risk losing access to critical land and resources, suffering human rights violations, or missing opportunities to benefit from investments. A lack of community support can also lead to conflict and challenges that are damaging for companies and host governments.

Donors and support providers have found ways to finance support for communities, but such efforts can only extend so far. Promising new opportunities exist for filling the financing gap, yet they will require sustained efforts by a range of actors. …

Lowering The Bar?: Reevaluating The Diligent Prosecution Bar In Light Of The Gold King Mine Spill, Connor R. Adamson

Villanova Environmental Law Journal (1991 - )

No abstract provided.