Oil, Gas, and Mineral Law Commons^™

Editor's Introduction, Mason W. Smith

Oil and Gas, Natural Resources, and Energy Journal

No abstract provided.

Montana Environmental Information Center V. U.S. Office Of Surface Mining, Lowell J. Chandler

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In MEIC v. U.S. Office of Surface Mining, the cost of coal mining’s climate impacts and the agency’s NEPA review obligations are at issue. The United States District Court for the District of Montana found that the Office of Surface Mining and Enforcement failed to adequately consider the need for an EIS and to take a hard look at the indirect, cumulative, and foreseeable impacts of a proposed coal mine expansion in central Montana. In its NEPA analysis, the court concluded that if the benefits of a carbon-intensive project are quantified, then the costs to the climate should be …

Resourcing Green Technologies Through Smart Mineral Enterprise Development: A Case Analysis Of Cobalt, Saleem Ali, Perrine Toledano, Nicolas Maennling, Nathaniel Hoffman, Lola Aganga

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement requires the world to adopt ‘green technologies’ such as renewable energies and electric transportation at an unprecedented scale. While many countries have implemented policies to spur the adoption of such technologies, a lack of focus has been placed on the sourcing of minerals that are required as inputs. As a result, there is likely to be a significant deficit that may constrain the adoption of green technologies.

In this report, we argue that a neglected area in addressing the mineral scarcity challenge is the private sector’s current trajectory for geological mineral exploration and …

Appeal No. 0945: Mark & Marie Hill Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management & Antero Resources Corporation, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Review of Chief's Order 2017-153 (Otto Unit) & Chief's Order 2017-168 (Reich Unit)

Appeal No. 0944: Mark & Marie Hill Division Of Oil & Gas Resources Management & Antero Resources Corporation, Ohio Oil & Gas Commission

Ohio Oil & Gas Commission Decisions

Review of Chief's Order 2017-153 (Otto Unit) & Chief's Order 2017-168 (Reich Unit)

Wyoming V. Zinke, Jaclyn Van Natta

Public Land & Resources Law Review

In Wyoming v. Zinke, the Bureau of Land Management attempted to update a regulation governing hydraulic fracturing from the 1980s, but oil and gas industry companies opposed, and brought suit. The district court held in favor of the industry petitioners, and the Bureau of Land Management and citizen group intervenors appealed. In the wake of appeal, Donald J. Trump became President of the United States. The administration change caused the Bureau of Land Management to alter its position and align with the new administration. Secretary of the Interior, Ryan Zinke, via executive order, began rescinding the new fracking regulation, …

California V. United States Bureau Of Land Management, Molly M. Kelly

Public Land & Resources Law Review

After President Trump’s Executive Order No. 13783 encouraging relaxing regulatory burdens on energy production, the Bureau of Land Management reevaluated its 2016 “Waste Prevention Rule” which addressed waste of natural gas from venting, flaring, or other leaks resulting from oil and natural gas production activities. The BLM sought to postpone the Rule’s compliance date to give the agency time to promulgate a new rule—effectively overruling the 2016 Rule. Plaintiffs challenged the agency’s compliance under the Administrative Procedures Act, and the court found the BLM did not properly follow APA requirements.

Brief For The Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association As Amicus Curiae, Joseph A. Schremmer

Faculty Scholarship

Is the letter of the rule against perpetuities (the Rule) more important than its public policy? The Appellants in this case recklessly petition the Court to apply the Rule to a commonly used form of mineral reservation for the first time in the reservation’s nearly 100 years of use. They contend the Rule should apply even though it would cloud or nullify the property interests of countless unrepresented parties, spur a spate of litigation, remove a useful form of mineral ownership from commerce, and disrupt oil and gas development across Kansas—all in contravention of the Rule’s policy of making land …

A Fracking Mess: Just Compensation For Regulatory Takings Of Oil And Gas Property Rights, Kevin J. Lynch

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

As the Trump administration tries to roll back federal regulations on the oil and gas industry, constituents depend on state and local governments for protection from the worst impacts of industrial-scale fracking. Yet as the debate about proper regulation of the oil and gas industry continues, the specter of potential takings liability looms over the public discourse. Such liability is premised on the idea that government regulation of fracking might constitute a taking of private property that requires payment of just compensation — that is, the amount of money that should be paid to owners if indeed there is a …

The Paralysis Paradox And The Untapped Role Of Science In Solving “Big” “Environmental Problems, Jan G. Laitos, Christopher Ainscough

Sturm College of Law: Faculty Scholarship

Part I considers the daunting scope and extent of the environmental problem addressed by the article. The “problem” consists of an enormous number of abandoned mines and AMLs in the West, affecting numerous rivers and watersheds, where the cost of mine cleanup seems astronomical, and the source of the money to pay for the cleanup elusive. In Part I, probability theory is used to assess the true scope of the AML problem, by estimating the impacts and risks to people and their environment. Part II addresses the state of current law as it applies to abandoned hardrock mines. A review …

Rigging The Rig: The Merits Of American Jurisprudence In Enhancing Jurisdictional Arguments In Nigeria's Oil And Gas Law, Mofe Obadina

American University Business Law Review

No abstract provided.

Protecting Offshore Areas From Oil And Gas Leasing: Presidential Authority Under The Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act And The Antiquities Act, Robert T. Anderson

Articles

For over one hundred years, presidents of both parties have used executive power to protect America’s lands and waters. Until the second half of the twentieth century, however, little attention was given to protecting the marine ecosystem. Federal authority reaches out to two hundred miles or more in the oceans off the United States, covering an area known as the Outer Continental Shelf. Federal interest in the area historically focused on developing oil and gas reserves and ensuring that the area was open to trade and commerce. The area is also very important for indigenous subsistence uses and commercial and …

Regulatory Fracture Plugging: Managing Risks To Water From Shale Development, Caroline Cecot

Texas A&M Law Review

Debates about the desirability of widespread shale development have highlighted outstanding uncertainty about its health, safety, and environmental impacts—most prominently, its water-contamination risks—and the ability of current institutions to deal with these impacts. States, the primary regulators of oil and gas extraction, face pressure from the energy industry, local communities, and, in some cases, the federal government to strike the right balance between energy production and the health and safety of individuals and the environment—an elusive balance given the ongoing risk uncertainty. This dynamic is not especially unique to fracking, or even oil and gas extraction; instead, this dynamic, characterized …

Regulate Or Be Regulated: Why Professional Landmen Should Be Proactive In Protecting The Integrity Of Their Occupation, Brian J. Steinocher

Texas A&M Journal of Property Law

In most states, the landman profession is unregulated and free to define itself. Work performed by landmen often flirts with the practice of law, but under Texas law much of the work that landmen perform is excepted from the unlicensed practice of law. Historically, the American Association of Professional Landmen (“AAPL”) has been influential in guaranteeing that this exception stays available to landmen all over the United States and that landmen are not subject to licensing requirements in the states they work in. In light of the recent, unsuccessful attempt by the Texas legislature to regulate landmen, this Article will …

Using Emergency Powers To Provide Financial Assistance To Coal And Nuclear Plants, James M. Van Nostrand

Kentucky Journal of Equine, Agriculture, & Natural Resources Law

No abstract provided.

Climate Change, Corporate Social Responsibility, And The Extractive Industries, Sara Seck

Articles, Book Chapters, & Popular Press

During the negotiation of the Paris Agreement, many argued that the final text should integrate a human rights approach so as to better align climate governance under the UNFCCC with climate justice. Reference to human rights ultimately appeared only in the Preamble, despite submissions from the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights that urgent and ambitious State action to combat climate change is an existing duty of international human rights law. Another submission highlighted the role of businesses as duty-bearers who must contribute to climate mitigation and be accountable for climate impacts. This article will consider an unexplored avenue through …

Implementing Shared-Use Of Mining Infrastructure To Achieve The Sustainable Development Goals, Perrine Toledano, Nicolas Maennling

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Many of the Sustainable Development Goals will only be achieved if the population has access to basic services, such as access to water, power, transport, and telecommunications. However, in many developing countries there is a lack of infrastructure to guarantee these services and there are insufficient public funds to finance growing needs. In resource-rich countries, the mining sector can play a key role in increasing access to infrastructure. Mining-related infrastructure is often developed to serve the exclusive need of the investors, but if it is shared and developed to serve the broader needs and uses of the host economy it …

Imputing Regulatory Failures In Oil And Gas Licensing: A Discussion And Proposal, Joseph Schremmer

Faculty Articles

This Article argues that the Commission's legitimate interest in enforcing its oil and gas regulations, especially including well-plugging regulations, does not justify absolute imputation of regulatory liability to third-party operators under Kan. Stat. Ann. § 55-155(c)(4). But, under certain circumstances, the state's interest may justify imputing personal liability on the individual constituents of a license applicant where the individual is culpable for the underlying regulatory violation or the applicant has a business connection with the operator primarily responsible for the violation, and the competing public policies of groundwater protection and limited liability justify the imputation. This Article proposes a procedural …

Fracking Coal Country: How Local Governments And The State Can Make A Positive Impact On Rural Appalachia's Future Within The Energy Industry, Shannon L. Rutherford

Kentucky Law Journal

No abstract provided.

Using The Supreme Court's Enigmatic Commerce Clause Holding In Sebelius To Challenge Congress's Broken Renewable Fuel Standard, Corey J. Walker

American University Law Review

No abstract provided.