Energy Law

Trump signs executive order rolling back climate change policy; next move is before DC Circuit

President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an executive order that directs the Environmental Protection Agency to begin rescinding and rewriting the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan, designed to fight global warming by curbing carbon emissions. Trump characterized his order as a way to restore jobs in the coal industry, the…

Mar 28, 2017 2:16 PM CDT

Federal judge denies injunction, permitting Dakota Access Pipeline to go forward

A Washington, D.C. federal court ruling Tuesday paves the way for completion of the Dakota Access Pipeline, over strong objections from neighboring tribal communities, Reuters has reported. The ruling by U.S. District Judge James Boasberg rejected a request for an injunction from the Cheyenne River Sioux and Standing Rock Sioux…

Mar 7, 2017 2:45 PM CST

Court dockets will shrink as Donald Trump rescinds Obama administration actions

Lawsuits stemming from executive actions and legal interpretations by the Obama administration are likely to be removed from the U.S. Supreme Court docket and lower federal courts as a result of a shift in policies when Donald Trump takes office. Likely changes will affect cases involving immigration, the Affordable Care…

Nov 14, 2016 8:00 AM CST

Species may be called endangered based on projected climate change, 9th Circuit rules

Federal agencies may classify species as threatened based on projected habitat loss due to climate change, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday. The ruling came in a challenge to classification of Pacific bearded seals as threatened, according to the Los Angeles Times. The National Marine Fisheries Services…

Oct 25, 2016 3:00 PM CDT

US will halt work on oil pipeline opposed by Standing Rock Sioux tribe; judge refused injunction

The federal government announced on Friday that it will halt construction of an oil pipeline near a lake that plays an important role to members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, even though a federal judge said the work can proceed. The Justice Department and two other federal agencies made…

Sep 9, 2016 3:27 PM CDT

New Mexico top court overturns conviction due to Skype testimony, warns judges about social media

The New Mexico Supreme Court is warning judges about the perils of social media in an opinion that nonetheless sidesteps whether the trial judge’s Facebook posts indicated bias. The New Mexico Supreme Court ruled (PDF) on June 20 that Truett Thomas was entitled to a new trial on a murder…

Jun 23, 2016 7:00 AM CDT

Colorado Supreme Court overturns fracking bans enacted by cities

Colorado municipal laws that limit gas and oil development are unenforceable because state law pre-empts them, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Monday. Fort Collins has a five-year moratorium on fracking within city limits, the Denver Post reports, and Longmont in 2012 banned the process. The municipal laws were challenged by…

May 2, 2016 1:20 PM CDT

Maryland program to encourage new generation of electricity is pre-empted, Supreme Court says

A Maryland program that provides incentives for electricity generation is pre-empted by federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court has unanimously ruled. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s opinion (PDF) for the court said the Maryland program is pre-empted by the federal law giving the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission exclusive jurisdiction over wholesale…

Apr 19, 2016 11:23 AM CDT

Former mining CEO is sentenced to prison in safety case

A former mining executive has been sentenced to a year in prison for a misdemeanor conspiracy to violate federal mine safety regulations. U.S. District Judge Irene Berger, the daughter of a coal miner, sentenced former Massey Energy chief executive Donald Blankenship on Wednesday, the New York Times reports. He was…

Apr 6, 2016 12:09 PM CDT

Drought sheds light on the California’s water law deficiencies

It's a classic case of ignoring a problem until forced to face it. In the midst of a four-year drought, when the state had its lowest rainfall ever, California finally established a regulatory regime, the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act of 2014, to control who gets what groundwater.

Mar 1, 2016 3:10 AM CST

Orrick adds 7 more partners in Houston

A month after announcing that it was opening a Houston office with partners from other law firms, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has added to its attorney roster there. Five partners from Morgan Lewis & Bockius and two from McGuireWoods will have joined Orrick by Wednesday of this week, Texas Lawyer…

Feb 16, 2016 4:30 PM CST

Utility is criminally charged in methane gas leak that displaced thousands from homes

A California utility is facing criminal charges over a massive methane gas leak outside Los Angeles that has forced thousands from their homes since October. The four misdemeanor counts filed Tuesday accuse Sempra Energy’s Southern California Gas Co. of failing to timely report the discharge of the air contaminant after…

Feb 3, 2016 3:15 PM CST

California air quality agency sues over gas leak which has displaced thousands

Corrected: California’s Air Quality Management District has sued a gas utility in the state over a Los Angeles-area gas leak that’s been active since October, the Los Angeles Daily News reported Tuesday. The leak comes from a Southern California Gas storage facility located in the affluent Porter Ranch neighborhood in…

Jan 27, 2016 3:30 PM CST

Federal rule promoting reduced energy use is upheld by SCOTUS; environmentalists applaud decision

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had the authority to require compensation for large electricity users that reduce consumption during periods of peak demand, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled in a 6-2 decision. At issue was whether the FERC rule was justified by its authority to regulate the sale of…

Jan 25, 2016 12:04 PM CST

Orrick to open Houston office with 20 lateral partners from a half-dozen firms

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is opening a new office in Houston with 20 lateral partners hired from approximately a half-dozen other law firms. Exactly which attorneys and which firms, Orrick isn’t saying at this point, pending notification of soon-to-be-former employers by the exiting laterals, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog…

Jan 19, 2016 10:15 AM CST