SB 694 was passed by the West Virginia Legislature during its 2022 Regular Session on March 9. SB 694 represents a long awaited step forward for the oil and gas industry in West Virginia. The bill authorizes the creation of...more
Biden Makes It Easier for Student Loan Borrowers to Get a Mortgage -
"The new rule supported by the Biden administration proposed that FHA lenders drop the requirement to calculate student loan payments at 1%."
Why this is...more
8/25/2021
/ Biden Administration ,
Blackberry ,
Connected Cars ,
Consumer Financial Products ,
Credit Scores ,
False Claims Act (FCA) ,
Financial Institutions ,
Financial Services Industry ,
Mortgages ,
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) ,
Student Loans ,
TCPA
On April 21, 2020, the EPA and USACE (jointly the "Agencies") had published in the Federal Register the final rule, "Navigable Waters Protection Rule" (NWPR), which has a scheduled effective date of June 22, 2020. Thus, what...more
5/14/2020
/ Clean Water Act ,
Clean Water Rule ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Final Rules ,
Groundwater ,
Navigable Waters ,
Navigable Waters Protection Rule ,
Storm Water ,
Surface Water ,
US Army Corps of Engineers ,
Waters of the United States
In another step in President Trump's ongoing efforts to relax environmental restrictions impacting economic development, on January 10, 2020, the Council on Environmental Quality published its proposed rulemaking to update...more
2/7/2020
/ CEQ ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Assessments ,
Environmental Impact Report (EIR) ,
Environmental Policies ,
Environmental Review ,
NEPA ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Rulemaking Process ,
Trump Administration
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") has proposed rulemaking revisions to the regulation of methane and volatile organic compounds ("VOCs"). The proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal Register on...more
10/4/2019
/ Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPRM) ,
Clean Air Act ,
Comment Period ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Methane ,
Natural Gas ,
New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) ,
Oil & Gas ,
Public Comment ,
Rescission ,
Trump Administration ,
Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC)
H.B. 4270 -
Passed - March 10, 2018 -
Signed by Governor - March 27, 2018 -
Effective - June 8, 2018 -
The Information Reporting and Payments to Owners bill (H.B. 4270) is a companion bill to the Cotenancy...more
4/3/2018
/ Co-Ownership ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Gas Royalties ,
Horizontal Wells ,
Interest Accrual ,
Mineral Rights ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Payment Terms ,
Private Right of Action ,
Reporting Requirements ,
State Legislatures
Summary of S.B. 360 -
SB 360 applies to flat rate royalty leases, i.e. leases for which the royalty is not "inherently related to the volume of oil and gas so extracted, produced, and marketed," and the conditions upon...more
Summary of H.B. 4268 -
At its core, the Cotenancy Modernization and Majority Protection Act ("Act") is a revision to the relationship between cotenants owning "oil or natural gas and their constituents." The Act is...more
House Bill 2811, amending the Aboveground Storage Tank ("AST") Act, previously passed the West Virginia House and Senate and then was signed by Governor Justice on April 4, 2017. Thus, the amendments to the AST Act included...more
On August 1, 2016, the legislative rule promulgated to implement the Aboveground Storage Tank Act became effective. The Rule is 63 pages long and contains detailed requirements for registering, designing, installing,...more
In March 2016, we predicted that the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (“AST Act”) and changes to the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act (“Horizontal Well Act”) legislative rules would be approved by the West Virginia...more
7/7/2016
/ Aboveground Storage Tanks ,
Certifications ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Fees ,
Final Rules ,
Horizontal Wells ,
New Regulations ,
Notice Requirements ,
Oil & Gas ,
Operation & Maintenance ,
Permits ,
Reporting Requirements ,
Storage Tanks
In This Issue:
- Northeast Natural Energy, LLC Making History for the Future of Energy:
Entrepreneurs are a special breed. The good ones have that special blend of vision, timing and risk tolerance most others lack....more
7/10/2015
/ Clean Water Act ,
Coal ,
Coal Industry ,
Department of Environmental Protection ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Fracking ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Shell Oil
On May 27, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (“USACE”) released their long-awaited final rule defining the scope of “waters of the United States”...more
Even before the June 6, 2014 effective date of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the “AST Act” or “Act”), W. Va. Code §§ 22-30-1 et seq., representatives of the industries most impacted by the expansive and detailed AST Act...more
In This Issue:
- West Virginia Senate Bill 423 Amends Aboveground Storage Tank Act:
Even before the June 6, 2014 effective date of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act (the "AST Act" or "Act"), W. Va. Code §§ 22-30-1 et...more
On February 3, 2015, House Bill 2574 ("HB 2574") was introduced in the West Virginia Legislature. HB 2574 proposes to remedy the unintended consequences to businesses created by the passage of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act...more
On February 3, 2015, House Bill 2574 (“HB 2574”) was introduced in the West Virginia Legislature. HB 2574 proposes to remedy the unintended consequences to businesses created by the passage of the Aboveground Storage Tank Act...more
In the latest development relating to West Virginia’s new aboveground storage tank (“AST”) legislation, on December 22, 2014, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) filed with the West Virginia...more
In This Presentation:
- How We Got Here
- Aboveground Storage Tank Act
- Key Definitions
- Key Elements
- Upcoming Deadlines
- AST Registration Stats
- Interpretive Rule (47 CSR 62)
-...more
Although the W.Va. Aboveground Storage Tank Act, enacted this spring, is comprehensive in its scope—imposing new requirements for registration, permitting, inspection and certification, notice, spill response planning and...more
In the latest development relating to West Virginia’s new aboveground storage tank (“AST”) legislation, yesterday afternoon the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“WVDEP”) filed with the West Virginia...more
By the time you are reading this, the October 1 deadline to register all aboveground storage tanks (“ASTs”) in West Virginia has passed, and the world is still turning. If you have not yet registered your ASTs, it is still a...more
In This Issue:
- West Virginia Aboveground Storage Tank Act Interpretive Rule Filed and Emergency Rule Out for Comment:
The Aboveground Storage Tank Act was enacted in response to the January 9, 2014 spill that...more
10/9/2014
/ Dominion Resources ,
Duke Energy ,
Emergency Rule ,
Energy Projects ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Marcellus Shale ,
Natural Gas ,
New Legislation ,
Oil & Gas ,
Pipelines ,
Power Plants ,
Storage Tanks
Based on a recent decision in West Virginia’s 3rd Judicial Circuit, which includes Doddridge, Pleasants and Ritchie counties, the use of litigation in the form of partition suits may be more problematic than it otherwise has...more
Late Thursday afternoon, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) published on its website what it characterizes as a “rough draft” of its forthcoming emergency rule (the “Draft Rule”), which is 79...more