This article is the second in a two-part series analyzing recent proposals by federal agencies to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production. The first article addresses the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)...more
This article is the first in a two-part series analyzing recent proposals by federal agencies to reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production. This first article will address the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM)...more
Overview - On November 28, the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) released its proposed methane rule. This action furthers the Biden-Harris administration’s whole-of-government response to...more
The United States Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) issued an April 20, 2022, report titled: OIL AND GAS: Federal Actions Needed to Address Methane Emissions from Oil and Gas Development (“Report”)...more
Concurrent with commitments made during the twenty-sixth meeting of the United Nations’ COP26 summit in Glasgow, Scotland, the Biden Administration released two significant policies aimed at analyzing and curtailing the...more
After years of attempts with varying success to regulate methane emissions from new oil and gas wells, the Biden administration has shifted strategy in proposing a regulatory program covering both new and existing oil and...more
On his first day in office, President Joe Biden issued an Executive Order titled “Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis.” The Executive Order directs the Environment...more
Over the weekend, major news outlets announced that former Vice President Joe Biden will be the next president of the United States. Biden and his running mate, Vice Predident-elect Kamala Harris, pledged throughout the...more
Since I noted earlier this week the announcement by ConocoPhillips that its “ambition” is to reach net-zero carbon for its own operations by 2045-2055, it seemed appropriate also to note that BLM has now approved the Willow...more
Our latest summary of some recent developments in the courts and the federal agencies includes a unique case involving salt marshes adjacent to San Francisco Bay....more
Last week, Judge Scott Skavdahl vacated BLM’s 2016 methane Waste Prevention Rule. The Judge spends 10 pages documenting the “loopty-loops” of the litigation surrounding the 2016 Rule and the Trump administration’s efforts to...more
As discussed in this previous post, the federal government’s regulation of methane for the oil and gas industry — both from the Department of Interior on public land, and from EPA — continues to swing back and forth due to...more
Methane gas has been the subject of yo-yoing regulation—and regulatory roll-backs—over the past few years. Presidential candidate Joe Biden has already vowed to take immediate action on climate change, including “requiring...more
Last week, Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers vacated BLM’s rescission of the 2016 methane “Waste Prevention Rule.” Although Judge Rogers found many flaws in the rescission rule, I think that two are key. The first is the...more
Focus - California and Imperial Irrigation District reach agreement on Salton Sea access and liability - Desert Sun - May 7 - The Imperial Irrigation District board of directors voted Tuesday to allow state access...more
This is the eighth issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the course of 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from...more
This is the second issue of WilmerHale’s 10-in-10 Hot Topics in Energy Series. Over the next 10 weeks, our attorneys will share insights on current and emerging issues affecting the US energy sector. Attorneys from across...more
Oilfield operators of every size have been busy implementing the Obama Administration’s labor-intensive requirements to detect and repair vapor leaks from well site equipment, often called the Quad Oa requirements, in...more
On October 4, 2017, the United States District Court for the Northern District of California held that the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) cannot postpone implementation of natural gas methane emission rules because such...more
On October 4, 2017, Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Laporte granted summary judgment to plaintiffs and vacated the Bureau of Land Management’s notice that it was postponing certain compliance dates contained in the Obama BLM rule...more
This month’s Washington Update provides insight into a number of energy-related developments at the federal level, including President Trump’s recently proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2018, the Senate’s failed efforts to turn...more
The Trump Administration has signaled its intent to pull the plug on two rules issued by the U.S. Department of Interior's Bureau of Land Management ("BLM") in 2015 and 2016. Legal and legislative developments over the next...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), on Jan. 22, 2016, proposed a rule developed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) that would limit the flaring, leaking and venting of natural gas on public and tribal lands....more
Environmental and Policy Focus - States ask Supreme Court to block Obama carbon emissions plan - Reuters - Jan 26 - A group of states led by West Virginia and Texas asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay...more
On Friday, January 22, 2016 the federal Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued a proposed rule on reducing waste and methane emissions in oil and gas operations. The rule would limit...more