The Vital Importance of Pipeline and Transmission Infrastructure to Decarbonization - Energy Law Insights
Eminent Domain: First Principles, Kelo, and In Service of Infrastructure Buildout
On-Demand Webinar | Linear Infrastructure Redux: Adapting Your Projects to Meet the New Regulatory Climate
Nota Bene Episode 97: The Seismic Changes Renewables Are Bringing to Energy Transmission and Its Infrastructure with Mark Sundback
Policy Minute: TSA Cybersecurity Roadmap for Pipelines
What to do with a Texas pipeline easement that doesn’t define the width? In Premcor Pipeline Company v. Wingate they fought about it. The dispute began when Premcor wanted to run a pig through one of two pipelines on...more
* The following blog is an adaptation of the presentation Alan Ackerman and Matthew Ackerman gave on “The Fundamentals of Easement Valuation” at the American Law Institute’s Eminent Domain & Land Valuation Litigation Seminar...more
Our office routinely handles utility takings, which often involve partial takings of easements for transmission lines or pipelines. As governments attempt to improve the electrical grid to support the transportation of wind...more
In Tulare Lake Canal Company v. Stratford Public Utility District (2023) 92 Cal.App.5th 380, the Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed and remanded a trial court order denying a preliminary injunction to halt the...more
Citizen suits begin with private parties sending “notice letters” to potential defendants apprising them that, if a specified action isn’t done within a certain period, litigation will be filed. A primary purpose of these...more
A pipeline company condemning property of a governmental entity? That’s something you don’t see every day. Score a win for “big pipe” against “big government”. In Harris County Fresh Water Supply District No. 61 v. Magellan...more
Last week, a court called into question whether a condemnation by a gas utility was for a “public use,” even though the take was initiated by an entity that had the statutory authority to enter, condemn and appropriate land....more
Under California law, a grant deed is generally understood to transfer the entire fee title interest in real property, unless it expressly states otherwise. (See, e.g., Civil Code sections 1105 and 1113.) If the seller wants...more
On June 29, 2021, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that a certificate of public convenience and necessity issued by FERC under section 7 of the Natural Gas Act (“NGA”) authorizes a private company to exercise...more
Late last month, the Federal Courts issued two major rulings involving certificates of public convenience and necessity for natural gas pipelines issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. While a decision by the...more
The Texas Legislature recently approved five bills that will impact eminent domain matters throughout the state. HB 2730- HB 2730 was signed by Governor Greg Abbott on June 16, 2021, and goes into effect on January 1,...more
On Tuesday, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that private utilities may exercise eminent domain to take state-owned property under the Natural Gas Act (NGA). The decision resolved an issue that could have blocked construction...more
On June 29, 2021, the U.S. Supreme Court decided PennEast Pipeline Co. v. New Jersey, No. 19-1039, holding that the Federal Government had properly delegated to private companies federal authority to condemn necessary...more
The Supreme Court of the United States rarely hears anything related to eminent domain or takings cases; the Kelodecision in 2005 was the latest “big” case for our industry, although the 2019 Knick decision also made...more
For nearly a month, Enbridge, Inc., a Canadian oil and gas pipeline company, has been operating its Line 5 pipeline in defiance of an order from Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer to shut down Line 5’s operations effective...more
Easement by estoppel- DeepRock Disposal Solutions, LLC v. Forté Prods., LLC, 4th Dist. Washington No. 20CA15, 2021-Ohio-1436- In this appeal, the Fourth Appellate District affirmed as modified the trial court’s...more
On March 30, 2021, the Amarillo Court of Appeals issued its opinion in Canadian River Municipal Water Authority v. Hayhook, Ltd, affirming the trial court’s decision to award $506,496.00 plus interest in damages against...more
It’s been a difficult several days for the oil industry. First, the Biden administration revoked the border-crossing permit for the Keystone XL pipeline on January 20. Another executive order, among other things, directed the...more
On October 16, 2020, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”), both agencies of the U.S. Department of the Interior, published a joint notice of proposed...more
On November 13, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer (“That woman from Michigan!”) issued a notice to Enbridge Energy that by May 2021 it must cease transport of oil through twin pipelines that traverse the Straits of Mackinac....more
San Miguel Electric Coop is a Texas nonprofit electric cooperative that owns and operates a power plant that supplies electricity to 38 Texas counties. After a four-week absence, they return to these pages, this time in DCP...more
Porter Hedges recently scored a significant victory for landowners Terrance and Kenneth Hlavinka and their families (“the Hlavinkas”) against HSC Pipeline Partners, a subsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners. On June 18,...more
The US Supreme Court held that the National Park Service’s responsibility over the Appalachian Trail did not incorporate that land into the National Park System, leaving the Forest Service with the authority to grant the...more
Supreme Court Lifts Key Obstacle to Atlantic Coast Pipeline, but More Challenges Remain - "The U.S. Supreme Court has reversed a lower court ruling that held up construction on the Atlantic Coast Pipeline, which would...more
“Sometimes a complicated regulatory scheme may cause us to miss the forest for the trees, but at bottom, these cases boil down to a simple proposition: A trail is a trail, and land is land.” Justice Thomas, Opinion of the...more