On Friday, April 24, the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) ordered hearings regarding two waste injection well permits. The hearings are to address an alleged connection between the injection wells and seismic activity in...more
In light of EPA’s final amendments to the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for Oil and Gas Production, Transmission and Distribution, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality released a statement via email on...more
The Supreme Court of Texas upheld a jury verdict finding that a landowner did not suffer trespass from a wastewater injection well located on adjacent property. Environmental Processing Systems, L.C., v. FPL Farming Ltd.,...more
On July 25, 2014, EPA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) issued “Improvements Needed in EPA Efforts to Address Methane Emissions from Natural Gas Distribution Pipelines.” In this report, OIG cited President Obama’s Climate...more
When buyers request that sellers warrant compliance with environmental law, sellers need to appreciate that agency interpretation or agency enforcement discretion may have played a role in the seller’s apparent ongoing...more
7/31/2014
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The Texas Supreme Court took what appears to be a middle ground in toxic tort cases involving exposure to the same substance from multiple sources. The Court rejected the “but for” standard advocated by the defendant, but...more
The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (DC Circuit) issued two important air quality decisions during the last week of May. In both cases, the position supported by industry prevailed....more
On May 15, 2014, EPA issued a proposed rule that would add additional emission control requirements for storage tanks, flares, and coking units at petroleum refineries. The proposal would also require additional fence line...more
Effective December 30, 2013, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has amended its regulations for site assessments in real estate transactions to add a new standard, ASTM E1527-13, as satisfying the agency’s requirements...more