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Pennsylvania Jury Awards $4.2 Million in Groundwater Contamination Case

On Thursday, a federal jury in Pennsylvania ordered Cabot Oil & Gas to pay more than $4.2 million in damages to two Pennsylvania families who sued in 2009 alleging that the Texas-based company’s drilling operations...more

Lawsuit Challenges Ohio’s Disqualification of Local Anti-Frac Ballot Initiatives

Residents in three Ohio counties have sued the state after Secretary of State Jon Husted invalidated three ballot proposals to ban hydraulic fracturing projects in Fulton, Medina, and Athens counties. The bans, if passed,...more

Increased Earthquake Activity Prompts Oklahoma to Reduce Wastewater Injection Rates in Limited Number of Wells

Regulators in Oklahoma have issued new restrictions on underground injection control wells in the vicinity of the Arbuckle formation – a 122 square mile area that recently experienced a cluster of minor earthquake activity,...more

Texas Town Repeals Voter-Approved Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing

Just seven months after voters in Denton, Texas, approved a measure banning hydraulic fracturing within city limits, the Denton City Council voted 6 to 1 to repeal the ban. Council members called the move a “strategic repeal”...more

Oklahoma Follows Texas’ Lead in Prohibiting Local Hydraulic Fracturing Bans

In the wake of Texas’ recent “ban on banning hydraulic fracturing,” Oklahoma lawmakers have passed a similar law—SB 809—prohibiting municipal governments from regulating oil and gas drilling at the local level. The bill now...more

BakerHostetler's Shale Oil and Gas Industry 2014 Year in Review and 2015 Look Forward

Once again, shale oil and gas production dominated energy headlines in 2014, with a number of key economic, political, and legal developments making news across the country. Bolstered by technologies like hydraulic...more

EPA Announces New Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule for Oil and Gas Sector

On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced new rules for reporting greenhouse gas emissions that will apply to the oil and gas sector, part of EPA’s plan to institute a comprehensive strategy for...more

Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission Appeals Act 13 Ruling to State Supreme Court

The Pennsylvania Public Utilities Commission (PPUC) is asking the state Supreme Court to review a July ruling by the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court that strips PPUC of its authority to review and approve local drilling...more

New York High Court Affirms Local Fracking Bans

On Monday, New York’s highest court—the New York Court of Appeals—upheld local bans on shale gas drilling designed to eliminate hydraulic fracturing. The 5-2 decision clears the way for drilling opponents to target fracking...more

EPA Seeks Public Comment on Fracking Fluid Disclosure Rules

On Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency took the first step toward requiring drillers to disclose the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations, releasing an “advanced notice of proposed rulemaking” seeking...more

Ohio Links Earthquakes to Fracking, Toughens Drilling Rules Near Fault Lines

The Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is tightening permit conditions for horizontal drillers after a report from state geologists found a “probable connection” between hydraulic fracturing and a string of small...more

Ohio Imposes New Fugitive Emissions Rules on Horizontal Drillers

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) has announced new requirements for horizontal drillers aimed at reducing air pollution from so-called “fugitive emissions,” which are generally caused by leaking valves or...more

Study: Statewide Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing Would Cost Colorado Billions

A statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing in Colorado would cost the state $12 billion in lost gross domestic product (GDP) and result in 93,000 fewer jobs—both over 2% declines—according to a study released on Wednesday by the...more

3/28/2014  /  Fracking , Fracking Bans , Oil & Gas

BakerHostetler’s Shale Oil and Gas Industry 2013 Year-in-Review and 2014 Look Forward

With Congress and the White House mired in partisan gridlock and preoccupied by issues like the federal debt ceiling, the Affordable Care Act rollout, and the Edward Snowden leak investigation, states again took the lead on...more

3/28/2014  /  Energy Sector , Oil & Gas , Shale Gas

Illinois Voters Defeat Local Ban on Hydraulic Fracturing after Controversial Campaign

On Tuesday, Voters in Johnson County, Illinois rejected a local referendum designed to pressure county commissioners into enacting a ban on hydraulic fracturing. Specifically, the referendum—technically a non-binding...more

Oral Argument Recap: Ohio Supreme Court Considers Home Rule in Challenge to Zoning Ordinances Restricting Drilling

On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court held oral argument to determine the scope of Ohio’s constitutional guarantee of municipal “home rule.” The case—brought by the city of Munroe Falls, Ohio against Beck Energy Corp. for...more

Nebraska Court Stalls Keystone XL Pipeline, Declares Governor’s Approval Unconstitutional

On Wednesday, a Nebraska trial court struck down a state law allowing Governor Dave Heineman’s to approve the proposed route for TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL Pipeline. The decision comes just weeks after the State...more

State Department Paves Way for Keystone XL Pipeline Approval

On Friday, State Department officials released the final environmental impact statement for TransCanada’s Keystone XL pipeline, concluding that the project would not substantially increase carbon emissions, and clearing the...more

Pennsylvania Governor Asks Supreme Court to Reconsider Decision Striking Down Act 13

Governor Tom Corbett is asking the Pennsylvania Supreme Court to reconsider its December 19, 2013 decision striking down key provisions of Act 13 — a bill aimed at regulation of drilling activity in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus...more

1/6/2014  /  Environmental Policies

Ohio House Leaders Propose Higher Oil and Gas Taxes on Horizontal Drilling

Republican lawmakers in the Ohio House of Representatives have proposed a tax increase on oil and gas production in the state, focusing specifically on wells using “horizontal drilling“ in conjunction with hydraulic...more

New York Landowners Threaten State with Takings Claims over Drilling Moratorium

In a draft complaint circulated to its members this week, the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York—a group of pro-drilling landowners—laid out several claims against state agencies and Governor Andrew Cuomo as a result of...more

6th Circuit Backs Chesapeake In Ohio Gas Lease Fight

The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that Ohio landowners do not have a contractual right to terminate their oil and gas leases with Chesapeake Exploration LLC based on Chesapeake’s failure to match third-party...more

Future of Hydraulic Fracturing in Europe Remains Uncertain after France’s High Court Upholds Law Banning Fracturing Activity

Following two years of litigation, France’s Constitutional Council—the highest court in France — upheld the country’s ban on hydraulic fracturing, ruling that the 2011 law “conforms to the constitution” and is not...more

California Enacts New Hydraulic Fracturing Legislation

On Friday, California Governor Jerry Brown signed new legislation to regulate hydraulic fracturing. The law—which is scheduled to go into effect on January 1, 2014—is California’s first comprehensive regulation of fracturing...more

Public Comment Period for Proposed Federal Fracking Regulations Draws to a Close

The public comment period for new federal regulations regarding fracking on public lands—the first substantive update to the rules in three decades—ended on Friday with over 1 million submissions from both critics and...more

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