Dominion Energy and Duke Energy Cancel Construction of Atlantic Coast Pipeline - "Despite a recent win for the project in the US Supreme Court, ongoing delays, litigation and an expected increase in costs threatened the...more
Trump Infrastructure Proposal Impacts 'Virtually Every' Federal Decision on Environment: DOI Secretary - "Trump's announcement focused largely on road and highway impacts, but industry groups and environmentalists note the...more
In 2016, DOI Secretarial Order 3338 imposed a moratorium on new coal leases on federal land until BLM prepared a programmatic environmental impact statement intended to address, among other issues, the impact of coal leasing...more
The Utah coal industry has benefited from recent reforms in federal coal leasing, permitting and streamlining of environmental review under the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). During the previous administration,...more
On June 19, 2018, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia rejected a challenge by environmental groups and held that the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has no legal obligation to update its...more
Congress returned from the Thanksgiving holiday with an intense workload that must be completed by the end of the year. Tax reform remains a focus, and the Republican-controlled Congress is still committed to getting a final...more
Welcome to Spilman Thomas & Battle's weekly energy news e-blast - Currents. The purpose of this communication is to provide a synopsis of the top news stories for the week, but with a twist. We recognize that you may already...more
President Trump is spearheading a government-wide roll back of Obama Era climate initiatives. The president and his EPA Administrator, Scott Pruitt, have delivered a one-two punch. They both have denied the impact of human...more
Describe, in general terms, the key commercial aspects of the oil sector in your country. The US oil industry is divided into three sectors: upstream (exploration and production), midstream (processing, storage and...more
As the Trump Administration seeks to promote American energy independence, new funding opportunities for deploying tribal energy projects on tribal lands are now available. These opportunities are the first step by the...more
As we reported, the House and Senate have passed a joint resolution under the Congressional Review Act disapproving the SEC Resource Extraction Rule and that President Trump was expected to sign the legislation that...more
By almost every account, the Trump Administration is likely to alter substantially the environmental regulatory landscape. Actions have already been taken to delay the implementation of regulations as well as initiating...more
President-Elect Donald Trump has officially announced Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) as his nominee for Secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior (DOI). During his time in Congress, Zinke has addressed various DOI issues...more
President-Elect Donald Trump announced this week three new cabinet nominees who will certainly influence U.S. energy policy at home and abroad. This alert is intended to update clients on the President-Elect's nominees and...more
On January 15, 2016, Interior Secretary Jewell halted federal coal leasing on public lands. Western coal companies are attempting to sort out the implications of the moratorium and exemptions set out in Secretarial Order...more
On January 15, Secretary Sally Jewell announced that the Department of the Interior will launch a comprehensive review to identify and evaluate potential reforms to the federal coal program. During the review, which is...more
Legal challenges to moratorium likely as US Department of Interior considers reforms. On Friday, January 15, 2016, US Department of the Interior Secretary Sally Jewell announced that the US will “pause” federal coal...more
On January 6, 2015, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenue (“ONRR”) issued a proposed regulation that would substantially modify existing regulations in 30 C.F.R. Part 1206 for the valuation for...more
The U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) recently proposed significant changes to federal royalty reporting requirements covering all solid minerals, including coal. The proposed rule,...more
In This Issue: Energy and Climate Debate; Congress; Administration; Department of Commerce; Department of Energy; Department of Interior; Environmental Protection Agency; Nuclear Regulatory Commission; International;...more
In This Issue: Congress; Administration; Department of Energy; Environmental Protection Agency; Interior Department; Department of Homeland Security; Department of State; Department of Treasury; Government...more
February saw outgoing Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar respond to a joint letter by leaders of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee questioning Interior’s management of royalties from coal mined on federal...more