Appeals

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed withdrawal of a requirement that certain power plants (typically coal-fired) in Texas participate in the second phase of the Cross-State Air Pollution Rule (CSAPR) trading programs for annual emissions of sulfur dioxide (SO2) and nitrogen oxides, according to a notice in the Federal Register. The move “…is intended to address a decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit remanding the CSAPR Phase 2 SO2 budget for Texas to the EPA for reconsideration,” the notice said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request by shareholders of BP plc to revive a class action lawsuit that asserted the oil major misrepresented safety procedures before the Macondo blowout in April 2010(Ludlow, et al. v BP plc, et al., No. 15-952). The high court affirmed a September 2015 decision by the U.S. Court Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, which refused to certify a petition filed by investors that bought shares up to 2.5 years before the tragic incident. BP had argued that the lawsuit should not proceed because the plaintiffs improperly were seeking damages for the entire decline in the share price as a result of the incident. The appeals court said some investors might have bought stock knowing the risks, and ruled that investors could sue BP individually. The appeals court also in the ruling allowed a lawsuit by investors to move forward concerning shares that were bought after the incident.

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected a request by shareholders of BP plc to revive a class action lawsuit that asserted the oil major misrepresented safety procedures before the Macondo blowout in April 2010(Ludlow, et al. v BP plc, et al., No. 15-952). The high court affirmed a September 2015 decision by the U.S. Court Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in New Orleans, which refused to certify a petition filed by investors that bought shares up to 2.5 years before the tragic incident. BP had argued that the lawsuit should not proceed because the plaintiffs improperly were seeking damages for the entire decline in the share price as a result of the incident. The appeals court said some investors might have bought stock knowing the risks, and ruled that investors could sue BP individually. The appeals court also in the ruling allowed a lawsuit by investors to move forward concerning shares that were bought after the incident.

An Ohio appeals court has upheld a lower state court’s decision that found illegal a community bill of rights banning oil and gas drilling in the Cleveland suburb of Broadview Heights. The eighth appellate court of Ohio reaffirmed the decision of a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge that ruled the bill of rights conflicts with state law that gives the Ohio Department of Natural Resourcespreemptive authority to regulate the industry (see Shale Daily,March 13, 2015). Broadview Heights approved the bill in 2012 to amend the city’s charter to ban the drilling of new oil and gas wells, as well as the transport and injection of the industry’s waste. Two conventional drillers, Bass Energy Inc. and Ohio Valley Energy filed a lawsuit against the bill in June 2014. The Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund aided some residents in appealing the lower court’s decision.

A federal appeals court has denied a motion by 26 states and several power generators to stay implementation of the Obama administration’s proposed Clean Power Plan (CPP) until all legal challenges to the plan are resolved. Oral arguments are scheduled for early June.

The surprise storage injection of 106 Bcf reported for the week ending Sept. 18 expanded the overall surplus U.S. natural gas inventories have over both year-ago and five-year levels. But lagging inventory in parts of the Midwest could cause concern this winter despite an increase in supplies available for the region, sources say.

The Colorado Court of Appeals has asked the state’s high court to take jurisdiction over appeals of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) restrictions enacted by Longmont and Fort Collins, CO (see Shale Daily,Nov. 10, 2014).

The Missouri Public Service Commission (MoPSC) has petitioned the federal court of appeals in Washington, DC, to review FERC orders that allow MoGas Pipeline LLC — an interstate pipeline system that was created in 2007 as a result of the consolidation of three pipeline affiliates — to include “acquisition premium” costs in the pipeline’s initial rates.

The New York Court of Appeals on Thursday agreed to review two lawsuits that protest bans on unconventional drilling, and specifically hydraulic fracturing (fracking), that were imposed by Middlefield and Dryden, Southern Tier municipalities that top the Marcellus Shale.