Decide

A regulatory judge will decide the next moves in a case in which the utility has admitted to safety violations..

Former natural gas company executive and Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sheffield Nelson has said he may push to allow the state’s voters to decide next year whether the severance tax on natural gas production should be raised to 7%.

Former natural gas company executive and Arkansas gubernatorial candidate Sheffield Nelson has said he may push to allow the state’s voters to decide next year whether the severance tax on natural gas production should be raised to 7%, according to press reports.

Alabama Gov. Robert Riley has been granted an extension until Sept. 14 to decide whether to allow a proposed deepwater liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal offshore Alabama in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) to move forward, a spokesman said.

The Bush administration has until May 15 to decide whether polar bears should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a federal judge has ruled. The listing could impact emerging oil and natural gas development in U.S. Arctic waters. U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of the Northern District of California issued the order in Case No. C 08-1339 (Center for Biological Diversity, et al., v. Dirk Kempthorne, U.S. Secretary of the Interior; and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service). Noting that “timeliness is essential,” the order was issued without oral argument. The lawsuit was filed after the Bush administration missed several deadlines this year to make a decision about the possible ESA listing (see Daily GPI, March 11). The Department of Interior (DOI) had requested a delay until June 30, which Wilken rejected. Environmental groups petitioned to have polar bears listed as an endangered species under the ESA in 2005. In early 2007 the DOI proposed a rule, published in the Federal Register, to list the polar bear as a “threatened” species, and public hearings followed in Alaska and Washington, DC. At DOI’s request, the U.S. Geological Survey completed a report on polar bear habitat in the United States, which included data on arctic climate and sea ice trends. Following additional public hearings on the report, DOI announced on Jan. 7 that final listing would occur within 30 days. The government contends that waiting longer to consider the ESA listing would not pose a threat to the bears because the species is already protected under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). However, Wilken noted that the ESA protections “far surpass” those under the MMPA because the ESA also protects a species habitat. A DOI official said the agency is reviewing Wilken’s decision.

The Bush administration has until May 15 to decide whether polar bears should be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), a federal judge has ruled. The listing could impact emerging oil and natural gas development in U.S. Arctic waters.

A Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee plans to consider legislation later this month that could decide whether new energy development would be allowed on 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range.

A Senate Energy and Natural Resources subcommittee plans to consider legislation later this month that could decide whether new energy development would be allowed on 1.2 million acres of the Wyoming Range.

Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has decided he needs more information to decide AES Sparrows Point’s consistency appeal under the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), and consequently has stayed the closure of the decision record until April 14.