Environmental

A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) decision to allow year-round oil and natural gas drilling within 1.5 million acres of federal and Wyoming state land has ended a six-year stalemate among a consortium of producers and regulators. The BLM decision allows the exploration and production (E&P) companies to drill on 1,500 multi-well pads within the…

California’s largest oil producer, which cleared Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization earlier this year, has gained national recognition for its decarbonization efforts just as its CEO Todd Stevens, 53, is leaving. Under the global environmental disclosure system administered by the non-profit Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), California Resources Corp. (CRC) has received an “A-” rating for its…

In a potential boon for energy companies, the Trump administration is using its final few weeks in power to advance a new regulation that would explicitly limit a federal law protecting migratory birds to exclude those killed accidentally or unintentionally.  The proposed regulation would clarify what types of actions are prohibited under the 1918 Migratory…

Canadian oil and gas production will climb for another 20 years without policy changes to help meet the federal government’s new target for net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, the Canada Energy Regulator (CER) said. In the report “Canada’s Energy Future 2020” issued on Tuesday, a CER reference scenario of business as usual forecasts a 47%…

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) has completed hearings to address sweeping changes to its mission, from “fostering” to “regulating” the industry.   The changes, which among other things also address wildlife mitigation impacts, were required by the state Senate Bill (SB) 19-181 signed into law last year. Hearings began in August to address…

Mountain Valley Pipeline LLC (MVP), a project that has faced implacable opposition in the courts, secured a legal victory Wednesday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld the natural gas conduit’s revamped Endangered Species Act approvals. The Fourth Circuit, a venue that has not shown much sympathy toward MVP in recent…

A federal district judge has again sent the Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) back to the drawing board on an environmental review of oil and gas leasing in Wyoming, citing inadequate consideration of climate change impacts. In a ruling filed late last week, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the…

The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is urging a federal appeals court to strike down FERC’s certificate for the 66-mile Spire STL Pipeline LLC, arguing that the Commission failed to follow its legal responsibilities when it approved the project in 2018. In particular, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s reliance on an affiliated precedent agreement in determining…

A federal judge has invalidated key land use plans in Montana that were approved under former Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Acting Director William Perry Pendley, a decision that could imperil land use decisions elsewhere and pave the way for a deluge of litigation from environmental groups. The ruling issued last Friday was the second…