The Romanian Government has recently approved a draft law on mining activities that is intended to replace the existing law. In order to be enacted, the draft law needs to pass the Parliament test, which means that it will not come into force this year. In addition, the draft can suffer many changes in the parliamentary proceeding ...
For most of the last three decades, Florida, Georgia, and Alabama have waged a multifront water war, filing cases in federal courts across the United States. This war, and these cases, turn on apportionment of two river basins: the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint (ACF) River Basin and the Alabama-Coosa- Tallapoosa (ACT) River Basin. At the heart of this legal tug of war lie competing uses—and visions—for the basins ...
As seen in Oil & Gas Journal
In a decision involving claims of underground trespass and tortious interference, the San Antonio Court of Appeals held that a surface owner could grant permission to a third-party to drill through the mineral estate underlying the surface and that the lessee “has no right to exclude others from the earth surrounding the oil and gas hydrocarbons” on the lease. Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, No. 04-14-00903-CV, 2015 WL 4933439, --- S.W.3d --- (Tex ...
The Ministry of Production (Produce), through the National Fisheries Health Agency (Sanipes), issued a guide with preventive measures to be implemented by operators of fishing and aquaculture infrastructures during the exercise of their activities against the expansion of COVID -19 ...
On May 23rd, Governor Abbott signed SB 709, fundamentally changing Texas’s contested hearing process for environmental permits. Effective September 1, SB 709 requires the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to adopt rules implementing its changes by no later than January 1, 2016 and to provide notice before then that these changes apply to applications filed after September 1 ...
The final phase of the Esterra Park development in Redmond, Washington, is a carbon-neutral development. Schwabe client JTM Construction is the general contractor for that project. As attorneys, we are interested in staying up to date on market trends, so we asked JTM to put together a panel to brief Schwabe’s Real Estate and Construction industry group on the carbon-neutral aspects of the project ...
While water resource management can, ironically, be one of the driest of topics in mixed company, thefuture supply of fresh water is becoming an increasingly critical global issue. This week experts from around the globe are converging on Dundeefor an international conference, discussing security and sustainability issues around water ...
The oil and gas sector has seen significant changes over the past few years, led by a significant reduction in global oil prices. This has increased the focus on operational efficiency and more flexible ways of working collaboratively to alleviate the effects of protracted price deflation ...
The Scottish Government is proposing to overhaul Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) - giving building owners and occupiers more information than ever before. The potential reforms aim to be targeted and useful – helping pave a clear and achievable path towards achieving net zero. On 25 July 2023, the Scottish Government published its consultation on reforming domestic and non-domestic EPCs to ensure they support future regulations on heat in buildings ...
With the new year comes a new president. Will the new year and administration also bring new water policy? Bet on it. Just as President Trump undid President Obama’s signature water policy decision—the Clean Water Rule, which clarified and arguably expanded federal water permitting jurisdiction—President Biden is likely to rewind many of President Trump’s water policy (and, more generally, environmental policy) decisions over the next four or more years ...
On February 2, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced guidance regarding public companies’ disclosure obligations related to climate change.1 On February 8, 2010, the SEC published that guidance in the Federal Register, at which time it became effective. As a result, calendar year-end companies with upcoming annual reports on Form 10-K should evaluate whether their disclosures concerning climate change are consistent with the new guidance ...
In late September, the SEC’s Division of Corporation Finance continued signaling the increased importance of ESG initiatives in its mission by publishing a sample comment letter similar to what it may provide to issuers when reviewing their filings ...
Intending to provide clear reporting obligations for issuers, and to provide consistent, comparable, and decision-useful information for investors, on March 21, 2022, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a landmark climate disclosure rule that would mandate SEC registrants to disclose greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and certain materials risks relating to climate change ...
On January 27, 2010, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) voted to provide interpretive guidance on SEC disclosure requirements as they apply to business or legal developments relating to the issue of climate change ...
In April 2020, SEMARNAT published the Accord by means of which the public is made aware of the days that will be considered as non-business days for purposes of the acts and administrative procedures ...
Summary of Public Policy and Prior Amendments The Minimum Fuels Storage Public Policy (the “Public Policy”) was released by Mexico’s Ministry of Energy (“SENER”) on December 12, 2017. The objective is to improve energy security in Mexico and ensure adequate energy supply and competitive prices, through the establishment of mandatory minimum fuel inventories and reporting obligations ...
In an August 14, 2020 response to a letter written on behalf of the American Seniors Housing Association and Argentum, the General Counsel’s office of the Department of Health and Human Services has determined that senior living communities are a “covered person” under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness (PREP) Act, which creates immunity from liability for the administration or use of “Covered Countermeasures” in response to COVID-19 ...
One of the liveliest parts of the recently held panel discussion organised by the Association for Sustainable Development and the Youth Forum of the European Movement, was revolving around Serbia's obligation to reach 27% of its total consumption of energy to be coming from renewable energy sources (RES) by year 2020 ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently fined four undertakings for bid rigging in the public procurement for the maintenance of train wagons. The contracting authority, the "Nikola Tesla" power plant, which represents the largest electricity-producing complex in Serbia, informed the Commission about possible collusion in public procurement for repair services for the train wagons it uses in coal transportation ...
Media reports are letting us know that the "Serbia - A Strategic Crossroads between Western and Eastern Europe," conference was held in Paris on 15 September, where the French companies were presented with the political and economic environment in Serbia, as well as with the ensuing investment opportunities and the possibility of financing economic projects ...
The National Fisheries and Aquaculture Service (“Sernapesca”) has issued a series of resolutions. Resolutions No 672/2020 , No 725/2020 and No 805/2020 - that incorporate new measures to those indicated in Resolution No. 565 dated March 16, 2020 which authorized the adoption of certain measures in salmon farming centers in the context of COVID-19 ...
The manufacturer of a product generally has a duty to warn the end-consumer of any serious risks associated with that product. In the context of prescription drugs and medical devices, however, the “learned intermediary” doctrine holds that the manufacturer need not warn the end-consumer (i.e., patient). Instead, the manufacturer discharges its obligations by warning the prescribing physician ...
