On June 11, 2012, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed Senate Bill 315 (“S.B. 315”) into law. S.B. 315 addresses a wide array of issues and substantially revises the sections of Revised Code 1509 and Revised Code 4906. S.B ...
As part of the implementation of the Mexican energy reform of 2013, several new regulations and administrative guidelines affecting the hydrocarbons and power industries were issued during July-August 2017. These are of particular importance to oil and gas producers, midstream companies and power generators, traders and others looking to invest or expand operations in Mexico’s dynamic energy sector ...
On December 10, 2011, West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin issued a proclamation calling for a special session of the Legislature for the purpose of considering and acting upon legislation regarding horizontal natural gas well operations. The bill presented by the governor (SB 4001; HB 401) drew heavily from the draft legislation developed by the Joint Select Committee on Marcellus Shale ...
I. Superintendence of Environment orders the extension of the terms suspension in sanctioning proceedings and other actions. On March 30, 2020 the Superintendence of Environment (“SMA”) issued Exempt Resolution No. 548 (“Res. 548”), which extended the term suspension measures ordered by means of Exempt Resolution No ...
Background: Article 10 of the Convention on Supplementary Compensation for Nuclear Damage (“CSC”) (which India ratified in 2016) allows ratifying states, through domestic legislation, to provide that in the even of a nuclear incident, the operator shall have a right of recourse against the supplier only if: (a) it is expressly provided for by a written contract; or (b) if the nuclear incident results from an act or omission done with intent to cause damage, against the indiv
Regarding the Public Tender Process for the supply of energy and power to distribution companies that will take place this year (“2021/01 Tender Process”), please consider the following: On December 21, 2020, the National Energy Commission (CNE) approved the definitive Tender Rules for this process (the "Rules"), by means of the Exempt Resolution No. 478 ...
The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is providing EUR 50 million annually until 2023 to promote computer games in order to strengthen Germany as a location for developers. In the first phase,de minimis funding will be provided with grants of up to EUR 200,000. In a second phase larger-scale funding will also be possible ...
Serbia is a contracting party to the Energy Community Treaty (ECT), signed in October 2005 between the European Union (EU) and nine South Eastern European countries. Since then, Bulgaria, Romania, and Croatia have ceased to be parties upon their accession to the EU and thus are no longer parties to the ECT, while Moldova and Ukraine have become parties to the agreement. One of the explicit aims of the ECT is to support the development of renewable energy ...
Key Points A permitting agency's blanket designation of an entire category of permit decisions as ministerial for purposes of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) may be held to be improper if the agency has the ability to modify or deny the permit based on any concern that may be examined under CEQA review. Courts will afford a larger degree of deference to an agency’s designation of a single permit decision as ministerial on a case-by-case basis ...
On December 2, 2010, the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed leave to appeal from the Federal Court of Appeal's decision in Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc., 2009 FCA 308. Lawson Lundell acted for the Respondent, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), and took an active role in successfully defending the appeal proceedings.Standing Buffalo Dakota First Nation v. Enbridge Pipelines Inc ...
Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. and British Columbia Hydro and Power Authority v. Carrier Sekani Tribal Council, 2010 SCC 43 On October 28, 2010, the nine justices of Supreme Court of Canada issued a unanimous judgment in this appeal that confirmed the decision of the British Columbia Utilities Commission (the “Commission”) to accept the 2007 Electricity Purchase Agreement between BC Hydro and Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. for filing ...
In its highly anticipated judgment, the majority of the Supreme Court of Canada found the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act constitutional in a split 6-3 decision. The key issue before the court was whether the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act (“GGPPA”) was constitutional. The majority decided that it was, because Parliament has jurisdiction to enact this law as a matter of national concern ...
In a decision released Wednesday, July 20,(1) the Supreme Court of Canada has overturned Court of Appeal decisions from New Brunswick and Nova Scotia finding that Mi’kmaq people have a treaty right to harvest timber for commercial purposes. In so doing, the Court also provided guidance on how to assess aboriginal title claims ...
On June 26, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada rendered a decision confirming aboriginal title to approximately five percent of the Tsilhqot’in First Nation’s traditional territory in British Columbia. This decision is very significant because it marks the first time a ruling defines aboriginal title “on the ground”. ABORIGINAL RIGHTS The Constitution Act, 1982 provides that existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the aboriginal peoples of Canada are recognized and affirmed ...
In a recent decision concerning off-site drilling, the Texas Supreme Court affirmed the San Antonio Court of Appeals1 and held that an oil and gas operator could drill through the mineral estate underlying an adjacent tract of land without the adjacent mineral lessee’s permission. Lightning Oil Co. v. Anadarko E&P Onshore LLC, No. 15-0910, 2017 Tex. LEXIS 463, --- S.W.3d --- (Tex. May 19, 2017) ...
On November 15, 2011, the Supreme Court of Yukon released its decision in Ross River Dena Council v. Government of Yukon, 2011 YKSC 84. 1 The case is important as it is the first court decision to consider the issue of whether the Government of Yukon has a duty to consult with First Nations when recording quartz mineral claims under the Quartz Mining Act (the “Act”) ...
On March 21, 2012, the United States Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in the much-publicized case of Sackett v. EPA (No. 10-1062), less than three months after oral argument, holding that the Sacketts were not precluded from judicially challenging EPA’s issuance of an administrative compliance order ...
The Supreme Court has handed down one of the most anticipated Endangered Species Act (ESA) rulings in recent years. In Weyerhaeuser Co. v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Serv., the Supreme Court unanimously overruled the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, holding that the Fish and Wildlife Service can only designate property that is “habitat” as critical habitat under the ESA ...
As we have previously commented, once COVID came along force majeure became, understandably, a hot topic but case law on the subject was light. We are now however starting to see a trickle of cases emerging which consider force majeure. In RTI Ltd v MUR Shipping BV however, the Supreme Court has now handed down a significant judgment that clarifies the rights and obligations of contracting parties under a force majeure clause ([2024] UKSC 18) ...
A divided Supreme Court held that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) exceeded its authority under the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it required certain sources emitting greenhouse gases (GHG) to obtain permits under the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) and Title V Operating Permits (Title V) programs. The decision in Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA (No. 12-1146) on Monday, June 23, reversed the decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeal that upheld EPA’s rules ...
As the Trump administration is pushing forward on its deregulatory agenda and, in particular, its efforts to improve the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and its implementation by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (together, the Services), the Supreme Court is poised to hear a landmark case on designation of critical habitat under the ESA that could provide some guideposts for the Services’ new regulations ...
We previously reported on recent efforts to rescind the Obama Administration’s rule amending the Clean Water Act’s “waters of the United States” (“WOTUS”) definition. This followed, as we also reported, the Sixth Circuit’s nationwide stay of the Obama Administration’s WOTUS rule ...
Michigan vs. EPA, the Supreme Court continues to curtail EPA’s ability to regulate emissions from power plants by limiting the deference the Court will grant EPA on issues of statutory construction. In the 5 to 4 decision, authored by Justice Scalia and joined by Chief Justice Roberts and Justices Kennedy, Thomas, and Alito, the Court held that EPA’s air toxic standards for regulating mercury emissions from coal fired power plants were “unreasonable ...
