When it comes to operating on federal lands, timing and know-how are everything. To develop federal oil and gas leases, operators need to conduct extensive due diligence to avoid permitting delays and to identify and mitigate potential litigation risks. This is particularly important for current areas of renewed focus for developing natural gas resources (e.g., Colorado, Utah, and northern New…
BLM Issues National Policy on Carbon Sequestration Projects
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) issued a new national policy providing guidance on authorizations for carbon sequestration projects on federal lands via Instruction Memorandum No. 2022-041 (June 8, 2022). This broad policy and guidance document covers the prerequisites, procedures, and permits needed for these projects, as well as the review process for the key legal issue of pore space…
Federal Issue Brief – Potential Permian Basin Ozone Nonattainment Area
Federal Action: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is considering a discretionary redesignation of certain Permian Basin counties in southeast New Mexico and West Texas as ozone nonattainment areas under the 2015 National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). EPA has not yet formally initiated this process. Importance: An ozone nonattainment redesignation would immediately increase the time and expense of obtaining…
The Supreme Court’s Ruling on EPA’s Clean Power Plan Limits the Power of Administrative Agencies
On June 30, 2022, in West Virginia v. Environmental Protection Agency, the United States Supreme Court ended EPA’s “Clean Power Plan,” an on-again off-again power plant greenhouse gas rule that had been volleyed between the Obama, Trump, and Biden administrations, and was the subject of prior court decisions. For the first time, the Supreme Court explicitly limited the power of…
Colorado’s Recent Restrictions on Non-Compete, Non-Solicitation, and Confidentiality Agreements
After August 10, 2022, Colorado employers have a more limited range of options to negotiate Non-Compete Agreements with workers or prospective workers. In addition, the new legislation requires employers to provide additional notice. Failure to comply with these new requirements renders an agreement void and unenforceable. The revised statute, HB 22-1317 was signed into law by Governor Polis on June…