On September 1, 2026, the Interior Board of Land Appeals (IBLA) stayed a 300,000-square-foot data center project on federal lands near Boulder City, Nevada. This is the first time the federal government has stopped an approved data center project in its tracks. IBLA...
By Miguel Suazo, Devon Bell, and DeAnza Valencia The U.S. Supreme Court recently accepted a settlement ending the 13-year Rio Grande dispute involving New Mexico, Texas, and the federal government. The conflict followed a series of droughts and lawsuits over the...
By Ahuva Battams The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed a new approach to pipeline repair decisions. The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would revise repair criteria for gas transmission and hazardous liquid pipelines....
By Ahuva Battams, Miguel Suazo, and Raj Lahoti Texas Operators Should Prepare Now for Mandatory Electronic Filing The Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) has announced that, effective September 1, 2026, it will no longer accept hard-copy submissions for several...
By Ahuva Battams On May 18, 2026, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a new Statement of Policy on transporting hazardous liquids and carbon dioxide in non-steel pipelines, marking an important development for pipeline operators,...
Geothermal energy developers working on federal lands have a new tool in their permitting toolkit. Effective April 28, 2026, BLM established a new categorical exclusion (CE) that allows the agency to approve notices of intent for small-scale geothermal exploration...
Carbon capture developers facing multi-year federal permitting delays may soon have a faster path forward. New Mexico is proposing state-specific rules that could slash Class VI underground injection well approval times from years to approximately six to eight...
By Miguel Suazo and Raj Lahoti Last week, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUCT) convened a full-day stakeholder workshop in Project No. 58481 to gather input on implementing new large-load interconnection standards under PURA §37.0561. The workshop included...
By Miguel Suazo and Jacob Everhart The New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (“PRC”) recently initiated a formal rulemaking process to consider extensive amendments to the Community Solar Rule under 17.9.573 NMAC (the “Rule”). The proposed amendments are the result...
By Theresa Sauer and Jacob Everhart This week, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) published two direct final rules (“DFR”) to amend its regulations pertaining to minimum statewide bonding requirements, high pressure flare measurement and sampling requirements, and...