Last week, the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission (PRC) adopted amendments to New Mexico’s Community Solar Rule (17.9.573 NMAC) that will bring significant developments to the state’s solar energy landscape. Importantly, the PRC raised the statewide solar capacity cap from 200 MW to 500 MW, authorizing an additional 300 MW to New Mexico’s Community Solar program cap effective November 1,…
The Royalty Resiliency Act, House Resolution 7377, (“the Act”) was signed into law by President Biden on September 20, 2024, and requires the Secretary of the Interior to issue all determinations of allocations of production for units and communitization agreements (“CA”) within 120 days of a request for determination. Sponsored by Rep. Wesley Hunt (R-TX-38) and passed by unanimous consent…
Changes are coming to the statutory pooling process in Colorado. Senate Bill 24-185 (SB24-185), which was signed into law on May 22, 2024, expands protections for and grants additional rights to unleased mineral interest owners and local governments in Colorado. Under current law, the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission (ECMC) may, in the absence of voluntary pooling, enter an…
For the first time, the New Mexico Supreme Court has confirmed that electric rates established by New Mexico electric cooperatives are subject to New Mexico’s Public Regulation Commission’s (“PRC”) review and approval. Prior to this decision, under New Mexico’s Public Utility Act, rural electric cooperatives rates generally went into effect as soon as the cooperative proposed them and without review…
In a remarkable decision, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) rejected a settlement agreement between New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas regarding a long-standing legal battle over use of waters from the Rio Grande. In Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado,[1] the Court held that federal interests in interstate waters can take precedence over an agreement between the three…
The First Judicial District New Mexico Court for Santa Fe County’s (“New Mexico District Court”) recent decision denying the State’s motion to dismiss in Atencio, et al. v. State of New Mexico provides little to no insight into the viability of the claims in this case. However, recent, related decisions out of the Ninth Circuit may provide a preview of…
Actions That Led to the Complaint To date, the U.S. Supreme Court has largely declined to address climate change liability cases, and federal judges have consistently remanded these cases to State court. This trend could potentially shift in the coming months. A certiorari petition is currently pending in the Hawaii State court case, Sunoco LP v. City and County of…
As all serious skiers know, consistent year-round quad, leg, and core workouts are critical to maximizing a fun, rewarding, and safe ski season. For the oil and gas industry, there is a new quad workout that demands even more attention and dedicated work to ensure compliance and minimize enforcement risk: EPA’s new methane and volatile organic compound (“VOC”) rules under…
A Washington D.C. federal judge upheld the Bureau of Land Management’s greenhouse gas and climate impact analysis, conducted in connection with six 2022 federal onshore oil and gas lease sales. A coalition of environmental plaintiff organizations sued to challenge several aspects of the lease sales, seeking to: (1) set aside BLM’s environmental analyses; (2) require BLM to issue an Environmental…
In the oil and gas regulatory environment, operators are familiar with the following increasingly common pattern. As part of the process of pooling the working interests in a drilling and spacing unit (“DSU”), an operator sends AFEs and election letters to working interest owners and other parties with interests in the DSU. A non-operator signs and returns its election letter,…