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… resources and spur energy sector growth. The EPA’s potential withdrawal from the energy sector enforcement space is likely to be met by an increase in citizen or state enforcement actions. Therefore, considerable uncertainty remains as to whether and to what extent this shift in the EPA’s enforcement strategy will have the intended effect of reducing enforcement burdens and increasing operational flexibility for the energy sector. For questions about the EPA’s enforcement …

… on energy endorsements Texas adopted The ALTA 36 series includes three other endorsements available for energy projects: 36.4/36.5: covers loss or damage relating to violations of recorded covenants, conditions and restrictions that impact use of the land 36.6: covers, among other things, loss or damage resulting from project improvements encroaching into third-party easement areas 36.9: a very recent addition to the 36 series, covers loss or damage relating …

… full text of the Order Accepting Tariff Revisions. The McGuireWoods Energy team is available to answer any questions. For advice on this issue, contact the authors.

… authority under the General Duty Clause of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. In addition, the agency has a new tool to target employers with high injury and illness rates or are not in compliance with the recently revised Recordkeeping Rule. Here are a few best practices to consider as employers prepare for success in this time of transition: Submit injury and illness data from Forms OSHA 300, 300A and 301 if required by …

… of operation or amending existing plans of operations under the General Mining Law of 1872 Issuing any final decision related to R.S. 2477 claims Appointing, hiring or promoting personnel Issuing any onshore or offshore renewable energy authorization including a lease, an amendment to a lease, right of way or any other agreement required to allow for renewable energy development The temporary suspension on most actions conducted by Department of Interior staff is in …

… of the authors.

… marketable products. West Virginia’s marketable product rule, however, applies to residual gas and NGLs. Thus, unless the lease expressly permits operators to deduct postproduction expenses, operators will be unable to deduct postproduction expenses from royalties paid on both residual gas and NGLs. Going forward, operators must evaluate whether their current West Virginia leases are subject to the marketable product rule, and if so, ensure that their royalty calculations are consistent with Romeo’s …

… filing to eliminate compensation in the Midcontinent Independent System Operator market, Capital Power Corp. et al v. FERC, is already pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. While that proceeding does not directly impact Order No. 904, it raises many of the same issues that challengers of Order No. 904 may raise if they seek appellate review. Transmission providers must comply with Order No. 904 notwithstanding these pending …

… would address NTSB Safety Recommendation R-19-001, which requests that PHMSA promulgate a final standard for pressure tank cars used to transport poison inhalation materials. In line with the NPRM’s proposed revisions to the AAR approval process for tank car designs and facility quality assurance programs, PHMSA proposes to remove the material incorporated by reference that requires designs and quality assurance programs be sent to AAR for approval.

… impact of the final tariffs under existing procurement, construction and other related development contracts and consider how to address these tariffs and exclusions in any contracts yet to be executed. McGuireWoods continues to track the proposed tariff increases and the market response. Please reach out to the authors with questions or to discuss the above information, including strategies to address and allocate the risks associated with the proposed tariff increases.

… existing industrial uses and an Escondido energy substation, which will make transmission of the stored energy easier and more efficient. In response to public feedback, AES adjusted the project’s design and downsized the proposed battery storage system by 20%. It also increased the project’s setbacks so that it is located no less than 70 feet from the nearest structure and no less than 130 feet from the nearest home. Finally, AES added …

… regulations provide detailed rules for making this determination. A census tract is considered a nonurban community if it has been designated as such by the secretary of commerce. However, in the most recent census, the secretary of commerce only based urban and nonurban designations on census blocks, not census tracks. The proposed regulations adopt an approach that if 10% or more of the census blocks in a census tract are not designated as urban …

… each month,” and because that language did not “expressly stipulate” compounding interest, the Court could not read compounding interest into the lease. Thus, only simple interest was available. What can oil-and-gas lessors and lessees take from Samson? If you want compounding interest on unpaid royalty payments, do not leave it to chance. Make sure it is “expressly stipulate[d].”

… permitting process to ensure states are not taking on significant liability. On the other hand, supporters of the ownership and liability transfer approach claim that the state’s assumption of responsibility will encourage the growth of the carbon sequestration industry. They argue that the transfer of ownership provides more predictability for investors looking to back projects with concrete timelines and liability risks. Proponents also believe that the state assumption of responsibility could ensure appropriate …

… creation of new reactors include reducing regulatory costs for companies looking to license advanced nuclear reactor technologies and prizes to incentivize the successful deployment of advanced reactor technologies. Development also will be spurred by a directive for the NRC to approve the adoption of advanced manufacturing techniques to build more efficient reactors more quickly. Fewer regulatory fees and an easier licensing procedure are expected to help smaller, innovative firms enter the market. The bill …

… national defense capabilities and military operations; consideration of shared cable corridors and regional transmission systems; and potential future restrictions based on conflicts with the Department of Defense activities. Despite recent challenges on the East Coast posed by higher interest rates and supply chain issues, the upcoming sale continues the strong development of offshore wind energy projects, especially in Virginia, already an industry leader. Lease Area C-1 sits next to 2.6 GW Coastal …

… “at-the-well” royalty calculation. She read Randle to mean that “free-use” clauses—such as the one in Carl’s lease—changed her obligation to bear her share of post-production costs. The Court rejected this argument, stating that Randle only “reiterate[d] the longstanding rule that an ‘at-the-well’ royalty ‘bears its usual share of post-production costs.’” Practical Takeaways The Texas Supreme Court’s decision in Carl v. Hilcorp provides …

… Product--TOTAL-100%100%100%100% Certification and Substantiation Taxpayers will be required to submit a certification to the IRS when relying on the new elective safe harbor for the project’s qualification for the domestic content bonus. The IRS has not prescribed a specific certification form for the domestic content bonus credit. However, Notice 2023-38 gives a comprehensive list of information that must be included with the certification. The list includes the …

… allocate the risks associated with the proposed tariff increases.

… determination + 7 days)DOC order issued for CVD petition December 15, 2024 (DOC initiation date + 215 days)DOC final determination date of AD petition January 29, 2025 (DOC final determination + 45 days)ITC final determination date of AD petition February 5, 2025 (ITC final determination + 7 days)DOC order issued for AD petition 1 All determination dates may be extended; and if, after the preliminary determination, the DOC or ITC determination is negative, the …

… any categories of development costs. Instead, the bill caps the amount that DEV can recover on an accelerated basis by limiting the impact of such recovery to no more than $1.40 a month on the typical customer’s monthly electric bill, assuming 1,000 kilowatt hours of monthly electricity usage. The DEV legislation expires on Dec. 31, 2029. Any accelerated recovery rider to recoup SMR development costs will be subject to Virginia State …

… Second Circuit also explained that under the one-pipeline provision of ETC’s pipeline servitude, ETC could not lay a second pipeline below its existing high-pressure pipeline. Finally, the Second Circuit concluded that ETC’s pipeline servitude did not authorize ETC to prohibit underground crossings at safe depths. Takeaways for All Jurisdictions The Second Circuit’s decision stands for the proposition that the holder of a pipeline personal servitude of right — at least …

… the GAO report has made the following recommendations to increase accessibility to information and guidance pertaining to Mega Rule Parts I and III: The Administrator of PHMSA should, as PHMSA considers possible changes to the potential impact radius calculation, evaluate what additional data are needed from operators to better understand the actual impact of pipeline incidents. The Administrator of PHMSA should develop an implementation plan for the remaining activities for the 2022 final rule …

… Props., LLC v. Marathon Oil Co., No. 17-cv-456, 2022 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 99819, 2022 WL 1766925, at *14 (N.D. Okla. 2022) (declining to certify class "given the general inaccuracies in the Lease Charts"); Hicks v. Southwestern Energy Co., 330 F.R.D. 183, 192-93 (E.D. Ark. 2018) (denying certification where the plaintiff failed to present evidence about the lease language outside of a specific drilling unit despite the …