By Barry Zalma, Attorney and Consultant The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal was asked to determine whether Illinois Union Insurance Company ("ILU") had a duty to defend Louisiana Generating LLC ("LaGen") in an underlying suit filed against it by the Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality ("LDEQ") for alleged Clean Air Act ...

Brian Margolies, Partner, Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP In its recent decision in Colony Insurance Company v. Bear Products, Inc ., 2013 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 43716 (E.D. Okl. Mar. 26, 2013) [ enhanced version available to lexis.com subscribers ], the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma had occasion to consider the application of a pollution exclusion containing a limited exception...

STATES' TRANSPORTATION FUNDING NEEDS TRUMPING TAX AVERSION : This month Virginia's Republican-controlled House and GOP-Democrat-split Senate gave final approval to a $6 billion transportation funding overhaul proposed by the state's Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell that included, among other things, a new 3.5 percent sales tax on gasoline and a 6 percent tax on diesel fuel. That action highlights a developing...

By Kurt L. Krieger and Nora C. Price On March 21, 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") approved new rules for managing vegetation along power line rights of way. The purpose of the approved modifications to existing electric reliability standards is to ensure the continued reliable operation of the nation's electric grid, or "bulk-power system." A recurring cause in many blackouts...

ENERGY: The NEW YORK Assembly approves AB 5424-A, a bill that would impose a two-year moratorium on the natural gas and oil drilling method of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. It is now in the Senate (STATE NET, BLOOMBERG). GOVERNORS IN BRIEF: NEW YORK Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) denied an Associated Press report that claimed he was set to approve renewed hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in the Empire State until being...

If you saw the SOTU address earlier this month, you heard President Obama renew his plea for a 'market based' solution to our climate change crisis. That comment triggered a heated policy discussion among my environmentalist friends. What does a tax guy say when folks ask about the cap-and-trade (C&T) systems in place around the world? If you're like me, the tendency is to applaud the ambition but criticize...

By Daniel K. Kolta , Associate, Marten Law PLLC In the absence of comprehensive federal regulations governing hydraulic fracturing, several states have begun to adopt their own rules. In this Emerging Issues Analysis, Daniel Kolta of Marten Law PLLC discusses draft rules released by California in December 2012, including criticisms of same. He also covers amendments to South Dakota's oil and gas well regulations...

By Adam D. Orford, Dustin Till, and Daniel Timmons, Attorneys, Marten Law PLLC Excerpt from the Commentary: The current boom in oil and gas production will be one of the forces driving President Obama's energy policy in his second administration. In this article, three attorneys from Marten Law PLLC discuss the expectation of more federal regulation of oil & gas production, new infrastructure and facilities...

NEW ORLEANS - (Mealey's) BP PLC announced Nov. 15 that it would plead guilty to a dozen felony charges brought by the federal government and pay $4.5 billion in penalties over its involvement in the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said it would plead guilty to 11 felony counts of misconduct and one felony count of obstruction of Congress as...

CUOMO WANTS NY PRE-FRACKING HEALTH REVIEW: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) said last week he will not issue a final decision on whether to allow hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," until the Empire State has further studied the potential impact such drilling will have on public health. Gov. Cuomo said he does not have a timetable for the review by the state Department of Health to be completed. "To...

By J. Cullen Howe, Environmental Law Specialist, Arnold & Porter LLP Hydraulic fracturing (fracking), a process used by the oil and gas industry for more than 60 years, has attracted the national spotlight. By injecting fluids and other materials into existing wells, fracking extends oil and natural gas production and allows for recovery from otherwise impenetrable tight shale formations. However, recent concerns...

KASICH CONTINUES PUSH FOR DRILLING TAX: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) renewed his call to impose steeper oil and gas drilling taxes on out-of-state oil companies in order to pay for an income tax cut for Buckeye State residents, telling reporters, "The point is for out-of-state oil companies to pay more and all Ohioans pay less." The governor said that the expected boom from shale oil and natural gas drilling...

FRACKING REMAINS A HOT TOPIC IN MANY STATES: The controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, also known as "fracking," has boiled over in numerous statehouses this year. The battle has often come down along party lines, with Republicans heavily supporting measures allowing the process over its potential economic benefits for strapped state and local economies, while Democrats have urged greater caution and...

KASICH SIGNS OH FRACKING BILL: Ohio Gov. John Kasich (R) signed sweeping energy legislation last week (SB 315) that among many provisions establishes new rules regulating natural gas drilling procedures in the Buckeye State. But some Republican lawmakers are already planning to challenge the governor on his proposal to raise severance taxes on high-producing oil and gas wells tapped using high-pressure hydraulic fracturing...

ENERGY: The OHIO House and Senate approve SB 315, which requires greater disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process to extract natural gas from underground shale deposits. The measure also requires water sampling within 1,500 feet of proposed water wells, mandates that oil and gas wells be tracked between the time they are drilled and the time they are capped and requires that waste...

Prior posts have noted groundwater contamination associated with natural gas produced from deep shale deposits by hydraulic fracturing. A study by researchers (with no industry contributions) concludes that such pollution results not from liquids pumped down to the shale deposits to fracture the deep rock, but instead results from poor management of wastes or bore wells thousands of feet above the shale. The study does...

By William A. Ruskin A Lone Pine Order is an innovative judicial case management tool that requires toxic tort plaintiffs to produce credible expert evidence to support their theory of causation (or another key component of plaintiffs' claim) prior to the commencement of pre-trial discovery. A Lone Pine Order is designed to weed out frivolous claims before defendants must invest hundreds of thousands of dollars...

ENVIRONMENT The ILLINOIS Senate approves HB 4119, which would ban the sale or possession of shark fins, a delicacy often used in Chinese cooking. The measure moves to Gov. Pat Quinn (D) for review (QUAD-CITY TIMES [DAVENPORT]). • VERMONT Gov. Pete Shumlin (D) signs HB 464, a bill making the Green Mountain State the first to ban hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," the practice of injecting water and...

By Marc Karell, P.E., CEM, Principal, Climate Change & Environmental Services, LLC While the focus of the environmental controversy concerning hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") has been the alleged contamination of aquifers and other drinking water supplies, a recent U. of Colorado study ( http://www.ucdenver.edu/about/newsroom/newsreleases/Pages/health-impacts-of-fracking-emissions.aspx ) indicates that...

By Danielle Sugarman, Fellow, Center for Climate Change, Columbia Law School On March 15, 2012, the Supreme Court of Mississippi handed down its decision in Sierra Club v. Mississippi Public Service Commission and Mississippi Power Company, Inc ., 2012 Miss. LEXIS 148 (Miss. Mar. 15, 2012) . In a 9-0 vote, the Court reversed a 2010 Mississippi Public Service Commission decision permitting Mississippi Power Company...

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block A recent study by the Colorado School of Public Health has linked hydraulic fracturing to elevated levels of petroleum hydrocarbons in the air near drilling sites. The study, to be published in Science of the Total Environment , identified cancer and non-cancer impacts to residents living within a half-mile of drilling sites in Garfield County, Colorado. According to...

Lexis.com subscribers may click here to access Related Court Documents, Including Briefs, Pleadings and Motions for the Gulf Oil Spill Litigation . NEW ORLEANS - (Mealey's) BP PLC and plaintiffs in the federal multidistrict litigation court in Louisiana for claims arising from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico reached an agreement Friday wherein the company...

NEW ORLEANS - (Mealey's) The federal judge in Louisiana presiding over litigation stemming from the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig and ensuing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico held Feb. 22 that BP PLC and Andarko Petroleum Co. are liable for civil penalties under the Clean Water Act (CWA) because they are both owners of the Macondo well, from which the oil was being discharged ( In re: Oil Spill by the...

My partner Dean Pappas and I recently had an article published by Best's Review (February 2012) that looks at the potential risks that arise from hydrofracking operations, and the extent to which a typical homeowner's insurance policy covers the damages and harms that may arise. For those of you interested in this subject, the article can be found at Under Cover: Do Homeowner Policies Protect Against Liability...

By Steven M. Siros, Partner, Jenner & Block On December 8, 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("U.S. EPA") issued a draft report noting a need for the collection of more baseline data, greater transparency on the chemical composition of fracking fluids and more care to be exercised with respect to well construction and testing. The draft report was issued following U.S. EPA's...