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Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) is found in virtually all soil and rock on the earth’s surface. NORM can also be found in groundwater as the result of its contact with NORM bearing geologic formations. When human related activities...

By Morgan Condra Plans by Moundsville Power LLC to build a natural gas power plant were approved by members of the Marshall County Commission on April 22, 2014. The proposed 549 megawatt natural gas power plant is considered the first “downstream”...

By Michael T. Altvater A Harrison County trial court issued a decision in a Dormant Mineral Act case addressing the issue of whether a release of an oil and gas lease is a title transaction affecting and preserving a severed mineral interest from being...

By Jessica L. Henry The Fifth District Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision in Trico Land Company, LLC v. Kenoil Producing LLC , upholding the right to have and enforce a change of ownership clause in an oil and gas lease. The...

By Jason M. Zoeller An Ohio trial court issued a decision in Marshall v. Beekay Company . The case involved an action seeking declaratory judgment as to leasehold rights for formations below the Germantown Sand Formation. The court ruled that there...

By Holly A. Pisanelli On April 15, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released five technical white papers for peer review, each one focusing on a possible source of methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions within the...

By Michael T. Altvater The Ohio Department of Natural Resources has changed permitting requirements after finding a probable connection between horizontal drilling activity near a previously unknown microfault and recent seismic activity in the Mahoning...

By Meredith Odato Graham Proposed regulatory amendments published on April 19, 2014 are likely to affect hundreds of facilities in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) has estimated that 141 sources will need...

By Nicholas J. Habursky On April 10, 2014, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction forcing Hempfield Township to permit ION Geophysical of Houston (ION) to perform seismic testing on the Township’s roads. Hempfield Township argued that...

By Brian J. Smith, J.D., Texas Wesleyan School of Law I. Introduction "Fracing is now essential to economic production of oil and gas and commonly used throughout Texas, the United States, and the world," and as worldwide demand for...

By Kristian E. White On July 22nd, Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission released its report, setting forth 96 recommendations designed to ensure the responsible development of the Commonwealth's natural...

By R. Neal Pierce As the pace of exploration and development in Ohio's shale play increases and horizontal wells become more common, operators want to be aware of the interplay of Ohio's oil and gas conservation law with their plans ...

By Barclay Richard Nicholson , Stephen C. Dillard and Kadian Blanson Since August 2009, at least twenty-three (23) lawsuits complaining of alleged groundwater contamination have been filed by landowners in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana...

By Brian J. Smith, J.D., Texas Wesleyan School of Law I. Introduction "Fracing is now essential to economic production of oil and gas and commonly used throughout Texas, the United States, and the world," and as worldwide demand...

Several prior posts have noted the greenhouse impact of methane (aka natural gas); it has many times the warming effect as carbon dioxide (CO2), which seems to be the focus of so much discussion about global warming. The posts have focused on the numerous...