The D.C. Circuit upheld DOI's five-year plan for oil and gas leases on the outer continental shelf (OCS). A nonprofit group argued that the 2012-2017 leasing schedule violated §18(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, which governs how DOI is to balance competing economic, social, and enviro...

The D.C. Circuit upheld FERC's approval of a cost-pooling agreement among Trans Alaska Pipeline System oil carriers that allocates most fixed costs on the basis of each carrier's share of combined interstate and intrastate utilization of the 800-mile pipeline. Two carriers that only ship oil within ...

A Wisconsin court remanded to the state utility commission two components of a 2013 order involving the state's distributed generation tariff for customer-owned generation, i.e., net metering customers. The tariff applies to customers who self-generate energy and compensates them for energy injected...

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court held that oil and gas leases need not be extended where the lessor has pursued an unsuccessful lawsuit challenging the validity of the lease. An oil company that had been unsuccessfully sued by its lessor argued that it would be appropriate for the courts to award an e...

The Ohio Supreme Court held that a city may not restrict oil and gas drilling within its borders. The city sought to enforce five local ordinances limiting drilling within its borders after an energy company had already obtained the necessary state permits. The ordinances, however, conflict with sta...

A district court held that environmental groups may go forward with their ESA lawsuit challenging OSM's issuance of SMCRA permits for two surface coal mines. The groups alleged that OSM failed to adequately consider how wastewater discharges from the mines would impact the Cumberland darter and blac...