A district court dismissed mineral rights owners' lawsuits against a number of energy companies that operate oil and gas wells in North Dakota's Bakken Shale region. The owners alleged that the companies have illegally flared gas from the wells and that they are therefore due royalties on the illega...

A district court, in three separate opinions, dismissed several mineral rights owners' lawsuits against a number of energy companies that operate oil and gas wells in North Dakota's Bakken Shale region. The owners alleged that the companies have illegally flared gas from the wells and that they are ...

A district court dismissed several mineral rights owners' lawsuits against a number of energy companies that operate oil and gas wells in North Dakota's Bakken Shale region. The owners alleged that the companies have illegally flared gas from the wells and that they are therefore due royalties on th...

The Sixth Circuit held that DOE's environmental review of a proposed plant that would convert lumber into ethanol complied with NEPA. The company that plans to build the plant sought financial assistance from DOE, which is directed to fund alternative energy projects under the Energy Policy Act of 2...

The D.C. Circuit vacated FERC's "demand response" order, which seeks to incentivize retail customers to reduce electricity consumption when economically efficient. The order directs independent system operators to pay electricity users who cut consumption when prices and consumption are high the sam...

A district court held that a conservative nonprofit group lacked standing on four of its six claims challenging Colorado's renewable energy standard (RES), which requires utilities to obtain at least 30% percent of its energy from renewable sources by the year 2020. The group claimed that three disc...

A district court largely upheld several administrative decisions made by federal agencies approving the construction of various aspects of an offshore wind energy project in Nantucket Sound, remanding only two issues to FWS and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for ESA violations. Four gr...

The Federal Circuit held that the U.S. government did not breach its contract with two oil and gas exploration companies when it imposed new regulatory requirements after their lease went into effect. The companies jointly leased the mineral rights to land on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) from t...

The Supreme Court of Wyoming reversed and remanded a lower court decision affirming the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission's denial of a request for public records documenting the identities of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations in the state. Below, the environmental groups t...

A Maryland appellate court held that a liquid natural gas (LNG) shipping terminal may export natural gas from its facility on the Chesapeake Bay. In 2005, the terminal entered into an agreement with an environmental group that set forth activities that would be authorized or restricted at the site. ...