The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Sackett v. EPA, No. 21-454 (May 25, 2023) is a landmark ruling in environmental law interpreting the scope of water bodies covered by the Clean Water Act (CWA) – an issue that has been debated by courts, presidential administrations, and federal agencies for decades. The Court’s ruling holds that, with respect to wetlands, the CWA’s authority over “waters of the United States” extends only to those wetlands that are “as a practical matter indistinguishable from waters of the United States” — which requires a showing that (1) the adjacent body of water is a ..read more

Only one CCS bill remains active and it moves closer to becoming law.  Six of the nine House CCS bills were effectively killed in the House Natural Resources Committee. The two other CCS bills were voted down on the House floor. Those eight House bills could have effectively stopped most CCS projects around the state, particularly the CCS bill which sought to remove eminent domain authority from CCS projects. By voting down these anti-CCS bills, the legislature has protected the opportunity for Louisiana to become a leader in CCS projects in the United States. The remaining bill, HB ..read more

In a recent opinion, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the “Sabine River Authority, State of Louisiana” (“SRA-L”) is not entitled to Eleventh Amendment sovereign immunity.[1]  SRA-L was a named defendant in a suit by plaintiffs who own land in Louisiana and Texas. Plaintiffs levied allegations that years-long mismanagement of the Toledo Bend reservoir by SRA-L[2] culminated in damage to plaintiffs’ properties via flooding, violating their constitutional rights under the Fifth Amendment.  Plaintiffs alleged that despite advance knowledge of the likelihood for significant ..read more

On May 17, 2023, the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts dismissed plaintiffs’ challenges to the Vineyard Wind Project—the United States’s first major offshore wind project. The plaintiffs, nearby residents, challenged the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (“BOEM”) final Environmental Impact Statement and the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (“NMFS”) Biological Opinion related to the offshore wind energy project, arguing that the agencies’ assessments violated the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) and the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”). The plaintiffs ..read more

The pursuit of alternative energy sources has become increasingly important in our quest for a sustainable future. Lithium, a key component in rechargeable batteries, has emerged as a vital element for powering electric vehicles and storing renewable energy. The rising demand for lithium, combined with Federal tax credits for lithium production, has intensified lithium exploration efforts. At the forefront of these efforts lies the Smackover Formation, pictured below: The Smackover Formation is a limestone aquifer that spans across several states in the southern United States, including Arka ..read more

We’re now past the halfway point of the session. Six of the nine House CCS bills have now been effectively killed in the House Natural Resources Committee. HB 10 and HB 35 were involuntarily deferred in this week’s committee meeting on Wednesday, which essentially means the bills were voted down. HB 10 sought to remove eminent domain authority for CCS projects. If the eminent domain bill had passed, it could have effectively stopped most CCS projects around the state as eminent domain is a tool of last resort to obtain permission to acquire rights from a landowner who generally cannot be loca ..read more

In Point Energy Partners Permian, LLC v. MRC Permian Company, — S.W.3d —, No. 21-0461, 2023 WL 3028100 (Tex. 2023), the Texas Supreme Court held that the lessee could not invoke a force majeure clause to save its oil and gas leases when it inadvertently scheduled its operations to begin after the requisite deadline. The lessee, MRC Permian Company, received four identical oil and gas leases from certain lessors in 2014. The leases obligated MRC to spud a new well every 180 days after the spud date of the last well during the leases’ secondary terms to avoid having the non-developed portions o ..read more

HB 571 was heard in the House Committee on Appropriations on Monday due to a tax feature applicable to extracted carbon dioxide. As anticipated, it received a quick and favorable vote after an uneventful hearing and will likely be set for a vote on the House floor next week. In stark contrast, an exciting and much longer day of hearings in the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment on Tuesday resulted in the following: HB 453 and HB 454 were involuntarily deferred, effectively leaving them to die in committee. Both would have impacted CCS projects statewide by limitin ..read more

What started in 2020 as a proposed joint rulemaking between the DOI’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) was recently finalized as a stand-alone BSEE rule addressing decommissioning. BSEE’s new regulations focus on Rights-of-Use and Easements (“RUEs”) and predecessor enforcement practices. At a later date, BOEM intends to issue a new proposed rule that addresses risk management, financial assurance, and loss prevention issues that were originally part of the proposed joint rulemaking. BSEE’s final rule for the first time incl ..read more

On August 20, 2018, Noble House’s yacht lost its port-side rudder while entering a channel in the Bahamas. The following day, Noble House advised Underwriters at Lloyd’s, its insurer, of the casualty, whose policy allegedly covered the claim. Noble House purchased the policy from Underwriters by way of a Texas-based insurance broker in February 2018. The policy contained a forum-selection clause which selected the courts of England and Wales for all disputes. Attached to the policy was a cover note with its own forum-selection clause which selected any court of competent jurisdiction within t ..read more