On April 15, 2024, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) released a prepublication of its highly anticipated final rule revising financial assurance requirements for oil, gas, and sulfur operations on the federal outer continental shelf (“OCS”). The new rule – designed to ensure OCS decommissioning obligations (i.e., permanent plugging of wells, removal of platforms, facilities, and obstructions, and environmental remediation) are not borne by the federal government – requires an OCS lessee and/or grant holder provide supplemental financial assurance beyond base level amounts if BOEM ..read more

On February 8, 2024, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed two rules that would: (1) amend the regulatory definition of hazardous waste applicable to RCRA corrective actions to address releases from solid waste management units at treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (“TSD facilities”), and (2) add nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), their salts, and their structural isomers to the hazardous constituents list of RCRA. These proposed rules, if adopted, would provide EPA with a heightened authority to regulate PFAS. Definition of Hazardous Waste Applicable t ..read more

Louisiana Senate Bill 268, one of a pair of lithium-focused bills filed by Senator Stewart Cathey Jr., would establish a state sales tax rebate program for Louisiana lithium projects. This rebate would apply to sales tax paid for “all equipment, machinery, materials, improvements, and other items purchased in connection with the development, production, operation, storage, processing, or transportation of lithium or lithium refined products in connection with a qualified lithium recovery project.” Details of the Rebate Program The amount of the rebate would be equal to the amount of sales tax ..read more

The Energy Law Blog has previously identified various legal uncertainties regarding direct lithium extraction from brine. We are now seeing the Louisiana legislature address some of these uncertainties head on with Senate Bill 285, which was filed on March 1, 2024 by Louisiana senator Stewart Cathey, Jr. Namely, SB285 would grant authority to the Office of Conservation to establish units for brine production. Furthermore, the proposed legislation would revise the Mineral Code to expressly include brine among the substances to which the Mineral Code applies. While some uncertainties will undou ..read more

The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit’s recent decision in Carl v. Hilcorp Energy Company, —F.4th—, No. 22-20226, 2024 WL 137038 (5th Cir. Jan 12, 2024) concerns how three related provisions in an oil and gas lease interact: (1) a royalty clause; (2) a free-use clause; and (3) an off-lease clause. When parties to an oil and gas lease reserve royalties, they stipulate where those royalties are to be valued—sometimes referred to as the “valuation point”—in the royalty clause. When royalties are valued “at the well,” royalties must be calculated based on either comparable sale ..read more

On December 20, 2023, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) issued regulations implementing the state’s first-ever voluntary environmental self-audit program. Pursuant to La. R.S. § 30:2044, the regulations provide for the reduction or elimination of civil penalties for certain violations disclosed to LDEQ as the result of a voluntary environmental self-audit. The regulations describe the types of violations that are eligible for penalty reduction; the pre-requisites that must be met for a 75% or 100% penalty reduction; and required notices, including notice prior to the ..read more

The Department of the Interior (“DOI”) recently published its semi-annual regulatory agenda, which includes two new planned rulemakings affecting federal offshore leases. 89 Fed. Reg. 9598 (Feb. 9, 2024). The DOI’s Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (“BSEE”) is slated to make further revisions to its decommissioning regulations, following other decommissioning amendments made last year as previously reported on The Energy Law Blog. BSEE’s 2024 decommissioning rule would update 30 C.F.R. 250 subpart Q which governs decommissioning activities on federal offshore oil, gas, and sulphu ..read more

Less than two weeks after the hearing in Louisiana v. EPA, a federal district court granted Louisiana’s request to preliminarily enjoin the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) from imposing or enforcing Title VI of the Civil Rights Act (“Title VI”) based on disparate impact regulations. Case No. 2:23-CV-00692 (W.D. La. Jan. 23, 2024). The lawsuit stemmed from EPA-led Title VI investigations into Louisiana air permitting decisions alleged to have created disparate adverse impacts on minority residents. EPA sought to require Louisiana to conduct disparate a ..read more

The 2nd Annual Tulane Offshore Wind Conference capped off Louisiana Offshore Wind Week on Friday, January 19th. The conference included panels of offshore wind energy professionals discussing topics including leasing, permitting, financing, and the supply chain for US offshore wind energy. Panelists were confident in Louisiana’s strong ability to participate, both as a supplier of goods and services to US offshore wind energy development and as a situs for offshore wind farm projects, however, a key takeaway repeated throughout the program is the need for certainty in order to successful ..read more

On December 18, 2023, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit applied the U.S. Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision redefining waters of the United States (“WOTUS”) to end a ten-year conflict between the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers (“USACE”) and a Louisiana landowner over the agency’s Clean Water Act (“CWA”) jurisdiction over the subject property. In Lewis v. United States, Case No. 21-30163, the Fifth Circuit applied a plain reading of the Sackett test without deferring to the agency’s interpretation, finding the facts demonstrated “simply no connection whatsoever” between alleged ..read more