On April 4, 2022, the Pennsylvania Senate failed by one vote to reach the two-thirds majority vote needed to override Governor Tom Wolf’s January 10th veto of Senate Concurrent Regulatory Review Resolution 1, which was intended to block the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s regulation to join the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). However, the following evening, April 5, the Commonwealth Court issued a stay preventing the Legislative Reference Bureau from publishing the regulation as a final, …
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Our Shale Energy Law Blog provides timely legal and business information on issues impacting the energy industry and specifically natural gas development, as well as articles published by the attorneys of Babst Calland.
Mitigating Methane with Gary Steinbauer and Sean McGovern
Methane emissions are a chief concern across the oil and gas value chain. Gary Steinbauer and Sean McGovern, both shareholders with Babst Calland, discuss methane mitigation and how players in the energy space can best handle it in this video, divided into three segments.
In the first segment, Steinbauer discusses the Biden administration’s approach to methane emissions in the energy sector, …
Alert: West Virginia Legislature Partially Acts on Rare Earth Elements
During its 2022 60-day Session, the West Virginia Legislature took action to promote development of “rare earth element” recovery in the state, although it failed to deliver on all of the proposed legislative action on the last day of the Session.
On March 10, 2022, the Senate unanimously approved House Bill 4003, which is intended to clarify the ownership of rare earth elements present in mine drainage. The bill creates a new section of the West Virginia Abandoned Mine Lands Act, …
Keith Coyle Gives Testimony on the Environmental and Economic Benefits of Pipelines
Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Hearing
In his testimony on August 17, 2021 at the Pennsylvania House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee public hearing on the Environmental and Economic Benefit of Pipelines, Babst Calland Attorney Keith Coyle, chairman of the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s Pipeline Safety Workgroup, explains, “As long as we are relying on fossil fuels to produce power, …
Emerging Tech Law Podcast: Investment Trends in Energy
In this episode of the Emerging Tech Podcast Series, Justine Kasznica and Ashleigh Krick of Babst Calland’s Emerging Technologies Group talk to Jonathan Kersting of the Pittsburgh Technology Council about the latest investment trend in energy as reported from the 2021 Babst Calland Energy Report.
Kasznica and Krick discuss how public government funding is driving investment in emerging energy technologies like energy storage and hydrogen. …
The 2021 Babst Calland Report Highlights Legal and Regulatory Perspectives at a Transformational Time for the U.S. Energy Industry
A Recent Conversation with U.S. Senator Joe Manchin Featured in this Report
Law firm Babst Calland today published its 11th annual energy industry report: The 2021 Babst Calland Report – Legal & Regulatory Perspectives for the U.S. Energy Industry. Each of our nation’s energy sectors is impacted by local, state and federal policies, many of which are addressed in this inclusive report on legal and regulatory developments for the energy industry in the United States. …
What’s Next For PHMSA Gas Gathering Rule with Keith Coyle
Attorney Keith Coyle provides an update on the latest progress in the PHMSA rulemaking process for the Gas Gathering Rule.
In this episode, you will learn about the importance of how gathering lines are defined, the impact of the recently-updated API RP 80 that provides additional guidance on how to define gathering lines, what type of gathering lines need to comply with the PHMSA safety requirements in 49 CFR 192, …
Pipeline Policy — Last 4 Years, Next 4 Years with Keith Coyle
On a recent episode of Pipeliners Podcast, attorney Keith Coyle discusses insights on PHMSA rulemaking and how pipeline policy was affected by the previous four years, and how it might be affected in the next four years. To listen to this podcast, click here.
Briggs Update: Pennsylvania Superior Court Affirms Dismissal of Landowners’ Subsurface Trespass Claim While Leaving Door Open for Future Landowners
The Pennsylvania Superior Court returns to the Briggs case after the Supreme Court reversed its prior decision. On December 8, 2020, the Superior Court reconsidered whether the trial court properly granted summary judgment against landowners as to their subsurface trespass claim. The landowners claimed that a natural gas operator’s hydraulic fracturing operations on its neighboring leased property constituted a subsurface trespass onto their property. The Superior Court originally vacated the trial court’s decision. …
The Babst Calland Report Highlights Legal and Regulatory Challenges for the U.S. Oil and Gas Industry
The law firm of Babst Calland published its 10th annual energy industry report: The 2020 Babst Calland Report – The U.S. Oil & Gas Industry: Federal, State, Local Challenges & Opportunities; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators.
In this Report more than 50 energy attorneys provide perspective on the current state of the U.S. natural gas and oil production industry and its growth to historic highs due to more than a decade of advances in on-shore horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing. …