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.
The Babst Calland Report represents the timely collective perspectives of more than 45 energy attorneys on the current state of the U.S. natural gas and oil, coal, and renewable energy sectors. For the first time, this Report is presented as an easy-to-navigate digital site featuring 12 sections, addressing the following key topics:
- Business Outlook for the U.S. Energy Industry
- Climate Change Initiatives from the Biden Administration
- Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Priorities
- Environmental Law Developments
- Environmental Justice Issues
- Appalachian Basin Regional Developments
- Coal Mining Regulatory Changes
- Expansion of the U.S. Renewable Energy Market
- Real Estate & Land Use Developments
- Litigation Trends
- Changes in Employment & Labor Law
- Emerging Technologies Affecting the Energy Industry
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “The energy industry, once again, is at an inflection point and a moment of resiliency as it experiences a rebound in pricing and recovers from the impact of the global pandemic. Evidenced by the signing of several Executive Orders, President Biden has made climate change a focal point of U.S. energy policy. The full impact of the new administration’s “government-wide” approach to regulatory and social environmental policies will be unclear for months.
“This transformational time promises to bring significant changes for the U.S. energy industry. It is vital for any energy organization to consider the forewarnings, the risks, and the legal and regulatory implications to its business.”
Report Features Video Commentary from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin
This edition features commentary from Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, who spoke with Babst Calland energy clients at a special briefing on June 25, 2021. A link to the webinar recording is available in this Report.
To request a copy of The 2021 Babst Calland Report, click here.
Updates on key developments in energy and natural resources law beyond this Report are available directly by the attorneys who represent clients in a wide spectrum of industry sectors and legal practice areas.
Tags: Appalachian Basin,
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West Virginia
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. It asserts that despite current challenges, a maturing shale industry is poised for future growth as natural gas and oil producers have driven down the costs of production. Transportation options for moving these natural resources from growing areas of production to customers continue to be built, even with new hurdles from regulators and other stakeholders.
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “The U.S. natural gas and oil industry has experienced tremendous growth and change since we first published this Report in 2011. Fast forward to an unprecedented 2020 with a pandemic, a corresponding economic slow-down and oversupply of natural gas and crude oil. With increased public and government pressure, sustained low prices, and less-reliable financing options, resiliency will continue to be the driving force of a dynamic energy market that continues to evolve.”
Report highlights
The Babst Calland Report is an annual review of the issues and trends at the federal, state and local level in the oil and gas industry over the past year. The 102-page Report covers a range of topics from the industry’s business outlook, regulatory enforcement and rulemaking to developments in pipeline safety and litigation trends. The Firm’s collective legal experience and perspectives on these and related business developments are highlighted in this Report, including those summarized below:
- Long-term, U.S. energy production appears poised to continue to outstrip domestic consumption due in some measure to increased consumption efficiency, along with the obvious ramifications from the natural gas revolution.
- The regulatory environment is focused on climate change, reducing emissions, water quality developments, and enforcement. Increased volumes of written agency guidance, enforcement, and penalties continue to challenge the industry.
- Citizens groups continue to actively challenge federal and state initiatives designed to expand natural gas and oil development, creating delays and uncertainties.
- Land use and zoning challenges continue at the local level. Increasing industry headwinds have resulted in a slowdown of new permitting activity amid ongoing challenges and ordinance restrictions.
- Public interest in pipeline safety has grown amid opposition and new rules from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in response to increased public and congressional pressure to initiate and finalize new or revised pipeline safety regulations. Operators seek to install new or replace existing pipelines throughout the U.S. while advocacy groups aggressively oppose many pipeline projects.
- Title legislation and court decisions vary by state and basin. In Pennsylvania, for example, Act 85 took effect in January 2020 and defines the conditions in which oil and gas producers may drill a lateral wellbore that crosses between two or more pooled units.
- Although 2019 saw renewed claims of adverse health effects allegedly related to oil and gas development, support for such claims continues to be limited, as now noted by numerous publications.
- Unmanned aircraft systems take hold in the energy sector. Despite the pandemic and its impacts, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) have emerged as essential tools for the energy industry for conducting complex inspection and monitoring of difficult to access infrastructure and locations.
- From a workforce standpoint, COVID-19 conditions and other wage and hour regulations, amendments to the Family Medical Leave Act, and expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act have had an impact on companies across the country.
The natural gas and oil industry continues to expand its reach and impact on U.S. energy supply and independence. Each company has its own set of opportunities and challenges to navigate based on its financing, debt, shareholder goals, and operations and infrastructure footprint. Nonetheless, the United States’ plentiful supply of natural gas and oil is expected to continue to fuel the country’s economic future and support national security.
Request a copy of the Report
Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources attorneys support clients operating in multiple locations throughout the nation’s shale plays. To request a copy of the Report, contact info@babstcalland.com.
Tags: Appalachian Basin,
Gas drilling,
Law,
Marcellus Shale,
Midstream,
Natural gas,
Ohio,
Oil and gas,
Pennsylvania,
Regulatory,
Utica Shale,
West Virginia
The law firm of Babst Calland today released its annual energy industry report: The 2019 Babst Calland Report – The U.S. Oil and Gas Industry: Federal, State and Local Challenges & Opportunities; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators.
In this Report, Babst Calland energy attorneys provide perspective on issues, challenges, opportunities and recent developments in the oil and gas industry that are relevant to producers and midstream operators.
According to the International Energy Agency, “the second wave of the U.S. shale revolution is coming” and the United States will account for a 70 percent increase in global oil production and a 75 percent expansion in LNG trade in the next five years.
On a year-over-year basis, natural gas production continues to increase in each of the seven largest shale basins in the United States. Most notably, oil and natural gas production is being driven by three of the largest producing basins including Appalachia in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, the Permian Basin in Texas and New Mexico, and the Haynesville Basin in southwestern Arkansas, northwest Louisiana, and east Texas.
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “Domestic shale producers and operators continue to face myriad legal and regulatory challenges by regulatory agencies, the courts, activists, and the market. This annual review is a snapshot of the issues and trends on the federal, state and local level in the oil and gas industry over the past year.”
The 92-page Babst Calland Report covers a range of topics from the industry’s business outlook, regulatory enforcement and rulemaking to developments in pipeline safety and litigation trends. A few of the Report’s highlights include:
- The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports both oil and dry natural gas production set U.S. records this year. Oil production hit 12.4 million barrels per day in May, natural gas soared above 90 billion cubic feet per day. U.S. production of gas liquids also set records and now account for over a quarter of U.S. petroleum product output.
- This year, the oil and gas industry received mixed messages regarding environmental matters. On the federal level, the Trump administration generally loosened regulatory and/or statutory constraints, such as narrowing the Clean Water Act definition of “Waters of the United States.” In contrast, at the state level, some agencies introduced or considered more rigorous standards, including Pennsylvania’s proposed cap-and-trade program.
- Public interest in pipeline safety has grown significantly in recent years. Consequently, operators’ installation of new pipeline infrastructure to transport energy products from the nation’s shale plays to domestic and foreign markets has resulted in increased scrutiny.
- In Pennsylvania, the contours of the Robinson Township II decision continue to be litigated and legislated by local governing bodies, while the Commonwealth Court provided clarity concerning a municipality’s right to determine the location of oil and gas operations. In West Virginia, the extent of a county government’s ability to investigate alleged nuisances is being considered in the state’s highest court. In Colorado, new legislation has empowered local governments to take a much more active role in regulating oil and gas development.
- Significant title issues concerning oil and gas property rights continue to be addressed in states in shale plays throughout the country. The desire to improve efficiencies has resulted in the use of allocation wells and cross unit drilling, particularly in Texas and Oklahoma.
- Nuisance claims, alleging that excessive noise, traffic, dust, light, air pollution and impaired water quality interfere with the use and enjoyment of private property, continue to be asserted across the shale plays.
- An increasing number of oil and gas companies recognize the advancements in commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) technology and the utility and cost savings associated with using UAS to inspect and monitor assets such as pipelines and infrastructure.
After more than a decade, the shale gas industry continues to expand its reach and impact on our country’s energy supply and independence. Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources attorneys support clients operating in multiple locations throughout the nation’s shale plays. To request a copy of the Report, contact info@babstcalland.com.
Tags: Appalachian Basin,
Gas drilling,
Law,
Marcellus Shale,
Midstream,
Natural gas,
Ohio,
Oil and gas,
Pennsylvania,
Regulatory,
Utica Shale,
West Virginia
Babst Calland today released its annual energy industry report: The 2018 Babst Calland Report – Appalachian Basin Oil & Gas Industry: Forging Ahead Despite Obstacles; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators. This annual review of shale gas development activity in the Appalachian Basin acknowledges an ongoing rebound despite obstacles presented by regulatory agencies, the courts, activists, and the market. To request a copy of the Report, contact info@babstcalland.com.
In this Report, Babst Calland attorneys provide perspective on issues, challenges, opportunities and recent developments in the Appalachian Basin and beyond relevant to producers and operators. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration’s May 2018 report, the Appalachian Marcellus and Utica shale plays account for more than 40 percent of U.S. natural gas output, compared to only three percent a decade ago. Since then, the Appalachian Basin has become recognized in the U.S. and around the world as a major source of natural gas and natural gas liquids.
The industry has been forging ahead amidst relatively low natural gas prices, infrastructure building, acreage rationalization and drilling plans that align with business expectations. The policy landscape continues to evolve with ever-changing federal and state environmental and safety regulations and tax structures along with a patchwork of local government requirements across the multi-state region.
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “This Report provides perspective on the challenges and opportunities of a shale gas industry in the Appalachian Basin that continues to enjoy a modest rebound. While more business-friendly policies and procedures are emanating from Washington, D.C., threats of trade wars are raising concerns about the U.S. energy industry’s ability to fully capitalize on planned exports to foreign markets.”
To read more: click here.
Tags: Appalachian Basin,
Gas drilling,
Law,
Marcellus Shale,
Midstream,
Natural gas,
Ohio,
Oil and gas,
Pennsylvania,
Regulatory,
Utica Shale,
West Virginia
On March 6, 2018, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (WHD) announced a new pilot program, the Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program, which is intended to encourage employers to identify and correct potentially non-compliant practices.
According to DOL’s Q&A page on the PAID program (https://www.dol.gov/whd/PAID/#4) “The PAID program provides a framework for proactive resolution of potential overtime and minimum wage violations under the FLSA. The program’s primary objectives are to resolve such claims expeditiously and without litigation, to improve employers’ compliance with overtime and minimum wage obligations, and to ensure that more employees receive the back wages they are owed—faster.” To read more: click here.
On June 20, 2017, Babst Calland released its seventh annual energy industry report entitled The 2017 Babst Calland Report – Upstream, Midstream and Downstream: Resurgence of the Appalachian Shale Industry; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators. This annual review of shale gas development activity acknowledges the continuing evolution of this industry in the face of economic, regulatory, legal and local government challenges. To request a copy of the Report, contact info@babstcalland.com.
In this Report, Babst Calland attorneys provide perspective on issues, challenges, opportunities and recent developments in the Appalachian Basin and beyond relevant to producers and operators.
In general, the oil and gas industry has rebounded during the past year through efficiency measures, consolidation and a resurgence of business opportunities related to shale gas development and its impact on upstream, midstream and downstream industries. As a result, many new opportunities and approaches to regulation, asset optimization and infrastructure are underway. Increased spending during the past year has led to a significantly higher rig count in the Appalachian Basin enabling growth in the domestic production of oil and gas as other shale plays across the country experience reductions.
The shale gas industry continues to provide the tri-state region with significant economic opportunities through employment and related revenue from the development of well sites, building of pipelines necessary to transport gas to market, and new downstream opportunities being created for manufacturing industries due to the volume of natural gas and natural gas liquids produced in the Appalachian Basin. Shell’s progress from a year ago to construct an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, Pennsylvania represents just one example of the expanding downstream market for natural gas. Many other manufacturing firms are expected to enter the region and establish businesses drawn by the energy and raw materials associated with natural gas and natural gas liquids from the Marcellus and Utica shales.
The Report also highlights changes that have occurred during the past year in the political landscape that are expected to affect the energy industry. The Trump administration is signaling a fundamental shift in the energy policies established by the Obama administration. New executive orders and policies have been issued that promise to lead to more pipeline development, reduced federal oversight of the oil and gas industry and increased access to oil and natural gas reserves.
Joseph K. Reinhart, shareholder and co-chair of Babst Calland’s Energy and Natural Resources Group, said, “This Report provides perspective on the challenges and opportunities of a resurging shale gas industry in the Appalachian Basin, including: the divergence of federal and state policy that creates more uncertainty for industry; increased special interest opposition groups on new issues and forums despite their lack of success in the courts; and the expansion from drilling to midstream development and now to downstream manufacturing that demonstrates the emergence of a more diverse energy economy.”
The 74-page Report contains six sections, highlighted below, each addressing key challenges for oil and gas producers and midstream operators.
- Business Issues: Adapting to the New Price Environment as natural gas producers continue to focus on reducing costs and improving efficiencies. Recently, the number of natural gas producers in the Appalachian Basin has contracted through select merger and acquisition activity. With efficiency of operations in mind, natural gas producers continue to focus on consolidating their activities geographically. The oil and gas industry faced significant financial stress over the past year, and 2016 will go down as one of the more dramatic years in the United States’ oil and gas history. In the 2016 calendar year, primarily due to low commodity prices, 70 North American oil and gas exploration and production companies filed for bankruptcy protection.
- State and Federal Governments Remain Active in a Changing Regulatory Landscape as developments in the state environmental standards for enforcement, air, water and waste management in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, as well as anticipated initiatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), will continue to have an effect on production and midstream operations. Separately, the impact of the Trump administration on various federal regulatory initiatives from the Obama era promises to be significant. President Donald Trump’s March 28, 2017 Executive Order was directed towards the development of the country’s natural resources. The order, among other things, requires agencies to review regulations that may burden the development or use of domestic energy resources.
- Pipeline Safety Legislative and Regulatory Developments Continue to Shape the Industry through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) pipeline safety program. It is unlikely that there will be a dramatic shift in PHMSA’s enforcement policy in 2017. “Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016” (PIPES Act) was signed into law last year with a provision allowing PHMSA to issue emergency orders if an unsafe condition or practice constitutes, or is causing, an imminent hazard. These emergency orders can impose industry-wide operational restrictions, prohibitions, or safety measures without a prior hearing.
- Litigation Trends including a number of alleged nuisance claims continue to travel through West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania courts. Materials discussing alleged health effects from unconventional natural gas development continue to be disseminated at a record pace by industry opposition groups. A casual review of the material could lead to the erroneous conclusion that air emissions have not been tested; this is not, however, the case. The air quality data collected by a variety of objective parties using established monitoring and testing protocols around shale development in northeastern U.S. over the last six years demonstrate that shale operations are safe.
- Local Government Law and Regulations Continue to Spawn Debate and Legal Challenges which continue to increase throughout the Appalachian Basin. However, the industry has successfully challenged overly-restricted ordinances. In contrast to municipalities that have adopted ordinances that permit reasonable oil and gas development, some local governments continued in 2017 to test their regulatory authority by enacting strict regulations for uses ancillary to well site development. Operators impacted by these regulations likewise continued to push back on these local regulations that severely impede, if not entirely prohibit, development or operation.
- Downstream Opportunities include exciting developments for production and midstream companies with new emerging markets for consumption of natural gas and natural gas liquids, such as power generation, export, and the petrochemical and related manufacturing industries. The U.S. petrochemical industry is undergoing tremendous growth, including the Northeast which is a prime target for more niche markets, and an opportunity to repurpose industrial assets for this regionalized growth.
As market conditions evolve for the oil and gas industry in the Appalachia Basin and throughout the United States, Babst Calland’s multidisciplinary team of energy attorneys continues to stay abreast of the many legal and regulatory challenges currently facing producers and midstream operators.
Senate Bill 257 was introduced in the Ohio General Assembly on December 30, 2015. The Bill, introduced by Senators Bill Seitz and Michael Skindell and co-sponsored by Senator John Eklund, would revise current Ohio Revised Code Section 5301.07. The current version of Section 5301.07 provides that certain defects in recorded real property instruments, such as a defective acknowledgement or improper witnessing, are cured and the instrument is deemed to be valid and enforceable after 21 years after the instrument was recorded. Prior to 21 years, a challenge can be made to the enforceability of the instrument based on such defects. Under the proposed revisions in Senate Bill 257, there is a rebuttable presumption that the defective instrument which is signed and acknowledged by a person owning an interest in real property conveys or otherwise affects the interest of such person and is valid, enforceable and effective as if legally made without any defects. Such instrument shall also provide constructive notice to all third parties of the instrument, notwithstanding any defect. The presumption can only be rebutted by clear and convincing evidence of fraud, undue influence, duress, forgery, incompetency or incapacity. In addition, the time period after which such defects are cured is lessened from 21 years to 4. The changes proposed by the Bill also include an expansion of the type of defects which are covered by Section 5301.07. Under Senate Bill 257, the Section will apply to several specified defects, but is not limited to the defects listed, arguably expanding the application of the Code Section to any defect in a real property instrument. The Bill would also make the Code Section applicable to all “real property instruments,” which include deeds and leases. Therefore, if Senate Bill 257 is passed into law, litigation is likely to arise as to the section’s applicability to and effect on oil and gas leases.
In Chesapeake Exploration v. Buell, the Ohio Supreme Court held that oil and gas leases constitute “title transactions” under Ohio’s Dormant Mineral Act (“DMA”). Under the DMA a “title transaction” constitutes a saving event to preclude severed mineral rights from being deemed abandoned and reunited with rights to the corresponding surface property. Of critical importance is whether an oil and gas lease constitutes a “title transaction” under the law. While the DMA defines the term “title transaction” it did not state whether an oil and gas lease constitutes a title transaction. The Court concluded that a “title transaction” is any transaction affecting title to any interest in land and that oil and gas leases affected title to land.
As reported by Oil and Gas Investor, Rice Midstream Holdings, LLC, a subsidiary of Rice Energy Inc., and Gulfport Energy Corporation have teamed up to build a pipeline gathering and water line system in Ohio’s Utica Shale. Over the next six years, the companies plan to spend a combined $640 million on 165 miles of pipeline that will connect Gulfport’s Utica shale wells in Belmont and Monroe Counties to interstate pipelines. Speaking of the joint venture, Rice’s CEO, Daniel J. Rice IV, stated: “This joint venture will be one of the premier midstream systems in the prolific dry gas core of the Utica…” Gulfport will dedicate about 77,000 leasehold acres and an existing 11-mile pipeline to the joint venture, and Rice will be responsible for constructing and operating the assets. The parties have further agreed that Rice will own 75% of the joint venture and Gulfport will own the remaining 25%. Each partner will be responsible for its proportionate share of costs.
As reported by the Wheeling Intelligencer, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (“ODNR”) recently released production data for the first quarter of 2015 for oil and gas wells drilled in Ohio’s Utica Shale formation. The report found that natural gas production during the first three months of the year, which totaled 183.5 billion cubic feet, nearly tripled from the first quarter of 2014, when Utica Shale wells produced only 67.3 billion cubic feet. The state’s most productive natural gas wells are Rice Energy’s “Blue Thunder” wells drilled in Belmont County, which produced a combined 1.41 billion cubic feet during the first quarter. The ODNR’s first quarter data also shows that oil production in the Utica Shale, which totaled more than 4.4 million barrels, is up from the 1.95 million barrels reported during the first quarter of 2014. The state’s most productive oil well is American Energy Partners’ “Shugert Daddy” well drilled in Guernsey County, which produced 40,683 barrels during the first quarter.
Despite the increase in both oil and gas production from the Utica Shale, Ohio has experienced a slowdown in new drilling operations and many existing wells have been shut-in due to a lack of pipeline infrastructure. Shawn Bennett, Senior Vice President of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association, stated that “[m]ore pipelines are integral to the success of the Utica” and suggested that Ohio is still a few years away from having all necessary pipelines in place.
The Seventh District Court of Appeals has reaffirmed its prior decision in Hupp v. Beck Energy Corp. In Belmont Hills Country Club v. Beck Energy Corp. and Bentley v. Beck Energy Corp., the appeals court relied on Hupp in holding that a conditional secondary term does not make a lease perpetual in nature and that the lease at issue contained an express waiver of implied covenants of reasonable development. Further, a lease that allows production in paying quantities to be determined “in the judgment of the lessee” does not create a perpetual because courts impose a good faith standard on the paying quantities determination. The court also held that the delay rental provision did not allow the lease to be held in perpetuity by making nominal payments.
Relying on the recent authority in State ex rel. Morrison v. Beck Energy Corp., the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court struck down a local Ohio drilling ban. In Bass Energy, Inc. v. City of Broadview Heights, the court held that a charter amendment prohibiting new oil and gas drilling was in conflict with Ohio’s comprehensive statutes regulating oil and gas drilling. Because the local ban conflicted with the statewide regulatory scheme, it did not meet the requirements of Ohio’s Home Rule Amendment and was ruled to be unenforceable. The court specifically stated that the charter amendment was an invalid exercise of Broadview Heights’ home rule authority.
Business Wire reports that Seneca Resources Corporation (“Seneca”) announced the initial production results from its recently completed well producing from the Utica shale formation in Tioga County, Pennsylvania. The well’s 24-hour peak production rate was 22.7 million cubic feet of natural gas per day. According to Seneca’s President, Ronald J. Tanski, the well’s production reports, along with others in the area, lower the risk of the Utica potential in Seneca’s DCNR 007 tract where the well is located. Tanski also estimated the resource potential for the DCNR 007 tract to be approximately 1 trillion cubic feet. Seneca plans to drill another Utica exploration well in 2016.
The Ohio Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of Beck Energy, holding that Ohio Constitution’s home rule amendment does not allow a municipality to enforce its own oil and gas permitting scheme on top of the state system. In the case, the city of Munroe Falls adopted an ordinance prohibiting the drilling of an oil and gas well until a conditional zoning certificate had been obtained. The ordinance also required payment of additional application fees and the posting of a performance bond. The Ohio General Assembly had adopted a uniform statewide regulation of all oil and gas operations in Revised Code Chapter 1509. The Court held that the Ohio Constitution vests the General Assembly with the power to to pass laws providing for the “regulation of methods of mining, weighing, measuring and marketing coal, oil, gas and all other minerals” and the comprehensive regulatory scheme created by the General Assembly does exactly that. The home rule amendment to the Ohio Constitution does not allow a municipality to discriminate against, unfairly impede, or obstruct oil and gas activities and production operations that the state has permitted under R.C. Chapter 1509.
The Ohio Supreme Court scheduled oral argument in two significant Dormant Mineral Act (“DMA”) cases. Oral argument has been scheduled on Corban v. Chesapeake Exploration, L.L.C. for May 6, 2015. As previously reported on ShaleEnergyLawBlog, the Corban case is likely to decide whether the 1989 or 2006 version of the DMA applies to current cases.
The Court also scheduled oral arguments in Walker v. Shondrick-Nau for June 23, 2015. The Walker case is set to decide similar issues concerning application of the DMA.