On January 14, 2019, the Colorado Supreme Court reached a decision in COGCC v. Martinez, ending more than five years of litigation between seven youth activists from Boulder-based Earth Guardians and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (“COGCC”). The Court held that the COGCC appropriately exercised its agency discretion when it declined to undertake […]
One of President Trump’s first actions was to issue Executive Order 13766, “Expediting Environmental Reviews and Approvals for High Priority Infrastructure Projects” (Jan. 24, 2017), directing the Council on Environmental Quality (“CEQ”) to begin efforts to identify high priority infrastructure projects and expedite federal environmental reviews required by the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”). This […]
President Trump announced on June 1 that the United States is withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The announcement follows months of uncertainty about whether President Trump would fulfill his campaign pledge to withdraw U.S. participation in the deal (which was signed by 195 countries with only two countries in opposition–Nicaragua (because it wasn’t stringent enough) […]
Come November, Colorado voters may decide whether oil and gas development should be subjected to more stringent regulation. Three ballot initiatives proposed by Boulder-based Coloradans Resisting Extreme Energy Development have survived legal challenges and are now headed for signature collection. Supporters have until August 8 to collect the necessary signatures to get these measures on […]
In the face of a radically altered economic and energy picture for Wyoming, Governor Matt Mead released an updated energy strategy for the State on March 14, 2016. Titled “Leading the Charge: Wyoming’s Action Plan for Energy, Environment, and Economy,” the plan is an update of a similar report issued by the State in 2013, […]
On June 30, 2015, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled in Sandra Ladra v. New Dominion LLC, Spess Oil Co. [and other unnamed companies], that Plaintiff could sue operators of wastewater injection wells in and around Lincoln County, Oklahoma, for personal injury damages resulting from injuries she suffered from an earthquake while in her Lincoln County […]
When candidate Obama was running in 2008, he identified energy as his top priority and described his goal as the “transformation of American energy” to address the threat of climate change. On August 2, 2015, the President and the EPA Administrator announced the final rule to implement his Clean Power Plan. The focus of the […]