Wyoming Supreme Court Punts on Potential BLM “First in Time, First in Right” Interpretation of Competing Mineral Developers

A recent case before the Wyoming Supreme Court failed to clarify what, if any, remedies are available to conflicting developers of federal mineral rights on overlapping lands. Rather, the Court’s ruling in Berenergy Corporation v. BTU Western Resources, Inc.; School Creek Coal Resources, LLC; and Peabody Powder River Mining, LLC, and BTU Western Resources, Inc.; […]

Mining, oil and gas, wind, solar and transmission companies who have struggled to comply with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 (MBTA) received an early Christmas present from the U.S. Department of the Interior’s lawyer. On December 22, 2017, the Principal Deputy Solicitor issued a binding Memorandum Opinion, M-37050, to limit the reach of […]

This blog post was written by Katherine “Kate” Sanford who worked with WSMT as a summer intern from June 1 through August 10, 2016. On August 5, 2015, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) contractors inadvertently broke through a retaining wall at the closed Gold King Mine, causing over 3 million gallons of acidic, metal-laden water to […]

On March 17, 2015, Secretary Jewell presented what was billed as a “major speech” to describe her vision of a “balanced prosperous energy future” at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Directly tying the U.S. “energy transformation” to the recovered U.S. economy, she noted, “The energy revolution we experienced in the past six years […]