On December 22, 2021, Taylor Energy Company LLC (“Taylor Energy”), a Louisiana based oil and gas company, and the United States Department of Justice reached a settlement concerning Taylor Energy’s role in the longest running oil spill in United States history. The oil spill began in September 2004 when Hurricane Ivan crossed the northeastern Gulf
CCUS and Property Rights: Considerations Facing Potential Storage Operators in Louisiana
The current administration’s focus on climate change has prompted a renewed interest in carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS). In July of this year, the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a report to Congress stating the Biden administration “is committed to accelerating the responsible development and deployment of CCUS to make it
Chemical Manufactures Agree to $50M Settlement for PFAS Remediation
As part of an ongoing investigation led by the Delaware Attorney General’s Office into the potential environmental impacts of legacy industrial activities in the state, Delaware has reached a $50 million settlement agreement with DuPont Co., Corteva, and the Chemours Co. for alleged damages resulting from these companies’ use of chemicals called PFAS.
Dubbed the
The Fifth Crime: Ecocide
A panel of 12 lawyers from around the world recently proposed a legal definition for a new crime: ecocide. For years, the panel, along with various international groups, has sought to amend the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court to include ecocide as one of the crimes within the court’s jurisdiction.
Currently, the ICC
Ashes to Ashes, Dust to Dust, Could Carbon Capture Save the Climate Bust?
Originally published in the Ark-La-Tex Association of Professional Landmen Register
Carbon capture and storage (“CCS”) is the process of capturing carbon dioxide emissions from large point sources, and then transporting it to a storage location for deposit in underground formations where it will not re-enter the atmosphere. By returning CO2 emissions that resulted from the
Environmental Self-Audit Legislation Passes the House and Senate
The Louisiana Legislature has directed the Department of Environmental Quality (“LDEQ”) to promulgate regulations allowing for “voluntary environmental self-audits.” [1] The self-audit regulations are to include provisions protecting confidential information and providing incentives to facilities for conducting a self-audit.
Environmental self-audit programs are designed to allow a facility to identify compliance issues and address them
Hold On To Your Boilers: The Tenth Circuit May Have Re-Defined Covered Processes Under PSM Regulation
The case is Scalia [Secretary of Labor] v. Wynnewood Refining Co., LLC, et al, No. 19-9533 (U.S. Tenth Circuit, October 27, 2020). Wynnewood LLC’s refinery in Oklahoma processes crude oil and on a daily basis produces 70,000 barrels of gasoline, propane, propylene, butane, fuel oils, and solvents. In 2012, one of Wynnewood Refining Co’s boilers—the
Louisiana Special Hurricane Reporting Requirements for Hazardous Materials
Just a quick reminder that in 2007, the Louisiana State Police (“LSP”) adopted regulations requiring special reporting requirements for persons “engaged in the transportation of hazardous materials by railcars, vessels, or barges, or the temporary storage of hazardous materials in any storage vessel not permanently attached to the ground” if that activity is within “a
Carbon Capture and Storage – A Ray of Light for the Louisiana Energy Economy?
An active legislative area is carbon capture and storage (“CCS”), which could be an option for incentivizing Louisiana’s struggling energy economy. On August 19, 2020, Governor Edwards issued two executive orders directed towards the ambitious commitment (or pledge) to cut greenhouse gas emissions 25-28% by 2025 and to planning measures in order that Louisiana would
New Clean Water Act Section 401 Certification Rule Released; Limited Impacts to LDEQ Certification Process
On July 13, 2020, the EPA released its final rule updating and clarifying the substantive and procedural requirements for water quality certification under Clean Water Act (“CWA”) § 401. This new rule represents the first revision to the applicable regulations since the CWA was enacted in 1971. The new rule replaces the entirety of the