Welcome to the S&W Environmental, Natural Resources, Oil and Gas Law Blog. This blog is a resource for the regulated community to stay current on new developments impacting the environmental, natural resources and energy sectors. It provides timely updates on a broad range of federal, state and local environmental topics — including proposed legislation and government rulemakings — that impact regulated industries throughout the southwest and the nation as a whole.
by Patrick J. Paul The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) announced at the end of January that it would commence a statewide screening program for the presence of lead in school drinking water. The agency declared that its initiative was intended to be proactive and ultimately to identify whether school drinking water contains lead […]
by J. Matthew Derstine While the two Presidential Memoranda expediting review and approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines grabbed much recent attention, an Executive Order issued the same day could have a broader impact by expediting the environmental review and approval of infrastructure projects nationwide. But whether this Executive Order will truly […]
by Rachel M. Lynn On January 6, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas LLC (“Denbury Green”) could take private property by eminent domain. In Denbury Green Pipeline-Texas LLC v. Texas Rice Land Partners Ltd., the decision turned on the question of whether or not Denbury Green qualified as a “common carrier” […]
By Mitch Klein Regardless of whether you are a Trump supporter or Trump hater, and there certainly seems to be very few people who are indifferent to the guy, trying to prognosticate what he will do is very difficult. He is a political outsider with no record of governance. We don’t know how much of […]
By Chris Colyer As previously reported here, President-elect Donald Trump’s victory could have profound implications for federal environmental regulation. Although the scope of the intended regulatory changes remains uncertain, President-elect Trump’s recent Cabinet nominations—most notably Scott Pruitt as Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Rick Perry as Secretary of Energy, and Ryan Zinke as Secretary […]
by Stephen Smithson The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) has released its final Planning 2.0 rule for publication in the Federal Register. It will be effective 30 days after publication. The rule is here. The rule represents a comprehensive change to the planning process because it focuses on planning on a landscape scale. One of […]
by Christopher W. Payne The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals will soon determine whether the Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians has a federal reserved right to groundwater in a water rights case that could set a precedent for tribes across the West. The case is entitled Agua Caliente Band of Cahuilla Indians v. Coachella […]
by Patrick J. Paul To the victor belong the spoils, and President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election (get used to it) and Republican Congressional control will significantly impact environmental programs and priorities going forward. Among other campaign commitments, President-elect Trump promised to increase fossil fuel production and to repeal numerous environmental initiatives of […]
by Michael C. Ford In the run up to the Presidential Election, you may have missed some of the following regulatory developments that might impact your business. Prop 65 Amendments. If your company sells consumer products in California (the 6th largest economy in the world!)[1], it will want to be familiar with recent amendments to the […]
by Jason D. Gellman In the 1980s, legendary head coach Joe Gibbs for the Washington D.C. franchise was tortured about how to deal with ferocious pass-rushing force and elite outside linebacker Lawrence Taylor for the New York Giants (#2 overall pick in the ’81 NFL draft out of UNC). Using his coaching genius, Gibbs inserted stalwart […]
