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 Nathan K. Davis, Esq. On July 2, 2015, the Kansas Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Fawcett v. Oil Producers, Inc. of Kansas, No. 108,666, 2015 WL 4033549, deciding a hotly and long contested debate between royalty owners and natural gas producers concerning the proper way to calculate royalty payments under the Marketable […]
By Chris Colyer and Patrick Paul On August 3, 2015, President Barack Obama and the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued their final Clean Power Plan rule, which imposes requirements on states and tribes to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from existing power plants. EPA issued the new rulemaking pursuant to Section 111(d) of the […]
By Chris Colyer The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality (ADEQ) has announced new and revised rules, effective as of July 2, 2015, regarding agricultural best management practices (BMPs) to reduce particulate matter air emissions in Arizona’s non-attainment areas. The revised rules may be found here. As background, the Clean Air Act requires Arizona to maintain […]
by Maribeth M. Klein On June 4, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a revised National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Multi-Sector General Permit (MSGP) for stormwater discharges from industrial activities. EPA’s MSGP only applies in areas where EPA remains the NPDES permitting authority, such as: Idaho, New Mexico, Massachusetts, New Hampshire; the […]
By Chris Colyer On June 19, 2015, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) jointly proposed new rules to regulate and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and fuel consumption for new medium-duty and heavy-duty vehicles. The proposed rules will impact companies that manufacture, sell, or import medium-duty […]
The debate over net metering is a hot topic before many state legislatures and public utility commissions. The Western U.S. is no exception. Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and California are among the states grappling with the idea of how to properly incent distributed generation (DG) and whether net metering needs to be part of that […]
By Stephen W. Smithson The EPA is slowly moving toward requiring the hardrock mining industry to provide financial assurances, pursuant to CERCLA 108(b). Although first required in 1980, these would be the first financial assurance requirements proposed by EPA. EPA recently announced that draft regulations are expected in 2016, with a final rule expected in […]
By Christopher Payne The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is considering a proposal to merge its New Mexico and Arizona State Offices into a single state office with headquarters in Santa Fe, New Mexico. According to the BLM, the purpose of a merger would be to increase efficiencies and reduce the BLM’s operating costs. The […]
The Snell & Wilmer Natural Resources, Environmental, and Energy Group is pleased to announce the launch of its new S&W Environmental & Natural Resources blog. This blog is another tool for the regulated community to stay current on the most recent developments in the environmental, natural resources, and energy sectors. Snell & Wilmer’s environmental and […]
By Katherine A. McKitterick and Sean M. Sherlock To address the worsening drought, on April 1, 2015, Governor Brown issued Executive Order B-29-15 (“Executive Order”), mandating a 25% reduction in potable urban water consumption. In response, the State Water Resources Control Board has passed emergency regulations that will directly affect water districts and users. And […]
