New NEPA Proposed Regulations: The Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule
Recently, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) proposed the second phase of amendments of its rulemaking effort to amend the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This panel of experts will examine the substantial revisions to the NEPA regulations, including implementation of bipartisan permitting reform, first-time codification of climate change and environmental justice principles for NEPA purposes, a novel approach to categorical exclusions, how to approach projects with substantial beneficial effects, and stakeholder involvement where extreme environmental challenges are at issue.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: Keynote: Environmental Justice and Its Implications for the Energy Industries
John Cliff Villa, the U.S. EPA Deputy Assistant Administrator for Land and Emergency Management, and Juan Palma, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management Senior Policy Advisor on environmental justice, for an overview of the Biden Administration’s environmental justice initiatives, including new laws, regulations, and tool kits, with a focus on the implications for the energy industries.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: Drafting and Negotiating Instruments to Acquire Pore Space for CCUS
This presentation analyzes drafting and negotiating contracts and instruments that are used to acquire pore space rights for carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS) projects, including how to define the subsurface area, how to structure the consideration payable, how to allocate injection risk among the parties, and how to deal with holdout landowners. It is taught by professor and author Keith Hall, the Chair in Energy Law at Louisiana State University.
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Pore Space Acquisition for Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage
The panel of energy law professors and attorneys practicing in the burgeoning field of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), examine the legal issues associated with pore space acquisition for CCUS, covering key issues including decarbonization incentives under the Inflation Reduction Act, what pore space is and who owns it, establishing title for pore space projects, and drafting and negotiating pore space acquisition agreements.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Treasure – Ownership of Critical Minerals in Produced Water
This presentation explores the legal implications of the extraction of produced water during oil and gas operations that contain critical minerals such as lithium that are in high demand for the energy transition. It examines issues such as whether critical minerals in produced water can be separately conveyed, whether critical minerals are included under an oil and gas lease, and whether mining claims or additional permits are required under federal oil and gas leases.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: Water Wars in the United States Supreme Court
Matt Draper, a lawyer who represents states and amicus curiae in transboundary water disputes before the U.S. Supreme Court, analyzes recent water litigation in the Supreme Court, including Mississippi v. Tennessee, Florida v. Georgia, and Texas v. New Mexico, what these cases tell us about the future of interstate—and international—water disputes, and the lessons they hold for states seeking to ensure water security for their residents.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: When Can Unpatented Mining Claims Be Occupied for Ancillary Uses? An Examination of the Rosemont Litigation and Its Implications for Mining Operations on Federal Lands
This presentation examines the implications of the recent Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in the Rosemont mine litigation, where the court held that the discovery of valuable minerals is essential to the right to use unpatented mining claims for ancillary uses, such as tailings and waste rock storage, that is often critical to mine development and mineral production.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: In Search of Workable Standards for ESG Management for Mining Projects
With a focus on mining projects, this presentation analyzes standards promulgated by various organizations for environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management, including the scope and serious problems of implementation, consistency, and application, in search of workable best practices.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: Negotiation of Corporate Power Purchase Agreements for Renewable Power – What Sellers and Buyers Need to Know
Two electricity industry experts examine the legal and commercial implications and optimal deal terms for corporate power purchase agreements (PPAs) in the electricity industry in the context of the rapid growth in renewable power and carbon credits. They look at financing implications, cross-border financial settlements, and structuring agreements in the context of conflicting multijurisdictional regulatory practice.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: How Secure Is Your Performance Security? Performance Bonds, Parent Guarantees, and Letters of Credit
This presentation examines, with a focus on issues of concern for in-house counsel, the variety of mechanisms, including performance bonds, parent guarantees, and letters of credit, to secure transactions and for permitting financial assurance, each with unique benefits and pitfalls.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: And Then Came the Regulators – Understanding the Unique Role of In-House Counsel in Managing Cybersecurity Risk
This presentation explains the unique role of in-house counsel in preparing for and preventing cyberattacks and mitigating the risk of a regulatory enforcement action, including the spectrum of legal liability associated with a cyber incident, the types of
regulatory enforcement actions and litigation that can follow, what constitutes an effective compliance program, and practical tips to substantially mitigate legal risk.
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69th Annual Institute 2023: Ethical Minefields to Avoid When Managing a Health, Safety, and Environmental (HSE) Incident Crisis
This presentation explores ethical and other considerations for in-house counsel
when positioning their company to properly manage health, safety, and environmental
(HSE) incidents or when the company or one or more employees is charged with HSE
violations.
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Special Institute on the Law of Permian Basin Oil & Gas Development and Operations: The Current State and Future of the Permian Basin for Oil & Gas Development
Oil and Gas Company Executives Tim Leach from CononcoPhillips and Travis Stice from Diamondback Energy discuss the state of oil and gas development and operations in the Permian Basin, including the current economics, new technologies, consolidations, and challenges and opportunities involving ESG and the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Special Institute on the Law of Permian Basin Oil & Gas Development and Operations: Crossing the Permian State Line – Legal Differences and Similarities for Oil & Gas Texas Companies that Operate in New Mexico and Their Advisors
In-house lawyers at Chevron and ConocoPhillips discuss New Mexico laws and regulations concerning the development and operations of oil and gas assets in the Permian Basin, focusing on laws and regulations administered by the New Mexico Oil Conservation Division, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Mexico State Land Office. The speakers also contrast New Mexico and Texas oil and gas law.
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Special Institute on the Law of Permian Basin Oil & Gas Development and Operations: Updates on Texas and New Mexico Oil & Gas Case Law and Litigation
Bill Burford, a past chair of the State Bar of Texas Oil, Gas and Energy Resources Law Section and a frequent writer and speaker on oil and gas law, provides an update and commentary on the most important recent oil and gas caselaw and litigation in Texas and New Mexico.
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Special Institute on the Law of Permian Basin Oil & Gas Development and Operations: These Truths Should be Self-Evident – Ethical Issues for Landmen and Lawyers
A frequent speaker on professional ethics discusses ABA Model Rules and AAPL ethics rules that apply to oil and gas lawyers and landmen who negotiate with surface owners, and federal, state, and local agencies.
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Special Institute on the Law of Permian Basin Oil & Gas Development and Operations: Help Me Help You – A Judicial Perspective on Trying Oil & Gas Cases in West Texas and New Mexico
A distinguished panel that includes a Texas Court of Appeals Justice, a Texas District Court Judge, and a New Mexico District Court Judge offer tips, insights, and strategies for trial lawyers who routinely litigate oil and gas and related disputes arising in the Permian Basin in West Texas and New Mexico.
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Taking a Natural Resources Case to Trial
In this webinar, two seasoned trial attorneys address key issues to consider in developing witness and exhibit lists and touch on available litigation management tools to assist with trial preparation.
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Natural Resources, Energy, and Environmental Legal Research Tools and Strategies for Young Professionals
The resources available to research natural resources, energy, and environmental law seem endless (and sometimes endlessly expensive). This webinar begins with a short overview of some legal research basics and is followed by an informative discussion of available research tools and strategies specific to natural resources, energy, and environmental law, with a focus on free resources.
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Purchase and Sale Agreements: The Oil and Gas Title Defect Procedure
• Defining the quality of title that the buyer expects to receive
• Structure of a typical title defect procedure
• How to define “Permitted Encumbrances” and the effect on a special warranty
• Special warranty considerations in assignments and what survives
• Procedures for handling consents to assign and preferential rights to purchase
• Pre- and post-closing cure rights and curing assets the seller no longer owns
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Purchase and Sale Agreements: Allocating Liabilities and Indemnities Under Oil and Gas Purchase and Sale Agreements
• Allocating assumed and retained liabilities
• Indemnity procedures and pitfalls
• Issues to consider including anti-sandbagging, materiality scope, thresholds, deductibles, and caps
• Improving the quality of the indemnity including utilization of hold backs, representation and warranty insurance, or parent company guaranties
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Purchase and Sale Agreements: Ethical Considerations in Negotiating Complex Contracts
• Negotiating with opposing counsel
• Negotiating with parties not represented by counsel
• Attorney-client privilege and confidentiality under ABA Model Rule 1.6
• Representing both the buyer and the seller
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Indian Law and Energy and Resource Development 2023: Maintaining Ethics in Tribal Agreements and Transactions
Neil Westesen, a recognized Indian law and natural resources law attorney, discusses ethical considerations when negotiating and operating under transactions and agreements with Tribes and on Tribal lands, including issues of compliance with Federal, State, and Tribal anti-corruption laws, and other legal ethics considerations under the American Bar Association Model Rules of Professional Conduct.
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Water Law 2023: Ripple Effects – Water Scarcity and Conservation
Water conservation, necessitated by scarcity, can have impacts on agriculture, rural areas, municipal lifestyle, endangered species, and access to safe drinking water supplies in Native communities. This presentation by Anne Castle, Senior Fellow at the University of Colorado Law School, will address lessons learned and new unsolved problems encountered in the Colorado River system.
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Indian Law and Energy and Resource Development 2023: Environmental Compliance in Indian Country
Bidtah Becker, the Chief Legal Counsel for the Navajo Nation, provides an overview of environmental permitting, compliance, and enforcement in Indian Country, including applicable U.S. Environmental Protection Agency permitting and regulation, where EPA has delegated permitting or rulemaking authority to Tribes, along with separate Tribal agency requirements arising from inherent Tribal jurisdiction.
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Water Law 2023: Sackett v. EPA and Waters of the United States
In this year’s Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency decision, the U.S. Supreme Court once again took on the question of the Clean Water Act's jurisdiction over the discharge of “dredged and fill” material to wetlands. This session reviews the Court’s decision, including its relevance to the Rapanos plurality holding and the joint EPA and Army Corps of Engineers regulatory definition of “waters of the United States.” The speaker will identify potential practical impacts of Sackett and the federal regulation for western water management and watersheds.
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Indian Law and Energy and Resource Development 2023: Tribal and Federal Cooperation in the Borderlands
Kevin Washburn, Dean and Professor at University of Iowa College of Law and former Assistant Secretary of the Interior for Indian Affairs, and Maranda Compton, a recognized Indian law attorney and consultant discuss Tribal and federal cooperation agreements and models, including how Federal and Tribal lands have and can be managed for more efficient development and conservation.
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Water Law 2023: How Climate Change is Reshaping the West
In this presentation, Jay Famiglietti, a pioneering satellite hydrologist and professor, discussed how the worst drought in a millennium is sapping groundwater and how climate change is reshaping the Western United States. Based on extensive documentation, the speaker will show the decline of groundwater in California’s Central Valley and that states along the Colorado River are losing their aquifers at rates far faster than the nation’s largest reservoirs.
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Ethics For Energy and Mineral Transaction Lawyers
John Dzienkowski, a renowned ethics professor and author from the University of Texas School of Law provides practical advice on the professional responsibilities of energy and mineral transaction lawyers under the ABA Model Rules of Conduct, including communications with unrepresented parties to a venture, representing multiple clients in the formation of an entity, resolving disputes among clients that are parties to the same venture, how to prepare an opinion for use by third parties, representing clients selling their venture, and representing clients out of state, including which ethics rules apply to the transaction.
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Water Law 2023: The Confluence – Navigating Ethical Considerations for Water Practitioners
This ethics presentation examines the challenges associated with representing multiple clients in the water law field, and the unique concerns that can arise when representing multiple public agencies or a combination of public and private clients. The speakers also provide real-life examples that illustrate the importance of carefully addressing joint representation and potential conflicts to successfully navigate the surrounding ethical complexities.
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Human Rights, Natural Resources and Energy Law – The Role and Process of Stakeholder Engagement
This presentation by international mining lawyers examines the business objectives of stakeholder engagement, addressing how it aligns with legal, investor, and brand imperatives. It outlines practical strategies for effective engagement and relationship building with key and affected stakeholders.
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Recognizing, Mitigating, and Eliminating Bias in Jury Selection and Jury Trials
Dr. Samantha Holmes, an expert in jury psychology, explores the impact of differences in race, gender, culture, and ethnicity in jury selection and jury trials in civil litigation. The speaker addresses considerations for practicing attorneys in selecting and presenting a case to the jury, while considering bias in the legal profession and legal system. This presentation has been qualified for EDI credit in Colorado.
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Boulder County v. Crestone Peak: The Colorado Supreme Court Dives Into Oil & Gas Law
A panel of practitioners and law professors, including Professor Tara Righetti and Professor Gregor MacGregor, examine the Colorado Supreme Court’s recent holding in
Boulder County v. Crestone Peak Resources Operating LLC, one of the most important decisions in recent years for Colorado oil and gas law. The opinion includes holdings and dicta on the meaning of “production,” the temporary cessation of production doctrine, and the interpretation of cessation of production and other clauses in oil and gas leases.
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EPA’s New Oil and Gas Methane Regulations – NSPS OOOOb and EG OOOOc
In this presentation, a panel of experts on the Clean Air Act examines the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) new methane emission regulations of the oil and gas industry, New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) OOOOb and Guidelines for Existing Sources (EG) OOOOc, including the most significant concerns for implementation and compliance. The panel also discusses EPA’s newly proposed Waste Emissions Charge for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems (WEC rule), which would fulfill EPA’s obligation to collect an annual charge on oil and gas methane emissions under the Inflation Reduction Act.
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Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage 2024: Policy Drivers, Incentives, and Feasibility of Decarbonization Projects in a Net-Zero World
An Attorney-Advisor in the U.S. Department of Commerce and the head of White & Case’s Global ESG & Sustainability Interest Group discuss the policy drivers and incentives for CCUS, including relevant provisions of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, grant opportunities through the Department of Energy, and state law programs.
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Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage 2024: CCUS in the Checkerboard West – Lessons on How to Move with the Federal Government on the Board
This panel of Federal lands experts will address the types of Federal and Tribal land ownership, split estates, and agency jurisdiction, including Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Bureau of Indian Affairs; current Federal laws, regulations, and policies governing rights and access to land for CCUS projects and their status along with potential gaps, approvals and permits needed, and lessons learned to date.
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Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage 2024: Conflicts and Confluences Between the Surface and Mineral Estate with CCUS
Professor Joe Schremmer from the University of Oklahoma provides an outstanding analysis of the legal issues associated with injection into depleted or producing mineral formations, including coalbed methane formations and CO2 production sites. The speaker will discuss overlapping Federal and State laws, potential surface-mineral conflicts on both State and Private lands, and potential issues arising under oil and gas leases.
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Federal and Indian Oil & Gas Royalty Valuation and Management (2024) – Ethics and Tips for Working with Experts
Using experts, both testifying and consulting, is often necessary for litigating technical disputes, but it can raise ethical issues. This presentation covers confidentiality, draft reports, conflicts of interest, fees, independence, and the professionalism and ethics of experts.
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Federal and Indian Oil & Gas Royalty Valuation and Management (2024) – BLM Rules, Policies, and Practices Affecting Royalty Reporting and Payment Obligations
Discover how BLM rules, policies, and practices impact lessee royalty reporting and payments for federal and Indian lands. Learn about lost gas determinations, beneficial use, off-lease measurement, communitization agreements, Inflation Reduction Act royalty rates, and lease reinstatement rates.
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Human Rights, Natural Resources and Energy Law – Charting Disputes: A Survey of Human Rights-Related Tort Suits, Securities Class Actions, Contract Disputes, and Investor-Treaty Claims
This distinguished panel addresses various disputes in energy, infrastructure, and extractive projects, including domestic and transnational tort claims, securities and contract-related claims, and investor-treaty claims. It explores the interaction among these legal disputes, focusing on the voluntary assumption of liability, as well as state defenses and counterclaims.
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The Foundation for Natural Resources and Energy Law is a collaborative, educational, non-profit organization dedicated to the scholarly and practical study of the laws and regulations relating to natural resources and energy, including oil and gas, mining, renewable energy, public lands, water, environmental protection, and international law. Through our educational programs, we bring together lawyers, landmen, managers, consultants, government personnel, law faculty, students, and others involved in the practice, work, and study of natural resources and energy law.
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