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Environmental
Texas Supreme Court Clarifies TCEQ Antidegradation Review Standards for Water Discharge Permits in Tier 2 Waterways
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Texas Supreme Court affirmed TCEQ's grant of a wastewater discharge permit for a creek with high aquatic life designation and endangered salamander habitat, holding that Tier 2 antidegradation review requires holistic water-quality assessment rather than parameter-specific analysis of individual constituents. The Court rejected the environmental organization's challenge that TCEQ improperly collapsed Tier 1 and Tier 2 analysis, finding substantial evidence supported the agency's determination regarding dissolved oxygen criteria.
El Paso Court Denies Interlocutory Appeal on 'Concrete Risk of Harm' Accrual Standard in Wastewater Injection Case
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The El Paso Court of Appeals denied a permissive interlocutory appeal in a wastewater disposal case where defendants sought to establish that the statute of limitations accrued when Stateline's predecessor learned in 2021 of potential wastewater risks from neighboring operations, rather than when actual interference with drilling operations occurred in 2022. The court found that unresolved questions of material fact precluded the purely legal determination required for permissive appeal.
District Court Denies Dismissal of OCSLA Decommissioning Dispute Over Hurricane-Damaged Gulf Platform
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
Arena Energy sued Maritech Resources and TETRA Technologies for breach of contract after defendants allegedly failed to perform decommissioning obligations on a Hurricane Ike-damaged platform at EC Block 328 in the Gulf of Mexico, despite a 2002 Purchase and Sales Agreement requiring Maritech to assume all plugging and abandonment liabilities. The Southern District of Texas denied both defendants' motions to dismiss, though the court's full reasoning was not available in the published excerpt.
Business Court Applies Mandatory Venue Rule to Declaratory Judgment Action Over Saltwater Disposal Well Damage in Loving County
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
NGL Water Solutions sought declaratory relief in Harris County based on a venue-selection clause in a Shut In Agreement, arguing it immunized the company from liability for alleged wastewater migration that damaged Lime Rock's Bone Spring formation wells in Loving County. The Business Court transferred venue to Loving County, holding that Section 15.011's mandatory venue provision for actions to recover damages to real property trumped the contractual forum selection clause, which failed to qualify as a "major transaction" under Section 15.020.
Supreme Court Establishes Broad Deference Standard for Agency NEPA Review in Energy Infrastructure Cases
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit's vacatur of the Surface Transportation Board's approval of an 88-mile railroad connecting Utah's oil-rich Uinta Basin to the national freight network, holding that courts must afford agencies substantial deference in determining the depth and breadth of environmental impact statement inquiries under NEPA. Justice Kavanaugh's majority opinion, joined by four other Justices, establishes that courts should not micromanage agency choices about environmental review so long as those choices fall within a broad zone of reasonableness.
Supreme Court Grants Fuel Producers Standing to Challenge EPA Approval of California's Electric Vehicle Mandate
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit's standing dismissal in a case where gasoline and liquid fuel producers challenged EPA's approval of California regulations requiring automakers to manufacture more electric vehicles under Clean Air Act Section 209. The seven-justice majority held that producers satisfied Article III standing requirements without needing to submit expert economist affidavits or automaker testimony to establish causation and redressability.
Fifth Circuit Withdraws EPA Regional Haze Rule Decision, Substitution Opinion Pending
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Fifth Circuit docketed a consolidated petition for review challenging EPA's regional haze rule published at 88 Fed. Reg. 9336, brought by Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, their environmental agencies, and a coalition including the Texas Oil & Gas Association, Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, Luminant Generation, Entergy Louisiana, and multiple power generators. The March 9, 2026 filing reflects broad industry and state opposition to EPA's Clean Air Act regional haze requirements affecting power plants, petrochemical facilities, and oil and gas operations across the Gulf Coast.
Fifth Circuit Limits EPA's Authority Under Clean Air Act Good Neighbor Provision in Multi-State SIP Disapproval Challenge
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, joined by numerous oil and gas industry associations including the Texas Oil & Gas Association and Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association, challenged EPA's disapproval of their state implementation plans under the Good Neighbor Provision for 2015 ozone NAAQS. The Fifth Circuit granted the petitions in part, holding that EPA would overstep its authority if it required upwind states to reduce emissions by more than the amount necessary to achieve attainment in every downwind state to which they are linked.
Supreme Court Expands Federal Officer Removal for WWII-Era Coastal Operations Under SLCRMA
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Supreme Court held that oil companies' World War II-era crude oil production in Louisiana's coastal zone "related to" their federal contracts to produce aviation gasoline for the military, satisfying the federal officer removal statute's nexus requirement under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). The decision vacates and remands the Fifth Circuit's affirmance of remand orders, allowing federal jurisdiction over Louisiana parishes' State and Local Coastal Resources Management Act claims challenging whether pre-SLCRMA uses were illegally commenced and thus ineligible for permitting exemptions.
Fifth Circuit Remands Louisiana Coastal Erosion Cases After Supreme Court Finds Federal Officer Removal Plausible
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Fifth Circuit remanded consolidated coastal erosion lawsuits brought by Plaquemines Parish and Cameron Parish against BP, Chevron, Shell, and other major operators after the Supreme Court vacated its prior judgment regarding federal officer removal jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1442(a)(1). The remand returns high-stakes environmental litigation concerning decades of oil and gas operations in Louisiana's coastal zone to the district courts for further proceedings.
Fifth Circuit Upholds EPA Disapproval of Texas Ozone SIP Under Clean Air Act Good Neighbor Provision
Joel Reese | Jul 20, 2026
The Fifth Circuit rejected Texas's challenge to EPA's disapproval of its state implementation plan for managing ozone emissions under the Clean Air Act's Good Neighbor provision, holding that EPA reasonably interpreted the statute to require evaluation of impacts on downwind areas measuring clean data but potentially struggling to maintain air quality standards. The court denied Texas's motion to strike documents from the administrative record and upheld EPA's authority to disapprove state plans that fail to adequately demonstrate compliance with statutory requirements.
Fifth Circuit Upholds Louisiana's Use of SILs and BACT Determinations in LNG Export Facility Permitting
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Fifth Circuit rejected Sierra Club's challenge to LDEQ's pre-construction permits for a planned LNG export facility, holding that the agency properly relied on EPA's significant impact levels (SILs) guidance and AP-42 emission factors in its emissions analysis. The court affirmed LDEQ's best available control technology (BACT) determinations for gas-fired combustion turbines and thermal oxidizers, applying Louisiana's arbitrary and capricious standard of review.
Fifth Circuit Upholds TCEQ's BACT Determination for LNG Facility After Texas Supreme Court Clarifies 'Operational' Requirement
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
The Fifth Circuit denied PACAN's petition challenging TCEQ's grant of a PSD permit to an LNG facility, holding that previously approved emissions limits that had never been implemented in actual operation had not 'proven to be operational' under Texas's BACT definition. The decision, following certification to the Texas Supreme Court, clarifies that Best Available Control Technology under Texas law cannot encompass air pollution control methods that exist only on paper and have not yet been demonstrated through real-world experience and research.
Texas Business Court Applies Mandatory Real Property Venue Rule to Saltwater Disposal Well Contamination Dispute
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
NGL Water Solutions sought declaratory relief in Harris County based on a venue-selection clause in a Shut In Agreement, arguing it immunized the company from liability for alleged wastewater migration that damaged Lime Rock's Bone Spring formation wells in Loving County. The Business Court transferred venue to Loving County, holding that Section 15.011's mandatory venue provision for actions to recover damages to real property superseded the contractual forum selection clause, which failed to qualify as a "major transaction" under Section 15.020(a).
Fifth Circuit Remand Clarifies 'Compulsory by Law' Standard for Marine P&I Wreck Removal Coverage After Hurricane Ida
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
Following Hurricane Ida, Wapiti Energy's crude oil barge SMI 315 grounded on ConocoPhillips marshland, triggering a coverage dispute over $926,840.32 in removal costs under a P&I policy's wreck removal clause requiring removal be "compulsory by law." The Fifth Circuit reversed the district court's initial dismissal, holding that Louisiana possessory action law created sufficient liability to make removal compulsory, and remanded for determination of whether the grounded-but-intact barge qualified as a "wreck" under the policy.
Crane County Landowner Challenges Railroad Commission Injection Well Guidelines in Subsurface Waste Migration Suit
Joel Reese | Jul 06, 2026
A Crane County landowner sued eight oil and gas operators alleging improperly operated produced water injection wells and inadequately plugged abandoned wells on his 6,000-acre ranch caused a 200-foot saltwater geyser and multiple blowouts between January 2022 and April 2024. The December 2024 complaint directly challenges the Railroad Commission's May 2025 injection well operating guidelines and seeks declaratory relief on operator liability for subsurface waste migration from disposal operations.
SCOTUS Holds Wartime Production Satisfies Federal Officer Removal in $745 Million Louisiana Coastal Damage Suit Against Chevron
Joel Reese | Jun 25, 2026
SCOTUS unanimously reversed the Fifth Circuit in a $745 million coastal damage lawsuit brought by Plaquemines Parish against Chevron and other operators, holding that wartime crude oil production for WWII aviation fuel refining satisfies the federal officer removal statute's "acting under" requirement. The decision potentially shifts 42 related coastal restoration cases seeking billions in damages from Louisiana state courts to federal jurisdiction, fundamentally altering forum selection strategy for legacy environmental claims against Gulf Coast operators.