Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Vorys was established in 1909 and has grown to be one of the largest Ohio-based law firms with nearly 375 attorneys in seven offices in Columbus, Cincinnati, Cleveland and Akron, Ohio; Houston, Texas; Washington DC; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Vorys currently ranks as one of the 200 largest law firms in the United States according to American Lawyer magazine.

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP Blogs

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Vorys on Labor

Blog Authors

ABC D EFGHIJK L MNO PQR S TUV WXYZ

Jake Bartlett

Ilya Batikov

Alex Bluebond

Latest from Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Ohio’s New Brownfield Regulatory Reform Legislation

By Mac Taylor

June 22, 2020

On June 16, 2020, Governor DeWine signed House Bill 168 into law. The bill is designed to encourage brownfield redevelopment and reinvestment in the State of Ohio by enhancing liability protection to brownfield purchasers. Predominantly, the bill adopts from federal law an affirmative defense, the “Bona Fide Purchase Defense,” to purchasers who conduct appropriate environmental due diligence. The standard for environmental due diligence adopted is the “All Appropriate Inquiries” (“AAI”) standard from the federal Comprehensive…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

U.S. EPA Proposes Rule Governing Cost Benefit Analysis for Significant CAA Regulations

By Ryan Elliott

June 5, 2020

On June 4, 2020, U.S. EPA proposed a rule to improve the consistency and transparency of benefit cost analyses (BCAs) for all “significant” proposed and final regulations under the Clean Air Act (CAA). The proposed rule, developed in response to comments on U.S. EPA’s June 12, 2018 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Administrator Wheeler’s May 13, 2019 memorandum outlining certain principles for increasing consistency and transparency in U.S. EPA’s consideration of benefits and costs…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

U.S. EPA Finalizes Amendments to Rules Governing CWA 401 Water Quality Certification Process

By Ryan Elliott

June 4, 2020

On June 1, 2020, U.S. EPA finalized amendments to the rules governing the Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) process, which had not been updated since 1971. The final amendments establish a more robust framework for the WQC process which is intended, in large part, to ensure that certifying agencies take action on a certification request “within a reasonable period of time…which shall not exceed 1 year from receipt” of the…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Sixth Circuit Rules for Producer in Royalty Dispute

By Ilya Batikov

May 24, 2020

On May 21, 2020, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled for a lessee in an oil and gas lease dispute, finding that the lessee properly considered post-production costs when calculating the landowners’ royalties. See Henceroth v. Chesapeake Exploration, LLC, 6th Cir. No. 19-3942. The lessee, Chesapeake Exploration (Chesapeake), produced oil and gas from the plaintiff-landowners’ property, which it sold at the wellhead to its affiliate, Chesapeake Marketing (Marketing). Marketing then prepared the products for…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Ohio Appellate Court Holds that Words of Inheritance are Required to Reserve Oil and Gas Interests

By Jay Carr

May 22, 2020

Recently, in Peppertree Farms v. Thonen, 2020-Ohio-3043, Ohio’s Fifth Appellate District considered whether certain ancient royalty and fee oil and gas reservations terminated upon the grantor’s death. The Court held that they did because the grantors failed to include words of inheritance in their reservation clauses. As a result, each grantor’s reserved oil and gas interest did not transfer to his heirs and assigns. Prior to enactment of Section 8510-1 of the General Code (now…

Vorys on Labor

NLRB Affirms that Employers May Prohibit Employees from Discussing Ongoing Investigations

By Nelson Cary & Lauren Sanders

April 26, 2020

Hard to believe these days, but non-Covid-19-related developments do still pop up from time-to-time. Last week, the NLRB gave us one on an issue the employer community has closely watched: whether an employer can instruct employees to keep an open internal investigation confidential. The NLRB answered with a clear “yes” in Securitas Security Services USA. The decision is one of the first in which the NLRB has applied the revised standard for confidentiality rules for…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Update Regarding Ohio Land Professional Registrations

By Jay Carr

April 23, 2020

The Ohio Department of Commerce, Division of Real Estate & Professional Licensing, recently reached out to Ohio’s “land professionals” (i.e., oil and gas landman registered with the Division) concerning renewing their registerations. Ohio law requires land professionals to renew their registrations annually on or before April 30. However, in light of House Bill 197, land professionals now have additional time to renew their registrations. House Bill 197 extends the deadline for land professionals to renew…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

U.S. Supreme Court: Indirect Discharge Into Groundwater Covered Under Clean Water Act

By Ryan Elliott

April 23, 2020

On April 23, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 6-3 decision, held that a permit is required for either “a direct discharge of pollutants from a point source into federally regulated navigable waters, or when there is the functional equivalent of a direct discharge.” County of Maui, Hawaii v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund et al., Case No. 18-260 (April 23, 2020). The decision focused on whether the Clean Water Act (CWA) regulates groundwater and…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

U.S. EPA and Army Corps Publish Final Navigable Waters Protection Rule

By Ryan Elliott

April 21, 2020

On April 21, 2020, U.S. EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers published the final Navigable Waters Protection Rule amending the definition of “Waters of the United States” (the “2020 WOTUS Rule”). Under the 2020 WOTUS Rule, four categories of jurisdictional WOTUS are subject to regulation under the Clean Water Act (CWA): 1. The territorial seas and traditional navigable waters, 2. Perennial and intermittent tributaries to those waters, 3. Certain lakes, ponds, and impoundments, and…

Energy & Environmental Law Blog

Sixth Circuit Refuses to Toll Statute of Limitation in Oil and Gas Royalty Case

By Jay Carr

April 13, 2020

The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit recently ruled that a certain group of landowners were not entitled to have Ohio’s 4-year oil and gas royalty statute of limitation tolled against Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, finding that Chesapeake did not engage in fraudulent concealment. In Lutz v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C., No. 19-3315, certain landowners sued Chesapeake claiming that the company improperly calculated gas royalty payments. The landowners did not sue until 2009. However,…

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP

Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP Blogs

Blog Authors

Ohio’s New Brownfield Regulatory Reform Legislation

U.S. EPA Proposes Rule Governing Cost Benefit Analysis for Significant CAA Regulations

U.S. EPA Finalizes Amendments to Rules Governing CWA 401 Water Quality Certification Process

Sixth Circuit Rules for Producer in Royalty Dispute

Ohio Appellate Court Holds that Words of Inheritance are Required to Reserve Oil and Gas Interests

NLRB Affirms that Employers May Prohibit Employees from Discussing Ongoing Investigations

Update Regarding Ohio Land Professional Registrations

U.S. Supreme Court: Indirect Discharge Into Groundwater Covered Under Clean Water Act

U.S. EPA and Army Corps Publish Final Navigable Waters Protection Rule

Sixth Circuit Refuses to Toll Statute of Limitation in Oil and Gas Royalty Case

Stay Connected

Company

Support

New to the Network