On February 11, 2016, the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) announced significant proposed amendments to its land use planning rules as a part of its Planning 2.0 initiative. The stated goals of the proposed rules are to: (1) improve the BLM’s ability to respond to social and environmental change in a timely manner; (2) provide […]
The question has become important to marijuana growers after the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision in Coats v. Dish Network, LLC, 303 P.3d 147 (Colo. 2015), where the Court held that an activity is only “lawful” if it violates neither state nor federal law. The issue has now arisen in the water context before Water Division […]
On February 8, 2016, the BLM published its long awaited proposed rule to control venting, flaring and leaks of natural gas from oil and gas operations on onshore Federal and Indian lands. 81 Fed. Reg. 6616. The primary purposes of the rule are to: (1) update regulatory requirements in light of newer technology; (2) increase […]
Developers and owners of real property typically enter into a variety of contracts concerning the use of real property. This is particularly true in the natural resource extraction industry. Generally, under Colorado law contractual obligations may be deemed personal covenants that bind only the parties signing the agreement, or they may be covenants that “run […]
In Pennaco Energy Inc. v. KD Company LLC, 2015 WL 7758324 (Wyo.) (“Pennaco I”), the Wyoming Supreme Court recently confirmed a precedent that subjects lessees and operators to liability for successors’ acts and failures under surface use agreements. At issue was the continued liability of Pennaco for obligations contained in a surface use agreement (“SUA”) […]
In September, the Colorado Supreme Court agreed to hear two cases that have the potential to settle the state/local battle over fracking regulations. The conflict roots back to 2013, when voters in Longmont passed a ban on hydraulic fracturing, and Fort Collins passed a five-year moratorium. In response, the Colorado Oil and Gas Association (“COGA”) […]
After the President denied the Keystone XL pipeline, climate change activists have turned their attention to federal fossil fuel leasing, discussed in our recent blog post: What’s Next, Post Keystone XL? “Keep it in the Ground!”. The “Keep it in the Ground” proponents argue the President should abandon his “all of the above” energy policy […]
With the rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline by President Obama as part of the Administration’s “package” of climate change actions to deliver to the UN Conference on Climate Change in December, activists and their political allies have turned to the next battlefield – stopping the leasing of federal minerals. http://goo.gl/mU8qia On November 4, Senator […]
As 2015 draws to a close, there is still time to reduce your 2015 tax bill and plan ahead for 2016. This memo highlights several potential tax-saving opportunities for business owners to consider. • Defer Income into 2016. Deferring income to the next taxable year is sometimes a useful year-end planning tool. If you expect […]