News
The Dakota Access Pipeline and What It Means
On September 9, 2016, 30 minutes after winning and stopping the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe’s (“Sioux” or “Tribe”) request to enjoin the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”), the Obama administration upended the rule of law. The Departments of Justice, Army and the Interior...
Welborn Sponsors the 3rd Annual DPC Charity Golf Tournament
Our firm provided a tee box sponsorship at the 3rd Annual Denver Petroleum Club (DPC) Charity Golf Tournament held on October 10, 2016. Welborn attorneys Joe Pierzchala, Heidi Ruckriegle, Bill Rapson, and Jim Noble enjoyed a great day on the course.
Revisiting Proposed Initiatives 75 and 78 and Amendment 71
On August 29, 2016, Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams found that the proponents of Proposed Initiative 75 (Local Government Control of Oil and Gas Development) and Proposed Initiative 78 (Mandatory Setback from Oil and Gas Development) did not collect the...
John Masterson Elected President of the Wyoming State Bar
Welborn extends congratulations to John A. Masterson, an attorney in our Casper, Wyoming office. He has been elected President of the Wyoming State Bar. The 2016-2017 election results were announced last week in Laramie, Wyoming at the Bar's Annual Business Meeting.
The November Ballot Can Still Affect the Energy Industry
For those interested in Colorado’s energy economy, ballot initiatives concerning oil and gas regulation have rightly taken center stage. (See [4/27/16 post]). As of today, however, none of those public initiatives appear destined for the ballot this November. The...
Gold King Mine Spill Exposes the Legal Hurdles to Cleaning up Mines
This post was written by Katherine "Kate" Sanford who worked with WSMT as a summer intern from June 1 through August 10, 2016. On August 5, 2015, Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) contractors inadvertently broke through a retaining wall at the closed Gold King...
Ten Welborn Attorneys Named Among the Best in America for 2017
Ten of Welborn's attorneys in fourteen Practice Areas were listed in the Best Lawyers in America® 2017. Congratulations to Carolyn Burr, Laura Lindley, Ed Blieszner, Rebecca Watson, Keith Tooley, Brian Tooley, Kendor Jones, J. Kenneth Barbe, Hampton O’Neill, and John...
EPA Haze Rule – U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit Stays EPA From Implementing Final Haze Rule in Texas and Oklahoma.
The federal Clean Air Act requires the states and the federal government to establish and meet targets for visibility in protected national parks and wildlife areas through regulations that control air pollutants in ambient air. 42 U.S.C. §§ 7410, 7491, 7492(e)(2)....
Kendor Jones Awarded the Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award
Congratulations to Welborn Shareholder, Ken Jones who was selected as a 2016 Distinguished Recipient of the Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award by the Trustees of the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation at their Annual Institute. The Clyde O. Martz Teaching Award was...
Wyoming Trespass Statutes Survive Constitutional Challenge
What do you do when someone enters your property to collect information about its status with the intent to convey that information to a governmental or regulatory agency without your permission? In Wyoming, you contact your local legislator. In 2015, the Wyoming...
Bears Ears . . . What Does it All Mean?
Last week, Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-Utah), formally introduced his revamped House Bill, the Public Lands Initiative, which seeks to designate millions of acres of proposed Wilderness, establish large motorized recreation areas, and expedite the...
Unintentional Misconduct and Standardless Discretion: The Department of Interior’s New Rules for Valuing Oil, Gas and Coal
The Office of Natural Resources Revenue (ONRR) within the Department of the Interior issued new royalty valuation rules on July 1, 2016. Although the goal of the regulations is to simplify the calculation of royalties on federal oil, gas and coal, the 65 pages of...