News
Judge Orders “Accelerated” Review of Long-Disputed Montana Oil and Gas Leases
On July 27, 2015, U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ordered the BLM to develop an “accelerated schedule” within the next 21 days to be used to decide whether to authorize development of 18 federal oil and gas leases that were originally issued in 1982, but have been...
Two Welborn Shareholders Honored by the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation
During the Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation's ("RMMLF") Annual Institute held in Anchorage July 15-18, 2015, Amy Seneshen was elected chairperson of the Site Selection Committee for the Annual Institute and Rebecca Watson was selected to the Board of Directors of...
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Announces Notice of Intent to Prepare Rulemaking for Migratory Bird Treaty Act Incidental Take Permits
On May 26, 2015, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service issued a notice of intent (NOI) to prepare a programmatic environmental impact statement (EIS) evaluating the impacts of a proposal to authorize the incidental take of migratory birds under the Migratory Bird Treaty...
EPA Announces Final Rule Defining “Waters of the U.S.” under Clean Water Act
On June 27, 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published the final version of a long-anticipated rule defining the scope of the agency’s power to regulate waters under the Clean Water Act. The rule defines what constitutes a “water of the United States”...
Changes in Colorado’s Rules of Civil Procedure Aimed at Frontloading Litigation to Decrease Costs
After testing new rules in a select number of Colorado districts over the past few years, on July 1, 2015, the Colorado Supreme Court adopted new rules intended to significantly change civil litigation, especially the discovery process. This initial stage of a lawsuit...
Michigan v. EPA: The EPA Must Consider Costs in Emission Limits
On June 29, in a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court held in Michigan v. EPA that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must consider the costs of industry when deciding to set limits under the Clean Air Act on the emissions of hazardous air pollutants...
Congratulations to Ken Barbe and Nora Pincus
Welborn Extends Congratulations to J. Kenneth Barbe selected as a 2015 Mountain States Super Lawyer®, as well as Nora Pincus selected as a 2015 Mountain States "Rising Star." To be eligible for inclusion in Rising Stars, a candidate must be either 40 years old or...
New 500 Foot Wyoming Drilling Setback and Notification Rules To Go into Effect on June 28, 2015
On April 14, 2015, the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission unanimously approved several changes to its drilling regulations, which will go into effect on June 28, 2015 (i.e. 75 days after approval). The Commission increased the minimum distance between...
The U.S. Supreme Court Disagreed with 10th Circuit’s Analysis in a Refusal-to-Hire Case Focused on the Wearing of a Religious Headscarf
On June 1, 2015, in an 8-1 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against Abercrombie & Fitch and for a Muslim job applicant, Elauf, who had been rejected for employment because her headscarf would conflict with the store's "Look Policy" which prohibited the...
The 10th Circuit Rebuffs Environmental Groups’ Challenges to Keystone XL Pipeline Permit and Verification Letters
On May 29, 2015, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit upheld the entry of judgment for defendant and rejected National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Clean Water Act (CWA) challenges to the validity of Army Corps of Engineers' Nationwide Permit 12 (NWP...
Obama Administration Proposes Changes to ESA-listing Rule
In an apparent attempt to head-off legislative changes to the Endangered Species Act (“ESA”) that have been threatened by Congressional Republicans, President Obama unveiled a suite of proposed changed to the ESA species listing process. These changes, contained in a...
Steve Bain elected to the CBA’s Environmental Law Section
Welborn Shareholder, Steve Bain, was elected to the Advisory Council of the Colorado Bar Association’s Environmental Law Section during their annual meeting held on May 25, 2015. The term runs for three years.