Some litigation events occur without warning, but it is possible to keep a calendar of scheduled events. Each quarter, we provide our readers with a calendar of known events we will be watching in the coming quarter. We are here to alert you to the filings made in courts around the country that may impact energy projects so you can better anticipate when the markets may be impacted by those filings. But in addition to arming you with the timing for these known events, we are also here to help you understand the significance of any filings so that you can better anticipate future decisions and build those outcomes into your market expectations.
Looking Back
When we set forth the calendar for the second quarter of this year in LawIQ is Now Arbo™ — Looking Ahead to Q2 2021, the big cases on the horizon were Dakota Access Pipe Line (DAPL) and PennEast. Both of those significant projects won their appeals and have, for now, come through the litigation jungle generally unscathed.
On June 22, 2021, the district court that had been hearing the various challenges to the DAPL project for over five years issued an order that “dismissed without prejudice” all remaining issues and directed the court clerk to “terminate” the case. But the order noted that the plaintiffs could file a new action if they wish to challenge the forthcoming court-ordered environmental impact statement. So for now, that case ends with a whimper and not a bang.
Just one week later, on June 29, 2021, the Supreme Court issued its decision in response to PennEast’s appeal of the lower court’s decision that held that PennEast could not condemn land in which the state of New Jersey held an interest. In Gas Pipeline Industry Dodges a Bullet with PennEast Win, But Spire STL May Lose Its Certificate, we noted the unusual alignment of justices that allowed that case to be decided in the industry’s favor. This means PennEast and all other pipelines with a FERC certificate will be able to condemn all necessary rights-of-way, whether owned by private parties or states, if FERC finds the project is necessary.
Looking Forward
We can’t always promise something as interesting as a Supreme Court challenge and the coming quarter is pretty quiet, comparatively. The two topics of broader interest will involve the various challenges to the Mountain Valley Pipeline project and its associated expansion, the Southgate project and FERC’s efforts to block shippers from rejecting pipeline contracts in their bankruptcy proceedings.
Our Quarterly Midstream Events Calendar has been updated for Q3. Find below some additional instructions for easy access and reference to this calendar in Google.
Click here to view (or bookmark) the Google Calendar in your web browser.
The Google “calendar ID” is: c_lnf3vvo2u5ekotugtaiil035rk@group.calendar.google.com
The “public address” to access the calendar from other applications is: https://calendar.google.com/calendar/ical/c_lnf3vvo2u5ekotugtaiil035rk%40group.calendar.google.com/public/basic.ics
Please don’t hesitate to schedule a call if you’d like to discuss any upcoming regulatory or litigation events in detail.
