Holland & Hart News

Holland & Hart Launches ColoradoConstructionLaw.com

Holland & Hart's Tim Gordon is the firm's latest blogger, launching http://www.coloradoconstructionlaw.com/  last month.  The new blog will provide commentary on recent construction law court decisions in the state, as well as other jurisdictions affecting construction and building industries in the west.   Holland & Hart attorneys now author six industry-related blogs. 

Jim Hartley Admitted to American College of Trial Lawyers

Holland & Hart partner James Hartley has become a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, one of the premier legal associations in America.

Hartley chairs Holland & Hart's 175-member Litigation Department and leads the firm's Antitrust practice. He has practiced with Holland & Hart in Denver as a trial lawyer since 1974. In that time, he has focused his practice on antitrust and patent infringement litigation. He is recognized as a leader in his field by Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA, and Colorado Super Lawyers.

Chris Thorne Comments on Colorado Water Law

Chris Thorne, Chair of Holland & Hart's Water Law Group, participated in a recent hearing sponsored by the Colorado Supreme Court, on possible reforms to the Colorado Water laws and regulations.  Read the article in the Pueblo Chieftain. 

News Update on Carbon Sequestration Legislation

Wyoming Leads Nation with Clean Coal Legislation: State First to Establish Carbon-Capture Regulatory Framework
By Delissa Hayano
March 6, 2008

On March 4, 2008, Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal signed into law two bills intended to resolve ownership and regulation issues associated with the underground storage of carbon dioxide. With the Governor’s signature, Wyoming became the first state to enact comprehensive carbon sequestration legislation establishing a legal framework for underground storage of carbon dioxide and other emissions from coal-fired power plants.

House Bill 89 addresses the ownership of “Pore Space,” which is the space in subsurface geologic formations that can be used as storage space for carbon dioxide or other substances. The bill establishes that Pore Space underneath the surface estate is owned by the surface owner. The bill allows that the Pore Space is conveyed upon the conveyance of the surface, unless the space has been previously conveyed or is explicitly excluded in the surface conveyance. The bill states explicitly that it does not affect the common law regarding the dominance of the mineral estate.

House Bill 90 rests regulation of Wyoming’s carbon sequestration program with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The bill requires the DEQ to create an advisory board and rules to expand the Underground Injection Control program to include carbon sequestration. Under the bill, a working group including the supervisor of the oil and gas commission, the state geologist, and the director of the DEQ will set bonding procedures. Jurisdiction over the subsequent extraction of sequestered carbon dioxide rests with the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The bill does not impact the oil and other mineral interest owners’ right to drill or bore through sequestration sites, nor does it include within its scope the regulation of enhanced oil recovery operations using carbon dioxide.

The laws take effect July 1, 2008, and are a component of Wyoming’s efforts to lead the nation in developing new clean coal technologies. Other components of this effort include a legislative committee’s proposal to study clean coal incentives during the interim between the 2008 and 2009 legislative sessions and the recently announced $100 million coal research plant to be developed by General Electric in partnership with the University of Wyoming.

Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission House Bills 1298 & 1341

Update on the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation
Commission House Bills 1298 & 1341 Rulemaking

This brief summary is to provide you with  an update on the current House Bills 1298 and 1341 rulemaking process at the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (the "COGCC").   

Since the release of the Pre-Draft Rulemaking Proposal (also referred to as COGCC's "strawman" proposal), COGCC has held a series of “stakeholder” meetings in five substantive areas: (1) Process; (2) Environment and Health; (3) Wildlife; (4) Studies; and (5) Additional Regulations.  These stakeholder meetings brought together representatives of federal, state and local governments, industry, concerned citizens and environmental groups to discuss problems, issues and suggestions raised by the strawman proposal.  The stakeholder meeting process has largely concluded, and the COGCC is now in the process of drafting proposed rules.   Stakeholders have expressed very mixed reviews and reactions to the stakeholder process, and many contentious policy and legal issues remain unresolved and unaddressed.

Read the rest of the article here.