Litigation

DeepRock Disposal | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Washington County (OH) | Wastewater

Marietta, OH City Council Discusses Suing to Block Injection Well
September 10, 2025September 10, 2025

Two weeks ago, Marietta, OH, officials, including the city’s Republican mayor, law director, water superintendent, and a majority of city council members, asked the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Oil and Gas Chief Eric Vendel to deny a permit application from DeepRock Disposal Solutions for the Stephan #1 injection well, which would be the company’s fifth injection well in the area (see Marietta, OH Officials Ask ODNR to Deny Permit for Injection Well). Last week, the ODNR rejected Marietta’s appeal and went ahead and issued a permit (see ODNR Rejects Marietta Hearing Request, Issues Injection Well Permit). Marietta is now considering filing a lawsuit to block the project. Read More “Marietta, OH City Council Discusses Suing to Block Injection Well”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation

D.C. Circuit Allows EPA to Cancel $16B in Grants to Climate Grifters
September 4, 2025September 4, 2025

Earlier this year, a video circulated on social media featuring a Biden EPA political appointee talking about “tossing gold bars off the Titanic,” intentionally rushing to get billions of tax dollars out of the agency before Inauguration Day. The EPA’s new sheriff, Lee Zeldin, located $20 billion of those gold bars sitting at a Citibank bank account (see EPA Discovers Illegal $20 Billion Transfer from Biden’s Final Days). The money was intended to fund radical anti-Trump efforts related to environmental issues. Zeldin canceled the grants, froze the account, and demanded the money be returned. The green grifters sued (see Greedy Climate Grifters Squeal, Sue to Restore $20B EPA Slush Fund). The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC Circuit) has just ruled that Zeldin has the right to cancel the grants and recoup the money. Read More “D.C. Circuit Allows EPA to Cancel $16B in Grants to Climate Grifters”
Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio | Statewide OH

Fresh Legal Look at Ohio Royalty Post-Production Deductions
August 27, 2025August 27, 2025

Back in April, MDN brought you news about an important decision issued in a federal court case (in Ohio) that potentially affects landowners and drillers with shale leases throughout the Marcellus/Utica (see 6th Circuit Upholds OH Landowner Claims Against Antero re Deductions). The case, The Grissoms, LLC v. Antero Resources Corporation, was decided by the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (6th Circuit) on April 2, 2025. The case involves a dispute between a certified class of 370 Ohio landowners and Antero. According to a law firm writing about the decision, “This case is more than just a win for those plaintiffs. It sets the stage for future mineral owners in their efforts to fight royalty deductions by clarifying a commonly used oil and gas lease provision.” Read More “Fresh Legal Look at Ohio Royalty Post-Production Deductions”
Carroll County | Encino Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Ohio

OH Rights Owner Wins Case Against Encino re Post-Production Deductions
August 26, 2025August 26, 2025

Another important lawsuit involving whether or not a driller can deduct from royalty checks for post-production expenses was just decided by the Ohio Court of Appeals for the Seventh District in Carroll County. The rights owner in this case, Gateway Royalty II, sued Encino Energy (EAP Ohio) over the issue of deducting post-production expenses from the company’s overriding royalty interests. This is slightly different from the usual post-production issue for landowners/rights owners. Read More “OH Rights Owner Wins Case Against Encino re Post-Production Deductions”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation

With Shell Win in Hand, VG Brags It Will Win Other LNG Cases
August 20, 2025August 20, 2025

A week ago, MDN told you that Venture Global (VG) had won an arbitration case brought against it by Shell (see Shell Loses Case Against Venture Global for Delayed LNG Cargoes). The case accused VG of not delivering contracted LNG shipments *for years* while VG sold those shipments on the open/spot market for more money than they would have made from honoring their contracts. Shell lost the case. However, Shell was not the only company to sue. In light of winning the arbitration case with Shell, VG says it’s confident it will win the remaining cases, too. Read More “With Shell Win in Hand, VG Brags It Will Win Other LNG Cases”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Regulation | Trumbull County | Wastewater

OH Supreme Court to Hear Case of Closed AWMS Injection Well, Again
August 19, 2025August 19, 2025

We’ve been tracking a story that we consider an ongoing tragedy for more than a decade. American Water Management Services (AWMS) owns a wastewater injection well in Trumbull County, Ohio, that supposedly caused a low-level earthquake (that nobody could feel) in 2014. Actually, there are two injection wells located at the site, both operated by AWMS. They were both “temporarily” shut down by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) following the quake nobody could feel (see ODNR Temporarily Shuts Down Injection Wells After Low-Level Quake). ODNR allowed AWMS to reopen one of the injection wells but denied it the right to reopen the second well. AWMS said it makes no economic sense to reopen just one of the wells and has been locked in a legal battle to reopen the shuttered well and get compensated by the state for forcing it out of business (missed revenues). The Ohio Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case tomorrow—for a third time. Read More “OH Supreme Court to Hear Case of Closed AWMS Injection Well, Again”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pipelines | Statewide VA | Virginia

Va. Court Rules on What Defines Distribution vs Transmission Pipe
August 19, 2025August 19, 2025

We spotted an interesting court ruling in Virginia with the potential to impact midstream (pipeline) companies in the state. The case is Zinner v. Washington Gas Light Co. On July 1, the Court of Appeals of Virginia ruled that a proposed Washington Gas Light (WGL) natural gas pipeline project is a “distribution” and not a “transmission” pipeline project. In Virginia, distribution pipelines are exempt from needing to conform to local municipal ordinances, while transmission lines are subject to such ordinances. Read More “Va. Court Rules on What Defines Distribution vs Transmission Pipe”
Energy Services | Energy Transfer Partners | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Ohio | Pipelines | Statewide OH | Taxation

Rover Pipeline Loses Ohio Supreme Court Decision to Lower Tax Bill
August 14, 2025August 14, 2025

Rover Pipeline, a 713-mile natural gas pipeline, was designed to carry up to 3.25 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) of Marcellus and Utica gas from Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Ohio to destinations in Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia, and Canada. The project was completed and came online in late 2018 (see FERC OKs Final 2 Rover Pipeline Laterals – Now 100% Online). Rover’s original estimated cost to build the project was $4.08 billion. It ultimately cost $6.3 billion, as historically high rainfall led to additional unforeseen expenses, delays, and inspections. Most of the pipeline runs through Ohio, which assesses a property tax on such projects. Rover and Ohio disagree over the value to be assigned to the pipeline for annual taxation purposes. After several appeals, the case headed to the Ohio Supreme Court in May (see Rover Pipeline Heads to Ohio Supreme Court to Lower Tax Assessment). The Supremes issued their ruling yesterday, and it didn’t go Rover’s way. Read More “Rover Pipeline Loses Ohio Supreme Court Decision to Lower Tax Bill”
CNG/LNG | Energy Companies | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Shell

Shell Loses Case Against Venture Global for Delayed LNG Cargoes
August 13, 2025August 13, 2025

Venture Global has won an arbitration case brought against it by Shell. The case accused Venture Global of not delivering contracted LNG shipments *for years* while Venture Global sold those shipments on the open/spot market for more money than they would have made from honoring their contracts with Shell (and with other big LNG buyers, Shell wasn’t the only one to sue). Shell claimed to have spent some $1.7 billion more buying LNG than it would have if Venture Global had honored its contract. Yet in arbitration, the tribunal found that Venture Global did honor the letter of the contracts signed. Venture Global may have won based on the letter of the contract, but they certainly lost based on the spirit of the contract, by exploiting loopholes. They lost the trust of their customers. Read More “Shell Loses Case Against Venture Global for Delayed LNG Cargoes”
Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Litigation | Mercer County | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA Commonwealth Court Overturns Permit for Drill Cuttings Landfill
August 8, 2025August 8, 2025

In January 2024, MDN told you about a long-closed landfill that seeks to reopen in Liberty and Pine Townships in Mercer County, PA (see Group Claims Drill Cuttings for Grove City Landfill “Radioactive”). In 2020, Tri-County Landfill Inc. submitted a permit application for the construction and operation of a municipal waste landfill site operated from 1950 to 1990. One of the objections to reopening the landfill is that it may accept drill cuttings from fracked wells. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a permit to allow the project to proceed. The permit was challenged, and the challenge was rejected. Those who object to the landfill reopening appealed their rejected challenge to PA’s Commonwealth Court, which heard oral arguments in May (see Oral Arguments for Lawsuit re Shale Drill Cuttings at PA Landfill). The court ruled yesterday. Read More “PA Commonwealth Court Overturns Permit for Drill Cuttings Landfill”
Energy Companies | Energy Services | EQT Corp | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | West Virginia | Wetzel County

4 WV Kids Sue EQT Claiming Compressor, Wells Caused Illness
August 8, 2025August 8, 2025

The parents of four children under the age of 18 (from three families) filed a lawsuit on their kids’ behalf against EQT subsidiaries EQT Production Company and EQT XL Midstream Operating, claiming that emissions from a nearby compressor station and nearby shale wells operated by EQT have led to severe health-related problems for the kids. The families used to live in the rural hamlet of Knob Fork in Wetzel County, WV. They all have since moved. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages and money for ongoing monitoring of the kids’ health. Read More “4 WV Kids Sue EQT Claiming Compressor, Wells Caused Illness”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Range Appeals Cecil Township Frack-Ban-by-Setback to County Court
August 5, 2025August 6, 2025

Last November, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking in the town via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see Cecil Twp Supervisors Pull the Trigger on Frack Ban Via Setbacks). We said at the time, “Let the lawsuits begin.” And so they did. Range Resources, the only driller in Cecil Township with wells or permits to drill, filed a “Substantive Validity Challenge” to the ordinance that the Township Zoning Hearing Board heard. The Hearing Board voted 2-0 in June to dismiss the challenge, leaving the 2,500-foot setback requirement in place (see Cecil Twp Board Votes to Dismiss Challenge of 2,500-Ft Setback). Range recently appealed the dismissal to the Washington County Court of Common Pleas. Read More “Range Appeals Cecil Township Frack-Ban-by-Setback to County Court”
CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation

Texas LNG Brownsville Receives Positive Final FERC Enviro Review
August 4, 2025August 4, 2025

Glenfarne’s Texas LNG facility in Brownsville, Texas, will have the capacity to export 4 MTPA. EQT Corporation, the largest natural gas producer in the Marcellus/Utica, signed two agreements with Glenfarne to liquefy 2.0 million tons per annum (MTPA) of EQT-extracted shale gas at the facility when it’s built (see EQT Signs Contract to Ship 264 MMcf/d to LNG Export Plant in Texas). That works out to be roughly 264 million cubic feet per day (MMcf/d) of EQT’s M-U molecules hitching a ride to South Texas. Glenfarne’s Texas LNG facility cleared a legal hurdle last week when the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved a court-ordered revised environmental impact statement. Read More “Texas LNG Brownsville Receives Positive Final FERC Enviro Review”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation

Trump EPA Delays Biden’s Onerous Quad O Methane Regs; Big Green Sues
August 4, 2025August 4, 2025

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced it will delay the implementation of new limits on methane emissions from oil and gas development by an extra 18 months, until January 22, 2027. The Trump EPA is considering scrapping the onerous regs altogether. The regulations were cooked up during the terror reign of President Autopen. Big Green, which loved the Autopen years, filed a lawsuit challenging the delay. No surprise there. Read More “Trump EPA Delays Biden’s Onerous Quad O Methane Regs; Big Green Sues”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Monroe County | Noble County | Ohio | Regulation | Washington County (OH)

Big Green Sues to Block Leasing & Drilling in OH National Forest
August 1, 2025August 1, 2025

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Did you know that there are federal lands in the Marcellus/Utica? The Wayne National Forest (WNF) is a patchwork of public and private mineral rights that covers over a quarter of a million acres of the Appalachian foothills in southeastern Ohio. For years, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), under Democrat presidents, blocked new permits and shale drilling in WNF. During the first Trump administration, the BLM began to auction off federal leases and permits. However, Big Green sued, and a federal judge blocked drilling in WNF in 2021, after President Autopen took office. The BLM in the second Trump administration recently announced it has restarted the leasing process in WNF (see Trump BLM Restarts O&G Leasing in Ohio’s Wayne National Forest). Big Green is hoping it can stop any new leasing or drilling with another lawsuit. Read More “Big Green Sues to Block Leasing & Drilling in OH National Forest”
Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Commonwealth Court Candidate Says DEP “Very Aggressive” re O&G
July 31, 2025July 31, 2025

The Commonwealth Court in Pennsylvania is extremely important. It is one of two intermediate appellate courts (the other being Superior Court). The jurisdiction of the nine-judge Commonwealth Court is limited to appeals from final orders of certain state agencies (including the Department of Environmental Protection) and certain designated cases from the Courts of Common Pleas involving public sector legal questions, government regulation, and certain matters involving not-for-profit organizations. There is an open seat on Commonwealth Court. The Republican running, Matt Wolford, would be a great addition. Read More “PA Commonwealth Court Candidate Says DEP “Very Aggressive” re O&G”