Reuters reports that the Trump administration’s effort to cut red tape and speed up major energy projects has backfired in the case of the three biggest U.S. pipelines now planned or under construction.

Reuters reporters Scott DiSavino and Stephanie Kelly explain:

“The Republican administration tried to accelerate permits for two multi-billion-dollar natural gas lines and jumpstart the long-stalled Keystone XL crude oil pipeline that would start in Canada. Judges halted construction on all three over the past two years, ruling that the administration granted permits without conducting adequate studies or providing enough alternatives to protect endangered species or national forests.”

Read the Reuters article.

A recent FTC enforcement action clarifies the requirements for non-compete clauses in M&A agreements to fulfill certain requirements to comply with antitrust and competition laws, and serves as a reminder that U.S. antitrust authorities are actively reviewing these provisions, according to Orrick’s Antitrust Watch blog.

In the case, the Federal Trade Commission took issue with the non-compete clause in a purchase and sale agreement, which would have prohibited one seller from competing with the natural gas pipeline for three years.

Read the article.

A Louisiana appellate court has added to the relatively sparse body of appellate rulings in pipeline expropriation matters with an unpublished opinion affirming that landowners whose property is expropriated must prove their entitlement to severance damages to a “legal certainty.”

Writing in the Liskow & Lewis Energy Law Blog, Laura Springer Brown discusses the case of  Enterprise Products Operating, LLC, v. Southwood Terminal, L.L.C.

In its ruling, the court affirmed a two-part test for severance damages: The landowner must prove a diminution in value, “and only then could the jury continue on to the issue of the amount of damages.”

Read the article.

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Randall S. Rich of Pierce Atwood LLP, writing in the firm’s Energy Infrastructure Blog, considers the question: Can an interstate natural gas pipeline continue to operate if a court vacates its certificate authorizations?

He raises the question in light of a federal appellate court’s ruling that raises the possibility that it will vacate certificates of public convenience and necessity authorizing the construction and operation of the Florida Southeast Connection pipelines. Those pipelines are currently transporting natural gas to power plants in Florida.

He covers the facts of the case and then discusses a legal theory that may permit the pipelines to continue to transport natural gas if the certificate orders were vacated.

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On March 17, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a major proposal to revise the safety standards for onshore natural gas pipelines, reports Kevin A. Ewing of Bracewell LLP.

“The proposed rule follows years of study as well as specific direction from Congress requiring new pipeline safety initiatives. The proposal spans over 500 pages and contains numerous major and minor revisions and agency statements that together demonstrate PHMSA’s intention to assert substantially more control over the design, operation and maintenance of pipelines to prevent incidents,” he writes.

More pipelines would be subject to Integrity Management requirements if the rule is approved, he explains. “It would also expand the definition of regulated gathering lines, accelerate pipeline repairs, and set a higher bar for data gathering and analysis of risk, among other changes. The proposed rule does not address underground gas storage, valves and leak detection, or quality management systems.”

Read the article.