Natural Resources / Mining / Energy

  • Regularly represent mining companies and mineral lessors in lease and coal reserve acquisition negotiations, due diligence evaluations of coal and other mineral reserves, as well as regulatory impacts on the extraction of potential mineral resources.
  • Assist clients in a wide variety of fossil fuel and mineral resource matters, including coal, oil and gas, limestone, clay, sand and gravel, zinc and gold, and renewable resources such as timber.
  • Work closely with clients in developing plans for mitigation of environmental impacts associated with resource development, as well as conservation easements in conjunction with resource extraction permitting and stand-alone easements in connection
  • Regularly defend mining companies against enforcement actions taken by federal and state regulatory agencies.
  • Assist clients in obtaining environmental permits, permit transfers, waivers and variances for mining and mineral development projects.
  • Develop comments and participate in legislative and agency rulemaking activities to shape the rights and obligations of mining clients.
  • Represented a client regarding the permissible reach of limitations on an owner's ability to mine on property protected by the Kentucky Wild Rivers Act.
  • Work with trade associations to clarify regulatory requirements for access to mined property.
  • Obtained a federal court injunction against the federal Office of Surface Mining to prevent threatened federal enforcement when an operator was caught in a disagreement between state and federal regulatory agencies.
  • Challenged numerous agency regulations and rulemakings at the program level, achieving delays in implementation and favorable settlements in several others.
  • Regularly represent mining companies and mineral holding companies in lease and coal reserve acquisition negotiations.
  • Represent mining companies in access issues and surface/mineral owner disputes.
  • Advise clients on royalty dispute resolutions.
  • Draft standard mineral reserve and development agreements for mining companies and individuals lessors.
  • Represented a mineral holding company against the federal government in the Court of Federal Claims on the grounds that its mineral property was taken by surface mining regulation.
  • Represent mining companies and coal landholding companies in quiet title actions and title curative work.
  • Draft all mineral lease agreements for a large, multi-state coal mining company.
  • Regularly draft mineral royalty and contract mining agreements for several Appalachian-based land and mineral holding companies.
  • Represented a coal company in its successful effort to obtain a permit to construct and operate the largest coal ash landfill in Kentucky despite a determined permit challenge by citizens.
  • Negotiate and draft transportation agreements for mineral cargos, including dock and barge fleeting agreements.
  • Routinely represent the Kentucky Coal Association, mining companies and mineral lessors before the Kentucky Revenue Cabinet on unmined minerals taxation issues.
  • Represent mining and landholding clients in coal severance tax issues and other mining and extractive-related federal and state tax issues.
  • Represented a large energy and coal trading company in the breach of a coal shipping and “through-put” agreement at a dock on the Big Sandy River.
  • Represented another large energy company in the negotiation of a lease for a large loading facility on the Big Sandy River.
  • Represented an Appalachian coal producer against Cogentrix, Inc. regarding a “requirements” coal supply contract that resulted in a favorable arbitration award for the client of more than $8 million.
  • Counseled a large Eastern, investor-owned utility and a regional generation cooperative on the largest bankruptcy of a coal supplier in the country, Horizon Natural Resources, and its pre-petition and post-petition failures to perform various coal supply agreements with those utilities.
  • Represented a coal company against a South Carolina utility regarding its alleged failure to perform a coal supply agreement.
  • Drafted various amendments and revisions on behalf of a supplier with DTE, TVA, VEPCO, Southern Company Services and various other utilities and industrial users.
  • Represented various private parties in numerous disputes on coal supply contracts, marketing and sales contracts, and the renegotiation of unfavorable agreements.
  • Our state and local tax attorneys have extensive experience in representing natural resource and mining companies, which includes drafting and negotiating regulations regarding the classification of machinery actually engaged in the manufacturing of coal, crushed stone, sand, and gravel and hot mix asphalt for Kentucky's property taxes, as well as property tax planning and compliance.
  • Have advised various natural gas companies and mining companies regarding Kentucky's severance tax and property tax assessed on unmined minerals.
  • Have advised natural gas companies on the sales tax implications of purchases and sales by energy marketers.