• Natural gas
• Electricity
• Water and sewer
• Coal
• Transportation
• Telecommunications
• Landfill
• Wind power

• Certificates for natural gas and coal-fired power plants and wind power projects
• Restructuring of the electric industry
• Planning and litigating the first LDC bypasses
• Negotiating and drafting energy contracts
• Curtailment and interruption cases
• Drafting rules, regulations and statutes

• Surface water quality regulation, storm water and NPDES permits
• Section 404 permitting, compliance and defense of enforcement actions
• Groundwater issues, including groundwater pollution prevention plans and state quality standards
• UIC permitting, compliance and defense of enforcement actions
• Air emissions regulation and permitting, and defense of enforcement actions
• Oil and gas permitting, regulatory compliance and defense of enforcement actions
• Mine permitting and reclamation, regulatory compliance and defense of enforcement actions
• Development and implementation of legal strategies for clearing contaminated sites through Brownfields programs
• Human health and ecological risk assessment applications
• Underground storage tank liability litigation and defense of administrative orders
• Aboveground storage tanks
• Hazardous and solid waste management regulatory programs
• Federal and state Superfund and remediation laws
• Asbestos, lead, mercury, PCBs, dioxin and other hazardous or toxic materials
• Community right-to-know requirements
• Due diligence investigations with regard to mergers and acquisitions
• Representation in administrative appeals before environmental boards
• Defense of civil environmental enforcement actions before trial courts
• Counseling municipalities and other governmental entities regarding environmental compliance
• Strategic planning and permitting of commercial solid waste facilities
• Defense of criminal investigations and indictments alleging environmental crimes

Litigation

• Represent midstream companies in litigation throughout Pennsylvania and West Virginia, including in the following courts:
  • Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas of Allegheny, Westmoreland, Fayette, Greene, Butler, and Washington counties
  • United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania and United States District Court for the Northern District of West Virginia
  • West Virginia Circuit Courts of Marshall and Ohio counties
• Defend cases involving a wide variety of claims throughout these jurisdictions, including claims for breach of contract for violations of Right-of-Way/Easement agreements, negligence, fraud, trespass, claims brought under state Hazardous Sites Cleanup Acts, claims for improperly placed pipelines, and private and public nuisance claims for activities related to pipeline construction and the operation of compressor stations, including for noise, dust and release of hazardous materials
• Successfully defend major midstream company in defeating injunction action brought in federal court in West Virginia by landowner attempting to stop access to and work on his property related to the repair of a pipeline rupture
• Advise clients regarding viability of eminent domain activities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and elsewhere
• Negotiate with landowners on pre-litigation matters involving nuisance, trespass and other potential claims

Transactional and Commercial

• Handle all aspects of multi-billion-dollar pipeline project spanning numerous states, including putting protocols in place for activities in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and elsewhere for issues ranging from acquisition of options for rights-of-way to construction documents
• Analyze and draft gathering agreements
• Negotiate and draft all documents related to acquisitions of rights of way in Pennsylvania and West Virginia
• Document, file and record right-of-way and easement acquisitions and other transactions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia

Labor and Employment

• Defend against claims raised in administrative proceedings and litigation in multiple jurisdictions
• Handle all aspects of wage and hour audit initiated by the Department of Labor
• Advise on national union avoidance and related issues
• Provide advice and counseling on employee-related issues including classifications, hiring, performance, termination and legal compliance

Environmental

• Respond to Clean Air Act Section 114 information requests
• Advise on storage tank issues in multiple jurisdictions
• Advise on all aspects of EPA inspections of gas processing and de-ethanization plants
• Handle all aspects of air permitting issues with DEP in several states, including Pennsylvania and West Virginia
• Advise clients on environmental aspects of pipeline projects related to storm water construction permitting, stream crossings, air permitting for compressor stations, solid waste disposal and similar issues

• Permit applications, amendments and renewals
• Responses to notices of violation and orders of regulatory agencies
• Intervention with agencies such as Division of Environmental Protection, Federal Office of Surface Mining, Environmental Protection Agency, United States Army Corps of Engineers and other regulatory agencies
• Representation in litigation and administrative processes

• Exploration and production companies
• Midstream companies
• Trade associations
• Pipeline operators
• Storage and distributors
• Drilling contractors
• Service companies
• Public utilities
• Commercial lenders 

Our Oil & Gas Legal Services

Litigation

• Oil and gas drilling rights disputes
• Fracking ban disputes
• Royalty and bonus payment disputes
• Joint venture and co-ownership disputes
• Real property disputes
• Lease challenges
• Breach of contracts
• Federal and state regulatory disputes
• Fraudulent mispresentation
• Hazardous Site Cleanup Act violations
• Negligence and private nuisance claims
• Temporary easements
• Torts to land disputes
• Condemnation

• Representing Texas-based gas producers and land companies in disputes over natural gas leases in Pennsylvania and West Virginia
• Representing Marcellus and Utica Shale exploration and production companies in litigation in state and federal courts, including defending against claims for bonus and anniversary payments under oil and gas leases, defending declaratory judgment actions, and defending against claims attempting to repudiate leases 
• Representing exploration and production companies in quiet title and curative actions in Pennsylvania
• Representing and advising companies involved in exploration and production in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, including providing advice on issues including operations, joint ventures, top leases, preferential rights, bonus and anniversary payments, exercising lease options, and rights-of-way for pipelines   

Finance, mergers and acquisitions

• Representing a large Pennsylvania-based gas producer in its acquisition of Marcellus Shale drilling rights on 40,000 acres of land in Pennsylvania and West Virginia
• Representing a West Virginia-based producer in its $100 million equity financing for the development of Marcellus Shale properties
• Providing day-to-day legal advice to gas producers on matters ranging from drilling partnerships and joint ventures to gas marketing, leasing and other similar commercial arrangements
• Representing and advising companies involved in exploration and development in the Marcellus and Utica Shale, including providing advice regarding lease documents and on issues such as the exercise of lease options and rights-of-way for pipelines  

Environmental regulation

Real estate/land use

Public utility law

Labor and employment law

Intellectual property

• Infringement matters involving patent, trademark, copyright and trade secret law
• Preparation and prosecution of patent and trademark applications
• Evaluation of invention disclosures and new/proposed trademarks
• Trademark clearance and risk assessment
• Unfair competition and false advertising issues
• Commercial IP issues relating to employment matters, commercial agreements, product development, and sales and marketing
• Technology licensing, joint development agreements and confidentiality/nondisclosure agreements

Affiliations

• Independent Petroleum Association of America
• Energy & Mineral Law Foundation
• Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association
• Independent Oil & Gas Association of West Virginia
• West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association

• Representing industrial, manufacturing, institutional, and commercial end-users of electricity, natural gas and other utility services in regulatory litigation (including ratemaking, general investigation and rulemaking proceedings) before state public utility/service commissions and appellate courts
• Providing legislative assistance and input related to federal and state energy laws and regulations on an as-needed basis for large end-user clients
• Providing advice and counsel to individual large users in contract or service agreement negotiation and quality of service and contract disputes involving the utility providers of such services
• Representing and counseling large users with respect to energy efficiency, demand-response, and on-site generation issues
• Representing developers of generation projects, including on-site generation projects, large-scale renewable (wind) energy projects and natural gas-fired generation projects
• Representing competitive providers of energy and communications services before state commissions, focusing on due diligence and regulatory compliance and, as necessary, litigation, including acquisitions, transfers of permits and complaint defense
• Representing municipal and public service district clients in water and wastewater regulatory matters

Derrick Price Williamson
Co-Chair, Utility Law Group
717.795.2741
dwilliamson@spilmanlaw.com

Members

• Advanced Graphite Materials, LLC
• ArcelorMittal USA LLC
• Argos-US
• The Chemours Company
• Constellium - Ravenswood
• Covestro LLC
• Eagle Manufacturing Company
• Eagle Natrium (Westlake)
• Marathon Petroleum
• Messer LLC
• ND Fairmont, LLC
• Novelis Corporation
• Quad
• U.S. Silica Company
• Weyerhaeuser NR
• WVA Manufacturing, LLC
• Zoetis LLC

Leadership

• Chair, Russ Lang, WVA Manufacturing, LLC
• Vice Chair, David DePriest, Quad
• General Counsel, Derrick Price Williamson, Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC

Current Major Cases

• Natural Gas Surcharge General Investigation ("SB 390 GI"); Case No. 19-0004-G-GI
• AEP 2019 Energy Efficiency and Demand Response ("EE/DR"); Case No. 19-0396-E-P

For more information regarding the West Virginia Energy Users Group, please contact: