Oil & Products Pipelines

For 30 years, Van Ness Feldman has guided our clients through the complex regulatory and environmental hurdles associated with the regulation of the U.S. energy industry. Building on prior involvement in the development of many of the nation’s most significant energy policies - as well as experience as senior officials in key federal agencies and departments - the firm’s attorneys and professionals have the skills and knowledge necessary to navigate the regulatory and policy questions associated with all aspects of planning, building, and using oil and industrial products pipelines.

Regulatory Compliance and Strategic Counseling

The market conditions and regulatory policies involved in the oil pipeline industry are constantly changing. Van Ness Feldman helps clients to anticipate and respond to these changes and offers the expertise of former high-level officials of the Department of Energy, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), and regulated companies for assistance with critical litigation, regulatory, and policy needs. Firm professionals assist in matters such as:

• Preparing and filing tariff changes and adoption notices
• Indexed rate change filings
• Market-based rate filings
• Dispute resolution at FERC concerning tariff and other issues
• Drafting written comments and participating in staff conferences for Notices of Proposed Rulemaking
• Providing general regulatory advice

Pipeline Safety and Compliance

Constructing, operating, and maintaining oil and petroleum product pipeline facilities are complex, multi-faceted undertakings that involve myriad safety, regulatory, and environmental issues. Van Ness Feldman’s attorneys have long counseled clients on the legal aspects of the development, construction, and operation of pipeline projects, and many were directly involved in developing the numerous legislative directives and regulatory programs that affect today’s pipelines.

Specifically, the firm counsels clients with respect to the requirements of the federal Pipeline Safety Act and the regulations of the Department of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) that establish design, construction, operating, maintenance, and inspection requirements for owners and operators of oil and hazardous liquids pipeline facilities. Safety issues arise in the context of FERC certificate proceedings, pipeline-specific safety audits conducted by OPS, pipeline-initiated compliance monitoring efforts, and civil litigation. The firm also advises pipeline clients regarding the appropriate accounting treatment for the significant costs associated with existing safety compliance programs and, in particular, the costs incurred as a result of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002.

Rights-of-Way and Permitting

Van Ness Feldman has extensive experience in all issues related to public right-of-way grants. While serving as counsel to congressional committees and as senior officials in federal agencies, many of the firm’s professionals played key roles in developing and administering the federal policies and regulations that govern the use of - among others - oil and gas gathering operations, distribution pipelines and related facilities, oil and natural gas transmission pipelines, and other facilities or systems which are in the public interest.

Influencing Federal Policy

Van Ness Feldman understands how decisions are made in a dynamic and evolving government environment. The firm crafts strategies to obtain a desired result through careful identification of opportunities and obstacles, cultivation of key sources of support and isolation of the opposition, and does so while developing cogent and compelling arguments to be delivered by the right people to the right people.

Members of Van Ness Feldman’s oil pipeline practice have honed their understanding of public policy by participating directly in the legislative, regulatory, and political processes at all levels. It is this combination of experience, substantive knowledge, and the ability to manage the political process in several forums simultaneously that distinguishes Van Ness Feldman as one of the country’s leading energy and public policy law firms.