State and local governments will be leaders in dealing with new energy law challenges, be helping set public opinion and encouraging new sources of energy, according to Florida State University College of Law professor Hannah Jacobs Wiseman.
Wiseman’s lecture was part of an event Thursday launching the Liskow and Lewis Visiting Professorship in Energy Law at the Paul M. Hebert Law Center. The professorship, made possible by Liskow and Lewis, a law firm with offices in New Orleans, Lafayette and Houston, will annually fund visiting scholars to the new John P. Laborde Energy Law Center.
Energy law in the U.S. has changed significantly in the past three to five years, Wiseman said, because of developments in production such as hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as fracking — and renewable energy becoming more price competitive. Recent changes to federal policies have also affected energy law, she said.
Fracking has made states such as Louisiana, Texas and Pennsylvania leaders in energy production from shales — underground formations that were long considered not useful — which has led to lower natural gas prices and increased manufacturing in the U.S., Wiseman said.
Renewable energy production using wind and biofuels has also grown in recent years, but that trend is often ignored in the South even though those energy sources are becoming more affordable, she said.
Wiseman said people often think federal government can do the most for energy development through policy creation and enforcement, but in fact, state and local actors may be more effective. Sub-federal governments impose environmental regulations and control zoning and permits, so it is important for state and local officials to work toward common energy goals, she said.
Because local governments must deal with people who protest issues such as fracking or building wind farms, they must also remember they are influential in setting public opinion on these issues, Wiseman said.
Wiseman said sub-federal governments should work to enhance regulations while encouraging development to ensure energy is affordable, reliable and clean. She said local and state agencies can help by addressing infrastructure needs of companies moving into the area.
Activism is often organized locally, so sub-federal governments should cooperate to resolve conflicts that arise when local organizations want to ban energy practices such as fracking while the state government sees it as a positive step economically, Wiseman said.
States can create sustained economic growth by passing laws on how to decommission old energy facilities and impose severance taxes on resources that can be reinvested into communities. Energy companies can also encourage economic growth by hiring local people when they move into an area, she said.
Wiseman said it is important to remember that fossil fuels and renewable energy can coexist. By involving people at the sub-federal level, government and companies can better cooperate to explore energy alternatives for the future.