Energy Law - United States

United States

See also: Oil and gas law in the United States and Energy policy of the United States

This section concerns the law of the United States, as well as the states that are the most populous or largest producers of energy.

In the United States, energy is regulated extensively through the United States Department of Energy, as well as state regulatory agencies.

Every state, the Federal government, and the District of Columbia collect some motor vehicle excise taxes. Specifically, these are excise taxes on gasoline, diesel fuel, and gasohol. While many states in the western U.S.A. rely to a great deal on "extraction taxes" for revenue, most states get a relatively small amount of their revenue from such sources.

The practice of energy law has been the domain of law firms working on behalf of utility companies, rather than legal scholars or other legal actors (such as private lawyers and paralegals), especially in Texas, but this is changing. Some officials from energy agencies may take jobs in the utilities or other companies they regulate, such as the former FERC chairman did in 2008.

The American Bar Association (ABA) has a Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, which is a "forum for lawyers working in areas related to environmental law, natural resources law, and energy law." The Section houses several substantive committees on environmental and energy law that release current information on topics of interest to practitioners and news of committee activities. The ABA recognized 'environmental and energy law' as one of the practice areas where legal work may be found in 2009.