Court Opinion

ID: 9443397
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-03 19:19:20.044335+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T17:29:28.609751
License: Public Domain

MURRAH and PICKETT, Circuit Judges
(concurring specially).
Judge PICKETT and I concur in the affirmance of the judgment and to much of the reasoning in Judge HUXMAN’S opinion. We prefer, however, to rest our conclusion squarely on the premise that New Mexico-, having in force a valid conservation law, under which it has established a proration system for the production and marketing of petroleum products, the Federal Board is empowered to designate areas as to which the Federal Act shall be applicable, and to prescribe appropriate regulations for keeping records of the production of wells within a designated area.
The establishment of a proration system in New Mexico invoked Federal jurisdiction to prohibit interstate transportation of oil produced, transported or withdrawn in violation of state orders, rules or regulations. And, in the exercise of that jurisdiction, the Federal Board was undoubtedly empowered to promulgate all needful regulations, including the keeping of accurate records of wells subject to proration under state law.
This being so, the Federal regulations in question were valid and applicable, even-though some of the state orders fixing the allowable production of wells in the designated area may be invalid for lack of compliance with state procedural requirements.