ABSTRACT
Through modern technology, we can use the void pore space of underground rock formations for a growing number of socially beneficial purposes. These run the gamut from unconventional oil and gas production to climate change mitigation. The common law of property and tort, however, has struggled to keep up. Significant questions remain about the nature of property rights in pore space. Of particular interest are the limits, if any, on an owner’s right to use pore space for beneficial purposes when it extends beneath the land of another. For example, may A hydraulically fracture an oil well on her property if the fractures extend beneath B’s land? May C store anthropogenic carbon dioxide for climate change mitigation in a common reservoir that extends beneath the land of D, E, F, and G if they do not consent? If so, what if any compensation does C owe to the others? These and similar scenarios pose urgent questions for a wide range of landowners, industries, environmental interests, courts, and policymakers across the nation.
This Article searches for answers to these pressing questions in the doctrinal histories of similar common pool natural resources …
Schremmer, Joseph, Pore Space Property (May 25, 2020). Utah Law Review, forthcoming; UNM School of Law Research Paper No 2020-04.
First posted 2020-06-27 06:22:47
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