WILLSTON BASIN v. AN EXCLUSIVE GAS STORAGELEASEHOLD AND EASEMENT IN THECLOVERLY SUBTERRANEANGEOLOGICAL FORMATION
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals today released an opinion in WILLSTON BASIN v. AN EXCLUSIVE GAS STORAGELEASEHOLD AND EASEMENT IN THECLOVERLY SUBTERRANEANGEOLOGICAL FORMATION, No. 06-35660, a federal appeal. The panel consisted of Raymond C. Fisher, Ronald M. Gould, and Sandra S. Ikuta, Circuit Judges.
IKUTA, Circuit Judge:
Williston Basin Interstate Pipeline Company (Williston) claims that it has lost and is continuing to lose natural gas stored in its Elk Basin Storage Reservoir due to the operation of gas production wells owned by Howell Petroleum Corporation and Anadarko Petroleum Corporation (Howell/ Anadarko). Two of those wells are located within the lateral boundaries of Williston’s storage reservoir, but are completed in geologic formations (the Morrison and Sundance formations) below the geologic formation in which Williston stores its natural gas (the Cloverly formation). Williston brought an action in federal district court, seeking damages and injunctive relief pursuant to its state law claims of conversion and negligence and also seeking to condemn the two Howell/ Anadarko wells located within the lateral boundaries of the Elk Basin Storage Reservoir. The district court dismissed Williston’s action. In this appeal, we consider Williston’s arguments that the district court erred in dismissing Williston’s complaint for lack of subject matter jurisdiction or for failure to state a claim under the Natural Gas Act (NGA), 15 U.S.C. ยงยง 717-717z. Williston contends that the district court erred in holding that Williston needed authorization from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) before it could condemn Howell/Anadarko’s wells, and therefore erred in dismissing Williston’s condemnation claim. Williston also contends that its state law claims raised a substantial federal question because they were aimed at enforcing a duty created by the NGA. We reject both of Williston’s arguments and affirm the district court. I Williston is an interstate natural gas pipeline company that delivers gas to a variety of customers in Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wyoming. As part of its opera. . .