Pilar Thomas Quoted in Engineering News-Record Article About Osage Nation Wind Farm Dispute
Pilar Thomas, a Quarles & Brady partner in the Energy & Infrastructure and Indian Law & Policy Practice Groups based in the firm’s Tucson, Ariz., office, gave her perspective in an Engineering News-Record article that discusses the Osage Nation wind turbines that were ordered to be deconstructed by a federal judge. As the dispute is yet to be settled, negotiation may now be the only option.
An excerpt:
Pilar Thomas, a partner in the energy, environment and natural resources practice group at… Quarles and Brady, says the case clearly shows the need for energy companies to understand "split estates," a legal term pertaining to property rights designations when land surface and underground area rights are split between two parties.
“Before this case, a lot of people just thought you could use the dirt. But you can’t just use the dirt,” says Thomas, who also teaches Native American energy law at Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.