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Last week the EPA officially published its proposal to impose over $7 billion of financial assurance requirements on the owners and operators of currently active or idle hardrock mines and mineral processing facilities. 82 Fed. Reg. 3388 (Jan. 11, 2017).  These proposed requirements are intended to cover estimated response costs, natural resource damages, and health assessment costs for which an owner or operator could be liable under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) should a hazardous substance release occur.  The EPA estimates that 221 hardrock mining facilities would be subject to these proposed requirements, which would be in addition to financial assurance already required by other federal or state agencies for things such as closure and reclamation.  The deadline for submitting comments on the EPA’s proposal is March 13, 2017.Capture
Continue Reading EPA Proposes to Require $7+ Billion of Financial Assurances from U.S. Hardrock Mining Industry Under CERCLA Section 108(b)

On October 3, 2016, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“PHMSA”), within the U.S. Department of Transportation, released a new rule on its authority to issue emergency orders for pipeline safety.  The Interim Final Rule, titled “Pipeline Safety: Enhanced Emergency Order Procedures,” comes as a result of the Protecting our Infrastructure of Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016 (“PIPES”).  PIPES was signed into law by President Obama in June 2016 and allows the PHMSA to impose emergency restrictions, prohibitions, and safety measures on gas or hazardous liquid pipeline facilities to address safety concerns.
Continue Reading Pipeline Operators Take Note: PHMSA Issues Interim Emergency Pipeline Safety Rules – Should You Be Concerned?

On Friday, January 22, 2016 the federal Department of the Interior’s (“DOI”) Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) issued a proposed rule on reducing waste and methane emissions in oil and gas operations.  The rule would limit oil and gas flaring, venting, and leaking on federal and Indian lands.  While the U.S. has become the largest natural gas producer in the world and U.S. oil production is at its highest level in nearly 30 years, the current regulations  hearken back to the mid-1980’s, when gas production and greenhouse gas concerns were very different than they are today.

The proposed rule is composed of “commonsense and cost-effective measures,” according to Janice Schneider, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.  Broadly, the proposed rule would require operators to adopt currently available technologies in order to limit the rate of flaring at oil wells, and would require operators to inspect for leaks and replace equipment that vents methane emissions into the air.Continue Reading BLM Proposes “Commonsense” Rule to Limit Methane Emissions from Oil & Gas Operations

Today, May 8, 2015, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration published a final rule for rail transport of crude oil in the Federal Register. These rules come after several high-profile oil train derailments, including one recently in North Dakota that caused the evacuation of a nearby town.

The final rule applies to “high-hazard flammable trains,” defined as trains with a continuous block of 20 or more tank cars loaded with a flammable liquid or 35 or more tank cars loaded with a flammable liquid dispersed through a train. The final rule regulates: (1) tank car design standards, (2) braking systems, (3) speed restrictions, (4) routing restrictions, (5) classifications of unrefined petroleum-based products, and (6) notification requirements.

Tank Car Design

New tank cars constructed after October 1, 2015 are required to meet new design criteria. Tank cars must be constructed with 9/16 inch steel walls and a head shield with a minimum thickness of 1/2 inch. The entire protection system must be covered with a metal jacket of at least 11 gauge steel. Tank cars must also include improved pressure relief valves and bottom outlet valves. All existing tanks must be retrofitted according to a risk based schedule in the next three to five years.
Continue Reading New Federal Oil-By-Rail Regulations Published

Today, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced a new goal to cut methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.  (See White House Fact Sheet.)  The EPA’s goal is to reduce methane emissions from the oil and gas sector by 40-45% from 2012 levels by 2025.  The proposed regulations will set standards to reduce methane and volatile organic compounds (“VOC”) emissions from “new and modified oil and gas production sources, and natural gas processing and transmission sources.”  The EPA will issue a proposed rule in summer 2015, and will issue a final rule as early as next year, in 2016.

Today’s announcement furthers the “Strategy to Reduce Methane Emissions” issued in March 2014, which is an initiative under the Obama Administration’s Climate Act Plan.  Further, the EPA previously published standards for VOC emissions from the oil and gas industry in 2012 which aim to protect public health and the environment while permitting expansion of oil and gas production.Continue Reading EPA Announces Plan for Rulemaking to Reduce Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry

Update: The Minnesota Environmental Quality Board extended the public comment period for the draft model guidelines by two weeks.  The deadline for public comments is now January 27.

On December 13, the Minnesota Environmental Quality Board (EQB) – in collaboration with several other state agencies, including the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and…

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Here Stoel Rives shares insight and analysis about key mineral law developments. Drawing on a very active natural resources practice, we aim to keep readers informed about the legal aspects of news that impacts exploration and development of all things mineral.