On Wednesday, January 28, the Senate voted against Amendment 48 which would allow the federal Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to regulate hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on state and private lands. The measure was presented by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) as a negotiated amendment to the Keystone XL Pipeline Act. The amendment would have repealed sections of
Hydraulic Fracturing
Federal Judge Rules that State and Federal Law Preempts New Mexico’s Fracking Ban
By Mike Mills on
On January 20, 2015 a U.S. District Judge overturned New Mexico’s ban on hydrocarbon extraction, which included a prohibition on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) in the state. (SWEPI, LP v. Mora County et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-00035-JB-SCY, filed Jan. 19, 2015.) Mora County, a political subdivision of the State of New Mexico, enacted the ban through a local ordinance in April 2013. It was the first such prohibition in the country.
Federal District Court Judge James O. Browning based his decision on federal preemption: “Historically, a county cannot enact or supersede federal law. The Ordinance thus goes beyond Mora County’s historical lawmaking just to deprive corporations of their rights.” (Id. at p. 157.) The Mora County ban clashed with both state and federal law regulating the drilling of oil and gas. Under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause, any local or state law that conflicts with federal law is invalid.Continue Reading Federal Judge Rules that State and Federal Law Preempts New Mexico’s Fracking Ban
EPA Announces Plan for Rulemaking to Reduce Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Industry
By Mike Mills on
Posted in Oil & Gas
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
Senators Critique Proposed Federal Rules for Hydraulic Fracturing on Federal and Indian Lands
By Mike Mills on
Posted in Oil & Gas
On September 30, 2014, a block of twelve Democratic U.S. Senators presented a letter to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), urging stricter fracking regulations. The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”), an agency within the Department of the Interior, is authoring the federal regulations for fracking on public and Indian lands. The…
EPA Delays Potential Fracking Chemical Disclosure Mandates
By Mike Mills on
On Friday, July 11, 2014 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) extended the public comment period for its advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (“ANPR”) for hydraulic fracturing chemical disclosure rules. The USEPA initially requested public comment on May 9, 2014 by issuing the ANPR. This set a 90-day public comment period, slated to end on…
Water Board Announces Meeting to Develop SB 4 Groundwater Monitoring Criteria
By Mike Mills on
Posted in Oil & Gas
On Wednesday, July 9, 2014, the State Water Resources Control Board (“Water Board”) announced that it will be holding a “Stakeholder Meeting to Develop Groundwater Monitoring Model Criteria for Oil & Gas Areas.” The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, August 7, 2014 from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm in the Kern County Supervisors Chambers in Bakersfield. The Water Board is required to develop model groundwater monitoring criteria by July 1, 2015 pursuant to Senate Bill 4 (“SB 4”). (Wat. Code, § 10783, subd. (c).)
Interim well stimulation regulations, issued by the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) came into effect on January 1, 2014. DOGGR is on schedule to publish permanent regulations on January 1, 2015. Under the interim regulations, well operators must submit a groundwater monitoring plan, or request an exemption from the Water Board if the operator can show the absence of protected waters. (Interim Regulations, § 1783.1, subd. (b)(4).) If the exemption is granted, the Water Board issues a written concurrence. (§ 1783.4, subd. (c).)Continue Reading Water Board Announces Meeting to Develop SB 4 Groundwater Monitoring Criteria
Baker Hughes’ Policy to Disclose Chemical Components in Well Stimulation Fluids Designed to “Increase the Public Trust”
By Mike Mills on
One of the largest oil-field services companies in the world, Baker Hughes, has revised its long-standing policies on disclosing the contents of hydraulic fracturing fluids on FracFocus.org – a non-profit database designed to provide the public with information related to oil and gas development.
The policy states that the company believes it is “possible to…
Debates Continue Over Taxes And Fees On Hydraulic Fracturing In Ohio And Pennsylvania
By Andrew Pieper on
Posted in Fracking, Legislation
In exchange for a $2.6 billion cut to Ohio’s state income taxes, Gov. John Kasich has proposed a package of tax increases in other areas. Included among those increases would be the gradual implementation of a 2.75 percent tax on oil and gas extracted through horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in Ohio, which is estimated…
USGS Tool Could Predict, Prevent Wetlands Contamination By Sub-Surface Wastewater
By Andrew Pieper on
Posted in Uncategorized
While advances in hydraulic fracturing technology have resulted in an oil and gas boom in North Dakota and other parts of the U.S., the industry, federal and state regulators, and local communities have also had to contend with outgrowths of that development. One particular issue confronting those groups is how to handle and dispose of…
The Heat’s Still On! – Offshore Operators Must Disclose Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Chemicals
By Mike Mills on
The Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) announced that starting on March 1, 2014, oil and gas operators performing offshore hydraulic fracturing operations must maintain an inventory of chemicals used to formulate frac fluid, and if there is any discharge of that fluid, to include the chemical formulation to the EPA within a quarterly discharge monitoring report.
These new…