Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

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As we discussed earlier, environmental activists have asked the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) to update its oil and gas drilling waste disposal rules under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”).  The groups sought to force the EPA’s hand by suing the EPA in an attempt to get a court order requiring the EPA to update its regulations.

Under RCRA, non-hazardous solid waste, which includes oil and gas production waste, is governed by Subtitle D. Subtitle D focuses on state and local governments as the primary regulating entities for the management of non-hazardous solid waste. It establishes minimum federal technical standards and guidelines for state solid waste regulations.  The EPA is required to review and approve state Subtitle D waste disposal programs to ensure that they meet the minimum standards.

Section 2002(b) of RCRA requires the EPA to review and, if necessary, revise at least once every three years the Subtitle D regulations. The activists have asked the EPA to revise its Subtitle D regulations and set clear requirements to govern the storage and disposal of oil and gas waste amid a “patchwork of [state] requirements with varying protections.”
Continue Reading Industry Groups Push Back Against Environmental Activists in Suit Over Oil & Gas Waste Disposal Regs.

On Monday, November 2, the Sierra Club issued a Notice of Intent to Sue (“Notice”) four oil companies, alleging ongoing violations of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”).  Specifically, the Notice states that the injection and disposal of hydraulic fracturing waste fluids into the ground is a “past and present handling and disposal of Production Wastes in a manner that may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health and the environment,” in violation of RCRA.  The Notice claims that fluid injection by oil companies, Sandridge Exploration and Production, New Dominion, Devon Energy Production Co. and Chesapeake Operating, is contributing to increased earthquakes in Oklahoma and southern Kansas.

This Notice follows a recent publication by the U.S. Geological Survey (“USGS”).  On October 20, the USGS released a report, A Century of Induced Earthquakes in Oklahoma?, that reviews the increased rate of seismicity in the central and eastern U.S. since 2009.  The report attempts to link industrial activity to the incidence of large earthquakes in the region.  As the Sierra Club Notice points out, the report states that injection of wastewater in deep disposal wells “potentially” induces earthquakes.  Additionally, a research letter published in October 2015 examined the two Cushing, Oklahoma earthquakes that occurred in October 2014, stating that a study of earthquake hazards and “its relationship to wastewater injection is important in order to understand potential damage to critical infrastructure in the region.”Continue Reading Sierra Club Issues Notice of Intent to Sue over Frackquakes in Oklahoma

On Wednesday, August 26, a coalition of environmental groups threatened to sue the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) if the regulations under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”) are not updated to restrict the disposal of waste associated with oil and gas production.

The coalition specifically asked the EPA to review and revise the RCRA regulations pursuant to the statutory mandate found in sections 2002(b) and 4002(b) of RCRA. Under these sections, the EPA must review and revise RCRA regulations and guidelines “no less frequently than every three years.” (42 U.S.C. §§ 6912(b), 6942(b).)

RCRA was enacted in 1976 to govern the disposal of solid waste. Solid waste is broken down into (1) hazardous solid waste and (2) non-hazardous solid waste. The most notable provisions of RCRA are included in Subtitle C, which directs the EPA to establish controls on the management of hazardous wastes from their point of generation, through their transportation and treatment, storage and/or disposal.
Continue Reading Activists Threaten to Sue if EPA doesn’t Update RCRA Regs to Cover Oil & Gas Industry

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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.