The NYT is reporting on new federal rules intended to change the too-close relationship seen by some between federal agency regulators and industry. That includes the following: "All Bureau of Ocean Energy Management employees involved in offshore regulation will have to fill out a two-page form disclosing all personal and business relationships with companies supervised by the agency."
Not surprising, given the economy. Pennsylvania's governor is continuing to look at taxing locally-produced natural gas,with an eye towards gas produced from the Marcellus Shale according to this article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "He'd like to see a tax structured like the one in West Virginia -- imposing a 5 percent levy on the value of the natural gas that's sold, plus an additional 4.7 cents for each 1,000 cubic feet of gas produced."
[Update: No wonder.]
The Houston Chronicle is reporting on a condemnation suit filed by Dominion Transmission to expand a West Virginia storage field. The reason - gas migration, of course. "Federal regulators approved the expansion, calling the reservoir 'a matter of public convenience and necessity,' but required Dominion to obtain rights to both the storage area and the protective areas around the reservoir. That includes easements in the Gantz sandstone, and 300 feet above and below the Gantz."
The Detroit News has a one-month update on the Enbridge oil spill into the Kalamazoo River: "Officials said 25 families remain displaced because of the oil spill. So far Enbridge has offered to buy two homes and appraisals have been conducted on another dozen."
USA Today has another example of how landowner interests are divided on the use of hydraulic fracturing in NY. For instance: "To Noel van Swol, a retired teacher who owns 400 acres of timberland, gas leasing is an economic lifeline and the controversy is "class warfare" between local residents struggling to make a living and wealthy weekenders who care only about preserving their scenic views."
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) held last month that the prohibition on buy/sell transactions applies equally to interstate open-access transportation services provided by intrastate pipelines under Section 311 of the Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978 and Hinshaw pipelines pursuant to blanket certificates issued under Section 284.224 of the FERC's regulations. See Order Denying Request for Clarification and Granting Limited Waiver, Arizona Public Service Co. and Sequent Energy Management, L.P., Docket No. PR10-45-000 (Jul. 23, 2010). This has generated substantial interest, including a request by several marketers for rehearing that asks the FERC to reverse its ruling expanding the buy/sell prohibition to non-interstate pipelines - which the FERC acknowledges is an issue that it has not previously addressed.
The lawsuits have already started for the Enbridge oil spill into the Kalamazoo River late last month. The Battle Creek Enquirer is reporting that a second class action has been filed accusing Enbridge of various tort claims, including trespass and negligence. And the Detroit Free Press is reporting that the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center, a group of environmental lawyers based in Detroit, has sent to Enbridge the 60-day notice required before filing suit under the Clean Water Act's citizen suit provisions.
In Interstate Natural Gas Association of America v. FERC (No. 09-1016), the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently upheld the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's (FERC's) decision in Order No. 712 lifting the price ceilings for short-term capacity releases for shippers but retaining them for capacity sales by pipelines. In general, the court found reasonable the distinctions made by FERC between pipelines and shippers when participating in the capacity market.
In case you missed it:
U.S. EPA has proposed to extend the SPCC compliance dates for most onshore facilities to November 10, 2011.
DTI and Tennessee have reached a 10-year agreement to move Marcellus gas from PA to NY, according to the Houston Chronicle.
U.S. EPA is proposing - among other things - to establish a GHG reporting threshold of 460,000 Mcf per year for LDCs, instead of mandating all LDCs as currently requiring.
Road-repair rules in West Virginia may increase industry's costs (IOGA-WV).
Speculation on what the Gulf spill means for the oil and gas industry, and energy economics, is ongoing (see LAT).
It may be that government reports of oil dissipation in the Gulf were premature (via NYT).
Several shale producers have put themselves on the market (WSJ, subscription required).
The push for federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing operations continues in PA (Philadelphia Inquirer).
On Friday, August 13th USEPA published its proposed IUR Modifications rule in the Federal Register, beginning a 60-day comment period. We previously discussed the prepublication notice of this coming rule.
According to USEPA’s statement:
The proposal delineates a number of improvements for 2011 reporting, including requiring electronic reporting via the e-IURweb of all IUR data, making reporting easier and more accessible to all potential reporters. The proposal would also modify the reporting of manufacturing, processing and use data for most chemicals and would make changes to specific data elements, including the addition of other production volume data that would require production volume for all years since the 2006 reporting year. It would also require a greater amount of substantiation for confidential business information claims. Data collected under the final rule would provide improved information for both EPA and the public so they can better identify and, where appropriate, take steps to manage risks associated with TSCA chemical substances. Read the fact sheet.
Note to inorganic chemical manufacturers: Inorganic chemicals are no longer partially exempt from the IUR rule. The partial exemption was a one-time exemption for 2006 reporting only
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