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
USEPA has published a pre-publication notice of a proposed rule amendment to TSCA's Inventory Update Reporting (IUR) rule, promulgated under Section 8(a) of TSCA. The IUR rule requires manufacturers (including importers) of certain chemical substances to report information about the manufacturing, processing and use of those chemicals. The proposed changes include:
The NYT is reporting that the New York state senate has passed a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing in the drilling of horizontal wells. "While the measure cannot become law before the state Assembly passes a similar bill, and that chamber is not expected to take up the issue until September, environmentalists said the vote was significant in that it gave state officials more time to examine safety issues."
Not everyone is impressed, however: "Pennsylvania’s top-ranking environmental official suggests New York should stop buying natural gas produced in the Keystone State." He apparently used the phrase, "moral high horse." And fun was had by all.
If you are following oil spill news around the country, you know that a 30-inch pipeline owned by Enbridge, Inc., ruptured in Marshall, Michigan, releasing hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into Talmadge Creek, a waterway that feeds into the Kalamazoo River (as reported by U.S. EPA and others). The Detroit Free Press is reporting that Enbridge is working proactively to alleviate neighbor concerns: "Enbridge Inc. offered to buy up to 200 homes in the 30-mile-long zone at their full-list price or appraised value before the spill to ease homeowners’ concerns."
For more, see here (U.S. EPA, Region 5 website) and here (Detroit Free Press).
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has clarified its regulations requiring major non-interstate pipelines to post daily scheduled volume information and requiring interstate pipelines to post information on the provision of no-notice service (FERC Order No. 720-B).
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has announced that it is proposing new rules to amend the air emissions regulations that govern oil and gas facilities. "The rule proposal updates administrative and technical requirements, and includes enforceable monitoring, sampling, and record keeping requirements. This proposal helps the agency make certain that oil and gas facilities are properly operated and maintained, in order to continue to ensure that public health is protected." Until those rules are formally published next week, however, their precise scope and burdens remain unclear.
The NYT has several article on the Deepwater Horizon spill that may be of interest: One, most of the oil that is believed to have leaked from the well has evaporated or otherwise been dispersed (see here). "The government is expected to announce on Wednesday that three-quarters of the oil from the Deepwater Horizon leak has already evaporated, dispersed, been captured or otherwise eliminated — and that much of the rest is so diluted that it does not seem to pose much additional risk of harm." Two, the well itself may soon be sealed (see here). Both sound like good news!
Congress is considering legislation that would have a substantial impact on both onshore and offshore production activities in the United States. The Senate issued an energy and oil spill bill last week, for example, containing chemical disclosure provisions related to hydraulic fracturing and measures to eliminate the $75 million cap on liability under the Oil Pollution Act (S. 3663, the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Accountability Act). Meanwhile, the House has passed its version of an oil spill bill in response to the Deepwater Horizon incident - (HR 3534, the CLEAR Act). Among other things, it also contains chemical disclosure provisions related to hydraulic fracturing, and raises the financial responsibility level for offshore spills to $1.5 billion.
For more, see this article from the LAT.
[Update: The NYT is reporting on Senator Reid's withdrawal of the Senate bill for the time being: "Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) yesterday called off dueling test votes planned for today on the Democratic and Republican energy and oil-spill response bills, saying more time was needed to convince senators to support the measure. While he blamed Republicans for blocking efforts to earn the needed 60 votes, the GOP blasted back, accusing Democrats of playing politics all along in bringing up the competing measures."]
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