By Jay Carr on Posted in EnergyThe Supreme Court of Ohio ruled yesterday that the Mahoning County Board of Elections must place a proposed city charter amendment—the so-called “Youngstown Drinking Water Protection Bill of Rights”—on the May 2018 ballot, which includes several anti-fracking provisions. State ex rel. Khumprakob v. Mahoning Cty. Bd. of Elections, Slip Opinion No. 2018-Ohio-1602. According to the Court, “[t]he… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyLast year, we posted about litigation concerning the Bureau of Land Management’s controversial rule purporting to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. After a federal court found that the rule exceeded the scope of the BLM’s regulatory authority, appeals were filed with 10th District Court of Appeals. Earlier this year, the BLM announced… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentIn May of 2016, environmental groups sued the U.S. E.P.A., alleging that the agency failed to review and revise its regulations and state waste management plan guidelines regarding waste materials from oil and gas production as required by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq. On December 28, 2016, the court… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyIn a recent decision, Harper v. Muskingum Watershed Conservancy Dist., the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a qui tam action brought under the False Claims Act (FCA), 31 U.S.C. 3729, against the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD). MWCD received property through a deed from the United States government. The deed contained restrictions providing that the… Continue Reading
By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentOn June 27, 2016 U.S. EPA finalized a regulation under the Clean Water Act that prohibits the discharge of wastewater from certain oil and gas extraction facilities to POTWs. Specifically, the rule applies to onshore extraction from shale and/or tight geologic formations – referred to as unconventional oil and gas resources. EPA determined that current… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyWe previously wrote about the Bureau of Land Management’s attempt to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands. On June 21st, a federal court in Wyoming ruled that the BLM exceeded the scope of its authority by attempting to regulate hydraulic fracturing on federal and Indian lands, ruling that “Congress has not directed the… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyYesterday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation issued its findings on the use of high-volume hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas operations in the state. It concluded: “In the end, there are no feasible or prudent alternatives that would adequately avoid or minimize adverse environmental impacts and that address the scientific uncertainties and… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyAn EPA study released on June 4th, 2015 concludes that hydraulic fracturing activities “have not led to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water resources.” On this question, the study is reported to be “the most complete compilation of scientific data to date, including over 950 sources of information, published papers, numerous technical reports, information from… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyFollowing a similar move in Texas, last week, Oklahoma passed a bill restricting local regulation of hydraulic fracturing, reports the Associated Press. The bill’s aim, according to its supporters, is to “reaffir[m] the three-member Oklahoma Corporation Commission as the regulator of the oil and gas industry and prevents a patchwork of inconsistent regulations across the… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentOn April 7, 2015, USEPA proposed a zero discharge Clean Water Act pretreatment standard for wastewater from existing or new Unconventional Oil and Gas Extraction (UOG) facilities discharged to a Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTW). Read about the impact of this proposal in our Client Alert.… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyOn March 20, 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior released the final rule governing hydraulic fracturing on public and Indian lands. According to a department press release, key components of the rule, which takes effect in 90 days, include: • Provisions for ensuring the protection of groundwater supplies by requiring a validation of well integrity and… Continue Reading
By Ryan Elliott on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentOn January 28, 2015, the U.S. Senate voted against (35-63) Amendment 48 to modify the definition of “underground injection” under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program. The amendment would have repealed a provision in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the federal UIC program.… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyA coalition of environmental groups have sued the U.S. EPA to compel the agency to require the disclosure of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. More from Bloomberg: The nine environmental and open-government groups bringing the suit want the EPA to require that oil and gas companies join coal mines, electric utilities and other industries in reporting deadly… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyBy way of an update to our earlier post on New York’s hydraulic fracturing ban, the Associated Press profiles farmers who lost the opportunity to develop their mineral rights: While environmental groups are doing a victory dance over New York’s decision to ban fracking, farmers such as apple grower David Johnson are grieving for dashed hopes and… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyIs hydraulic fracturing one of the most significant innovations of the early 21st century? In an op-ed, Bret Stephens of the Wall Street Journal argues that it is: Fracking has now upended energy markets, pummeled petrodictators, confounded OPEC, forged deeper North American economic ties, slashed U.S. greenhouse-gas emissions to their lowest level since 1995, and… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyThe New York Times reports on Governor Cuomo’s announcement today that New York would ban hydraulic fracturing: Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration announced on Wednesday that it would ban hydraulic fracturing in New York State because of concerns over health risks, ending years of uncertainty over the disputed method of natural gas extraction. State officials… Continue Reading
By Ilya Batikov on Posted in EnergyThe Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports that according to a new study, defective cement casing, and not hydraulic fracturing, is likely responsible for methane from gas wells leaking into nearby water wells. "We see this as good news for the long term," said lead author Tom Darrah, an Ohio State University scientist whose research was published Monday… Continue Reading
By Ryan Elliott on Posted in EnvironmentOn July 14, 2014, U.S. EPA extended the comment period for a proposed rule regarding the disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. The 30-day extension moves the deadline to submit comments from August 18, 2014, to September 18, 2014.… Continue Reading
By Ryan Elliott on Posted in EnergyOn May 9, 2014, U.S. EPA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking under Section 8 of the Toxic Substances Control Act regarding the disclosure of chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process. The notice explains that EPA is requesting comment on the information that should be obtained or disclosed and the mechanism – regulatory, voluntary,… Continue Reading
By Greg Russell on Posted in EnergyThe Department of Energy’s SEAB Task Force has issued a final draft of its report on FracFocus 2.0 for comment. According to their website: "This report presents the findings and recommendations for the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Task Force on FracFocus. This Task Force report builds upon and extends the 2011 SEAB Subcommittee… Continue Reading
By Greg Russell on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentEnergy In Depth has published a new graphic on water use in hydraulic fracturing activities. Below is only a part of the graphic – you may want to get a copy in its entirety:… Continue Reading
By Greg Russell on Posted in Energy,EnvironmentU.S. EPA has released revised guidance materials on the use of diesel fuel in hydraulic fracturing activities. "EPA is issuing the guidance alongside an interpretive memorandum, which clarifies that class II UIC requirements apply to hydraulic fracturing activities using diesel fuels, and defines the statutory term diesel fuel by reference to five chemical abstract services… Continue Reading
By Greg Russell on Posted in EnergyU.S. EPA’s Office of Inspector General has published a "project notification" indicating that it too wants to get in on the activity: "The OIG’s objective is to evaluate how the EPA and states have used their existing authorities to regulate hydraulic fracturing impacts to water resources. In meeting this objective, we will determine and evaluate… Continue Reading
By Greg Russell on Posted in EnergyTime magazine has a brief article on how hydraulic fracturing is changing geopolitics: "America’s improved bargaining position vis-à-vis Iran is just one example of how the 21st century geopolitical order has been upended by the energy revolution underway in the U.S., according to Elizabeth Rosenberg, who authored the report. The downward pressure on oil prices… Continue Reading
