On May 16, 2013, the U.S. Department of Interior announced the release of its updated draft rules for hydraulic fracturing on federal lands. The 30-day deadline for submitting comments on the new proposal will run from the date of publication of the draft rules in the Federal Register. Additional information on the development of the updated rules is available here.
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate voted to confirm Ernest Moniz as the new Secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Most recently, Moniz worked as a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Moniz replaces Steven Chu, who stepped down in February 2013.
On May 11, 2013, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) published notice in the Pennsylvania Bulletin of its proposed changes to its list of Wild Trout Streams. The proposed changes would add 47 stream sections and remove 3 stream sections from the list. The PFBC also published notice of its proposed changes to its Class A Wild Trout Streams, which would add 17 stream sections to that list. Both proposed changes will be considered by the PFBC at its next meeting on July 15 and 16, 2013. In the meantime, the public may submit comments to the PFBC within the next 30 days (by June 10, 2013).
Today the U.S. Senate Committee on the Environment and Public Works voted 10-8 in favor of advancing Gina McCarthy’s nomination for EPA Administrator. The nomination now moves to the full Senate for consideration.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources will unveil the long-awaited 2012 Utica shale production numbers on May 16, 2013 at 2 p.m. The event is being held in Columbus and will be live-streamed at www2.ohiodnr.gov.
Sunoco Logistics has acquired a closed refinery from Sunoco, its former parent, for $60 million. Sunoco Logistics intends to redevelop the refinery, located in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania, as a major hub for exporting natural gas liquids from the Marcellus and Utica shales. The Philadelphia Inquirer has more on the redevelopment here.
On Friday, May 10, 2013, Columbia Gas Transmission, LLC (Columbia Gas) submitted applications to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) for the issuance of certificates of public convenience and necessity for a pair of natural gas pipeline projects in the Appalachian basin. The first project, the Smithfield III Expansion, would include the construction of a new compressor station in Washington County, Pennsylvania, as well as the installation of additional compressor units, new station piping, control systems, and other facilities at existing compressor stations and other sites in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The second project, the Line 1570, would involve replacing and expanding certain existing pipeline facilities in Greene County and Washington County, Pennsylvania, as well as replacing and expanding certain facilities at an existing compressor station in Greene County, Pennsylvania. According to Columbia Gas, these two projects will allow the company to expand its gas service to customers in markets in the southwest.
Crosstex Energy has announced that it is constructing a third natural gas compressor station in Ohio. Crosstex previously announced in March that it would make a $50 million investment to build two compressor stations in Noble and Monroe counties. Now, Crosstex is spending another $25 million for a third facility in Youngstown area. The facility will be supported by a long-term fee based contract with Antero Resources.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works has rescheduled the vote on the nomination of Gina McCarthy for EPA Administrator for May 16, 2013. The Committee was forced to reschedule the vote in light of a boycott last week by Republican members of the Committee.
Pipeline reports that a former Exxon station in Station Square will be the home to Pittsburgh’s second compressed natural gas station (CNG). The station will be owned by Desdemona Holdings LP, a subsidiary of Cleopatra Resources LLC, and will operate under the American Natural Retail brand. Desdemona Holdings received a $372,300 grant and a $248,200 loan from the Commonwealth Financing Authority through the Alternative and Clean Energy Program to help complete the project.
Journalist Pam Kasey suggested, in a print article in the West Virginia State Journal dated May 2, 2013, that while it is possible for a surface owner to attempt to insist that a driller become certified under new certification standards set by the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (as described last week in our blog), the standards are more likely to benefit minerals owners as bargaining tools for parties signing leases for oil and gas development. If the mineral interests are severed from the surface estate, then the surface owner will have little ability to use the standards for their own benefit. Per the article, the surface landowner will derive the most benefit from the new standards in situations when the minerals and the surface estate are owned by the same party, allowing the landowner can attempt to negotiate the standards into a lease or other agreement affecting the property.
Reuters reports that all eight Republican members of the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee refused to participate in a scheduled vote on May 9, 2013. The boycott prevented Gina McCarthy’s nomination from proceeding to the next step, which would be a full Senate vote. David Vitter (R-LA), the top Republican on the Committee, reportedly said the boycott was based on McCarthy’s refusal to answer questions about agency transparency. McCarthy submitted answers to over 1,000 written questions that Republican senators asked of her following McCarthy’s confirmation hearing on April 11, 2013. Democrats hold a majority of the seats on the Committee. If all Democratic members of the Committee participate in the next vote, which is not yet scheduled, McCarthy’s nomination is expected to proceed to the full Senate.
On May 7th the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals rejected the arguments of Martha and Charles Wellman and upheld the validity of a “legacy” oil and gas lease. The lease provided for royalty payments on production and a flat-rate rental payment. The mineral owners alleged that Bobcat Oil & Gas, Inc. failed to produce oil or gas under the lease, and breached the lease by missing rental payments, resulting in forfeiture of the lease. As the West Virginia Record noted, the Fourth Circuit upheld the lease under its original 1933 terms, stating that the lease could be maintained solely by payments of the flat rental, and that the missed payments in this case were not such that warranted termination of the lease.
A copy of the unpublished opinion from the Fourth Circuit can be found here.
As profiled in an article by Pam Kasey in the West Virginia State Journal, Charleston-based Appalachian Basin natural gas operator Triana Energy, LLC has meet the stringent environmental standards required to achieve ISO 14001 certification. To achieve certification, Triana established a comprehensive environmental management system for its operations. The company claims to be one of the first oil and gas exploration and production companies in the U.S. to receive ISO 14001 certification, which requires internal environmental controls and standards that are more demanding than current regulatory requirements.
On May 9, 2013, the U.S. EPA approved the PADEP’s 2012 Integrated Water Quality Monitoring and Assessment Report, a biennial “monitoring and assessment report characterizing the condition of Pennsylvania’s surface waters.” Included in this report is a list of Pennsylvania’s “impaired” surface waters that are not able to attain water quality standards, generally referred to as the 303(d) List. According to the U.S. EPA, PADEP’s 303(d) List includes 7,009 impaired waters, with 263 waters newly listed in the 2012 Report. The 2012 Report also “includes a change in the designation for a nearly 100-mile section of the main stem of the Susquehanna River from ‘unimpaired’ for aquatic life and recreational uses, to having insufficient water quality data to make an impairment determination.” Accordingly, PADEP is currently working with the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, and the U.S. Geological Survey to complete a Susquehanna River Study this year to assess the quality of waters in the Susquehanna River and its tributaries.