Late last week, a South Carolina district court reinstated the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule (referring to it as “the 2015 WOTUS rule”) in 26 states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Maryland, New Jersey and the New England state(…)
Since its enactment in 1972, the federal agencies who administer the Clean Water Act (the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (the Corps), have taken the position that the definition of “waters(…)
On January 22, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously held that lawsuits challenging the Obama administration’s 2015 Clean Water Rule (Rule) – a landmark revision to the definition of “waters of the United States” (WOTUS) that arguably expanded the(…)
On March 28, 2017, President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order entitled “Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth,” with the stated policy of “promot[ing] clean and safe development” of domestic energy resources and ensuring an affordabl(…)
Effective March 2, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has withdrawn the information collection request (ICR) entitled, “Information Collection Effort for Oil and Gas Facilities.” EPA issued the final ICR in November 2016, requiring(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the availability of several highly-anticipated regulatory measures affecting both existing and new emission sources in the oil and natural gas sector. EPA has released the pre-publication(…)
On May 4, 2016, seven environmental groups followed through on a prior threat to sue the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) by filing a lawsuit against the EPA in a bid to force the agency to develop tailored rules for the disposal, s(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced the next step in its strategy for reducing methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector: regulating emissions from existing sources. According to EPA’s fact sheet, the agency wil(…)
On January 29, 2016, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published in the Federal Register a proposed rule that would amend the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program for the petroleum and natural gas systems source category at 40 CFR Part 98, Su(…)
On October 14, 2015, the United States District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania invalidated several provisions of a Grant Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania local ordinance that was intended to prevent an oil and gas operator from o(…)
On August 26, 2015, seven environmental groups sent the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) a Notice of Intent to Sue the agency in an attempt to force the agency to develop tailored rules for oil and gas wastes under the Resource Conservation(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that it will host three public hearings in September regarding proposed Clean Air Act rulemaking actions that will affect the oil and gas industry. Two hearings will be held in Denver and(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formally announced its highly-anticipated proposal to regulate methane emissions from the oil and natural gas sector. Specifically, EPA is proposing to amend the New Source Performance Standards (N(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is revising important definitions in the New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) rule for the oil and gas sector, NSPS Subpart OOOO, in response to stakeholder petitions. In a final rule published today,(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently released a report entitled, “Enhanced EPA Oversight and Action Can Further Protect Water Resources From the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing.” The repo(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers published in the Federal Register a joint final rulemaking to redefine “waters of the United States” and the scope of the federal agencies’ jurisdiction under the Clea(…)
This week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a highly-anticipated proposed rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for interagency review that would address methane emissions in the oil and natural gas sector. E(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a proposed rule under the Clean Water Act that would prohibit the discharge of unconventional oil and gas extraction wastewaters to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs). The rule would(…)
This week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) announced that they have submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) a joint final rule aimed at clarifying which water bodies(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is convening a Small Business Advocacy Review Panel to discuss a rulemaking aimed at regulating greenhouse gas emissions from the oil and natural gas sector, as part of the Obama Administration’s methane(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a fact sheet outlining the agency’s strategy for reducing emissions of methane and ground level ozone-forming pollutants from the oil and natural gas sector. Release of the EPA strategy is(…)
The Inspector General (IG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Arthur Elkins, has vowed to continue to evaluate the effectiveness of state and federal regulations of hydraulic fracturing. The IG recently responded by letter to early Oc(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) has, for a second time, extended the public comment deadline associated with its proposed rule to redefine “waters of the United States” and related terms for purposes of various federal Clean Water Act(…)
On September 9, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass a bill introduced in response to the ‘Waters of the United States’ Proposed Rule that was prepared jointly by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Ag(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published proposed amendments to federal air regulations at 40 C.F.R. 60, Subpart OOOO (Standards of Performance for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Production, Transmission and Distribution). Subpart(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) recently extended the public comment deadlines associated with its proposed rulemaking to redefine “waters of the United States” for federal Clean Water Act programs and its request for information rega(…)
On April 21, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published in the Federal Register its proposed rule to define “waters of the United States” and related key terms for purposes of determining the extent of federal agency jurisdiction under t(…)
On April 15, 2014, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released five technical white papers for peer review, each one focusing on a possible source of methane and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions within the oil and natural gas sect(…)
On April 1, 2014, a group of eight U.S. House Democrats sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) urging the agency to address alleged water contamination near drilling sites in Dimock, Pennsylvania; Pavillion, Wyoming; and Par(…)
On March 25, 2014, U.S. EPA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the pre-publication version of a proposed rule intended to make the process of identifying “waters of the United States” covered under the Clean Water Act less complicated and m(…)
The director of the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Scott Nally, abruptly resigned yesterday after three years on the job. Nally departed his position on short notice and did not give a specific reason for his resignation. Craig Butler, a senior(…)
Earlier this week, U.S. EPA published final revisions to the New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Sector (i.e., 40 CFR 60, Subpart OOOO). As discussed in a previous post, EPA has made significant changes to the provisions affe(…)
Last week the University of Texas, in conjunction with the Environmental Defense Fund and 9 companies involved in natural gas production, released a study which found that 0.42% of natural gas produced in the U.S. is emitted into the atmosphere as met(…)
U.S. EPA recently revised its oil spill prevention, control, and countermeasure (SPCC) program guidance to help promote consistency in the way SPCC rules are administered by different EPA regions. The SPCC rules mandate the implementation of professi(…)
Recently confirmed U. S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy spoke at a forum at the University of Colorado School of Law on August 14 and addressed President Obama’s Climate Action Plan before participating in a panel discussion. In her remarks, McCart(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released the pre-publication version of its final revisions to the New Source Performance Standards for the Oil and Natural Gas Sector (i.e., 40 CFR 60, Subpart OOOO). EPA made significant changes to(…)
On July 18, 2013, the full U.S. Senate voted to confirm Gina McCarthy as the next U.S. EPA Administrator. The Senate voted 59-40 in favor of President Obama’s controversial nominee, after months of delay. The President formally nominated McCarthy in(…)
On Thursday, U.S. EPA announced that the State of Wyoming will lead further investigation of drinking water quality in Pavillion, Wyoming. In 2009, EPA began working with the state and local tribes to investigate water quality in the Pavillion area i(…)
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(…)
Today the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that it is extending by more than six months the deadline for the public to submit scientific data and literature to inform EPA’s study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinki(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed revisions (described in an earlier post) to certain new source performance standards affecting the oil and natural gas sector were published today in the Federal Register, marking the beginning of th(…)
On April 2, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) withdrew a direct final rule it issued in February 2013 that required oil and natural gas companies to submit by June 30th of each year a request to use alternative calculation methods f(…)
On March 28, 2013, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a pre-publication version of proposed amendments to the Oil and Natural Gas Sector New Source Performance Standards (NSPS). EPA published the final oil and gas NSPS in August(…)
President Obama announced today that he is nominating Gina McCarthy to be the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). McCarthy is currently Assistant Administrator for EPA’s Office of Air and Radiation. She will replace(…)
In a report issued last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) asked the agency to improve its air emissions data for the oil and gas industry. Specifically, OIG called on EPA to implement a comprehen(…)
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced in a Federal Register notice a revised deadline by which oil and gas operators must submit a request to use alternative calculation methods for reporting greenhouse gas emissions. The old d(…)
On January 14, 2013, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized amendments to the National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (NESHAP) for stationary reciprocating internal combustion engines (RICE). In addition t(…)
On December 27, 2012, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson announced that she plans to leave her position after President Obama’s State of the Union address in early 2013. Reportedly, the list of candidates to replace Jackson includes Kathleen McGinty, for(…)