SCOTUS to Review Clean Water Act Case
On January 13, 2017, the Supreme Court of the United States granted certiorari in Nat’l Ass’n of Manufacturers v. Dep’t. of Def., et al., a case from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The case arises from a challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Army Corps of… Read more
EPA Publishes Risk Management Rule
On January 13, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency published “Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act,” a final rule amending EPA’s Risk Management Program regulations at 40 CFR part 68, in the Federal Register. Specifically, the… Read more
DRBC Releases Proposed Draft Regulations to States
On January 4, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection reported that the Commonwealth attended a Delaware River Basin Commission meeting in November 2016 at which draft regulations covering oil and natural gas development activities in the Delaware River Basin were discussed.… Read more
Bill Proposed to Take Oil and Gas Penalty Collections from PADEP
On December 27, 2016, Pennsylvania State Senator Scott E. Hutchinson issued a Senate Co-Sponsorship Memorandum regarding the reallocation of oil and natural gas penalties received by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection. Specifically, the bill would redirect oil and natural gas… Read more
FERC Completes EIS for Transco’s Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline Expansion
On December 30, 2016, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission announced the results of an Environmental Impact Study for Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC’s proposed 199.4-mile “Atlantic Sunrise” pipeline expansion. If approved, the pipeline is expected to extend from the Marcellus shale… Read more
EPA Agrees to Review RCRA Regulations
On December 28, 2016, U.S. District Judge John D. Bates signed a consent decree that settles a lawsuit between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and several environmental advocacy organizations concerning the agency’s treatment of oil and natural gas wastes under the Resource Conservation… Read more
House Passes Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2017
On January 3, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Midnight Rules Relief Act of 2017 (H.R.21) by a vote of 238-184. If enacted into law, the bill would amend the Congressional Review Act to allow Congress to consider and pass a joint resolution disapproving multiple regulations that… Read more
EPA Launches CWA Jurisdictional Determination Website
On December 19, 2016, Joel Beauvais, the Deputy Assistant Administrator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water announced the release of a new website that tracks all Clean Water Act jurisdictional determinations made since August 28, 2015, the effective date of the “Waters… Read more
White House Announces Moratorium on Arctic Offshore Leasing
On Tuesday, December 20, 2016, the White House announced that President Barack Obama and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reached an agreement to designate certain U.S. and Canadian waters in the Arctic and northern Atlantic Oceans as “indefinitely off limits” to offshore oil and natural gas… Read more
EPA Finalizes Revisions to Risk Management Program
On December 21, 2016, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Gina McCarthy signed “Accidental Release Prevention Requirements: Risk Management Programs under the Clean Air Act,” a final rule amending EPA’s Risk Management Program regulations at 40 CFR part 68. Specifically, the final… Read more
President-Elect Trump Nominates Scott Pruitt as USEPA Administrator
On December 7, 2016, the Wall Street Journal reported that President-Elect Donald Trump will nominate Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt to serve as the Administrator to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Pruitt was in private practice until his election to the Oklahoma Senate in 1998.… Read more
PADEP Air Quality Committee Reviews Draft Air Permits
On December 8, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection Air Quality Technical Advisory Committee discussed new draft general permits designed to reduce methane emissions from oil and natural gas operations in the Commonwealth. The draft permits contain significant leak… Read more
NETL Awards Six Research Projects to Investigate Unconventional Shale Properties
On December 5, 2016, the U.S. Department of Energy National Energy Technology Laboratory announced that it awarded funding for six research projects at four national laboratories that will investigate new procedures for hydrocarbon extraction from unconventional shale plays. The research projects,… Read more
PADEP Settles Enforcement Actions for $3.5 Million
On December 7, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection assessed an oil and natural gas operator $3.5 million in civil penalties to settle statutory and regulatory violations at 10 well sites and six pipeline locations. The violations occurred in Washington and Greene Counties… Read more
PADEP Appeals Chapter 78a Injunction to PA. Supreme Court
On December 6, 2016, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection requested that the state’s Supreme Court overturn a Commonwealth Court Order enjoining parts of Chapter 78a. Chapter 78a contains the Commonwealth’s new environmental performance standards for unconventional oil and… Read more
18 States Challenge USFWS Rulemaking
On November 29, 2016, 18 states filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Alabama to challenge two final rules published by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on February 11, 2016. The states allege that the final rulemakings exceed the authority given to USFWS in the… Read more
AP Reports Decrease in Oklahoma Seismicity
On December 2, 2016, the Associated Press released a statistical analysis showing that seismic activity in Oklahoma has dropped significantly since May 28, 2016, when the state ordered Class II-D Underground Injection Control wells to decrease injection volumes by 40%. Specifically, the AP reported… Read more