Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that the State of New York will ban fracking within its boundaries. Oil and gas operators desiring to access the portion of the Marcellus Shale play that underlies New York are likely to oppose and legally challenge the ban. For more coverage on the State’s actions, click HERE. Contact Steve O’Day for more information regarding this issue.
Tag: Fracking
Fracking on Public Lands: EIS May Be Required
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has agreed to settle litigation in California by preparing environmental impact statements (EISs) for two disputed oil and gas well leases in the Monterey Shale formation. The agreement includes suspension of operations and production on the leased sites pending preparation of the EISs, with the right of the plaintiff environmental groups to return to court to litigate the sufficiency of the EISs, or challenge a decision to move forward with the fracking leases after completion of the EISs. The settlement is of two related lawsuits, both styled Center for Biological Diversity and Sierra Club… Read more
NIOSH Investigates Workplace Hazards in Fracking Industry
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is investigating employer safety issues in the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry, as a result of a series of deaths of fracking workers in North Dakota and Montana. NIOSH determined that the workers were exposed to high levels of volatile hydrocarbons during drilling of fracking wells. It is also felt that the deaths often occurred when the workers were wording alone. NIOSH is requesting oil and gas drillers to assist in the assessment of exposure risks of workers to the chemicals used in fracking. For more information on occupational safety and health… Read more
Permit Appeal May Affect Underground Injection of Fracking Wastewater
On March 14, residents and officials in Brady Township, Pennsylvania, appealed an underground injection control (UIC) permit issued by U.S. EPA to Windfall Oil and Gas, permitting disposal of oil and gas wastewater by underground injection. The Petitioners assert that the UIC permit is invalid because the permit and its conditions are inadequate to ensure that the permitted injections will not endanger underground drinking water sources (USDWs) because EPA did not adequately consider seismic risks caused by the underground injection. If the appeal is successful, it could force EPA to evaluate UIC permit applications for oil and gas wastewater for… Read more
EPA Releases First Time Emissions Controls for Fracking, Delays Implementation
In final rules released on April 18, EPA has imposed first time air emissions controls on hydraulic fracturing wells, as well as on other gas operations. However, EPA granted industry’s request to delay implementation of the fracking controls until 2015 in order to ensure the availability of the required technology to control the emissions. The rule includes new source performance standards (NSPSs) and air toxics standards for gas drilling, emissions controls for natural gas storage and transmission equipment, and controls on other items of equipment used in the oil and gas industry. Included is a mandate for green completion well… Read more
The Debate on Fracking Returns to Washington
The controversy surrounding the natural gas industry’s practice of “fracking” — short for hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking — gained nationwide notoriety earlier this year after a documentary on the subject, “Gasland,” was nominated for an Academy Award. Last week, the debate on the safety and risks of fracking returned to Washington as members of Congress and the Obama Administration met to discuss efforts to regulate the rapidly growing industry. The practice of fracking involves injecting a mixture of fluids and chemicals into the ground at high-pressure so as to fracture the rock, thereby releasing trapped natural gas. The natural gas industry contends that the process itself, and the… Read more