On Monday, Texas’s Second District Court of Appeals partially affirmed a District Court order allowing Range Resources Corporation’s (“Range”) defamation and business disparagement claims against a landowner to proceed. A copy of the court’s opinion is available here. This is the latest development in a case that gained notoriety when a video purporting to show… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Groundwater
Subscribe to Groundwater RSS FeedTexas Railroad Commission Amends Fracturing Fluid Recycling Rules to Encourage Water Conservation
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Texas, WaterUnder rules adopted by the Texas Railroad Commission (Commission) on March 26, 2013, effective April 15, 2013, Texas hydraulic fracturing operators may recycle fracturing fluids on their own leased or owned land used for fracturing activities or may transfer the fluids for recycling on the land of another operator without a permit. According to the… Continue Reading
Industry, Environmentalists Agree On Voluntary Hydraulic Fracturing Standards
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Pennsylvania, WaterYesterday a consortium of energy companies, environmental organizations, and philanthropic foundations announced that they have collaborated to form an organization — the Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) — that will provide an independent, third-party certification process for shale developers. The CSSD is expected to focus on certifying operations in the Marcellus and Utica shale regions, chiefly… Continue Reading
Texas Agencies Announce Rules to Streamline Permitting and Ease Requirements for Oil and Gas Well Operators
Posted in Air Emissions, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, TexasIn recent weeks, both the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) and Texas Railroad Commission (TRRC) have proposed rules that would ease requirements for operators. On February 8, 2013, the TCEQ announced that it would propose a rule to streamline the process for authorizing air emissions plans for oil and gas well sites. The rule… Continue Reading
Federal Charges Filed for Ohio Drilling Waste Release; Ohio Legislation Proposes Increased Penalties
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, WaterEarly last week, we covered the response of Ohio regulators to an alleged release of hydraulic fracturing waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area tributary by Hard Rock Excavating (Hard Rock), an affiliate of oil and gas player D&L Energy Group (D&L). In addition to the state regulatory enforcement measures against Hard Rock and D&L, the U.S…. Continue Reading
Discharge of Drilling Waste in Ohio Triggers Civil and Criminal Enforcement Actions; Heightens Scrutiny of State Regulatory Practices
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, WaterA release of approximately 40,000 gallons of oil and gas operations waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area storm drain flowing into the Mahoning River is igniting a call for tighter regulatory oversight and more transparent emergency response practices by the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR). ODNR investigators… Continue Reading
Maryland Governor Proposes $1.5 Million Funding For Hydraulic Fracturing Study
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, WaterAs we have discussed in prior posts, Maryland has in place a de facto moratorium on shale exploration and drilling. Responding to inquiries about drilling into Marcellus shale formations in western Maryland, in 2011 Governor Martin O’Malley issued an executive order directing state agencies to conduct a comprehensive study of hydraulic fracturing’s short-term, long-term, and cumulative… Continue Reading
EPA Extends Comment Period On Pavillion Groundwater Revised Report
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, U.S. EPA, WaterIn 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) began investigating claims of groundwater contamination in private drinking water wells in and around Pavillion, Wyoming. In a Draft Report issued in December of 2011, the EPA reported that samples taken from an aquifer near a Pavillion gas field contained chemicals associated with hydraulic fracturing fluids. Samples… Continue Reading
Colorado Adopts Groundwater and Setback Drilling Rules, Launches Emissions Study
Posted in Colorado, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, WaterThis week the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission conducted three days of public hearings on proposed revisions to its oil and gas well rules to address concerns posed by increased hydraulic fracturing activity. As part of those hearings, the Commission took several key actions that will affect future shale drilling operations statewide. First, on… Continue Reading
Leaked New York Department of Health Report: Hydraulic Fracturing Can Be Safely Conducted
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, New YorkA previously confidential New York state agency report analyzing the human health impact of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) operations released to a limited number of media outlets last Thursday concludes that HVHF can be performed safely under the state’s proposed regulations. The leaked February 2012 health assessment is a supplement to the comprehensive Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), a study… Continue Reading
Legislators In Ohio General Assembly Propose Numerous New Shale Bills As Close Of Session Nears
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Tax, WaterThe Ohio General Assembly closes its two-year term later this month. The waning days of the term, falling between the November election and the end of the year, are known as the “lame-duck” session. During this session, legislators have introduced a flurry of bills relating to hydraulic fracturing and shale gas drilling. Many of these… Continue Reading
Research On Flowback Recycling, Wastewater Treatment Commencing In Ohio
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, WaterAs shale drilling sites continue coming online in the Utica Shale region, the demand for alternative means of managing the wastes produced by drilling operations has never been stronger. In response to that demand, significant studies are beginning in Ohio that are designed to tackle these issues. Battelle Memorial Institute recently announced that it is… Continue Reading
New York DEC Releases Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations, Extends Rulemaking Process
Posted in Chemical Disclosure, Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, New York, WaterYesterday the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) filed with the New York Department of State a revised draft of its proposed regulations governing hydraulic fracturing in the state. According to reporting by the New York Daily News and other outlets, DEC faced a deadline of yesterday by which to file the draft rules in order to… Continue Reading
Activist Groups Lobby For Local Control of Ohio Shale Operations and Waste Disposal
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Ohio DNRThroughout Ohio, environmental groups and community activists increasingly are pressing local units of government to enact local “bans” of hydraulic fracturing and deep injection disposal wells that can accept well flowback. For example, on August 2 the Cincinnati City Council voted to bar injection wells associated with the disposal of waste from hydraulic fracturing; Yellow… Continue Reading
U.S. EPA Concludes Dimock Groundwater Is Safe
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Pennsylvania, U.S. EPALast week U.S. EPA Region 3 announced that it had completed its regimen of groundwater testing for private drinking water wells of Dimock, Pennsylvania, and found no evidence of contamination that would justify further action. In a July 25 press release, Region 3 stated that it was stopping groundwater testing for Dimock residents and would… Continue Reading
API-ANGA Study Critiques EPA Plan for Studying Hydraulic Fracturing’s Effects on Drinking Water
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, U.S. EPAA recently-released study questions key portions of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) plan to study the potential relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water contamination. The study, released on July 10, 2012 by the Battelle Memorial Institute and commissioned by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API), was designed… Continue Reading
Duke Study Finds Marcellus Brine Migration to Aquifers Likely Natural, Not Via Drilling
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic FracturingA recent study of Marcellus Shale aquifers by researchers at Duke University in Durham, NC indicates that elevated levels of contaminants in areas overlaying certain shale-rich regions may be due to pre-existing natural pathways between the deep shale formations and shallower aquifers.
Maryland Enacts Legislation On Liability for Damage Caused By Oil And Gas Exploration
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, LitigationOn May 22, Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley signed House Bill 1123, which addresses the state legal standards for civil liability for damages caused by exploration and production activity in deep shale deposits in the Marcellus Shale formation. The Marcellus Shale territory stretches into significant portions of the western parts of Maryland. The Maryland legislature passed HB… Continue Reading
USEPA Region 3: Data Confirms Dimock, PA Groundwater Safe
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, U.S. EPAOn May 11, 2012, USEPA Region 3 released additional and expanded test results from samples of well water in Dimock, Pennsylvania. Consistent with its three sets of prior findings, which we previously discussed, Region 3 found no samples exceeding federal drinking water standards for any of a wide range of contaminants. Roy Seneca, speaking for… Continue Reading
Ohio Senate Bill 315 Proposes Comprehensive Well Regulations
Posted in Disposal Wells, Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNROn Thursday, March 22, state Sen. Shannon Jones introduced Senate Bill 315 (SB 315), which mirrors many of the well regulation proposals advanced by the administration of Gov. John Kasich. SB 315 contains numerous provisions concerning the parameters that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) would need to evaluate in order to issue permits for… Continue Reading
USEPA Testing of Dimock, PA Well Water Finds No Contamination
Posted in Groundwater, Hydraulic Fracturing, U.S. EPAThe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) disclosed in a March 15, 2012 statement that samples of well water at 11 homes in Dimock, Pennsylvania (where residents claim to have suffered health problems from shale drilling operations) “did not show levels of contamination that could present a health concern.” In mid-January, USEPA Region 3 announced that… Continue Reading