On Wednesday, May 8, 2013, the Colorado legislative session came to a close without any significant oil and gas legislation being passed by the state legislature. The session was watched closely by the oil and gas industry given the ongoing lawsuits in Colorado that are pitting the state against municipalities over bans to hydraulic fracturing…. Continue Reading
Category Archives: Legislative
Subscribe to Legislative RSS FeedOhio Legislators Strip Radioactive Drilling Waste, Severance Tax Provisions From Budget
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, NORM, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPAYesterday we discussed the grim prospects for the NORM and TENORM provisions in Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget. Both industry and environmentalists opposed the provisions, and state legislators recently expressed their desire to address the issue in separate legislation. The Ohio House of Representatives released its proposed changes to HB 59 yesterday and, as… Continue Reading
Ohio Legislative Proposal Regulating Radioactive Drilling Wastes To Be Delayed Until Fall
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, NORM, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPAOhio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget was introduced in the Ohio House of Representatives in early February as HB 59. Our prior analysis of the original bill can be found here. HB 59 includes amendments requested by three Ohio agencies that would govern the disposal of drilling wastes containing naturally occurring radioactive materials (NORM) and… Continue Reading
Texas 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
Youngstown City Hydraulic Fracturing Ban Approved for May Ballot
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, WaterIn late February, we covered the state and federal legislative and enforcement responses to the release of hydraulic fracturing waste into a Youngstown, Ohio area tributary by a local oil and gas drilling operator. Shortly after the announcement of federal criminal charges and state civil enforcement actions and related legislation, the Youngstown City Council (Council)… Continue Reading
New York State Assembly Votes to Extend Hydraulic Fracturing Moratorium
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, New YorkThe New York State Assembly voted on March 6 to suspend the issuance of drilling permits for high-volume hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus and Utica formations until May 15, 2015. A copy of the bill—Assembly 5424-A—can be found here. The vote came as the state’s de facto moratorium approaches the five-year mark. Under the current… Continue Reading
Fort Collins Gives Final Approval to Hydraulic Fracturing Ban
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, LegislativeOn March 5, 2013, the Fort Collins City Council by a vote of 5 to 2 gave final approval to a ban on oil and gas operations, hydraulic fracturing, and some waste storage within city limits. Our prior coverage of this issue in Fort Collins can be found here. Fort Collins is now the second Colorado… Continue Reading
Ohio Court: State Oil And Gas Law Pre-Empts Local Drilling Regulations
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, Ohio DNRThe nationwide oil and gas boom has exposed a rift in the relationship between state and local governments seeking to regulate shale drilling and development. This tension has been playing out in several key shale states – for example, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court will soon issue its opinion in the Robinson Township case, which will… Continue Reading
Fort Collins Moves Forward On Efforts To Ban Hydraulic Fracturing
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, LegislativeOn February 19, 2013, the Fort Collins City Council became the second city in Colorado to move forward with a ban on hydraulic fracturing. The City Council gave initial approval to an ordinance that would bar oil and gas exploration, including hydraulic fracturing, within the city limits. The next day, Governor John Hickenlooper’s office weighed… 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
Ohio Budget Bill Restructures Severance, Income, Sales, and Services Taxes
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, TaxRecently this blog has analyzed various aspects of HB 59, including Ohio Governor John Kasich’s relaunched severance tax proposals. Expanding on the tax implications of HB 59, BakerHostetler’s Tax Group has prepared a comprehensive summary of the Governor’s overall budget and tax proposals. This analysis provides very helpful context to Gov. Kasich’s proposed severance taxes on new,… Continue Reading
Ohio Agencies Propose Bill Regulating Radioactive Drilling Wastes
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPALast week we discussed the release of Ohio Governor John Kasich’s proposed budget, in which the Governor proposed changes to the state’s severance taxes for oil and gas wells. On Monday the budget was introduced as a new bill (HB 59) in the Ohio House of Representatives. But also included in HB 59 were a… Continue Reading
EPA To Revisit Oil and Gas Air Rules, Requests Stay Of Suit Challenging Regulations
Posted in Air Emissions, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, U.S. EPATwo weeks ago we reported that Texas withdrew from a multi-party lawsuit challenging USEPA’s new air pollution standards regulating the oil and gas industry (including hydraulic fracturing operations). The suit is now led by industry petitioners. On January 16, 2013, six days after Texas’s withdrawal, USEPA filed an unopposed motion asking the Circuit Court for the… Continue Reading
Ohio Governor Relaunches Severance Tax Plan In Budget Proposal
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, Ohio DNR, Ohio EPA, TaxYesterday Ohio Governor John Kasich unveiled his proposed budget for fiscal years 2014 and 2015 at an hour-long press conference. The Governor’s proposal, a summary of which can be found here, contained a comprehensive plan to enact new severance taxes for certain categories of new hydraulically fractured horizontal wells in the state. By way of background,… 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
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
Boulder County, Colorado Commissioners Vote to Allow Hydraulic Fracturing
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, LegislativeAt a meeting of the Boulder County Commission, at which the Boulder County Sheriff’s Office provided security, the Commission voted unanimously to allow hydraulic fracturing in Boulder County. The Commissioners each acknowledged that their personal preference would be to ban fracking. But they further acknowledged that the power to regulate below-ground oil and gas activities… Continue Reading
Colorado Will Not Sue Longmont To Overturn Hydraulic Fracturing Ban
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, LitigationIn our prior coverage of Longmont, Colorado’s citywide ban on hydraulic fracturing and waste disposal, which was enacted by local referendum last month, we noted that the state had threatened to sue Longmont for the second time this year if the ballot measure passed. In response to hydraulic fracturing regulations the city adopted in July, the… 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
NYT Article Sheds Further Light on Longmont Referendum
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, LitigationBefore the Thanksgiving holiday we provided a two-part blog post discussing divergent approaches to local regulation of shale operations by various Colorado towns. As a follow-up to those posts, we note that over the past weekend the New York Times published a thorough article detailing Longmont, Colorado’s recent history of shale regulation and litigation. The… Continue Reading
Colorado Town’s MOUs With Shale Well Operators Address Local Safety Concerns
Posted in Colorado, Land Use, Legislative, WaterYesterday we discussed recent developments in Colorado by which local governments are beginning enact bans on hydraulic fracturing activities, with similar activities occurring in individual towns in Pennsylvania and Ohio. In contrast, another Colorado town (Erie, a town of about 20,000 people that is roughly equidistant from Denver and Boulder) has taken a somewhat novel approach to addressing… Continue Reading
Colorado’s Local Regulation of Hydraulic Fracturing In Flux Post-Election
Posted in Colorado, Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, LitigationIn response to new laws and regulations addressing shale development, local governments in several key states increasingly are taking action to address local impacts of hydraulic fracturing — irrespective of whether the state agrees with their approach. The Robinson Township case in Pennsylvania, about which we have written several times recently, is a prime example. As we recently… Continue Reading
Ohio’s PUCO Proposes Amendments to Pipeline Safety Rules
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Legislative, TransmissionOn October 31, 2012, the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio published for public comment proposed amendments to its pipeline safety regulations. PUCO’s proposal was prompted by provisions in SB 315, the Ohio legislature’s recently-enacted update to the state’s oil and gas laws. Among other things, the proposed rules would add new requirements for the design,… Continue Reading
Pennsylvania Appellate Court Bars PUC From Withholding Impact Fees
Posted in Hydraulic Fracturing, Land Use, Legislative, Litigation, PennsylvaniaIn our post on Thursday we covered the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission’s decision to withhold impact fees from localities with ordinances or rules limiting hydraulic fracturing. In that post we noted that certain plaintiffs in the Robinson Township case requested an order from a state appellate court blocking that decision. On Friday, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth… Continue Reading