Major producer groups have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to give them more time to comment on the proposed standards to reduce air pollution from oil and natural gas production, especially operations employing hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

Speaking at the first public hearing on the proposed standards in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Howard Feldman, director of regulatory and scientific affairs for the American Petroleum Institute (API); and Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, urged the agency to allow 60 additional days for comment.

The proposals will have a “broad reach,” affecting all drilling (including hydraulic fracturing operations), producing and transportation of oil and natural gas, Feldman said.

Preparing thorough comments on the EPA’s proposals within 60 days is not reasonable or practicable, he said, asking the EPA for an additional 60 days to comment. If the rules are not thoughtfully crafted, “the result could be requirements that impose a virtual moratorium on developing U.S. oil and natural gas resources,” he said.

“A 60-day comment period would barely be a sufficient comment period for a single proposed rule, much less a reasonable length of time to comment on the five included in this rulemaking. We strongly recommend a 60-day extension,” said Klaber.

The EPA’s timetable calls for the rules to take effect in spring 2012. Feldman urged the agency to grant a one-year extension of the deadline for industry to comply with the rules.

“We do not oppose rules to help manage upstream emissions, but we are concerned that, unless properly crafted, they could hamper our ability to meet the nation’s energy needs. As EPA’s proposal stands today, we have questions about whether we’re going to get workable, practical rules that do not obstruct development,” Feldman said.

Klaber said the EPA has underestimated the cost of compliance with the standards for dry gas plays, such as the northern Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. She called on the agency to reconsider and provide for exemptions or other provisions for activities association with dry gas plays.

API’s Feldman agreed. “Following a preliminary review of the regulatory impact analysis, it already seems clear that EPA has significantly underestimated the cost of implementing the proposed rules.”

Klaber recommended that the EPA “implement a reasonable phase-in period for any regulations that may create delays in delivering gas to market and disrupt energy supplies. Considering the myriad of regulation changes and additions proposed with this rulemaking, sufficient equipment, manpower and contractors will not be available to handle the inevitable rush,” she said.

©Copyright 2011Intelligence Press Inc. All rights reserved. The preceding news reportmay not be republished or redistributed, in whole or in part, in anyform, without prior written consent of Intelligence Press, Inc.