Agency

Attorneys for the Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) have asked an appellate court to vacate oral arguments and abate a case over a rule governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on public and tribal lands because the agency intends to rescind the rule.

Two weeks after saying he wants to make federal agencies “do more with less,” President Trump signed an order Monday calling for reorganization of the executive branch of the government, a move that could affect the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

In one of his first actions as administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Scott Pruitt told a roomful of agency employees that while he rues the current “toxic” political climate, he wants EPA to follow a definitive regulatory process and the rule of law, thereby avoiding costly legal battles. He added that EPA’s counterparts in state government need to see the federal agency as “partners…not adversaries.”

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said Thursday it will postpone for two months a rule to make online the default method for filing permits for oil and natural gas drilling.

After years of considering the idea, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to add natural gas processors to a list of industrial facilities that must report annually information on chemical discharges and other waste management activities.

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) said it has made online filing the default method for filing permits for oil and natural gas drilling, a move designed to not only save paper but make the permitting process more efficient and transparent.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) secured $13.7 billion during fiscal year (FY) 2016 from companies to control pollution, including several in the oil and natural gas industry, the agency said Monday in its annual enforcement results release.

Five years after it began drafting an overhaul of environmental regulations for shale gas drillers, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) expects to publish the new rules in the state bulletin Oct. 8 when they are to finally go into effect, according to a top agency official.

The Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) said it has hired Jacob Walter as its new lead seismologist, a post of increasing importance as the agency is tasked with analyzing continuing seismic activity in part attributed to oil and gas activities.