Aimed

The Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) on Friday issued a notice of proposed rulemaking aimed at updating its rules covering natural gas pipeline operations to bring them in line with federal safety requirements. The PUC proposal would amend the state’s current pipeline safety rules, but a commission spokesperson said the changes were not prompted by the recent pipeline accidents in North America.

At the direction of Republican Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett, acting Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Mike Krancer on Tuesday called on all drilling operators to stop delivering wastewater from Marcellus Shale gas extraction by May 19 to 15 facilities currently accepting it, citing newly revised total dissolved solids (TDS) regulations.

While natural gas interests in California are wary about several proposed laws aimed at transmission pipeline operations in the wake of the San Bruno explosion last year, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is raising a red flag on another gas issue that is tied to some of the current proposals to begin cutting into a $25 billion state budget deficit.

Williams will split itself into two standalone publicly traded corporations, the Tulsa-based company said Wednesday, in a move aimed at value enhancement that has been on the minds of company executives for a while.

Two bills aimed at revamping West Virginia’s quarter-century-old drilling regulations are slated for introduction in the state legislature this week. The measures, variously directed at water management and horizontal drilling, would also increase horizontal well permit fees from $400 to $10,000.

Radio talk show host Ron Morris has begun broadcasting a 12-part series on the Marcellus Shale on a Pittsburgh radio station, WMNY 1360, aimed at getting the facts about shale development.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposed rule aimed at averting disruptive practices in the swaps market is “overly vague,” the Futures Industry Association (FIA) told the agency.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) proposed rule aimed at averting disruptive practices in the swaps market is “overly vague,” the Futures Industry Association (FIA) told the agency.

FERC last Thursday issued modified penalty guidelines aimed at enforcing standards for the reliability of the electric transmission system, and it made more general guideline changes that would apply to all regulated industries.