Fracking

The Obama administration joined a coalition of environmental groups in filing an appeal over a federal judge’s ruling in September to block rules governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on public and tribal lands from taking effect.

In an online interview prior to joining the climate change talks in Paris, California Gov. Jerry Brown reiterated his support for the use of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by the oil and natural gas industry.

As President Obama attends an international summit on climate change in Paris, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) accused the president of ignoring “America’s oil and natural gas renaissance,” and said he should do more to promote hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and natural gas development around the world.

A group of environmental organizations said Monday that of the 700,000 comments submitted in favor of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposals to cut methane and air pollution from new and modified oil and gas industry sources, 71,000 of them came from Ohio.

Permian Basin-focused Independent Patriot Energy Inc. said Tuesday a well drilled in the basin may have producing pay zones, including in the Upper Wolfcamp Shale, beyond what was anticipated.

In an eleventh hour move last week before adjourning for the next seven months, the North Carolina General Assembly passed a bill to make crystal clear earlier legislation invalidating local ordinances that regulate oil and gas activities, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking).

A three-member panel appointed in March by New Brunswick to study hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and determine whether it can be performed to the provincial government’s standards has, for the first time, asked for public comments on the practice.

In a case similar to other legal actions going back four years, U.S. Justice Department attorneys recently filed a court response defending a resource plan for drilling on federal lands throughout central California, disputing allegations made by EarthJustice, the Center for Biological Diversity and Los Padres ForestWatch.

The Colorado Court of Appeals has asked the state’s high court to take jurisdiction over appeals of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) restrictions enacted by Longmont and Fort Collins, CO (see Shale Daily,Nov. 10, 2014).