Impacts

In anticipation of a mid-year effective date for the state’s new well stimulation rules, which cover hydraulic fracturing, California’s Department of Conservation (DOC) on Wednesday released a draft environmental impact report (DEIR) and separately the results of an independent scientific assessment commissioned by the state. The DEIR concludes that most impacts can be mitigated.

The Department of Interior (DOI) unveiled a strategy for improving mitigation policies and practices on Thursday as it seeks to simultaneously encourage infrastructure development and protect natural and cultural resources.

Some state legislators cited storm damage in attempt to revive an anti-drilling campaign.

Torrential rains and widespread flooding in Colorado that have resulted in loss of life and more than 1,000 people missing are also having a significant impact on natural gas utilities, exploration and production (E&P) companies and gas pipelines.

Colorado, which has about 51,000 active natural gas and oil wells, has toughened regulations for reporting spills at drill sites, a measure expected to inflate the annual numbers.

Officials in two Pennsylvania counties with significant oil and gas drilling that targets the Marcellus Shale say they support plans by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) to conduct baseline testing at private water wells in their counties next year.

Natural gas and oil production is vulnerable to decreasing water availability and operations in Arctic Alaska to thawing permafrost, both of which are potential impacts of climate change, according to a report issued Thursday by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).

The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) report on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on drinking water resources will likely be finalized in 2016, the agency said Wednesday.

The University of Tennessee’s Institute of Agriculture (UTIA) is seeking an industry partner for a proposed research project to investigate impacts of natural gas and oil exploration, as well as development from shale formations, in East Tennessee and the wider region.