Lawmakers

Colorado lawmakers have passed HB 1258 by a vote of 95-3. The legislation would make it easier for retail outlets to provide natural gas, propane and electric vehicle fueling. The bill, which was sent to Gov. John Hickenlooper, who is expected to sign it in May, would allow retailers to sell the three alternative vehicle fuels without Colorado Public Utilities Commission (PUC) scrutiny. Electric vehicle recharging and liquefied natural gas fueling fell under PUC oversight; however, the other two fuels (compressed natural gas and propane) did not.

When the Pennsylvania General Assembly passed Act 13, its omnibus Marcellus Shale law, in February, it marked the end of three years of legislative wrangling and the beginning of a period of legal interpretation.

An investigation by the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (CBC) has revealed that a political assistant to New Brunswick’s energy minister asked the province’s electric utility, NB Power, to remove anti-shale signs from its utility poles last summer.

Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider the results of a recent study that concludes that hydraulic fracturing contributes to acute and chronic health problems when examining the potential risks of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on water quality and public health.

California lawmakers are rekindling an effort that died last year to place chemical disclosure requirements on oil and natural gas producers that use hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well stimulation.

The Maryland House of Delegates passed two Marcellus Shale regulatory bills on Saturday, adding clarity to how lawmakers expect the Maryland Department of the Environment (MDE) to regulate oil and natural gas operators, as well as several aspects of their drilling activities.

India’s Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas (MPNG) on Tuesday told lawmakers in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the country’s Parliament, it will announce a new regulatory framework for shale gas development by March 31.

A Texas couple that has sued Range Resources Corp. for allegedly contaminating its drinking water with hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on Thursday lost a bid for dismissal of the company’s countersuit, which alleges that the couple participated in a conspiracy to defame Range.

Already subjected to pointed criticism from regulators and lawmakers, a $2.2 billion, four-year plan for enhancing Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s (PG&E) natural gas pipeline system is not likely to be approved by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) anytime soon, PG&E utility President Chris Johns told financial analysts Thursday on an earnings conference call.