Legislation

Assuming all of the conferees for the energy bill have been selected by then, conference negotiations on the comprehensive legislation are expected to get under way Friday, according to staff members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

The Department of Transportation’s newly-proposed rule for pipeline safety issued last week incorporates much of the recently passed pipeline safety legislation, and also extends the impact zone for “high consequence areas” (HCA) beyond the current 660 feet from large-diameter, high pressure pipelines.

The Department of Transportation’s newly-proposed rule for pipeline safety, issued last week incorporates much of the recently passed pipeline safety legislation, and also extends the impact zone for “high consequence areas” (HCA) beyond the currently defined 660 feet from large-diameter, high pressure pipelines.

House negotiators conferring on broad energy legislation (H.R. 4) offered last week to more than double the size of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) in exchange for their Senate counterparts agreeing to allow oil and natural gas drilling on a 2,000-acre “footprint” in the Alaska wilderness region.

House negotiators conferring on broad energy legislation (H.R. 4) offered Wednesday to expand the size of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) by 10 million acres in exchange for their Senate counterparts agreeing to allow oil and natural gas drilling on a 2,000-acre “footprint” in the Alaska wilderness region.

Lawmakers meeting last Thursday to craft a comprehensive energy bill reached a compromise related to pipeline integrity inspections under which facilities with the highest risk factors will be given priority for completing inspections within a five-year period.

Before leaving for recess, a House Resources subcommittee voted out legislation to the full committee that would rein in the president’s ability to prohibit oil and natural gas production and mining activities on public lands by declaring them as national monuments.

A House Resources subcommittee voted out legislation to the full committee that would rein in the president’s ability to prohibit oil and natural gas production and mining activities on public lands by declaring them as national monuments.

Acting on recent Ohio legislation aimed at making natural gas customer-choice programs in the state more “consumer-friendly,” the recently formed Northeast Ohio Public Energy Council (NOPEC), the nation’s largest public energy aggregated buying group, reported that it has entered into a one-year contract with Shell Energy for natural gas services to residents of the 95 NOPEC communities.