Legislative

With regulatory and legislative encouragement, Atlanta Gas Light Inc. (AGL) has filed a plan with Georgia state regulators asking for approval to establish over the next five years a network of public and home-based compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling stations. AGL envisions a network throughout the greater Atlanta area and along major transportation corridors in the state.

Texas House lawmakers Wednesday approved a bill that would require disclosure of the contents of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) fluids used in natural gas wells in the state.

Despite the opposition of Gov. Tom Corbett, Pennsylvania lawmakers from both sides of the aisle continue to look for ways to generate revenue from the Marcellus Shale.

With the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) this legislative session it could be a case of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” While a recent review of the agency recommended sweeping changes, state lawmakers now appear headed for a compromise that could change the RRC’s name and make other less drastic adjustments.

California air quality regulators told a Congressional committee Wednesday that the state’s implementation of a 2006 climate change law (AB 32) could be jeopardized by legislative proposals to rollback plans to expand federal Clean Air Act restrictions to include greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from motor vehicles.

For the second time this week, legislative language has been offered on Capitol Hill to strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of authority to regulate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) may need legislative authority to impose user fees on traders of futures and swaps if the agency does not receive sufficient funding in fiscal year (FY) 2012 to implement the new regulations required under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act.

Acting West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin on Wednesday night said he would continue to fight for the state’s huge coal industry, but he also urged state residents to embrace the opportunities that would come from natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) has tapped Tom Hassenboehler as vice president of policy development and legislative affairs. He joins ANGA after nearly a decade on Capitol Hill, serving as minority counsel to the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and as counsel on the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Hassenboehler previously worked in the offices of former Reps. Billy Tauzin (R-LA) and Bob Riley (R-AL). “[His] knowledge of energy and environmental policy, coupled with his deep understanding of Congress and the many benefits of natural gas, will be a tremendous asset to ANGA’s efforts to promote greater utilization of this clean, domestic energy source,” said ANGA President Regina Hopper. Hassenboehler earned a bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate from Louisiana State University.