Legislature

After more than five years in the making, months of fiery debate and weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, the Pennsylvania General Assembly on Wednesday approved new environmental regulations for shale gas production and voted for legislation to scrap new rules for legacy producers.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate energy committees this week voted against the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) overhaul of regulations for the oil and natural gas industries.

The Pennsylvania House and Senate energy committees this week voted against the state Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) overhaul of regulations for the oil and natural gas industries.

A group of state lawmakers in the lower house California Assembly on Wednesday unveiled an effort to change the state’s constitution to shut down the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), an institution that has come under increased political and consumer criticism in the past two years.

The New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) is proposing a permitting program for liquefied natural gas (LNG) facilities and LNG transport within the state in light of increasing interest in the development of LNG facilities. Such a move could lift a 40-year ban on new LNG storage in the state.

California’s legislature late Wednesday passed a heavily amended bill (SB 4) aimed at regulating the oil/natural gas practice of hydraulic fracturing (fracking), and Gov. Jerry Brown said he intends to sign the measure. For different reasons, industry, environmental and some major news media expressed displeasure with the version of SB 4 that ultimately passed both houses of state’s legislature.

The Texas Transportation Commission has approved $225 million for work to repair roads damaged as a consequence of the state’s oil and gas boom. The funding, provided by the Texas Legislature (see Shale Daily, May 30), will allow the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT)to begin repairing and rehabilitating roadways damaged by heavy trucks and increased traffic. It is estimated that energy sector traffic across the state has caused $400 million in immediate roadway safety concerns, such as severe edge damage on narrow roadways, deep rutting and pavement damage. Estimates show an additional $1 billion per year is needed to restore roadways heavily impacted by energy development to “good” or “better” conditions, the commission said. “Fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crashes in Texas rose by 11% in 2012 compared to the previous year,” said TxDOT Executive Director Phil Wilson. “We are pleased that our lawmakers saw fit to fund some of these safety-focused rehabilitation and repair projects, and we hope resources that enhance safety will continue to be a priority as our energy industry thrives.” With more than 80,000 miles of highway, Texas, home of the Eagle Ford and Barnett shales as well as the Permian Basin, has the largest highway system in the nation.

In a maneuver rendered purely symbolic by the party’s minority status in the state’s legislature, a group of Pennsylvania Democrats recently approved a resolution calling for an end to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in the state.

Legislation in Colorado that would have imposed higher penalties for oil and natural gas operators that violated state regulations — supported by the governor and the energy industry — went down in defeat Wednesday, the final day of the session.