Listing

As a dozen western states hope to head off an endangered species listing next month for the greater sage grouse, an updated census of the ground-dwelling bird that is scheduled to be released later this month could show favorable upward trends.

The lesser prairie-chicken has been listed as "threatened" by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), the agency said Thursday. The declaration comes with a rule intended to limit the impact of the listing on landowners and businesses, such as those in the oil and gas industry.

GreenHunter Resources Inc.’s planned water treatment, recycling and condensate handling logistics terminal in Wheeling, WV, to serve the Marcellus and Utica shale region could provide drillers with free recycled wastewater for hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations.

Ten years ago the Permian Basin, first drilled nearly a century ago, was considered passe for oil and gas exploration. Today, however, a new generation of explorers and midstream operators has made the basin one of the hottest tickets on the reservoir circuit and there are no signs that the lights will be dimming anytime soon.

BP plc was the only one of the top five U.S. producers of natural gas that also showed up among the top five gas marketers in 2010, according to an analysis by Natural Gas Intelligence (NGI) of federal filings that showed a 6% gain in trading in 2010 over 2009.

Prompted by the booming natural gas drilling industry in his district, Pennsylvania state Senator Gene Yaw (R-23rd) said he will introduce a series of bills that address issues related to the growing Marcellus Shale industry. Yaw’s district includes Bradford, Susquehanna and Lycoming counties, which are some of Pennsylvania’s top Marcellus producing areas.

Three environmental groups on Monday sent an intent-to-sue letter to the Department of Interior (DOI) for not listing sage grouse as an endangered or threatened species. Sixty days’ notice is required ahead of filing a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Center for Biological Diversity, Desert Survivors and Western Watersheds Project said the lawsuit would be filed in a still-to-be-determined federal court because DOI classified the sage grouse only as a candidate for protection under the ESA (see Daily GPI, March 8). Around 250 species considered candidates for protection have been on the list for decades, the groups said. DOI declined to comment because of its policy regarding litigation.

Three environmental groups on Monday sent an intent-to-sue letter to the Department of Interior (DOI) for not listing sage grouse as an endangered or threatened species. Sixty days’ notice is required ahead of filing a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The Center for Biological Diversity, Desert Survivors and Western Watersheds Project said the lawsuit would be filed in a still-to-be-determined federal court because DOI classified the sage grouse only as a candidate for protection under the ESA (see Daily GPI, March 8). Around 250 species considered candidates for protection have been on the list for decades, the groups said. DOI declined to comment because of its policy regarding litigation.

Wyoming Gov. Dave Freudenthal said a federal Endangered Species Act listing for the sage grouse would impact 83% of the gas production, 64% of the oil production and 80% of the coal production in his state. Speaking at a state wind energy symposium earlier this month, Freudenthal said he expected energy developers to prevent the economic harm he sees befalling Wyoming if the sage grouse is placed under the Act, according to a report on the symposium. Different viewpoints were expressed by other speakers at the symposium. Erik Molvar, director of the Biodiversity Conservation Alliance, said the wind industry faces restrictions related to the sage grouse, but the gas, oil and coal industries do not. Aaron Clark, a rancher and energy advisor to the governor, said the sage grouse core areas negotiated between the state and fossil fuel industries would cause little disruption of those industries. Clark said protecting the grouse within core areas would impact only about 4% of the coal industry and 2% of natural gas lands.