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Al Armendariz, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Dallas office, resigned Monday following public outcry over his remarks supporting a “crucify them” approach to enforcement of the oil and natural gas industry.

Interior’s Office of Natural Resources Revenues (ONRR) Monday said it was assessing a $1.9 million civil penalty against Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. for knowingly and willfully maintaining false, inaccurate or misleading information on ONRR’s database.

Coordinated regulation of oil and gas development is needed in Colorado, but no new laws are needed to achieve such an approach, according to a draft report from a task force created earlier this year by Gov. John Hickenlooper. The task force is scheduled to issue its final report to Hickenlooper and state lawmakers Wednesday.

A Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office in southwestern Colorado has released a preliminary environmental assessment calling for 21 parcels and 24,324 acres to be included in an upcoming natural gas lease sale. The draft assessment pared an initial proposal to include 22 parcels and up to 29,811 acres, mostly in Gunnison County, CO, in the auction, which is scheduled to be held Aug. 9. Under the BLM program, obtaining the leases is the first part of a multi-step process in which each lease holder would have to obtain a drilling permit, which would entail another environmental assessment of the individual drilling plans for each lease. It is all part of BLM’s master development plan and its use of multi-well development to help manage federal lease development. Before any exploration and development work can start, however, there will be site-specific reviews and analysis completed as called for under the National Environmental Policy Act, BLM officials said.

A quartet of nominees for positions at FERC, the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the Interior Department appeared before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Tuesday to answer questions about hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and other issues as part of their confirmation process.

A report disputes General Accountability Office (GAO) claims that the Interior Department has been falling down on the job in its collection of revenues from oil and natural gas producers and that those revenues are among the lowest in the world. It also casts some doubt on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposal to raise the onshore royalty rate to 18.75%.

A Department of Interior (DOI)-commissioned report disputes General Accountability Office (GAO) claims that DOI has been falling down on the job in its collection of revenues from oil and natural gas producers and that those revenues are among the lowest in the world. It also casts some doubt on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) proposal to raise the onshore royalty rate to 18.75%.

A former Helmerich & Payne Inc. (H&P) drilling manager has been charged with making false statements to the Department of Interior’s Office of Inspector General regarding a key safety device on a Gulf of Mexico drilling rig. Donald Hudson, 49, of Walnut Grove, MS, was employed by H&P as the drilling rig manager for Rig 206 from Oct. 14, 2009 until May 27, 2010. Rig 206’s blowout preventer (BOP), like other BOP systems, has to be pressure tested at regular intervals prior to continued drilling operations, and results of the tests, including any problems or irregularities, also are to be recorded. On March 30, 2011 Hudson allegedly lied to investigators about instructing the rig’s crew to falsify BOP testing results, according to U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, who oversees the Eastern District of Louisiana. Testimony by other crew members revealed that Hudson had told the crew to close valves on the BOP choke manifold to prevent leaks, said Letten. In May 2011 H&P indicated in a regulatory filing that it suspended operations on an offshore rig after an employee reported possible “testing irregularities” and said “certain employees” were fired. No environmental or other harm occurred and the BOP system ultimately was repaired, Letten noted. If Hudson is found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison, as well as a fine of up to $250,000 and up to three years of supervised release following a prison term.

The Marcellus Shale boom does not appear to be driving up crime rates in Pennsylvania, but more research is needed to gauge the actual impact, according to a Pennsylvania State University report.