Powers

An Ohio judge has upheld a class action lawsuit against a Utica Shale driller, a decision that could release hundreds of landowners from undeveloped oil and natural gas lease agreements.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) has proposed changes to its Part 190 procedural rules to broaden enforcement powers as called for in a bill that President Obama signed into law earlier this year (see NGI, Jan. 9). Congress passed the legislation following fatal pipeline explosions in San Bruno, CA, and Allentown, PA (see NGI, Feb. 14, 2011; Oct. 18, 2010). Key proposed changes include: increase in the administrative civil penalty caps to $200,000/violation/day and up to $2 million for related violations; authority to seek civil penalties for obstructions of inspections or investigations; more power to issue subpoenas; prohibits ex parte communications; and adds references to PHMSA’s new authority under the Clean Water Act to enforce its oil spill plan regulations. Comments on PHMSA’s notice of proposed changes are due on Sept. 12.

While Congress is seeking to strip the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of some of its regulatory powers, the head of Exelon Corp.Wednesday expressed his support for the agency’s continued enforcement of the Clean Air Act (CAA), saying that it was more cost-effective for the energy industry and removed uncertainty.

Colorado’s state lawmakers are moving a bill (HB 1286) to strengthen the powers of the state engineer’s office in resolving water disputes between ranchers and oil and gas drilling companies. The state’s director of the Department of Natural Resources supports the measure as a means of avoiding a two-year period of uncertainty for oil and gas producers.

Colorado’s state lawmakers are moving a bill (HB 1286) to strengthen the powers of the state engineer’s office in resolving water disputes between ranchers and oil and gas drilling companies. The state’s director of the Department of Natural Resources supports the measure as a means of avoiding a two-year period of uncertainty for oil and gas producers.

A House discussion draft that would give the Federal Reserve new powers over federal market regulators got a cool reception from regulators and the House Agriculture Committee Tuesday.

The joint powers authority financing arm for public power in Southern California received another “AA-” credit rating from Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (S&P) for its $511.5 million revenue bonds. Proceeds from the bond sales will be used to fund an aggressive long-term natural gas purchase program for five munis, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA), which will use the proceeds to acquire a 30-year natural gas supply from J. Aron Co. including five nearly identical prepaid gas sales agreements with the SCPPA municipal utilities involved. The bonds are expected to be priced soon with Goldman Sachs as the sole manager. S&P noted that the stable outlook reflects the outlook on Goldman Sachs. Fitch Ratings gave the offering a stable outlook last week (see Daily GPI, Oct. 1).

The joint powers authority financing arm for public power in Southern California received an “AA-” credit rating for its $511.5 million revenue bonds to fund an aggressive long-term natural gas purchase program for five munis, including the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP). Fitch Ratings gave the offering a stable outlook. Southern California Public Power Authority (SCPPA) will use the proceeds to acquire a 30-year natural gas supply from J. Aron & Co., including five nearly identical prepaid gas sales agreements with the SCPPA municipal utilities involved. The bonds are expected to be priced soon with Goldman Sachs as the sole manager, Fitch said. As the tax-exempt intermediary in the deal, SCPPA will sell the gas to the five electric munis at a price Fitch described as being equal to the first-of-the-month market index minus a fixed discount pursuant to nearly identical gas supply agreements with each project participant. “The price risk between the prepaid [fixed] price of natural gas paid by SCPPA to J. Aron at the bond closing and the index price that will be received by SCPPA from the project participants over the next 30 years will be hedged by a commodity swap between SCPPA and AIG-FP Broadgate, as described elsewhere,” Fitch said. “In addition, SCPPA will enter into an interest rate swap with J. Aron.

In the end, Monday’s Capitol Hill photo-op for the green side turned out to be a broad, nationwide public relations/lobbying effort to urge federal powers in Washington, DC, to frame a national response to global warming. Twelve states, 20 financial services firms and a dozen each of foundations and business leaders comprised 65 signatories to a “call to action” in the nation’s capital.