Regulation

Over the last year or so hydraulic fracturing (fracking) has become a headline issue, and how one feels about it depends to a good degree on who one is. Generally though, as fracking garners more scrutiny the belief that it is worth doing hasn’t wavered much, a recent poll found.

A landmark ruling by the Texas Supreme Court last month that landowners own groundwater “in place” will benefit shale producers by facilitating the sale of the water, according to Kathleen Hartnett White, a distinguished senior fellow and director at the Texas Public Policy Foundation in Austin, TX.

The U.S. Department of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) would require companies drilling on public lands to disclose the chemicals used in their hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations, according to a draft of proposed BLM regulations acquired by NGI’s Shale Daily.

Shortly after Idaho local government and oil/gas associations agreed on a proposed state law to cover regulation of the state’s fledgling natural gas exploration and production (E&P) sector, a conservation group raised concerns about local authorities ceding their authority to the state.

It was brief and caused no injuries or damage, but the accident set off alarms among regulators, production companies and field contractors

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has filed an administrative complaint seeking $112,500 in fines — the maximum amount allowed by law — against U.S. Energy Development Corp. for water quality violations that allegedly occurred during drilling activities in Pennsylvania and affected Yeager Brook in Cattaraugus County, NY.

House Republicans last Wednesday called for a delay in the implementation or total repeal of a proposed regulation that restricts trading by banks, known as the “Volcker Rule.”

While the industry was preaching compromise legislation with balanced regulation and taxes on natural gas in Pennsylvania, environmental groups urged lawmakers to start over, splitting the task into four separate bills.

In one of the first hearings of the 2012 session, House Republicans Wednesday called for a delay in the implementation or total repeal of a proposed regulation restricting trading by banks, known as the “Volcker Rule.”