Regulation

With an eye on improved air quality and increased demand, Pennsylvania is making the case that existing regulation allow drivers to convert their vehicles to run on natural gas.

Although the dogs are still barking in Pennsylvania, the caravan for imposing a fee on natural gas drillers in the most active shale gas state appears to be moving on.

Pennsylvania lawmakers have restarted discussions about imposing an impact fee on natural gas operators by removing the fee from legislation introduced earlier this year.

There is “no defensible reason” for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to subject natural gas pipelines and storage facilities to regulation of emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC), said a major interstate gas pipeline group.

To the consternation of some environmental activists, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association at the end of September took two steps aimed at revising a regulation for the handling of waste produced at drilling and production sites. The association alleges that the “pit rule” drives up costs and chases drilling rigs to other states.

To the consternation of some environmental activists, the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association at the end of September took two steps aimed at revising a regulation established in 2008 for the handling of waste produced at drilling and production sites. The association alleges that the “pit rule” drives up costs and chases drilling rigs to other states.

Michael Bromwich, who now leads the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), has been tapped to take over the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) until a permanent director is named. Bromwich’s top assistant, BOEMRE Senior Adviser Tommy P. Beaudreau will lead the new Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Bromwich and Beaudreau have been involved in the creation of the two new bureaus, which are to be officially established on Oct. 1. Bromwich agreed to serve as the BSEE chief, and Interior said it has launched “an aggressive, nationwide recruitment effort to find a permanent director.” Beaudreau would be the permanent BOEM director. Salazar’s Secretarial Order in 2010 divided the former Minerals Management Service into the BSEE, BOEM and the Office of Natural Resources Revenue. MMS was renamed BOEMRE, and ONRR now operates under Interior’s Assistant Secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. ONRR manages revenues associated with federal offshore and federal and American Indian onshore mineral leases, as well as revenues received as a result of offshore renewable energy efforts. BSEE is to handle inspections, enforcement and safety of offshore oil and gas operations while BOEM is to be responsible for energy leasing and planning on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Michael Bromwich, who now leads the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE), has been tapped to take over the newly formed Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) until a permanent director is named, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday.

The federal government should leave shale regulation to the states, but companies should be ready for changes to the tax code that will likely impact their industry, a bipartisan panel of lawmakers told a Philadelphia audience last Wednesday.