Rescind

The Department of Interior (DOI) moved Tuesday to rescind most of an Obama-era rule governing associated natural gas flaring and venting on public and tribal lands while revising the remaining provisions, calling the parts of the rule marked for rescission “unnecessarily burdensome” for the oil and gas industry.

Oil and natural gas producers decried President Obama’s budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2013, which seeks to rescind $41 billion in tax breaks over the next decade and tack on a number of new fees, calling the plan an about-face from his commitment in the State of the Union (SOU) address to support greater domestic energy development.

President Obama proposes to rescind $40 billion in oil and natural gas tax breaks as part of a $467 billion package of savings and offsets to pay for his $447 billion jobs bill, which was to be sent to Congress late Monday.

A coalition of conservation and environmental groups wants Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett to rescind a new policy requiring Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) inspectors to get approval before issuing notices of violation to Marcellus Shale operators. In a recent letter, 42 groups, including Citizens for Pennsylvania’s Future, Audubon Pennsylvania and the Sierra Club, said the policy “will create unacceptable delays in resolving identified problems putting public safety and natural resources unnecessarily at risk.” The policy, described by the DEP as a three-month pilot project, requires inspectors to get all notices of violations pre-approved by DEP Secretary Michael Krancer. The DEP said the measure is a way to guarantee consistency across the state, but critics say it undermines the authority of inspectors (see Shale Daily, April 1).

Oil and gas industry organizations Friday were joining Louisiana’s Sen. Mary Landrieu in urging President Obama to rescind the blanket moratorium on deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), calling it a “one-size-fits-all” moratorium that will add further job loss and economic woes to a region already dealing with the devastation of the GOM oil spill.

Oil and gas industry organizations Friday were joining Louisiana’s Sen. Mary Landrieu in urging President Obama to rescind the blanket moratorium on deepwater operations in the Gulf of Mexico (GOM), calling it a “one-size-fits-all” moratorium that will add further job loss and economic woes to a region already dealing with the devastation of the GOM oil spill.

Controversy over liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal proposals in Oregon is one impetus behind a Congressional move Monday to rescind FERC’s jurisdiction over LNG facility siting. Gov. Ted Kulongoski has lawyers looking at the state’s rights to withhold permits for federally approved projects with which Oregon disagrees.

Two key Senate Democrats last Tuesday called on President Bush to order the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to rescind an order that suspended more than 1,500 permits, projects and contracts across the National Forest System, including several projects involving oil and natural gas development.

Two key Senate Democrats on Tuesday called on President Bush to order the Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service to rescind an order that suspended more than 1,500 permits, projects and contracts across the National Forest System, including several projects involving oil and natural gas development.