Strict

Despite strict rules governing wastewater disposal wells, enacted after a dozen small earthquakes were possibly caused by the injections, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is on pace to receive a record number of permit applications this year for new injection wells.

Texas regulators Wednesday approved new air emissions rules affecting producers in the Barnett Shale of North Texas. Industry groups have said the rules are too strict, while environmentalists said they don’t go far enough.

Two environmental groups have asked a federal court in Pittsburgh to enjoin the Municipal Authority of the City of McKeesport from accepting any wastewater from Marcellus Shale drilling operations at its sewage plant, but an official with the facility says it hasn’t accepted Marcellus wastewater for the last three months.

New Jersey wants the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to ultimately oversee the approval process for natural gas well sites in the river basin, and is calling for a strict limit to the initial number of production wells to be drilled once it adopts regulations on hydraulic fracturing (hydrofracking).

Alexander B. Grannis, chief of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), was fired by Gov. David Paterson late last Thursday after an unsigned memo was leaked to the press disparaging staff cutsthat would, among other things, impede the agency’s effectiveness to oversee natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

A rash of protests has been lodged at FERC against a Columbia Gulf Transmission tariff filing that seeks to impose strict scheduling penalties and establish a monthly cash-out process that would penalize shippers for imbalances regardless of whether their actions threatened the reliability of the natural gas pipeline system.

A new study has found that when the price of crude oil is more than $31/bbl, heavy-duty natural gas powered vehicles (NGV) that meet strict emissions standards are more cost-effective to own, operate and maintain over their lifetime than comparable diesel-powered vehicles. Oil prices have been well above $31/bbl for some time…and September crude futures closed at $59/bbl on Monday.

FERC has rejected ANR Pipeline’s proposed tariff revisions that sought to establish a low hydrocarbon dewpoint (HDP) quality specification and merchantability standard for natural gas accepted into its system.

FERC on Friday rejected ANR Pipeline’s proposed tariff revisions that sought to establish a low hydrocarbon dewpoint (HDP) quality specification and merchantability standard for natural gas accepted into its system.