Sara Jenkins -
Research Assistant
Jackie Schweichler -
Staff Attorney
The following
information is an update of recent local, state, national, and international
legal developments relevant to shale gas.
State Regulation: Oregon
Senate Passes Oil and Gas Moratorium Bill
On May 29, 2019, the
Oregon Senate passed a bill which will ban oil and gas production and
exploration within the state for the next five years. The bill, HB 2623, creates a five year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing but
exempts natural gas storage wells, geothermal, and existing coal bed methane
wells. The Senate version of the bill decreased the original length of the
moratorium from the House version of the bill which would have prohibited oil and gas
exploration for ten years. The Senate
changes to the bill must now be approved by the House before it can be sent to
Governor Kate Brown.
Air Quality: Two Year
Study Concludes Air Quality Near Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Development Sites
Will Not Impact Public Health
On May 10, 2019, Gradient
Corporation issued a report concluding that air quality near oil and gas development sites
will not impact public health. The report outlines a two-year study of air
quality and wind direction in Washington County, Pennsylvania that monitored
three different sites near the Yonker well pad. The report was requested by
Range Resources - Appalachia, LLC, to evaluate any public health concerns for
the Fort Cherry School District campus, located upwind from the Yonker well
site. The study found that “PM2.5 and VOC concentrations were consistently
below health-based air comparison values,” and were not expected to pose any
health risks.
Pipelines: Court Rules
Environmental Group Can Dispute Lack of Annual Pipeline Inspections
On May 23, 2019, The
United States District Court for the District of Montana denied the Department of Transportation's (DOT) Motion to Dismiss a case
brought by environmental group, WildEarth Guardians (WildEarth)(WildEarth Guardians v. Chao, et
al, 4:18-cv-00110-BMM). WildEarth
filed the Complaint in August 2018, alleging DOT is in violation of the Mineral
Leasing Act, which requires DOT’s Secretary to inspect oil and gas pipelines
located on federal lands on an annual basis. DOT filed a Motion to Dismiss for lack of
jurisdiction and failure to state a claim. The court found that WildEarth sufficiently
asserted a failure to act claim, and the lack of administrative proceedings in
the case established jurisdiction.
Pipelines: PHMSA’s
Proposed Rule on Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Moves to White House for Review
On May 22, 2019, the
Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs received a proposed rule regarding the revision of natural gas pipeline
safety requirements. Notice of the proposed rule was filed in the Federal Register on April 8,
2019, by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). The proposed rule, titled Pipeline Safety:
Safety of Gas Transmission and Gathering Pipelines, seeks to amend safety
regulations pertaining to onshore gas transmission and gathering pipelines. The amendments would include the revision and
repair criteria for pipeline defects, the addition of requirements for
monitoring gas quality, and the addition of requirements for mitigating
internal corrosion. PHMSA drafted the
proposed rule in response to several incidents that have occurred on gas
pipeline systems, as well as to offer clarity and enhancements to current
safety regulations.
LNG Exports: FERC and
Department of Energy Issue Approvals for Freeport LNG’s Train 4 Project
On May 28, 2019, U.S.
Department of Energy announced its approval of additional exports of natural gas from Freeport’s
LNG terminal, located on Quintana Island, Texas. The approval follows the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) approval for the construction of Freeport LLC’s (Freeport) fourth natural
gas liquefaction unit (Train 4). The Train 4 project is
an expansion to three trains already under construction at the Quintana Island
terminal. The project is expected to
increase the total export capacity of the LNG terminal to 0.74 billion cubic
feet of natural gas per day.
International
Development: European Court Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Amend Climate Change Legislation
On May 8, 2019, the
General Court, Second Chamber, of Luxembourg dismissed a case seeking to amend climate change legislation that aims to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 (Carvalho, et al v. European
Parliament, et al, T-330/18). The case was brought by landowners and
farmers who live in various countries within the European Union. In the Application, Plaintiffs argue that the ETS Directive, Effort Sharing Regulation, and LULUCF Regulation (GHG Emissions Acts) are unlawful due to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) that requires emissions to be reduced by
50% to 60% by 2030. Plaintiffs requested
that the court order an annulment and amendment of the provisions to reflect
reduction of emissions by 50% to 60%. Defendants,
the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union, argued that the
legislation did not alter Plaintiffs' fundamental rights. Additionally, Defendants’
argued that the legislation did not directly affect Plaintiff’s individual
legal situation given the GHG Emissions Acts are general in nature and could
apply to an indeterminate number of people. Ultimately, the court found that Plaintiffs
did not have standing and could not request annulment of the legislation.
National Energy Policy:
IEA Study Suggests Declining Use of Nuclear Power May Lead to Increased Carbon
Emissions
On May 28, 2019, the
International Energy Agency (IEA) released a study which concluded that decreased use of nuclear energy could lead
to increased carbon emissions. The
study, titled Nuclear Power in a Clean Energy System, analyzes the cost
of extending the use of aging nuclear reactors with the cost of implementing
new clean energy projects. IEA
simultaneously issued a press release with the study stating that failure to extend
the use of nuclear power plants could increase CO2 emissions by four billion
metric tons. According to the study,
nuclear reactors provide 10% of the global electricity supply, making it the
second largest source of low-carbon electric power. The study offers several policy
recommendations including, extending the use of existing nuclear plants,
updating safety regulations, and creating a favorable financing framework for
new and existing plants.
From the National Oil
& Gas Law Experts:
Pennsylvania
Legislation:
SB694: would allow well bores to cross multiple unites, so long as
the owner has the right to drill those units (Referred to Environmental Resources and Energy - May 31, 2019)
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This week we published
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LNG Export Projects in the United States: Texas and Georgia and Shale Law in the Spotlight – Approved Applications for
LNG Export Projects in the United States: Louisiana
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