Ohio Oil and Gas Companies Must Disclose Shale Drilling Chemicals to Local Officials

Ohio officials reportedly notified oil and gas companies that if a company stores over 10,000 pounds of hazardous chemicals at a well, the company must disclose the types of chemicals to the local emergency-planning committee and fire department within 90 days.  According to reports, the notice stated that federal right-to-know laws trumped a 2001 Ohio law that required oil and gas companies to inform only the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, which maintained a central database of this information.  Now, a list of toxic chemicals used by shale drillers must be available to local firefighters, emergency personnel, government officials, and residents who request the information.  The law is intended to provide local firefighters and emergency personnel with the tools required to effectively manage any emergencies, such as a fire, that may occur at a well.  The federal law does not require oil and gas companies to disclose chemicals that are trade secrets. 

The Columbus Dispatch report may be found at: http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/09/30/shale-drillers-must-report-chemicals.html

Written by: Tom Panighetti

October 2, 2013

Valley Rod & Gun Club v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC., No. 3:CV-13-0725, 2013 WL 2393003 (M.D. Pa. June 3, 2013).

On June 3, 2013, the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania ruled on a gas well operator’s motion to dismiss a landowner’s claims of trespass and conversion/misappropriation by the company. Defendant operator Chesapeake and Plaintiff landowner Valley Rod & Gun Club executed a lease that contained provisions allowing Defendant access to the Plaintiff’s property, granting a right of entry, permission to construct a well pad, the privilege to install and use roads, and utilize oil, gas and non-domestic water for the storage of gas. Defendant and Plaintiff, disagreed on the location of the well, and Defendant chose a location against the owner’s requests that damaged the Plaintiff’s surface property. Defendant, via its sub-contractor, utilized stone, fill, rock, trees and mulch on the Club’s property to construct the access roads to the pad, without permission of the owner. The court dismissed the trespass claim because the lease granted Defendant a right of entry to the Plaintiff’s land, an absolute defense to trespass. The court explained that the lease provisions privileged the Defendant to install and use roads on the surface estate, and lacked provisions that restricted access where the Defendant’s otherwise had a right to be. The court, however, denied Defendant’s motion to dismiss the conversion and misappropriation claim. The court explained the Plaintiff plead facts sufficient to demonstrate that the stone, fill, rock, trees and mulch were not utilized by Defendant in sitework incidental to the extraction of oil and gas, but rather in the construction of access roads.

Written by: Garrett Lent, Research Assistant

Penn State Law, Agricultural Law Center

June 2013

Senator Casey introduces bill to provide grants for natural gas fuelling stations.

On July 25^th, Senator Casey introduced the State Natural Gas Act (S. 3437), which would allow states, including Pennsylvania, to individually determine the best way to invest in the natural gas industry. The State Natural Gas Act creates a grant program which distributes funding to states to encourage the use of natural gas as a fuel, and promote investment in natural gas vehicles and infrastructure. The grants would be available through the Department of Energy.

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
Penn State Law, Agricultural Law Center

August 2, 2012

 Click here to read the State Natural Gas Act of 2012.

BLM Extends the Comment Period on Disclosure of Hydraulic Fracturing 60 Days.

On June 22, 2012, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) extended the comment period on disclosure of hydraulic fracturing by 60 days, from July 10, 2012 to September 10, 2012.

On May 11^th, the BLM proposed rules requiring companies to disclose fracking chemicals, guidelines for well casing, and handling of wastewater flowing back to the surface of well drilling operations on federal lands. According to the BLM these rules will ensure that oil and gas operations will follow a common sense industry standard.   

The BLM decided to extend the comment period to allow greater public participation in order to allow a more thorough analysis of the proposed changes. As of the decision to extend the comment period, the BLM had received 170 public comments.

Analysts say that the proposed rules are likely to add up to an additional 49-day delay in the permit application process. However they will also require drilling companies to increase groundwater protection measures, disclose more about chemicals used when fracking, and conduct additional tests before drilling and extracting gas.

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
June 25, 2012  

Comments may be submitted here.

The U.S. Court of Appeals denied Coalition for Responsible Growth and Resource Conservation v. FERC

On June 12, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit denied numerous environmental groups’ petitions for judicial review of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) authorization of the MARC I natural gas pipeline. The court reasoned that the FERC environmental assessment thoroughly considered the possible effects of the pipeline project and concluded that it was correct to issue a no significant impact statement, making an environmental impact statement unnecessary.

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
June 13, 2012  

Read the opinion here.

Roman v. Chesapeake Appalachia, L.L.C. - U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania upholds arbitration in lease extensions

On June 8^th, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania upheld Defendant’s motion to compel arbitration. The oil and gas lease Plaintiffs executed on their property included an arbitration clause which provided that a “unanimous decision of the arbitrators…shall be final.” After the primary term of the lease expired, Plaintiffs’ attempted to get a declaration from the court saying their oil and gas lease was no longer in effect because the gas company had failed to conduct any operations to trigger a lease extension. Defendant responded with a motion to compel arbitration. The court held that the arbitration clause in the oil and gas lease required arbitration in this case. The court reasoned that the arbitration provision, applying to “disagreement[s] between Lessor and Lessee concerning this lease,” is a broad provision, and includes disagreements of the lease term. 

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
June 9, 2012

Click here to read the Roman opinion

Multiple Federal Marcellus Shale cases decided in the month of May.

Federal Courts in Pennsylvania have decided six cases that relate to Marcellus Shale drilling during the month of May.

The U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania filed opinions in five cases this month.

1.      Berish v. Southwestern Energy Production Co.

On May 3^rd the court granted Plaintiffs’ motion for leave to file a Third Amended Complaint because the court was not convinced that the Plaintiffs' claims were clearly barred by Pennsylvania's two-year statute of limitations.

o   Click here to read the Berish Opinion

2.      Bidlack v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC, and

3.      Otis v. Chesapeake Appalachia, LLC

On May 11^th, in two nearly identical opinions, the court denied Plaintiffs' Motion for Relief from Pending Arbitration because Plaintiffs did not establish that the evidence was a “surprise” or “newly discovered evidence”.

o   Click here to read the Bidlack Opinion

o   Click here to read the Otis Opinion

4.      Shamblin v. Chesapeake Energy Corp.

On May 25^th the court granted Defendants’ motion to dismiss because Oklahoma law applies to Yost & Son, since it is an Oklahoma corporation.

o   Click here to read the Shamblin Opinion

5.      Boyer v. First American Title Insurance Co.

On May 31^st the court granted in part and denied in part Plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment, finding that the only dispute was the amount of damages due.

o   Click here to read the Boyer Opinion

In addition, a  U.S. magistrate judge in The District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania filed an opinion in Mason v. Range Resources – Appalachia, LLC on May 9^th. The court recommended that the motion to dismiss Count I of the complaint be denied but the motion to strike Plaintiffs’ claims for attorney’s fees be granted.

o   Click here to read the Mason Opinion

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
May 31, 2012

EPA Draft Guidance: Hydraulic Fracturing Using Diesel Fuels

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a study examining fracking fluids that include diesel fuel in order to understand the impact of fracking on ground water. The research will examine every step of the fracking process from the mixing of chemicals to its treatment and disposal. The draft guidance was released on May 4, 2012 and the final draft report should be released sometime in 2014.

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
May 7, 2012

Click here to read the EPA’s Draft Guidance

The Draft Guidance is open for comment until August 23

Click here to comment

EPA Issues Final Air Rules for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry

On April 17, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed new rules to reduce air pollution from the natural gas industry. For the first time, the rules included the fracking of wells.

Written by Joseph Negaard, Research Assistant
April 19, 2012

Click here to read the Final Rule by the EPA

Click here for additional Information and recordings of the public comment period and Public Hearings

H.R. 2845 Signed Into Law

On January 3, President Obama signed House of Representatives Bill 2845 into law as Public Law 112-90.  The main purpose of the law is to enhance pipeline safety through increased standards.  The law also contains provisions related to increased environmental protections, enhancement of pipeline reliability, and increased civil penalties for violations.

Click here to read H.R. 2845

Written by Dan McGraw, Research Assistant
January 3, 2012