Posted on 06/11/2013 4:51:47 AM PDT by thackney
As the North American natural gas boom continues, state legislators across the country have targeted hydraulic fracturing for new regulations, proposing a range of 50 bills involving bans, moratoriums and increased disclosure requirements, according to a new Colorado State University study.
Much of the new legislation tries to address issues such as water use, air and water quality monitoring and fluids disclosure, as many non-industrial communities grapple with the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and the changes it brings.
For example, Illinois passed new rules in May requiring drillers to publicly disclose the chemicals they use, and on water testing.
And while hydraulic fracturing has existed for more than 50 years in parts of the country, such as Texas, the bulk of the new state rules are coming from the East Coast, where the shale boom has led to a new surge of oil and gas activity.
“Bans are clustered on the northern seaboard,” wrote Colorado State University’s Center on the New Energy Economy.
For example, New York State has introduced 10 new bills – the largest number of any state – as environmental concerns led New York legislators to extend the state’s moratorium on the practice until 2015.
Federal regulators have also begun to develop plans for increased natural gas regulation. The Obama administration introduced a new plan in May to tighten standards for drilling on public lands, including more rigorous chemical disclosure requirements.
The proposal would be the first major federal rule governing hydraulic fracturing but would apply only to U.S. land under the Interior Department’s control.
State lawmakers also have tried to address growing concerns about surface and mineral rights, introducing 50 bills in 2013 that made proposals regarding notification periods before drilling, post-drilling property restoration and setback or right-of-way property restrictions, the Center report said.
Concern over how natural gas drilling impacts local communities was another hot topic, with 30 new pieces of legislation introduced to address it. Issues such as permitting and zoning ordinances, requirements for safety monitoring devices and regulations on underground storage have been the focus on these proposed rules.
Additional bills have sought to provide revenue for local infrastructure and social program needs.
An additional 33 bills have targeted taxation issues, most of which address severance or production issues.
“States seek to strike a balance between attracting development and maintaining funding for a variety of programs,” the Center wrote.
attracting development?
Was this a typo?
Some states, not all of them.
OPEC funded academic zealots preaching to dumbocrat states. ALGore wizardry.
“...concerns led New York legislators to extend the state’s moratorium on the practice until 2015...”
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Is there no worry that someone else will drink their milkshake?
As I understand this study, it made no recommendations. It was simply a gathering of information of what the different states have done so far in related regulations. It includes work from places like Texas that mostly improve the ability of this business to take place.
World records for horizontal extended reach of oil drilling is about 8 miles. There is a lot of effort to document and then publicly record the location of the horizontal laterals. Any oil company risking drilling outside the permit and legal mineral leases would like get all their operations shut down in the state. Not to mention intense scrutiny from IRS and everyone nearby every previous lease. There are not enough dollars to be made in those few miles to be worth the risk of all operations and effectively being shut out of the business.
Tight sphinctered single women are exerting their fears and projecting them on pliable legislators intent on doing something.
Fracking is the cause de jour
Along with the OPEC-funded Matt Damon movie demonizing fracking.
“For example, New York State has introduced 10 new bills – the largest number of any state – as environmental concerns led New York legislators to extend the state’s moratorium on the practice until 2015. “
Idiots. Keep voting for Democrats.
Thanks!
Just seems to me (a non-petro layman) that natural gas pressure from two adjacent formations would seek a balance and gas would naturally migrate from the untapped towards the tapped.
Remember that the rock of these formations are so tight, they have to create cracks via hydraulic fracturing to get the gas to flow at a worthwhile rate.
After eons, it would like equalize pressure over small areas, but there isn’t enough connectivity in the pores that hold the gas to significantly drain gas outside the immediate drilling area.
Bad policy for the states that ban it and the country, but the states that don’t will benefit because it will help keep the price up. Maybe my strpper wells can hang on for few more years. :-)
Thanks, again!
Well, considering that the original oil leases were for “straight-down” drilling ... sometimes with the nearest well literally sitting within the legs of the first well drilled, rules for leases and oil rights need to be reviewed. Prudently reviewed, if that were possible in today’s liberal states.
But New York, NH, Mass, and the like HATE passionately ANY and ALL “oil” products and oil wells and oil companies and oil profitability more than they hate Christians and conservatives and family values - both hated more easily evil and by hate-filled eastern bigots perhaps because they are associated with oil states and rural hicks! 8<)
After all, isn’t the northeast ideal and idyllic-life in graceful ease on the outdoor cafes of wine and bicycles-filled sidewalks of socialistic France?
Rules have been updated for horizontal reach drilling. The simplest change is the old rules of distance from the vertical well now apply to the horizontal reach.
“But New York, NH, Mass, and the like HATE passionately ANY and ALL “oil” products and oil wells and oil companies and oil profitability “
Perhaps if we cut off their suppy for a winter they might have a change of attitude. :-)
Does you wife know you've been drilling strippers?
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