Oil & Gas Blog

On March 31, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania overturned a $4.24 million verdict related to alleged contamination from unconventional development activities. The Scranton, Pennsylvania jury found in favor of nine plaintiffs who claim that an operator’s drilling… Read more

On April 7, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency requested that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit temporarily halt a lawsuit brought by the American Petroleum Institute that challenges EPA’s recent new source performance standards for sources in the oil and… Read more

On April 5, 2017, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency previewed new electronic reporting tools at a meeting of the Environmental Council of the States. The electronic reporting tools are intended to streamline certain reports required by EPA, including hazardous waste reporting and air… Read more

On April 4, 2017, the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma dismissed a lawsuit brought by Sierra Club against four oil and natural gas companies. Sierra Club sought injunctions from the District Court requiring: (1) defendants to reduce the amount of wastewater injected into the… Read more

On March 29, 2017, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a decision interpreting Act 13’s impact fee provisions.  Pennsylvania’s Act 13 requires certain unconventional wells to pay impact fees during the first several years of operation.  “Stripper wells” – defined by… Read more

On March 21, 2017, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced the launch of eSubmission Public Search, an online tool that allows the public to view and download PADEP documents submitted by oil and natural gas operators. The public may now search for and view… Read more

On March 21, 2017, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service rejected a request by housing developers, pesticide makers, farmers, utilities, and oil and natural gas companies to delay protections for the rusty patched bumble bee. A final rule protecting the species as endangered was published on January… Read more

On March 21, 2017, Bloomberg BNA published “EPA Changes to the Risk Management Program,” an HFB article discussing recent amendments to EPA’s risk management regulations. The amendments to the risk management program have the potential to affect a wide array of industries, including midstream oil… Read more

On March 3, 2017, the Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma filed a lawsuit in the District Court of the Pawnee Nation, alleging damages from induced seismic events, including damages resulting from a September 3, 2016 magnitude-5.8 seismic event that occurred near two wastewater disposal wells. Specifically,… Read more

The monthly statistics published by the Texas Railroad Commission suggest that a noticeable industry rebound began in November of 2016. In December of 2016 alone, the RRC issued nearly 300 more permits than it issued in December of 2015. Increased operator activity was also noticeable in… Read more

On March 15, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, stated in a legal filing that it will withdraw its contested final rule that would have updated the Bureau’s regulations applicable to hydraulic fracturing operations on Federal and Indian Lands. The rule… Read more

On February 28, 2017, Bloomberg reported that U.S. Silica Holdings Inc. is expected to double its total supply of silica over the next 12-18 months. Silica, the price of which has increased 20% since October, is used by many operators as a proppant in hydraulic fracturing operations.… Read more

On March 9, 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald J. Trump will nominate Neil Chatterjee, Kevin McIntyre, and Robert Powelson as commissioners of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The five-commissioner panel has only two sitting commissioners and has been… Read more

On February 24, 2017, the Supreme Court of Texas found that a plaintiff’s oil-field contamination claims are barred by the state’s four-year statute of limitations because the claims were brought more than four years after the alleged spills and releases occurred. The plaintiff in the case alleged… Read more

On March 17, 2017, the Texas Railroad Commission will open a public comment period on a proposal to simultaneously repeal and adopt several subchapters in 16 Texas Administrative Code Chapter 1. According to the RRC memorandum accompanying the rule proposal, RRC staff propose to repeal… Read more

On March 2, 2017, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office released its 2016 4th Quarter Natural Gas Production Report. The IFO found that production of natural gas increased 6.8% in Pennsylvania in 2016. Pennsylvania operators drilled just 504 horizontal wells in 2016, the lowest number… Read more

On March 6, 2017, the U.S. Geological Survey released the test results of 75 private drinking water wells in Lycoming County, in north-central Pennsylvania. USGS found that water from most of the sampled wells contain concentrations of radon that exceed a proposed, non-binding health… Read more

In February 2017, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment issued an “Assessment of Potential Public Health Effects from Oil and Gas Operations in Colorado.” The Health Assessment Report concluded that, based on currently available air monitoring data, “the risk of harmful health… Read more