American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015 - 132

ConventionSection: Tennessee Oil & Gas Association

TOGA Wraps Up Legislature,
Advocates For Primacy
By Corinne Westeman

KNOXVILLE, TN.-The 109th Tennessee General Assembly was relatively
favorable on oil and gas matters before the
session wrapped up in late April, state energy leaders say. The Tennessee Oil & Gas
Association reports the industry dodged
any legislative attacks while helping to provide a more market-friendly opportunity
for natural gas. .
TOGA President Chuck Laine states
companion bills SB 1172 and HB 1167
passed both the Tennessee Senate and
House of Representatives, and were awaiting approval by Governor William "Bill"
Haslam in late April. The bills sponsored
by Senator John Stevens, R-Huntingdon,
and Representative Curtis Halford, RDyer, will allow natural gas to be sold in
gallon equivalents at the pump, making it
comparable to diesel or gasoline.
The association was in favor of the legislation, Laine says, because it will allow
natural gas consumers to more easily understand the product's volume.
TOGA also was monitoring a socalled caption bill, which Laine describes
as a "place holder for something that could
be possibly harmful to the industry." SB
956/HB 953 asked to change the annual
reporting date on the quality of kerosene
and motor fuel in Tennessee, the association reports.
"The true intent of the legislation gen-

erally was unknown," Laine advises. "If
an amendment had been presented in
committee, there would have been little
time to prepare a counterargument and
could have left the industry vulnerable."
However, neither the Senate sponsor
Sara Kyle, D-Memphis, nor House sponsor JoAnne Favors, D-Chattanooga, put the
bill on notice for hearing, and it died, Laine
notes.
Laine and association representative
Roxanne Reiley say the TOGA staff will
give members a full legislative overview
during the association's annual meeting
and convention, which will be May 20-22
at the Park Vista Hotel in Gatlinburg, Tn.
TOGA Chairman William D. Goodwin
II, president of W.D. Goodwin Inc., mentions the association "has had less opposition from environmental and other
groups this year, but we continue to
watch for last minute actions to limit or
eliminate any oil and gas stimulation
process."
"Thanks to Chuck Laine, we have
been able to beat back restrictive legislation, and the members remain willing to
get involved to tell our side of the story,"
he continues.
Gaining Primacy
According to TOGA, unlike most producing states, Tennessee does not have primacy over, or the right to regulate and license above and beyond standard permit-

The Griffith family gathers
at the Tennessee Legislature to receive a proclamation commemorating TOGA
past-Chairman Vicki Griffith. Griffith's husband,
Ronnie Griffith, is center,
holding the proclamation,
surrounded by Vicki's children, grandchildren, brother, and sister-in-law. Representative John Mark Windle, D-Livingston, is on the
far left and Representative Kelly Keisling, R-Byrdstown, is on the far right.
The two lawmakers issued and announced the proclamation to the state legislature, and
then presented it to the Griffith family to commemorate her contributions to the state and
its oil and gas industry.

132 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

ting, its own disposal and injection wells.
"Most producing states have primacy, including many of our surrounding Appalachian states," Goodwin clarifies. "But
Tennessee is one of the few in the country that does not. Our disposal and injection wells are regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"We are very close to obtaining primacy, though. We believe it will happen this
year; probably before the end of the summer," he continues. "TOGA believes this
will help us transition from all primary production to substantially more secondary
recovery projects in Tennessee. This will
give us much more control of our own destiny."
Goodwin says Tennessee operators
have had to live through long delays in
EPA's approval process, and TOGA is
looking forward to the state gaining UIC
primacy in the coming months. "Once the
state has primacy, we imagine that process
will be much more efficient, resulting in
substantially more oil production," he
adds.
Both Reiley and Goodwin note that
TOGA and the Tennessee Department of
Environment and Conservation have applied to the EPA for UIC primacy. "The
association has a very good working relationship with the TDEC staff and representatives, and we believe they will regulate our state disposal and injection
wells fairly," Reiley states.
Staying The Course
Goodwin says Tennessee, like almost
every producing state, is feeling the ripple effects of the oil market decline. "We
still have drilling activity in our hotter areas and those of us with stable production
are taking steps to improve that production," he describes.
"Up to now, we were guilty of just taking what a well would make. Now, many
of us are studying our wells and utilizing
a wide range of techniques to improve production, and it is working," he says.
According to Goodwin, Tennessee's
most active drilling targets are shallow
Mississippian-age formations, which he
says are found across the state, although

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