American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2015 - 22

IndustryDigest
totally upset the common law we have
here, and would affect other businesses
in the state as well."
Hinchey says he asked association
members whether they wanted PAW to
get involved in the lawsuit, pointing out
one reason for the amicus brief is to
present broader issues to the court that
may not be specifically addressed in
Marathon's appeal.
"The association's members are
concerned," Hinchey confirms. "I hope
the district judge's decision is reversed
and everything is put back the way it
should be." Ì

Ohio Coalition Opposes
Planned Severance Tax
COLUMBUS, OH.-Ohio political,
business, labor and community leaders
have created the Protect Ohio Jobs
Coalition to oppose tax policies-
including the governor's proposed
severance tax-that threaten the state's
oil and gas industry and the business
and related-industry jobs it supports.

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22 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

The Ohio Oil & Gas Association
confirms that more than 40 eastern Ohio
leaders are working against the
severance tax proposed by Governor
John Kasich in his 2015-16 biennial
budget (HB 64), which the governor's
office says would raise $260 million
over the next two years by increasing
severance taxes on oil, condensate and
natural gas to 6.5 percent, and on
natural gas liquids to 4.5 percent.
The coalition says it is concerned the
drastic tax increase could threaten Ohio
jobs and investments, while also driving
up energy costs for families and
businesses.
"Ohio as a whole, but certainly
eastern Ohio, has seen new businesses
created, struggling businesses finding
new opportunities, and strong economic
growth, thanks to oil and natural gas
industry investments in the Utica
Shale," says Joanne Sexton, president
and chief executive officer of the
Cambridge Area County Chamber of
Commerce, a member of the coalition.
"Nearly 14,000 Ohio companies play a
part in Utica Shale development. This
industry is facing low commodity prices
and must make tough choices about
where and how to invest."
Skilled trade unions across Ohio are
seeing more work because of shale
development, adds Butch Taylor,
business manager for Plumbers &
Pipefitters Local 396, another coalition
member.
"The work being sought for these
operations demands well-trained, skilled
workers. Our local and many others are
seeing more jobs and more opportunity
to train Ohioans in skilled trades as a
result of the industry's investments in
shale exploration in Ohio," he says. Ì

EPA OKs Settlement
Over Ethanol Volumes

WASHINGTON-The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency has
accepted a settlement with the
American Petroleum Institute and
American Fuel & Petrochemical
Manufacturers by agreeing to a Nov. 30
deadline for setting volume
requirements for blending ethanol into
gasoline under the Renewable Fuel
Standard, API says.
The two industry groups filed a lawsuit
in March over EPA's failure to meet
congressionally mandated RFS deadlines.
"EPA has failed year after year to

implement the RFS effectively," says
API general counsel Stacy Linden. "The
agency still hasn't finalized the RFS
requirements for this year or even last
year, leaving companies to guess how
much ethanol they were mandated to
blend into gasoline."
API says the Clean Air Act requires
EPA to set annual RFS ethanol
mandates by Nov. 30 of the preceding
year, but the agency issued the 2013
requirements eight months late and has
yet to issue the 2014 or 2015
requirements. Under the settlement
agreement, EPA pledges to propose the
2015 RFS mandate by June 1 and
finalize the 2014 and 2015 RFS
mandates by Nov. 30.
"We hope this agreement helps get
the RFS back on track, but the only
long-term solution is for Congress to
repeal the program and let consumers,
not the federal government, choose the
best fuel to put in their vehicles. Failure
to repeal the unworkable law could put
millions of motorists at risk of higher
fuel costs, damaged engines and costly
repairs," warns Linden.
Government reports predict higher
gasoline and diesel costs under the
ethanol mandates, with the possibility
of gasoline blended with 15 percent
ethanol damaging vehicle engines.
Several automobile manufacturers have
warned that using the E15 blend will
void warranties.
"While we are pleased that we were
able to negotiate a deadline that requires
EPA to issue the overdue RFS rules, we
remain concerned with the
government's implementation of this
broken program," says AFPM General
Counsel Rich Moskowitz. "EPA's
failure to comply with the statutory
deadlines injures refiners and
exacerbates the problems associated
with this unreasonable government
mandate." Ì

Gas Storage Levels
Increase By 249 Bcf

WASHINGTON-Underground
natural gas storage in the United States
stood at 1.710 trillion cubic feet on April
24, 4.2 percent below the five-year
average, according to the U.S. Energy
Information Administration. That was up
249 billion cubic feet from the 1.461 Tcf
reported by EIA on March 27, which
was 11.5 percent below the five-year
average. However, the April 24 storage
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