American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2016 - 100

ConventionCoverage: Louisiana Oil & Gas Association
allow them to sustain themselves and
pursue the American dream here in
Louisiana," Edwards described. "It is crit-

ical that we do what we can for them. I
want to work with you to do that. We are
not always going to agree. I understand

that, but I know that I don't have a monopoly on all the good ideas, and I am
always willing to listen."
❒

Budget Woes Hit Louisiana Regulators
LAKE CHARLES, LA.-The impacts
of Louisiana's budget gap, expected to
hit $1.9 billion in July, will be felt by
government agencies as well as the state's
population, assessed heads of the state's
regulatory agencies in a panel discussion
at the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association's
annual convention, held Jan. 27-29.
James Welsh, commissioner of the Office of Conservation, said Governor John
Bel Edwards told all state agencies to prepare for funding cuts. Welch pointed to
the office's new expedited permit program
as one possible victim of the fiscal squeeze.
"This program, passed in the last legislative session, had industry support,"
Welsh said. "It allows the office's staff to
work extra hours at night, on holidays
and weekends. It is a voluntary effort,
and hopefully operators will see a shortened
review time for their applications."
Fee increases are likely for Louisiana's
orphan well program, Welsh reported, including new requirements for orphan well
operators previously not required to establish
financial responsibility. He noted that the
state's orphan well population of 3,200 had
remained steady for the past several years.
At the same time, his office is facing
calls to cut costs, Welsh said, and added
that federal mandates issued by the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration could require Louisiana
to hire 10 additional pipeline inspectors
by 2017. He pointed out his office's 13
inspectors oversaw more than 55,000
miles of pipeline. Welsh warned that
pipelines carrying hazardous materials
might see a fee increase because of new
federal requirements.
The state's injection wells could face
revised federal requirements as well, Welsh
said, and he went on to cite reports that the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and
the Department of the Interior could call
for new staff requirements and regulations.
The EPA is pushing states to update
rules governing carbon dioxide injections
in wells for secondary or tertiary recovery
or sequestration, he said. The Interstate Oil
& Gas Compact Commission has filed a
petition with Congress seeking to delay implementing that program, Welsh reported.

Budget Cuts
The Department of Wildlife & Fisheries
is grappling with the governor's call for
all agencies to prepare for a minimum
10 percent budget reduction, as well as a
budget that reflects the state's financial
conditions without any additional revenues,
said Charlie Melancon, the department's
secretary.
"My agency has a little more than 900
people in enforcement, wildlife and fisheries
divisions," he detailed to LOGA. "It is
going to be very challenging with this
budget crisis. If you look at the 10 percent
cut in a self-funded agency that receives
matching federal dollars, normally on a
rate of three-to-one, it gets very difficult."
Melancon reported he had directed
the department to develop budget plans
that preserved its core programs, and
planned to present the governor with a
proposal that did not damage the agency.
Chuck Brown, new secretary of the
Department of Environmental Quality,
predicted the DEQ's new expedited permitting process would be safe even under
proposed budget cutbacks.

100 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

"If you fit a certain task or perform a
certain duty, then as part of the regulations,
you are entitled to a permit," Brown said.
"If you have a piece of equipment that is
used the same way it always has been
used, then it automatically goes through
the standard oil and gas permitting
process."
When he worked as assistant secretary
for environmental services at DEQ in
2004-08, Brown said the department split
its responsibilities among three offices.
After he left, Brown recounted, DEQ revamped its structure, dividing some environmental compliance assessment responsibilities between environmental services and the management offices.
"For long-term viability, environmental
services-remediation, and long-term modeling for air and water-should fall within
the assessment branch," Brown said. "So,
I am going to move that department under
its own umbrella, and have an executive
staff member that will pay attention to
that. As we move through the legislative
session, we are looking at reasonable fee
packages for the department's services."❒

Participating in a panel discussion on regulatory affairs at the Louisiana Oil & Gas Association's annual convention are, from left, James Welsh, commissioner of the Office
of Conservation; Chuck Brown, secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality;
and Charlie Melancon, secretary of the Department of Wildlife & Fisheries.

American Oil and Gas Reporter - March 2016

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