American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2016 - 83

ConventionSection: Kansas Independent Oil & Gas Association

KIOGA Fights Washington Overreach
TOPEKA, KS.-Washington is more
than 1,000 miles from Topeka, but that
physical separation is not enough to keep
federal bureaucrats from interfering in
the state's business, asserts Edward Cross,
president of the Kansas Independent Oil
& Gas Association.
"I hope Americans are waking up and
realizing the federal government doesn't
know everything. When I talk to Washington policymakers, part of the message
is that it destroys economic growth when
tax or regulatory costs increase more
than the real economy," Cross says. "That
is why the country is having a hard time
coming out of this economic downturn.
People must realize businesses are spending their money to meet tax burdens and
regulatory costs instead of creating jobs
and economic growth."
An accompanying concern is the threat
that Washington's regulatory oversight
will expand beyond federal and tribal
lands onto acreage controlled by the states
or private interests, Cross poses. He cites
the Bureau of Land Management's flaring
and venting regulations as only one example of Washington getting a foothold
and then pressuring states to adopt the
same types of regulations.
"This is a significant threat to the industry. Operators cannot think these regulations apply only to federal land and
they don't have to worry about them.
These regulations could set a precedent
and apply pressure on states to undertake
similar measures," he warns.
There has been some progress in blocking the flood of federal initiatives, Cross
applauds, including courtroom stays on
the Environmental Protection Agency's
Clean Power Plan and the lesser prairie
chicken's listing under the Endangered
Species Act, as well as a ruling that
promises to help claimants appeal EPA
determinations of what constitutes waters
of the United States subject to the Clean
Water Act.
The Kansas congressional delegation
always has supported the oil and gas industry, Cross says, adding that in addition
to direct voting support, the state's senators
and congressmen help the industry educate
other Washington policymakers. He adds
that four of six members of the delegation
are scheduled to participate in a panel discussion during KIOGA's annual convention,
set for Aug. 14-16 in Wichita, Ks.

ESA Listings
KIOGA Chairman Nick Powell says
most regulatory challenges confronting
the oil and gas industry originate in Washington. He argues the interests of lowerlevel regulators better align with the residents of their states, and so they will do
what is best for those residents. "State
regulators take a much more commonsense approach, as compared with agenda-driven regulations from Washington,"
Powell poses.
While the federal government has
stopped its attempts to designate the
lesser prairie chicken as a threatened
species (AOGR, June 2016, pg. 16),
Powell cautions that Kansas operators
still must be wary of USFWS plans to
seek ESA protection for the northern
long-eared bat. He points out the agency
is seeking limits on habitat disturbance
around the bat's nesting areas, even though
the acknowledged culprit behind its population decline is a disease known as
white-nose syndrome.
"That tells us the federal government
is not interested in doing things that will
help the long-eared bat survive; it is interested in taking control of more private
property," Powell assesses. "The concern
probably is we (could) wake after the
election to a Democrat in the White
House, a Democratic Senate, and the
knowledge that we will have a very liberal
Supreme Court for decades that wants to
legislate from the bench and not follow
the Constitution. That could unleash the
regulators."
Cross says he is cautious about calling
the government's motion seeking to dismiss
its appeal of the lesser prairie chicken decision an industry victory. The ruling was
made last September by the U.S. District

Court for the Western District of Texas.
"The court's decision does not prevent
the agency from going through the process
of trying to list the bird again," Cross
points out. "It means we may have to go
through this process again of trying to
tell the federal government why we do
not need to list the lesser prairie chicken."
Cross credits the Permian Basin Petroleum Association for filing the district
court lawsuit, adding KIOGA played a
contributing role in the legal fight through
a lawsuit filed in conjunction with the
Domestic Energy Producers Alliance.
"In addition to the lesser prairie chicken
challenge, KIOGA's lawsuit sought to
get rid of the entire sue-and-settle process,"
Cross says, describing the system that
allows anti-development groups to negotiate with federal agencies outside formal
government procedures. He adds that
KIOGA also supports a bill filed by Congressman Kevin Yoder, R-Ks., that would
prevent USFWS from attempting to relist
the chicken.
The state's lesser prairie chicken population has remained relatively stable for
the second straight year, Cross reports.
According to the Kansas Department of
Wildlife and Parks, the 2016 survey found
25,261 birds in the March count, a number
it calls not significantly different from
the 29,162 birds estimated in 2015, "given
the variability in the survey methodology."
The department points out the population
is significantly larger than the 17,616
birds estimated in 2013.
Wildlife and Parks credits the abundant
spring rains, as well as conservation
efforts put in place by the five-state
rangewide plan, as key reasons for the
population increase.

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AUGUST 2016 83

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