American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016 - 20

IndustryDigest
Association of America notes it filed
comments in conjunction with the
American Petroleum Institute after the
draft methodology was released in
January that suggested USFWS manage
its workload by setting requirements for
listing petitions, consulting with states,
and accessing clear information and
definitions. IPAA says its comments
supported adopting a system to
prioritize work, and reiterated that
decisions regarding the ESA should be
based only on the best available
scientific and commercial data. ❒

BLM Announces Shift
On Online Permit Filing
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Bureau of
Land Management released a proposed
update to its Onshore Order No. 1 on
July 28 to make electronic filing the
default method for submitting
applications for permits to drill. The
agency says it intends to shift to 100
percent electronic filing by year-end.
According to BLM, the new e-filing
system will flag missing or incomplete
information in an application
automatically, and will enable operators
to track their permits through the entire
review process. BLM says this
standardization will allow it to shift
workflows among offices according to
demands.
Noting the average permit processing
time currently is 220 days, BLM says it
anticipates that with e-filing, 90 percent
of permit decisions will occur within 115
days of submission in cases where BLM
is the sole surface management agency.

BLM says the proposed update
includes a waiver process that will allow
operators still to file hard-copy APDs in
certain circumstances, such as when
online access may be limited. It adds
the proposed rule also applies to notices
of staking.
The proposed rule can be viewed at
https://federalregister.gov/a/201617400. ❒

OOGA Honors Stewart
As 2016 Oilﬁeld Patriot
COLUMBUS-During a mid-August
ceremony, the Ohio Oil & Gas
Association presented Tom Stewart, its
former executive vice president and
principal at Oilfield Policy Advisors,
with its annual Oilfield Patriot Award.
According to the association, the
award recognizes individuals who have
made significant contributions to
protect, promote and advance the
interests of Ohio's oil and natural gas
industry. Stewart was honored for his
longtime advocacy on behalf of the
industry, which includes working with
both state and federal legislators, and
representing Ohio's oil and gas
producers for more than two decades.
His other advocacy on producers' behalf
includes his integral role in negotiating
a landmark and mutually beneficial
agreement between producers and
Dominion East Ohio.
"The Oilfield Patriot Award was
made for someone such as Tom
Stewart," affirms OOGA President
David Hill. "The legacy he left on
Ohio's oil and gas industry has brought

Former Ohio Oil & Gas
Association Executive
Vice President Tom
Stewart pauses alongside the 2016 Oilﬁeld
Patriot Award, which he
received on Aug. 15.
OOGA cited Stewart's
decades of advocacy
on behalf of the state's
oil and gas producers
in tapping him for the
honor.

20 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

countless benefits to the industry and
the members he represented.
Simultaneously, Tom's vision helped
establish a practical regulatory structure
in Ohio and prevented onerous rules
from entering our state. He has been,
and continues to be, a tireless champion
for this industry."
A resident of Lancaster, Oh., Stewart
is a third-generation oilman, OOGA
notes. He began his industry career in the
1970s and became the association's
executive vice president in 1991, a
position he held until 2014. According to
OOGA, Stewart led it through numerous
legislative battles, always relentlessly
fighting to protect and advance
members' common interests. The group
describes Stewart as a visionary who led
the association in embracing
development of Ohio's shale industry by
producers new to the state. ❒

NOAA Issues Guidance
On Underwater Sound
WASHINGTON-The National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration says it will use its final
guidance on predicting the impacts of
human-made underwater sounds on
marine mammals' hearing to assess and
authorize offshore activities.
According to the agency, the
technical guidance provides acoustic
threshold levels for the onset of
permanent and temporary hearing
impacts in marine mammals under the
jurisdiction of the National Marine
Fisheries Service. This guidance will
allow NOAA, other federal agencies
and stakeholders to predict how sound
exposures may affect marine mammals.
It also may trigger certain requirements
under NOAA statutes, such as the
Marine Mammal Protection Act
(MMPA), Endangered Species Act, or
National Marine Sanctuaries Act.
The agency says the technical
guidance includes a protocol for
estimating permanent threshold shifts
(PTS) in hearing for impulsive (e.g., air
guns, impact pile drivers) and
nonimpulsive (e.g., technical sonar,
vibratory pile drivers) sound sources.
"While the technical guidance's
acoustic thresholds are more complex
than those used to date in most cases by
NMFS, they reflect the state of scientific
knowledge regarding the characteristics
American Oil and Gas Reporter - September 2016

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