American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2016 - 95

PIOGA's regulatory consultant and former
Department of Environmental Protection Deputy Secretary Scott Roberts updates members on the various state and
federal issues being tracked by the association's Environmental Committee during the Pennsylvania Independent Oil &
Gas Association's annual meeting.

terconnect, the entity that directs the
movement of electricity on the region's
grid, resulting in better communication between natural gas and electric entities as
gas became an increasingly important
fuel in power generation.
He also said the committee had provided strong support as Shell moved forward
with plans for an ethane cracker plant in
Beaver County, Pa., and he described a
project committee members were involved with to demonstrate the potential
of liquefied natural gas as a fuel for tow
boats in the Port of Pittsburgh.
Safety Committee Chairman Wayne
Vanderhoof of RJR Safety said his committee was in the process of "rebooting"
to make itself more relevant for the association's members. After surveying the
membership, the Safety Committee formed
four subcommittees that will cultivate
content for a monthly column in PIOGA's
newsletter; develop technical training
programs, with four seminars in the works
for 2017; establish a process for sharing
and learning from safety-related incidents; and create technical resource documents all PIOGA members can use.
Environmental Committee
PIOGA's Environmental Committee "is
member driven," and depends on the involvement of many members with a wide
range of expertise, said co-Chairman Paul
Hart of Fluid Recovery Services. He
called for participation from more oil and
gas producer members in providing input
and devising solutions to matters the
committee addressed.
Regulatory consultant Scott Roberts
covered the major issues the Environmental Committee had been involved with, including the Department of Environmental
Protection's Chapter 78 and 78a regulations

governing surface operations. Committee
members are part of DEP's two oil and gas
advisory boards and work groups dealing
with forms and policies related to these rules.
The committee also developed PIOGA's formal comments on the regulations,
and took part in meetings of the Environmental Quality Board and Independent
Regulatory Review Commission as they
considered the new rules. The Chapter 78
rules covering conventional oil and gas operations were halted by action of the legislature, while the Chapter 78a regulations
for unconventional wells have taken effect,
although some aspects are under legal challenge by the industry (see story page 16).
Running through air quality topics
being addressed by the Environmental
Committee, Roberts cautioned, "Air is the
latest front of attack on the industry. You
need to understand these issues."
Both DEP and the U.S. Environmental Protection agency are focusing on
methane reduction and other emission matters affecting conventional and unconventional operations alike, he said.
The Environmental Committee and
its subcommittees also have been involved with threatened and endangered
species issues, DEP waste characterization
for conventional operators, produced water management, and the EPA's hydraulic
fracturing study, among other matters.
Co-Chairman Ken Fleeman of ABARTA Energy reported PIOGA's Environmental Committee organized training sessions in 2016 on water table identification,
air quality compliance, and legal and
regulatory challenges facing conventional operators. A reprise of the air quality
training takes place in December, and four
more environmental seminars will be offered in the coming year, he indicated.
Legislative And Legal Updates
PIOGA Legislative Committee Chairman Ben Wallace of Penneco Oil Company recalled that at the time of the 2015 annual meeting, the state budget was several month's overdue because of the inability of Governor Tom Wolf and the legislature to come to a resolution. A natural
gas severance tax was a prominent part of
the governor's budget plans, and PIOGA's
main legislative focus was defeating the
tax, Wallace said. The association and its
allies were successful when the 2015-16
budget was finally resolved, and again as
part of the 2016-17 budget.
"The severance tax," he said, "was a big
win."
Wallace and Dick Gmerek of Gmerek
Government Relations, PIGOA's lobbying
firm, reported that during the 2016 legislative session, PIOGA was instrumental in
extending the PA One Call law for a year

PIOGA continues its challenge to the
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's enforcement of Act 13
provisions the association believes the
state Supreme Court struck down in its
December 2013 Robinson Township v.
Commonwealth decision, Vice President
& General Counsel Kevin Moody advises.

without any changes to the program, and
in erasing the Chapter 78 rule making
aimed at conventional operations. PIOGA
expects these issues to make a reappearance in the 2017 session.
"We will continue to push to protect industry from increased regulation-as we always do-as well as from a severance tax,"
Gmerek promised the gathering.
PIOGA Vice President & General Counsel Kevin Moody briefed members on
several significant court decisions from
2016 as well as ongoing cases of interest.
One decision directly involving the association was PIOGA v. DEP, in which PIOGA challenged the department's use of provisions of Act 13 that were declared invalid
and unenforceable in the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court's December 2013 Robinson
Township v. Commonwealth decision.
The Commonwealth Court ruled in
DEP's favor in September, and the association appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
In another case involving Robinson
Township matters, Moody said the
Supreme Court in September struck down
provisions of Act 13 dealing with Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission review
of local ordinances, the limitation on
health professionals' access to and use of
proprietary information regarding chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, DEP notification of only public water suppliers in
the event of a spill, and use of eminent domain power for natural gas storage.
Moody noted that statements by the court
in this decision were expected to be helpful in the PIOGA v. DEP appeal.
❒
Editor's Note: The preceding report
was provided by PIOGA.
DECEMBER 2016 95

American Oil and Gas Reporter - December 2016

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