American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017 - 89

Regulatory Issues
Two regulatory issues on which OOGA
is focused, Bennett and Aslanides say,
are new incident notification regulations
and an ODNR rule making on waste
management. The former, they indicate,
may be an example of a good idea carried
too far.
It began as an attempt to coordinate
reporting of spills or chemical releases
to all relevant state agencies, including
ODNR and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, with a single phone call,
Bennett recalls. He says OOGA worked
with lawmakers on a plan that passed
both the House and Senate, but was
vetoed by Governor Kasich. "Instead of
going back to the legislature, they decided
to put this in a rule-making package," he
reports.
Under the regulations, which went
into effect Dec. 31, operators must notify
DOGRM within 30 minutes of any release
of oil, condensate, brine, chemical substances, and oil field waste "that may
result in potential or actual emergency
situations."
Noting that the definition of a reportable
incident is more stringent than federal
requirements, and includes releases that
do not violate the Clean Water or Safe
Drinking Water acts, Bennett characterizes
the rule as an attempt by Ohio regulators
"to improve their public perception, while
not necessarily providing a public good."
Aslanides says he is especially concerned about a provision that reserves to
the state sole authority for disseminating
information about a release to the media.
That, he worries, "has the potential to
result in unintended negative consequences
for operators. We believe the best folks
to address the media are the producers
themselves. They are the ones that were
involved and have the expertise."
OOGA's response to the new rules
will hinge on enforcement going forward,
Bennett allows. "We will have to gauge
the amount of overreach," he reflects. "If
the division starts using a heavy hand toward operators, there will be a legislative
remedy to reel it back in."
Regarding waste management, Bennett
says OOGA received a draft regulation on

Dec. 23. As of mid-January, the association
was in the process of combing through the
new rules, but Aslanides says they touched
on primary and secondary containment of
waste streams, as well as treating, processing,
stabilizing and recycling produced water,
and handling drill cuttings.
An initial concern, Bennett observes,
is that the rules appear to classify brine
used for ice control or dust suppression
on roadways as a waste. "That is something
we are very concerned about," he says.
"In our eyes, it is not a waste product if
you are finding a beneficial use."
Finally, Bennett says the DOGRM

will undergo its required five-year rule
review in 2017, which he promises OOGA
will monitor closely. "Any time you open
the rule book, there is a concern," he expresses. "One we definitely will look at
closely is updates to the Class II underground injection well rules."
As with any regulatory activity, Bennett
says OOGA's goal is to ensure any rules
coming from within the Department of
Natural Resources encourage growth and
not impede development. "We want to
make sure we protect human health, safety,
and the environment," he assures. "But
we aren't going to go over and above

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ate, although in June the general assembly
did pass, and the governor signed, HB
390 to speed unit applications for mineral
rights belonging to the Ohio Department
of Transportation (AOGR, August 2016,
pg. 31).
"Unitization remains an issue," Bennett
confirms. "I think that and (the tax issues)
are going to take up a lot of our time at
the statehouse."

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FEBRUARY 2017 89
American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017

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