New Rules Governing Fracking on Public Land
On March 20, 2015 the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”) released a final rule governing hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) on public and American Indian lands. First proposed on May 11, 2012, the rule has finally issued after receiving over 1.5 million public comments, and will update existing regulations on the topic first passed over 30 years ago. Most notably, these new rules incorporate new drilling technologies, such as fracking, which wer
Local government’s authority to regulate fracking minimized, but not eliminated
On February 17th, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled in Beck Energy v. Munroe Falls that local governments can not impose separate permitting requirements for oil and gas production activities.[1] A local Munroe Falls ordinance required a “conditional zoning permit” for excavation or construction and four other city ordinances imposed specific requirements on activities involved with oil & gas, including hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Beck Energy received a drilling permit from
Ohio EPA Releases Guidance on Disposal of Fracking Wastes at Municipal Landfills
This week, EPA released a letter sharing regulatory guidance on compliance requirements at landfills receiving solid waste generated from hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) activity in the Utica/Point Pleasant and Marcellus shale formations. In general, this guidance outlines the regulatory changes brought about by House Bill 59, which changed rules regarding the storage, recycling, treatment and disposal of brine and other waste substances at Ohio landfills. A more in-depth s
EPA Proposes New 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plans
EPA announced its Final 2012 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan and Preliminary 2014 Effluent Guidelines Program Plan on September 16, 2014. The Plans provide a summary of new controls of industrial wastewaters, and present a plan for regulating other categories of industry in the future. Comments on the Plans must be received by November 17, 2014. Under the Clean Water Act (“CWA”), 33 U.S.C. § 1314(m), EPA is required to publish a plan every two years that (1) establishes a sc
