Bakken Oil Business Journal Question of the Day: "Which animal may be declared a protected species keeping oil leases from being let out on Federal lands?" All correct answers made in the comment section of this posting will receive a "I Love My Oilman" sticker. Now read the following outline about the steps it will take to become a bidder in the leasing of potential oil leases by the Bureau of Land Management Draft BLM regulations for hydraulic fracturing on federal lands were published last year. BLM received over 170,000 comments and withdrew the rule. A new proposed rule was published May 24, 2013 with the comment deadline now extended to August 23rd, 2013. All of our readers are urged to submit comments to the BLM as follows: gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-05-24/pdf/2013-12154.pdf ADDRESSES: Mail: U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Mail Stop 2134 LM,1849 C St. NW., Washington, DC 20240,Attention: 1004–AE26. Personal or messenger delivery: Bureau of Land Management, 20 M Street SE, Room 2134 LM, Attention: Regulatory Affairs, Washington, DC 20003. Federal eRulemaking Portal: regulations.gov Follow the instructions at this Web site. There are a significant number of concerns with the rule as proposed, but the major points that should be commented on are as follows: 1) This is a state’s rights issue. The revised rule provides for an operator to get a statewide exemption is the state has adopted hydraulic fracturing rules that include chemical disclosure, well construction, and well bore pressure testing. The proposal should be expanded to allow the state to apply for an exemption from the rule. 2) The revised rule provides for a type well to be used for an entire field to satisfy the pre-fracturing approval requirements. The proposal should be expanded to allow a type well to cover an entire county or basin if the geology is substantially similar. 3) The requirement to submit water source and recovered fluid disposal method encroach upon state jurisdiction over waters of the state and over underground injection control under the primacy agreement between North Dakota and the EPA. Draft EPA Guidance for permitting hydraulic fracturing using diesel fuel was also published last year. EPA received over 97,000 comments and has set a target around mid-year for final guidance document publication.
Posted on: Mon, 17 Jun 2013 19:24:21 +0000
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