Oil and Gas Leasing
Shale Law Weekly Review – Week of April 5, 2021
GHG Emissions: New Mexico Commission Implements New Venting and Flaring Requirements ⚡
On March 25, 2021, the New Mexico Oil Conservation Commission approved a rule regulating venting and flaring in order to reduce natural gas waste. The proposed final rule includes regulations for venting and flaring during drilling, completion, and production operations. The rule requires operators to reduce the annual volume of natural gas that is vented or flared in order to capture at least ninety-eight percent of the natural gas produced. The reduction in volume must be obtained by December 31, 2026. The rule also includes performance, measurement, […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – June 23, 2020
Public Lands: Secretary of Agriculture Directs Forest Service to Expedite Environmental Reviews
On June 12, 2020, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, Sonny Perdue, issued a Memorandum directing the Forest Service to expedite environmental reviews on lands in the National Forest System. The purpose of the Memo, as stated by Perdue, is to provide relief from regulations that are overburdensome, improve customer service, and increase the productivity of the National Forests. More specifically, the Memo directed the Forest Service to set time and page limits to environmental-related documents, streamline environmental review analyses and consultation processes, and expedite compliance with State Historic Preservation […]
Shale Law Weekly Review – May 26, 2020
Water Quality/ Pipelines: New York Denies Water Quality Permit for NESE Pipeline Project
On May 15, 2020, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (Department) denied a Water Quality Certification application for the Northeast Supply Enhancement Project (Project) proposed by the Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company (Transco). Transco was granted a certificate for the Project by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on May 3, 2019, subject to the approval of a state-issued Water Quality Certificate. On May 17, 2019, Transco submitted its Water Quality application to the Department and the application received over 16,000 comments from the public. The Department denied […]
