On May 7, 2014, WildEarth Guardians filed a complaint in the US District Court, District of Utah, Central Division, against the US Forest Service and the US Bureau of Land Management, seeking to enjoin these agencies from approving oil and gas drilling in the Ashley National Forest, located in the Uinta Basin.
In a Record of Decision (ROD) based on a Final Environment Impact Statement (FEIS) and other documents, the Forest Service approved a 400-well project on February 12, 2012. This 400-well project on 162 well pads is being developed on 25,900 acres in the Ashley National Forest and will require the surface disturbance of 836 acres, 57 miles of new roads, 493 stripped acres for well pads, four four-acre compressor stations and 87 miles of natural gas pipeline.
WildEarth Guardians argue that the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management “failed in their legal obligations to take a hard look at the impacts of the 400-well Project on sage grouse [considered to be a threatened and endangered species], roadless areas and air and water quality and,…to prevent and mitigate the adverse consequences the project will have on these natural resource values.”
The agencies also failed to examine alternative actions that would allow development while still protecting sage grouse and roadless areas and while moving toward compliance with air and water quality standards.
On May 12, 2014, the Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal protest with the Bureau of Land Management, opposing an upcoming oil and gas lease sale in Nevada that could open up more than 174,000 acres for oil and gas development, including hydraulic fracturing.
The group complains that the Bureau failed to adequately analyze the project’s impacts to water resources, air, wetlands, riparian zones, climate and sensitive species of plants and wildlife, including the sage grouse. The Center wants the Bureau to cancel the Nevada lease sale or, at a minimum, defer the sale until deficiencies in the Bureau’s environmental assessment can be addressed.
On May 16, 2014, WildEarth Guardians issued a statement complaining about a proposed 5,000-well fracking project covering 1.5 million acres in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming, threatening the sage grouse population and greatly increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713.651.3662) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
Showing posts with label Nevada. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nevada. Show all posts
Nevada drafts hydraulic fracturing regulations
In January 2014, the Nevada Commission on Mineral Resources and the Division of Minerals proposed regulations to manage hydraulic fracturing and to establish procedures for water quality sampling. These proposed regulations are a result of Nevada’s Governor signing Senate Bill 390 in June 2013, which requires regulations to implement a hydraulic fracturing program by January 1, 2015.
Under the proposed regulations, for the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, the operator must insure that only chemicals listed on the Division’s website are used unless an exception is requested at least 30 days in advance of the activity and approved. To obtain an exception, the operator must file a sundry notice that specifically describes all aspects of the hydraulic fracturing process, including the number of stages to be utilized, the measured depth/true vertical depth below land surface to each stage, the length of each state, all intervals to be perforated in measured depth/true vertical depth below land surface, the number and diameter of perforations per foot, and the estimated hydraulic pressures to be utilized. Within 60 days of completion of the hydraulic fracturing operation, all chemicals used must be identified by amount and type on the FracFocus.org website.
The proposed regulations require initial baseline samples and subsequent monitoring samples from all available water resources, up to a maximum of four, within a one mile radius of the hydraulically fractured well (designated the “Area of Review”). The initial sampling must take place within 12 months of the hydraulic fracturing operation, and the subsequent samplings must be taken between 6 and 12 months and then between 60 and 72 months. With the drilling permit application for a well that is to be hydraulically fracked, the operator must submit the location of each water source within the Area of Review, maps denoting surface and subsurface geology including location of known or suspected faults, a map showing the location of all known water sources within the area, and the source and estimated volume of water required for each well hydraulic fracturing process.
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713.651.3662) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
Under the proposed regulations, for the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing, the operator must insure that only chemicals listed on the Division’s website are used unless an exception is requested at least 30 days in advance of the activity and approved. To obtain an exception, the operator must file a sundry notice that specifically describes all aspects of the hydraulic fracturing process, including the number of stages to be utilized, the measured depth/true vertical depth below land surface to each stage, the length of each state, all intervals to be perforated in measured depth/true vertical depth below land surface, the number and diameter of perforations per foot, and the estimated hydraulic pressures to be utilized. Within 60 days of completion of the hydraulic fracturing operation, all chemicals used must be identified by amount and type on the FracFocus.org website.
The proposed regulations require initial baseline samples and subsequent monitoring samples from all available water resources, up to a maximum of four, within a one mile radius of the hydraulically fractured well (designated the “Area of Review”). The initial sampling must take place within 12 months of the hydraulic fracturing operation, and the subsequent samplings must be taken between 6 and 12 months and then between 60 and 72 months. With the drilling permit application for a well that is to be hydraulically fracked, the operator must submit the location of each water source within the Area of Review, maps denoting surface and subsurface geology including location of known or suspected faults, a map showing the location of all known water sources within the area, and the source and estimated volume of water required for each well hydraulic fracturing process.
At the well site, flowback or produced water is required to be enclosed in steel tanks and cannot be moved for final disposal until the Division approves. Additional casing and cementing requirements are also included in these proposals.
For the spring of 2014, the Division and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection are planning workshops and a public hearing to develop and discuss a program for hydraulic fracturing and to gather public and industry recommendations and comments concerning the proposed regulations.
For the spring of 2014, the Division and the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection are planning workshops and a public hearing to develop and discuss a program for hydraulic fracturing and to gather public and industry recommendations and comments concerning the proposed regulations.
This post was written by Barclay Nicholson (barclay.nicholson@nortonrosefulbright.com or 713.651.3662) from Norton Rose Fulbright's Energy Practice Group.
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