Geoscience Policy Monthly Review
april 2015
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energy
Administration proposes new offshore drilling regulations
April 13, 2015
On April 13, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) proposed new regulations for offshore drilling that would require equipment upgrades for energy developers over the next ten years, including blowout preventers that serve as a final line of defense for offshore drilling wells, to prevent another disaster such as the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
Oil and gas companies would have to comply with the new regulations in order to continue developing under current and future outer continental shelf leases. The regulations were developed based on investigations into the Deepwater Horizon spill as well as recommendations from federal agencies, academia, environmental organizations, equipment manufacturers, and industry groups who provided knowledge and input on best practices, standards, and specifications for the new regulations.
Source: BSEE, E&E News
Administration releases Quadrennial Energy Review
April 29, 2015
The Obama Administration has introduced a Quadrennial Energy Review (QER) to address the future of energy transmission, storage, and infrastructure distribution in the U.S. The review provides a road map for Congress with the goal of improving energy infrastructure, ensuring safe transport of volatile energy material such as oil, gas, and coal, securing a stable electrical grid, and leveraging domestic energy production.
The report highlights vulnerabilities to critical energy within the U.S. While the U.S. is a substantial producer of oil and natural gas, it has outdated infrastructure for millions of miles of pipelines and transmission lines, thousands of rail transport lines, and hundreds of natural gas storage facilities and ports handling petroleum. The report emphasizes the risk to pipelines and transmission lines from storms, rising sea level, and increased temperature.
The report has been met with positive comments from industry and Congress. Democrats have indicated their intent to introduce a bill to modernize the U.S. electric grid in keeping with the QER recommendations. Senate Energy and Natural Resources Chairwoman Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) stated that she plans to send a comprehensive energy bill to the Senate floor by summer. The committee is already considering two energy reform bills—Senator Martin Heinrich’s (D-NM) bill to amend the Federal Power Act to improve the siting of interstate electric transmission facilities (S.1017) which would grant the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) backstop power to authorize power lines that states reject, and Senators John Boozman (R-AR) and Tom Cotton’s (R-AR) APPROVAL Act (S.485) which would prevent the exercise of eminent domain for particular transmission projects without explicit permission to do so from state and local government.
Source: Department of Energy, E&E News
April 29, 2015
On April 29, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee held a hearing examining impacts and changes in the five years since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Senators asked questions about safety and industry standards, environmental ramifications, and necessary changes.
Witnesses emphasized the importance of facilitating communication between emergency responders and researchers so that oil spill response can occur more quickly and effectively. Witnesses testified about the need to establish thorough environmental baselines in the Gulf, Arctic, Great Lakes, and other potential oil spill areas. Dr. Samantha Joye, a professor of marine science at the University of Georgia, explained how good environmental baselines allow for accurate “CSI: Geochemistry” in determining hydrocarbon sources and impacts. Dr. Joye stated that the three major scientific takeaways from the Deepwater Horizon spill are the importance of obtaining accurate flow rates, understanding deepwater plumes, and including biological sedimentation processes in analyses in order to have a fully-formed representation of what happened during and after the event.
Senators expressed concerns about future oil spills and changes made since 2010. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI) brought up the potential for oil spills from pipelines in the Great Lakes. Dr. Nancy Kinner, Director of the Coastal Response Center and the Center for Spills in the Environment at the University of New Hampshire, explained the difficulties responders would face in such a situation, as there are no current dispersants that work well in fresh water and high wind and wave action would prevent mechanical oil recovery. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-AK) raised concerns over the problems of a “one-size-fits-all” strategy for dealing with oil spills. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) expressed his frustration that Congress had not created legislation based on the Blue Ribbon Panel’s suggestions in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon spill.
An archived video of the hearing is available here.
Source: Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee
Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee holds hearing on BLM hydraulic fracturing rule
April 30, 2015
On April 30, the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee held a hearing on the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) new regulations for hydraulic fracturing on federal land. Republican Senators expressed frustration with the rule, which they said would cause delays in permitting and an exodus of development on federal land. No Democrats attended the hearing.
Neil Kornze, Director of BLM, testified that the new regulations will update BLM’s last hydraulic fracturing rule, which was created in 1985, before the development of modern horizontal drilling technology. Kornze maintained the new rules follow current industry best practices and would require only four additional work hours per permit for BLM.
Kathleen Sgamma, Vice President of Government and Public Affairs for the Western Energy Alliance, expressed her frustration with the rule because it would require more paperwork from developers and lead to delays. She emphasized that the new regulations would not encourage development on federal land.
Republican senators expressed concerns over the regulation being a duplication of states’ regulatory efforts. Kornze explained that states whose regulations are stricter than the federal rule may use the most stringent standard. The new rule would establish a base requirement across the U.S. allowing for regulatory consistency for the 19 states with BLM leases on federal land that do not have regulations.
Source: E&E News, Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee