Board on Earth Sciences and Resources

Transcription

1 Committee on Earth Resources Board on Earth Sciences and Resources National Research Council of the National Academies Keck Center Washington, D.C. October 30,

2 3 Energy Independence Really, not just rhetoric Mid-west and Northeast jobs real jobs PA - 240,000 direct and indirect jobs Wealth Billions of dollars into local, regional and state economies Revenues fees and taxes to local and state budgets PA $204 million from 2012 Act 13 impact fee $420 million 2011 corporate, sales and personal tax 4 2

3 The world of a state regulator: Facts Beliefs Fiction Science Emotions Perceptions Misconceptions Laws, Rules, Regulations & Policies 5 What is a regulator s job? Regulate: To control or supervise (something especially a company or activity) by means of rules and regulations.* Permit: An official document giving someone authorization to do something.* * 6 3

4 What regulators do: Mitigate Risk by identifying risks, assessing options to avoid risks and reduce the likelihood or severity of the risk. How do you mitigate risk? Know the facts, know the science, develop and implement best practices, establish the standards and make sure people have the know how and willingness to meet those standards. 7 Rich history of energy e production o in NE Existing regulatory structure Expertise, capability & experience Civil infrastructure in place Willing workforce Populace familiar with production (pros & cons) 8 4

5 Early oil & gas drilling Oh 1814 WV 1820s NY 1821 (NG) KY 1828 PA 1859 (Oil) NY 1865 (Oil) 9 Orphaned wells* NY 44,800 OH 11,089 PA 8,700 WV 14,260 Abandoned Wells PA estimated at 150,000 to 200,000 * Protecting Our Country s Resources: The States Case Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Orphaned Well Plugging Initiative 10 5

6 Fracking the nature of hydraulic fracturing (cracking rock) Induced Seismicity Fracking Fluid Disposal of flow back fluids Composition proprietary compositions 11 Water use (source for fracking water) Production water/brine (not flow back fluids) Air Emissions Aquifer contamination Safety NORM 12 6

7 Its all about Balance: Balance between protecting the environment and developing a resource Balance between property rights and impacted stakeholders (mineral owners and general public) 13 It s all about Balance (continued): Balance aa cebetween ee soco socio-economic o c benefits e and the impacts of resource development Balance between Federal Regulators, State Regulators and local governments EPA 14 7

8 Water sources Waste water disposal Solid waste disposal Are there air emission issues? If so, what do you do to reduce or mitigate the concern? Is there cross contamination issue? What are the base line and long term production and consequences of extracting oil and gas from shales? Information, managing the data 15 Edwin Austin Abbey mural in the Pennsylvania State Capital building, the title is: Science revealing the treasures of the earth 16 8

9 Cementing Properly Best Management Practices Third part verification Long term trends and resource recovery Shared well data Skills and expertise to analyze Long term research and studies Industry funding 17 Science and Technology One of the US national gems, the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) with a mission that includes Oil and Gas research and development, is located in the heart of the Marcellus and Utica plays. Morgantown, WV Pittsburgh, PA NETL has a collaboration with the RUA (Regional University Alliance) that is available to assist with R&D in these areas. 18 9

10 Generally the northeast is more restrictive than the oil fields of Texas and Oklahoma Relative to each other in the NE MD only two counties not moving forward NY for it but the process is getting wrapped around the axle OH in place and moving forward aggressively with Utica and Marcellus PA in place with new law & regs, alert to issues WV moving forward with existing program

11 Questions? Robert C. Dolence, P.E. Vice President Leonardo Technologies, Inc Provisions o s of Pennsylvania s a s new oil and gas law (PA Act 13 of 2012) are summarized in the following slides

12 Increases well setback distance from 100 feet to 300 feet for streams, rivers, ponds and other water bodies Increases well setback distance from private water wells from 200 feet to 500 feet and to 1,000 feet for public drinking water systems Expands an operator s presumed liability for impairing water quality from 1,000 feet to 2,500 feet from a gas well, and extends the duration from 6 months to 12 months Enhances water quality replacement standards Enables DEP to revoke permits in a more efficient manner to deal with imminent i safety or environmental concerns Increase blanket bonds from $25,000 up to $600,000 Provides for strong, uniform and consistent statewide environmental standards building upon and incorporating best practices utilized by industry leaders 23 Enhances hydraulic fracturing disclosure, including online posting utilizing FracFocus.org Requires approval of water management plans Encourages the use of non-freshwater sources for well development Authorizes the EQB to develop criteria for conditioning a well permit based on its impact on public resources like parks, wildlife areas, natural landmarks, special plant and species habitat and other resources Ensures added levels of protection within floodplains 24 12

13 Builds upon recent legislative accomplishments requiring 911 addressing for well sites and establishing standards for pipeline safety Assign 911 addresses and GPS coordinates to well sites and facilities. Provides funding to assist in emergency response planning, training, coordination and grants for specialized equipment to first responders Enhances transparency of well reporting, inspections, violations and remediation Expands citizen and water supplier notification of permit and drilling activities Increases civil penalties for unconventional operators to $75, Authorize counties to adopt an impact fee to offset costs associated with unconventional natural gas development Encourages counties to evaluate their current unmet needs Develops an equitable formula to distribute revenue Provides revenue to state agencies associated with development oversight Addresses legacy impacts of abandoned oil and gas wells, mine reclamation and increases access to first class water and sewer treatment systems Preserves local government s traditional zoning authority Expands municipal notification of permit applications 26 13