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By Jeryl L. Olson and Craig B. Simonsen

In a letter this week to Administrator Gina McCarthy, the Partnership for a Better Energy Future, a coalition of business organizations provides initial feedback to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on its proposed carbon emissions regulations for existing electric generating units.

The National Association of Manufacturers serves as co-chair of the…
Continue Reading Energy Industry Group Notifies EPA Proposed Rules for Existing Electric Generating Units Fail to Make the Grade

By Robert J. Carty, Jr., Dennis A. Clifford, Philip L. Comella, A. Donald Lepore III, Esteban Shardonofsky, Clark Smith

We have just published Seyfarth Shaw’s Energy Insights Newsletter, prepared by the Energy and Clean Technologies team. It covers important developments in the second quarter of 2014 for the energy industry, including: 1) the Department of…
Continue Reading Energy Insights: An Update from the Second Quarter of 2014

By James L. Curtis, Kerry M. Mohan, and Craig B. Simonsen

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health blogged yesterday about reports of worker fatalities during oil and gas extraction flowback operations. Flowback refers to process fluids from the wellbore that return to the surface and are collected after hydraulic fracturing (fracking) is completed.

According to information collected…
Continue Reading NIOSH Investigating Worker Deaths From Acute Chemical Exposures During Fracking Activities

By Patrick D. Joyce

This week Earthjustice, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council and 61 others filed a petition with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging the Agency to list oil and gas wells using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) near urban areas as “area sources” under the Clean Air Act.

The petition comes days after EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy…
Continue Reading Environmental Groups Urge EPA to Limit Air Pollution from Fracking Activities Near Urban Areas

By Kevin A. Fritz, Philip L. Comella, and Craig B. Simonsen

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy just signed an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) seeking public comment to ensure that reported information about fracking chemicals and mixtures are presented to the public in a transparent fashion.

The EPA, generally, does acknowledge that fracking plays a “key role in our…
Continue Reading EPA Publishes Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to “Enhance Transparency” for Chemicals and Mixtures Used in Fracking

By Kevin A. Fritz and Craig B. Simonsen

The Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB)’s FracFocus 2.0 database houses information collected from Federal and State regulatory agencies required as part of their regulatory requirements to disclose the composition and quantities of fracturing fluids that are injected into unconventional oil and gas wells.

In 2013, Secretary of Energy Moniz charged SEAB…
Continue Reading Federal Energy Advisory Board Seeks Comment on Draft “FracFocus” Report

By Patrick D. Joyce, Philip L. Comella, and William R. Schubert

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Inspector General, in a February 5, 2014 memorandum, stated that it intends to evaluate how federal and state regulation of the hydraulic fracturing (fracking) industry has protected water resources and managed potential threats. “EPA’s Oversight of Hydraulic Fracturing Impact on…

Continue Reading EPA Eyes Potential Impact of Fracking on Water Resources

By Patrick D. Joyce, Philip L. Comella, and William R. Schubert

Illinois and California, two states that passed major pieces of legislation governing hydraulic fracturing (fracking) earlier this year, have just released drafts of the regulations that will implement their new laws.

What are the major issues?  While the two States’ schemes are not identical (please see our previous…
Continue Reading Draft Fracking Regs Are Out In Illinois and California

By Philip L. Comella and William R. Schubert

California is the most recent state to pass a new, comprehensive statute with which to regulate the hydraulic fracturing industry.

The California statute is making headlines, and for a good reason: California contains an estimated two thirds of the nation’s shale-rock oil deposits. Further, since many details underlying the law remain unsettled,…
Continue Reading California Passes Fracking Law

By James L. Curtis and Craig B. Simonsen

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recently released its preliminary “Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.”  The findings show an increase of twenty-three percent in the oil and gas extraction industries, a fourteen percent increase in the mining sector, and a five percent increase in the construction industry.

The BLS Report…
Continue Reading Bureau of Labor Statistics’ National Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries Shows Oil and Gas, Construction, and Mining Industries Rates Climbing