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OKOGA WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS | WEEK OF 7/31/15
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BREAKFAST WITH CONGRESSMAN COLE

 
Please join us for breakfast with Congressman Tom Cole on Thursday, August 13, 2015, from 8:30 – 10:00 a.m.  The breakfast will be held at the Faculty House, 601 NE 14th St., Oklahoma City, OK. This is not a fundraising event, it is an opportunity to meet Congressman Cole and talk with him in a friendly setting. We hope you will join us!   Please RSVP here

2016 STATE SENATE RACE SHAPING UP IN TULSA COUNTY

 
Tulsa World:  The state Senate’s graduating class of 2016 is a remarkable group.  Eleven state senators will be term-limited after next year’s legislative session: Republicans Patrick Anderson, Don Barrington, Brian Bingman, Brian Crain, John Ford, Clark Jolley, Ron Justice and Mike Mazzei, and Democrats Earl Garrison, Susan Paddack and Charles Wyrick.
 
But with change comes opportunity: 11 Senate posts that have been unassailable for the past decade are opening simultaneously, meaning the 2016 legislative election could be one of the most interesting in a long time.
 
The Republican primary race to replace Crain, whose district includes the heart of south Tulsa, is looking to be especially robust.
 

SEISMICITY – TWO INJECTION WELLS SHUT DOWN

 
US News:  Oil and gas operators shut down two wastewater injection wells in northern Oklahoma on Tuesday and reduced operations at a third after several earthquakes centered in the town of Crescent rattled the state.  Stephens Production and Devon Energy each voluntarily closed one well, and Stephens reduced operations at another well by 50 percent, Oklahoma Corporation Commissioner Matt Skinner said.
 
OCC:  New actions taken in response to earthquake activity in Crescent area
Tulsa World (Editorial):  State takes steps to lessen earthquakes
 

OCC NEWS


Regulatory Practices Committee: There will be a meeting of the Commission’s Oil and Gas Conservation Division Advisory Subcommittees scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 18, 2015, in Courtroom 301, Jim Thorpe Office Building, 2101 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.  At the meeting, Director Tim Baker of the Commission’s Oil and Gas Conservation Division and other Commission staff members will be discussing issues that may need to be addressed through proposed amendments to Commission rules, and attendees will also have opportunities to present such issues.  A schedule of discussion items prepared by the Oil and Gas Conservation Division will be emailed to you prior to the August 18, 2015, meeting.  Please let Bud Ground know if you have issues you would like to see addressed.

Oklahoma’s black shale oil and gas development On August 3, 2015, Professor Brian Cardott, Oklahoma Geological Survey, will speak at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in Commission Courtroom 301, beginning at 10:30 a.m.   Professor Cardott will be doing a presentation regarding Oklahoma’s black shale oil and gas development.    Please mark your calendars for the opportunity to hear from one of the leading research geologists at the OGS on this interesting topic. (agenda)
 
Utilization and application of core data in the oil and gas industry:  On August 3, 2015, Mr. Jeff Miller, President, Oakspring Energy, L.L.C., will speak at the Oklahoma Corporation Commission in Commission Courtroom 301, beginning at 2:00 p.m.   Mr. Miller will be doing a presentation regarding the utilization and application of core data in the oil and gas industry.    Please mark your calendars for the opportunity to hear from Mr. Miller on this interesting topic.  It is not for CLE credit.    These presentations will be technical information only. (agenda)
  

SURVEY – VOC EMISSIONS
 

We sent an email to our Environmental Committee this week, asking for help.  We have had a request from a member company to survey our membership as to the methods and emission factors used to determine VOC emissions from produced water tanks in eastern Oklahoma. It has been found that the CARB 1989 emission factor overestimates the amount of water in the dry gas wells found in Woodford wells.  
 
Please respond with:
  1. Type of permit requiring calculation
  2. Method used to calculate VOC from produced water tanks
  3. Emission factor used and its source
We would like to have your response by Friday, August 14.  The survey results will be anonymous and shared with the OKOGA Committee on Environment.
  

NEW DRAFT HYDRAULIC FRACTURING-RELATED CHEMICAL DATABASE

 
On June 4, EPA released the Draft Assessment of the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas on Drinking Water Resources for public comment and peer review. As part of the study, EPA conducted new research which resulted in over 20 final peer reviewed publications, available here.
 
Last week, EPA released a supporting draft database containing information on the 1,173 hydraulic fracturing-related chemicals that were listed in the draft assessment.
 
Comments on these materials may be submitted using the e-Government Regulations.gov web site. From the site, select “Environmental Protection Agency” and the keyword “EPA-HQ-OA-2015-0245” (for the docket ID) to comment on this data.
 

EPA DISTORTS HEALTH BENEFITS CLEAN-AIR RULE

 
Fox News:  The Environmental Protection Agency is exaggerating the potential health benefits it says result from a new rule that will set sharply lower ozone levels across the U.S., according to a detailed study of the EPA model. The study concludes many of the supposed benefits may already exist under current EPA standards.
  

OKLAHOMA, EPA STUDY RIVERS, LAKES AND STREAMS

 
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oklahoma Office of the Secretary of Energy and Environment (OSEE) are continuing to work on analyzing the condition of wetlands in Oklahoma, as part of a national initiative. The assessment will help build capacity to monitor and analyze wetland conditions while promoting collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries. OSEE will use a $131,575 grant from the EPA to produce a wetlands status report and implement a wetlands monitoring program.  
 
The Clean Water Act recognizes the dangers of upstream pollution. As water flows downstream, it gathers and carries more pollutants with it. Wetlands are instrumental in helping to filter and eliminate this pollution, thereby improving water quality and the health of aquatic ecosystems. Learn more about the effects of climate change and water pollution, click here. To learn more about National Wetland Condition Assessment, click here.
 

WATERS OF THE US CONTROVERSY

 
E&E News:  The COE, which is responsible for the vast majority of the calls about whether a creek or marsh warrants federal protection under the 1972 law, contend that the new limits under the rule are arbitrarily drawn, supported neither by science nor by law, and will be unworkable on the ground.
 
NewsOK:   Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt is asking a federal judge to delay the scheduled Aug. 28 implementation date of a new federal rule that would expand the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to regulate the nation’s waters.
 

ESA

 
Inhofe urges EPA to provide answers on oversight, ESA compliance. Edmond Sun. “A separate letter, sent jointly with the House Committee on Natural Resources on June 15, sought answers to two questions and four categories of documents about EPA’s compliance with the Endangered Species Act in development of these rules,” Inhofe wrote. “Although EPA provided a cursory response to the committees’ questions on July 13, 2015, EPA’s response letter did not even address the outstanding document request.”
 

FEDERAL REGISTER NOTICES

 
Standards for Business Practices of Interstate Natural Gas Pipelines:  FERC is proposing to revise its regulations / codes used to identify receipt and delivery locations in the Index of Customers. In addition, for consistency with the revisions to the Index of Customers, the Commission is proposing certain conforming changes to the Commission’s regulations on exhibits and on system flow diagrams. Comments are due August 24, 2015.
 
OSHA:  OSHA is proposing to amend its recordkeeping regulations to clarify that the duty to make and maintain accurate records of work-related injuries and illnesses is an ongoing obligation. Written comments to this proposed rule must be submitted by September 28, 2015.
 

ARTICLES OF INTEREST

 
The Okie:  Inhofe Questioning The ‘Secret Science’ Behind EPA’s $300 Billion Regulatory Agenda
NewsOK:  Demand for domestic industrial natural gas may increase soon
 
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