American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015 - 145

Texas legislators discussed the potential
impacts of the stricter ozone standard
during the last session. That included debate on a bill to reduce funding for the
Texas Emissions Reduction Plan, which
was established in 2001 to help the state
meet the standards set by the federal
Clean Air Act, he says.
"TIPRO successfully protected TERP
funding to ensure grants can be used for
the program to reduce emissions when
the existing standard is reduced," says
Servando Esparza, government affairs
manager for TIPRO.

Water Regulations
The oil and gas industry also is monitoring Washington's actions on waters
of the United States, Longanecker says.
The EPA and the Army Corps of Engineers have finalized a rule that redefines
what water sources fall under Clean Water
Act jurisdiction. The waters of the United
States rule includes certain streams and
wetlands that feed into rivers and lakes
not previously regulated by the federal
government, he points out.
Although the rule includes some exemptions for farming, ranching and forestry,
Longanecker says many critics of the rule
have argued the new regulation is too
broad, and is likely to increase costs to secure permits for many projects.
"Along with numerous industry groups
across the nation, TIPRO submitted comments to the EPA and the Army Corps of
Engineers that expressed concern about
several issues, including the broad definition of regulated waters, grandfathering
of CWA authorizations, and potential
impacts," he says.
Longanecker adds that the association
commends congressional efforts to slow
or stop the regulatory changes. Representative Bill Shuster, R-Pa., introduced
HR 1732, the Regulatory Integrity Protection Act of 2015. Longanecker says
the resolution, which many in the Texas
congressional delegation supported, seeks
to force the two agencies to withdraw
their proposal and submit new regulations.
The resolution would use the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act to define
Waters of the United States. It passed
the House of Representatives in midMay.
Legal challenges to the WOTUS rule
also are emerging on the state level.
Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi filed a
lawsuit June 29 challenging EPA's regulatory authority to revise the regulatory
definition of waters of the United States.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton says
the rule is a blatant overreach of federal
authority, and is inconsistent with a
Supreme Court decision regarding Wash-

ington's attempts to regulate areas never
intended by Congress.
In addition to regulatory challenges,
Longanecker notes that President Obama's
proposed fiscal 2016 budget proposal yet
again attempts to remove tax policies that
have supported U.S. oil and gas production
for decades, this time under the guise of
helping a beleaguered middle class,.
"Independent producers would be hit
hardest by proposals to repeal expensing
of intangible drilling costs, end percentage
depletion for oil and gas wells, and
increase geological and geophysical amortization from five to seven years, all

while pouring billions of dollars into the
EPA," Longanecker says. "This administration enjoys taking credit for the
success and benefits of domestic production, but continues to push for onerous
policies that only hurt the oil and gas industry, job creation, and the U.S. economy."
❒

Coming In August
Special Report:
Hydraulic Fracturing

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2015

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