American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2016 - 20

IndustryDigest
where the lesser prairie chicken is
found," remarks Alexa Sandoval,
director of the New Mexico Department
of Game and Fish and chairman of the
LPC Initiative Council.
The LPC rangewide plan is a
collaborative effort of WAFWA and the
state wildlife agencies in Kansas,
Colorado, New Mexico and Texas that
allows agriculture producers and
industry to continue operations while
reducing impacts to the lesser prairie
chicken and its habitat.
WAFWA says the Sunview Ranch
(formerly Tate Ranch) of Southwest
Kansas is in the sand sagebrush
ecoregion. WAFWA adds that livestock
grazing, which is the primary land use
on rangeland throughout the sand
sagebrush region, will continue to be
used as a management tool on the ranch.
"This property is one of the largest
remaining contiguous tracts of sand
sagebrush in the region," comments
WAFWA Conservation Delivery
Director Jim Pitman. "Conserving this
property in perpetuity ensures it will
remain a working ranch and continue to
provide LPC habitat." ❒

IPAA And API Criticize
BLM Planning Proposal
WASHINGTON-The Bureau of
Land Management's Rule on
Resource Management Planning,
which was published Feb. 25,
"introduces significantly more
uncertainty into the resource
management process by proposing
numerous provisions that create
ambiguous standards and otherwise
expand agency discretion," according
to the Independent Petroleum
Association of America.
In comments IPAA submitted jointly
with the American Petroleum Institute
in May, the associations contend the
proposed rule, known as Planning 2.0,
"likely would cause delay and increase
costs by expanding public participation
opportunities without due consideration
for how those opportunities should be
managed to avoid inefficiencies in the
planning process."
IPAA Manager of Government
Relations Samantha McDonald says
Planning 2.0 is intended to enable
BLM to better address landscape-scale
resources issues. But, she says, "The
20 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

proposed rule departs from BLM's
statutory requirement to manage
public lands 'on the basis of multiple
use and sustained yield,' and 'in a
manner that recognizes the nation's
need for domestic sources of
minerals.'"
McDonald says IPAA is especially
concerned the proposed rule will
increase costs and delay development
by potentially subjecting each step of
the planning process to sustained and
repeated objections by groups opposed
to resource development.
"BLM has proposed a rule that
would arbitrarily, capriciously, and
unlawfully . . . discourage investment in
public land use, facilitate large-scale
withdrawal of public lands from
consideration for multiple use, and give
BLM unfettered authority to impose
planning decisions . . . (without) regard
for the Administrative Procedures Act,
or other laws designed to limit that type
of regulatory overreach," IPAA and API
object.
The associations' comments may be
found on IPAA's website at
www.ipaa.org under "Issues & Policies"
and then "Letters and Comments." ❒
See Related Story Page 86

Gas Driller Sues DRBC
For Blocking Project
WEXFORD, PA.-Wayne Land and
Mineral Group LLC has sued the
Delaware River Basin Commission
(DRBC) over a de facto moratorium it
contends is preventing it from drilling a
natural gas well in Wayne County, Pa.
According to the Pennsylvania
Independent Oil & Gas Association, the
lawsuit filed by Wayne in May in U.S.
District Court for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania argues that DRBC lacks
authority under the Delaware River
Basin Compact to review and approve a
natural gas well pad, related facilities
and associated activities.
PIOGA explains that DRBC was
created by state and federal
governments in 1961 to protect the
Delaware River watershed, and "claims
discretionary authority to review,
approve and thereby regulate nearly all
forms of human activity in the basin,
including the use of private land."
In 2009, the association adds, DRBC
decided it would not allow drilling in

the basin until it adopted rules
governing the activity. Regulations
subsequently were written, but never
acted on, PIOGA says.
Wayne's lawsuit charges DRBC with
"seeking to placate those state
governments and special interest groups
opposed to natural gas development,"
PIOGA says.
The lawsuit states, "In addition to
asserting that well pads and related
facilities are projects it must approve
before they are constructed, the
commission has announced that it will
not review applications for well pads,
related facilities and associated
activities until it adopts governing
regulations. This moratorium . . .
amounts to a ban on the lawful use of
land that cannot be remedied at the
ballot box." ❒

OOGA, MSC,WVONGA Ally
On SHALE INSIGHTTM 2016
COLUMBUS, OH.-The Ohio Oil &
Gas Association, Marcellus Shale
Coalition and the West Virginia Oil &
Natural Gas Association have
announced a joint partnership to host
the sixth annual SHALE INSIGHTTM
Conference, which is scheduled for
Sept. 21-22 at the David L. Lawrence
Convention Center in Pittsburgh.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to
showcase our region, and we are excited
to be collaborating with the MSC and
WVONGA this year for SHALE
INSIGHT," relates OOGA Executive
Vice President Shawn Bennett. "While
our industry continues to face
significant challenges, the current and
future prospects for the Appalachian
Basin remain very promising. This
conference creates an important forum
to exchange ideas, share best practices,
and heighten the dialogue around
common-sense energy policies. We are
glad to be part of its continued success."
According to the hosts, the focus of
this year's conference is the shale
revolution's next phase, and will
emphasize end-use and connecting the
marketplace through infrastructure. The
conference will feature a number of
networking opportunities, including
keynote presentations, an exhibition,
panel discussions, the technology
showcase, and a natural gas use
marketplace.
http://www.ipaa.org
American Oil and Gas Reporter - July 2016

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