American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2017 - 20

IndustryDigest
November.
Grant Township adopted its HRC
three weeks after a federal judge, ruling
in a lawsuit brought by PGE, threw out
portions of its similar ordinance in
October 2015, PIOGA says. PGE
continues to pursue recovery of
damages and legal fees incurred as a
result of Grant Township's ordinance.
PIOGA notes that it is a party to the
Grant Township lawsuit, and is directly
challenging a local government's ability
to place its home rule authority superior
to state and federal laws. ❒

Oklahoma Judge Nixes
Induced Seismicity Suit
OKLAHOMA CITY-A federal
judge has dismissed a lawsuit against
three oil companies seeking to limit the
amount of produced water they may
dispose of in Class II injection wells in
Oklahoma, according to a report from
the Texas Alliance of Energy Producers.
In February 2017, the Sierra Club
and Public Justice filed the lawsuit in
the U.S. District Court for the Western
District of Oklahoma in Oklahoma City,
contending that "waste from
(fracturing) and oil production have
contributed to an alarming increase in
earthquake activity" (AOGR, March
2016, pg. 16). The lawsuit demanded
the companies "reduce, immediately
and substantially, the amounts of
production waste they are injecting,"
and also sought an order to establish an
independent earthquake monitoring and
prediction center to analyze wastewater
volumes.
However, the Alliance cites an
Associated Press report saying on April
11, Judge Stephen P. Friot ruled that
such decisions were best left to the
Oklahoma Corporation Commission,
saying the state agency was better
equipped than the judiciary to determine
the "highly complex and technical
issue" of how much disposed
wastewater was acceptable to avoid
seismic activity.
The Alliance notes that the lawsuit
was filed under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, but
Judge Friot found injection wells fell
under the Safe Drinking Water Act, for
which the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency had delegated
enforcement authority to the OCC. ❒
20 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

DOJ Seeks To Dismiss
Paciﬁc Fracturing Suit
LOS ANGELES-The Trump
administration is urging the U.S.
District Court for the Central District of
California to dismiss litigation
challenging hydraulic fracturing
offshore California, the National Ocean
Industries Association reports.
The Center for Biological Diversity
and Wishtoyo Foundation sued the
Department of the Interior, the Bureau
of Ocean Energy Management, and the
Bureau of Safety and Environmental
Enforcement last November for
authorizing offshore well stimulation
without conducting an environmental
impact assessment (AOGR, January
2017, pg. 19). The groups also
contended that authorizing stimulation
activities without consulting wildlife
agencies violated the Endangered
Species Act.
California Attorney General Kamala
Harris and the California Coastal
Commission filed a similar lawsuit in
December.
In a motion filed in April, NOIA
says, Justice Department attorneys
representing DOI argue that a May 2016
finding of no significant impact from
well stimulation treatments such as
acidizing and hydraulic fracturing
cannot be challenged in court because it
isn't a final agency action.
The DOJ also contends the ESA
claims have no merit because Interior
has not approved any well stimulations
in the Pacific Ocean since the litigation
began, NOIA adds. ❒

5th Circuit Rules For
Louisiana Industry In
Coastal Erosion Case
BATON ROUGE, LA.-A local flood
control agency has run out of options-
save for the U.S. Supreme Court-to pin
the cost of coastal erosion on the oil and
gas industry, the Louisiana Oil & Gas
Association reports.
LOGA says the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the 5th District in April
refused to hear en banc the Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection AuthorityEast's claims.
"We are pleased with the court's
decision. This action throws cold water
on litigation against Louisiana's oil and

gas industry," says LOGA President
Don Briggs in a statement released
jointly with the Louisiana MidContinent Oil & Gas Association.
"These frivolous lawsuits have
contributed to the litigious hell-hole we
now find our state in," Briggs says.
Adds LMOGA President Chris John,
"As we have said from the beginning,
these claims are meritless. I am gratified
to see their options at the 5th Circuit are
finished."
The lawsuit goes back to July 2013,
LOGA recalls, when SLFPA-E alleged
in Louisiana state court that the
activities of 97 exploration and
production companies damaged coastal
lands and "increased the risk of
flooding (because of) storm surges, and
necessitated costly flood protection
measures."
The case eventually was transferred
to the U.S. District Court for the Eastern
District of Louisiana, which ruled
against SLFPA-E. In February 2015,
Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown
determined the companies could not be
held responsible for such damages
under the federal Rivers and Harbors
Act, Clean Water Act, or the Coastal
Zone Management Act (AOGR, March
2015, pg. 16).
A three-judge panel of the 5th
District Court of Appeals upheld
Brown's ruling in March 2017 (AOGR,
April 2017, pg. 17). ❒

Independent Producer
Elected NOIA Chairman
WASHINGTON-The National
Ocean Industries Association Board of
Directors has elected David H. Welch as
chairman and John Gellert as vice
chairman for 2017-18. Welch and
Gellert assumed their positions at the
association's annual meeting April 5-7
in Washington, NOIA says.
The association reports Welch, who
is president and chief executive officer
for Stone Energy Corp., is the first
independent producer to serve as
chairman in NOIA's history. He
succeeds Kevin McEvoy, CEO of
Oceaneering International.
Prior to joining Stone Energy in
2004, NOIA says, Welch held executive
positions with Amoco and later BP,
including director of strategic planning
and president of the Amoco Gulf Group.
American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2017

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2017
