American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2017 - 39

California Legislation Begins To Move
SACRAMENTO, CA.-A number of
bills being monitored by the California
Independent Petroleum Association began
their journey through the legislative process
by passing out of committee in late April,
the association reports.
A major focus for California lawmakers
this year, CIPA notes, is implementing a
mandate to lower greenhouse gas emissions
40 percent below 1990 levels by 2030 that
was approved last year. Two bills that take
different approaches toward accomplishing
that passed out of the Assembly Natural
Resources Committee on April 24.
According to CIPA, AB 378 "is being
opposed by a cadre of industries" because
it directs the California Air Resources
Board to "move California away from
cost-effective methods of reducing GHG
emissions . . . and increases reliance on

direct emission measures."
Industry groups support AB 151 "in
concept," CIPA continues, only because
it is a better proposal than its counterpart.
The author's intent for AB 151, the association explains, is that any regulations
to achieve emission reduction goals be
implemented "with minimal cost impacts
to consumers and businesses."
Three other bills with direct impact
on oil and gas operations passed their respective natural resources committees,
CIPA reports:
* SB 465 redefines the mission of
the California Division of Oil, Gas and
Geothermal Resources, and eliminates
the Conservation Committee of California
Oil and Gas Producers advisory board to
DOGGR. SB 465 passed out of the Senate
Natural Resources and Water Committee

on April 25.
* AB 1328 requires operators to monitor and report quarterly the chemicals
they use in virtually all aspects of oil
production, and is largely redundant to
existing state law. It passed out of the
Assembly Natural Resources Committee
on April 24.
* SB 724 allows a city or county to
request DOGGR order an operator to
abandon any well that has been idle for
two years. It passed out of the Senate
Natural Resources and Water Committee
on April 25.
In addition, CIPA says, AB 1645, which
essentially would ban the use of hydrogen
fluoride and hydrofluoric acid, was pending
in the Assembly Environmental Safety
and Toxic Materials Committee.
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See Story Page 87

Maryland Bans Fracturing In The State
ANNAPOLIS, MD.-Maryland Governor
Larry Hogan has signed legislation banning
hydraulic fracturing in the state after initially
signaling opposition to the bill.
The governor released a statement
without comment April 4 saying he had
signed HB 1325. He told a Baltimore
television station he had concluded "the
possible environmental risks of fracturing
simply outweigh any potential benefits."
In addition to banning fracturing, HB
1325 repeals previous legislation that required the Maryland Department of the
Environment to adopt fracturing regulations as well as a law prohibiting MDE
from issuing any fracturing permits until
Oct. 1, 2017, according to the state's legislative website.
The Maryland General Assembly
passed HB 449 in 2015, which essentially
banned fracturing in the state until Oct.
1, 2017 (AOGR, June 2015, pg. 38).
The MDE proposed regulations last
year that would have barred drilling in
four Maryland watersheds and required
four layers of steel casing around any
fractured wells to prevent migration of
gasses or fluids, published reports say.
After the Maryland House of Delegates
approved HB 1325 on March 10, Hogan
indicated support for hydraulic fracturing
as long as the state implemented strict
safeguards, reports say. However, a week
later Hogan announced his support for HB
1325 after learning some lawmakers were
planning a voter referendum to approve
fracturing in the state. The Maryland Senate
voted for the fracturing ban on March 27.

The American Petroleum Institute reports a study by the Sage Policy Group
concludes that natural gas drilling in
Maryland could support more than 1,800
jobs with an annual labor income impact
of $85 million and $316 million in economic impact. Although Maryland does
not have any natural gas production, published reports say the Marcellus Shale
extends beneath far western Maryland.
"Denying Maryland consumers, businesses and job seekers the benefits that
come with in-state energy production
through hydraulic fracturing shuts the
door on an important share in the American
energy renaissance and western Maryland's

future economic growth," responds Drew
Cobbs, executive director of the Maryland
Petroleum Council.
H. Sterling Burnett, research fellow
for environment and energy policy at The
Heartland Institute, says, "Maryland's
legislators, and its governor by signing
the bill, chose image over substance and
alarmism over realism. Banning fracturing
is a political stunt, a payoff to big green
lobbyists, and a violation of citizens'
property rights."
Adds Heartland Policy Analyst Tim
Benson, "It is sad when policymakers cave
to fake science, bluster, and scare tactics at
the expense of their citizens."
r

POLICIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
FROM PAGE 30
bills aimed at improving EPA and its
processes. The House approved both HR
1430, the Honest and Open New EPA
Science Treatment (HONEST) Act, and
HR 1431, the EPA Science Advisory
Board Reform Act.
TIPRO indicates that HR 1430 is intended to restrict the type of scientific
studies and data on which EPA can base
new regulations, while HR 1431 establishes parameters with regard to who can
serve on the board that advises the agency
on scientific and technical matters.
Both bills have progressed to the Senate, where oil- and gas-related efforts include a bill by Senators Lisa Murkowski,
R-Ak., and Daniel Sullivan, R-Ak., to
repeal Obama-era offshore drilling re-

strictions and allow for wells in the Arctic
Ocean, press accounts say. They add that
the Offshore Production and Energizing
National Security Alaska (OPENS Alaska)
Act also requires federal five-year leasing
plans include a minimum of three sales
each in offshore Alaska's Beaufort Sea,
Chukchi Sea and Cook Inlet.
"The Obama administration tried to kill
responsible resource development in the
Arctic, ignoring that the rush to the Arctic
was on," Sullivan says in a press release.
"Oil and gas will be developed in the region-whether by our nation or others. It is
imperative that exploration and development
occur with all the safeguards required by
the United States to protect the environment
and the people who live in the region." ❒
MAY 2017 39

American Oil and Gas Reporter - May 2017

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