American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018 - 21

IndustryDigest
departments.
Under the proposal, EPA says,
"conventional" renewable fuel volumes,
primarily met by corn ethanol, would be
maintained at the implied 15 billion
gallon target set by Congress for 2019.
Compared with the 2018 standards, the
advanced biofuel standard for 2019
would increase by almost 600 million
gallons, and the cellulosic biofuel
standard for 2019 would rise by almost
100 million gallons.
The biomass-based diesel standard
for 2020 would be increased by 330
million gallons as compared with the
2019 standard. According to EPA, the
biomass-based diesel standard for 2019
was set at 2.1 billion gallons in 2018,
and cannot be changed.
Consistent with its commitment to
improving the program's
implementation, EPA says it also is
taking comments on ways it could
improve market transparency, including
by limiting who can participate in the
Renewable Identification Number
market and the length of time an RIN
can be held. r

Appeals Court Orders
District Judge Review
DRBC Fracture Ruling
PHILADELPHIA-The authority of
the Delaware River Basin Commission
to regulate hydraulic fracturing is under
judicial review, with a three-judge panel
from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
3rd Circuit overturning a March 2017
lower court ruling that dismissed a
lawsuit filed by Wayne Land and
Minerals Group LLC.
In a decision issued July 3, the
federal appeals judges vacated the U.S.
District Court for the Middle District of
Pennsylvania's ruling against Wayne,
and sent it back to the district court for
additional review.
Wayne owns 180 acres in Wayne
County, Pa., and sought to build a
natural gas well pad and related
infrastructure on its property, drill an
exploratory well and, if viable, drill a
horizontal well and use fracturing to
extract the gas, court documents state.
The company sought a ruling from
the district court after its drilling
application was rejected. According to
court documents, Wayne claimed the
Declaratory Judgment Act didn't give

the commission authority to review gas
well pads and associated activities
(AOGR, July 2016, pg. 20). The
commission argued in response that
Wayne's claim was properly dismissed
as unripe, that it lacked standing, there
was no final agency action and the
company had not exhausted all available
administrative remedies.
The district court denied the
commission's motion to dismiss the
complaint in March 2017, court
documents state, but denied Wayne's
request for relief. Instead, it dismissed
the motion after determining that the
company's proposed fracturing
activities constituted a "project" subject
to the commission's oversight under the
terms of interstate compact that created
the DRBC.
According to the district court,
Wayne's complaint alleged the company
would use water for its drilling activities
within the Delaware River Basin, and
the court's reading of the compact's
definition of "project" contained in the
definition for "water resources"
includes any "related uses of land,"
which it ruled encompassed the
proposed fracturing operations
Because the parties' interpretations
of the term "project" conflict, the
appeals judges say, the lower court
erred when it decided the DRBC's
project review authority under terms of
the compact unambiguously includes
Wayne's proposed activities. According
to the appeals court, the commission's
interpretation was unduly broad to the
extent that it could allow it to review
and control nearly all productive land
use within the basin.

According to the appeals court, the
dismissal of Wayne's complaint is
vacated, and the district court must
conduct additional fact-finding on the
intent of the compact's writers
regarding the definition of "projects." r

IOPA Tri-State Offers
Picnic, Golf Tournament
EVANSVILLE, IN.-The Oil
Producers Association Tri-State will
hold its annual picnic in Mt. Carmel, Il.,
on Sept. 14, at the Mt. Carmel City Park
and Golf Course.
The 18-hole golf scramble will begin
with a shotgun start at 8 a.m. Players
who do not sign up as part of a
foursome will be assigned to one.
According to IOPA, to be eligible to
play golf and to qualify for prizes in the
scramble, golfers must be preregistered
and prepaid by Sept. 7.
The tournament costs $40 a golfer
for green fees and cart. The cost after
Sept. 7 will be $50 a person, and will
depend on availability, IOPA points out.
Golfers also must purchase a picnic
ticket to participate.
The association says a barbecue
lunch will be served from 11:30 a.m. to
2 p.m., with ice cream and liquid
refreshments available throughout the
day. IOPA adds there will be a prize
drawing at 1:30 p.m.
Picnic tickets cost $30 each in
advance and $40 the day of the event.
Advance tickets for the picnic are
available at the IOPA office, 2104
Lincoln Ave. in Evansville; telephone
812-479-9451; or e-mail at
iopatristate@gmail.com. r

The Independent Petroleum Association of America surprised
BakerHostetler Partner Poe
Leggette with special recognition for "25 years of outstanding
legal representation" at its
midyear meeting, June 25-26
in Austin, Tx. IPAA President
and Chief Executive Officer Barry Russell credited Leggette's
legal victories with saving the
oil and gas industry $25 billion.
Calling him "a great friend to
IPAA and its members," Russell
said, "Poe has championed access and the ﬁght against unnecessary and costly burdens
on (industry) operations." Shown at the surprise presentation during the IPAA Board of
Directors meeting are, from left, IPAA Vice Chairman Steve Hinchman, Russell, Leggette, and
IPAA Executive Vice President Lee Fuller. IPAA convention coverage begins on page 31.

AUGUST 2018 21

American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2018

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