American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015 - 22

IndustryDigest
that the New York Department of
Health's review of the latest
supplemental generic EIS, which was
released in conjunction with Cuomo's
ban announcement, was in direct
conflict with the state's earlier studies.
"The 'study' by the Department of
Health was based on speculation and
conjecture," Morabito claims in his
filing. "The study was not based on
science, geology or technology, but
rather on politics."
The Independent Oil & Gas
Association of New York is working
with Morabito by providing expert
witnesses willing to testify in several
areas, reports Executive Director
Bradley Gill.
"While similar cases have been
heard in New York, this lawsuit takes a
slightly different approach in its
argument and in Dave's attempt to keep
the lawsuit in Allegany County rather
than moving it to Albany," Gill says.
"Our view is that anyone who wants to
fight Albany and the DEC in support of
landowners and the industry has the
association's full support."
Morabito's filing asks that the court
order DEC to set aside its denial of his
right to secure a permit for fracturing on
his property, media reports say. ❒

USFWS Reviewing New
Species For ESA Listing
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service has announced it will
review 20 species of amphibians and
salamanders to see whether they
warrant protection under the
Endangered Species Act.
The service says the list for its 90day finding process includes several
species from the Midwest, Southwest,
and Southeast regions, including the
alligator snapping turtle, Arizona toad,
Blanding's turtle, Cascade Caverns
salamander, Illinois chorus frog, green
salamander, spotted turtle, and Rio
Grande cooter.
According to USFWS, there is
substantial scientific or commercial
information indicating these species
may warrant protection under ESA. The
service says its 60-day information
collection period is scheduled to end
Aug. 31.
The review is a response to a 2012
petition by the Center for Biological

22 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Diversity, USFWS confirms.
According to the Texas Independent
Producers & Royalty Owners
Association and the New Mexico Oil &
Gas Association, the Arizona toad,
Cascade Caverns salamander, Rio
Grande cooter, and alligator snapping
turtle all are found in the Arizona-New
Mexico-Oklahoma-Texas region.
USFWS adds that the spotted turtle
is native to the Great Lakes region,
Blanding's turtles range from
Wisconsin to Nebraska, the Illinois
chorus frog is from the IllinoisMissouri-Arkansas region, and green
salamanders have been found anywhere
from Pennsylvania to Indiana, and even
farther south. ❒

Industry Groups Seek
Exemptions From NLEB
Incidental Take Ruling

WASHINGTON-Oil and natural gas
development do not pose a significant
threat to the northern long-eared bat
(NLEB) or its habitat, the Independent
Petroleum Association of America and
the American Petroleum Institute
contend in comments submitted to the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. The
associations say they have asked
USFWS to authorize incidental takes of
the bat by oil and gas activities in the
agency's interim Section 4(d) rule.
Without such authorization from the
USFWS, the industry and the local
communities it works with would
experience "unnecessary and costly
burdens," the groups maintain.
Among the key points IPAA and
API make in their comments on the
interim rule are:
* As the USFWS already has
acknowledged, the NLEB population is
threatened because of the fungal disease
White Nose Syndrome, rather than
because of human activity.
* Prohibiting all incidental takes of
the bat from oil and gas activities will
not aid significantly in the bat's
conservation, but will impose costly and
unnecessary regulatory requirements on
the industry.
* Oil and gas development has a
much smaller impact on the NLEB's
habitat than timber harvesting, which
the interim rule already has exempted
from the incidental take prohibition.
* There are regulatory mechanisms

already in place through local
governments that minimize and
mitigate whatever impact oil and gas
development may have on the bat's
habitat.
* The oil and gas industry is willing
and able to comply with the interim
rule's conservation measures designed
to protect the bat during its most
sensitive life stages.
The Obama administration
announced in April it intended to list
the northern long-eared bat as
threatened under the Endangered
Species Act. The industry groups say
doing so could affect development and
private property rights in 37 states and
the nation's capital.
According to IPAA and API, oil and
gas development activities have 150
times less impact on the bat's habitat
than forest management activities.
Additionally, listing the bat under the
ESA offers no tangible benefit to the
bat's population or preventing White
Nose Syndrome from spreading, they
contend.
IPAA and API verify they have
joined several other industry groups in
commenting on the proposed rule. ❒

Judge Extends Timeline
On BLM Fracture Rule

CASPER, WY.-Implementation of
the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's
regulations for hydraulic fracturing
were pushed back another month in July
when Judge Scott Skavdahl for the U.S.
District Court for the District of
Wyoming signed an order giving the
Department of Interior until Aug. 28 to
file its administrative record with the
court.
On June 23, one day before the rule
was to have become effective, Judge
Skavdahl issued a stay and ordered DOI
to file its administrative record for
developing the rule by July 22 (AOGR,
July 2015, pg. 45). But on July 16,
Skavdahl signed an order granting
DOI's request for more time "for good
cause shown."
BLM released its final rule covering
hydraulic fracturing on federal and
tribal lands on March 20. The
Independent Petroleum Association of
America and the Western Energy
Alliance challenged the rules in the
District of Wyoming that same day
American Oil and Gas Reporter - August 2015

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