American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2018 - 112

(75 ppb) 2008 standard by the 2018
deadline, which could result in the nonattainment area being reclassified to 'serious' by 2019."
If that happens, the department warns,
emissions thresholds for major source
emitters of VOCs and nitrogen oxide will
drop to 50 tons a year. Colorado regulators
continue to work with stakeholders and
EPA "to determine the best path forward
and prepare for this potential change,"
CDPHE indicates. However, the attainment
deadline can be extended a year since
ozone standards were met in 2017, and
may be extended another year if the standard is met in 2018.
Haley expresses ongoing optimism
that the region will meet this year's standard, but acknowledges concern that this
summer's wildfires in the western United
States will impair the state's ability to
meet ozone thresholds. "Most of the
smoke that blanketed Colorado this summer came from California," Haley reports.
"Since Colorado is not the source, the
state likely will apply to EPA for a waiver,
but it may not be approved."

In the meantime, COGA considers
a voluntary ozone reduction program
for its members a success, Haley said.
The program is coordinated with the
state so that operators can make alterations to daily routines on declared
ozone alert days. Depending on the operator, companies may take action such
as shutting in production, taking trucks
off the road and shifting drive times to
evenings and nights.
"Last year, we introduced our CEO
(climate, emissions, ozone) program to
get the facts out about how industry has
reduced its air emissions," Haley notes.
"This summer, our voluntary reduction
program shows how we go beyond what
is required."
Authentic Voices
With the many contentious issues
facing Colorado's industry, talking with
family and neighbors about oil and gas
issues can be challenging for many people,
Haley admits. Nevertheless, he urges
members not to get discouraged by constant oil and gas opposition. Such a drum-

beat is part of doing business in the state,
he suggests.
"Last year, we said the activists would
not stop, and by now, it is clear they will
not," Haley considers. "Our industry understands what is at stake, but we must
stay engaged. It is understandable that
people would rather ignore the ugly, nasty
rhetoric thrown at us. Our people just
want to work."
According to Reynolds, the member
services and programs that have become
part of the fabric of the association continue to strengthen members' ability to
represent the industry in their communities.
Staying engaged does not mean people
must get political, Reynolds offers. "We
are not telling members to get into partisan
debates, only that they should become
educated about the issues," she advises.
The best advocates for the oil and gas
industry are its people, she concludes.
"Our members are part of the community
and when we talk about our issues, our
voices are authentic," Reynolds affirms.
"That is where the reasonable debates on
these issues have to come from."
r

New York Waits For A Political Upset
By Dan Holder
EDEN, N.Y.-Operators worried about
how bad their state governments could
treat the oil and gas industry or how bans
on high-volume hydraulic fracturing would
impact a region's economy can cite New
York as a worst-case scenario.
"There is no mistaking it, we are
losing the battle here in New York. That
is a function of the politics in the state,"
assesses Brad Gill, executive director of
the Independent Oil & Gas Association
of New York. He adds that the industry's
woes only could be resolved if Governor
Andrew Cuomo loses to Republican challenger Marc Molinaro in November.
"If Cuomo lost his re-election bid,
that would be a huge political upset and
such exciting news for the industry that,
despite the depressed natural gas prices,
I think people would want to test the
waters here in New York. If that longshot
actually happened, I would be very optimistic," he says. "If Molinaro got elected,
I believe the state would at least see a
pilot project for unconventional drilling
in a few New York counties."
With unconventional oil and gas operations limited by the fracturing ban,
Gill notes there has not been much antiindustry legislation coming out of the
statehouse. "When there is such legislation,
I usually get a phone call from the as-

sembly minority leader's office, asking
for IOGANY's position on certain pieces
of legislation. I usually end up expressing
the association's opposition to those measures," he says.
Shortly before voters go to the polls,
IOGANY will hold its annual convention
Nov. 1 at Holiday Valley Ski Resort in
Ellicottville, N.Y. Gill says the meeting
will focus on state regulatory issues.
Production And Pipelines
Since the state imposed a de facto
statewide ban on high-volume fracturing
in 2010, most of New York's production
has come from conventional wells in
New York's western counties. Gill notes
there has been very little conventional
drilling for the past several years. "That
is mostly a function of prices, not so
much regulation because little has changed
on that front. I am aware of only a few
shallow oil wells being drilled in the
Southern Tier," he says.
While companies have found success
in unlocking shale gas resources in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, New York
continues to serve as a barrier to deliveries
to Northeast markets, although the
pipelines have registered some legal victories. According to media reports:
· On Aug. 6, the Federal Energy
Regulatory Commission rejected requests
to review its Feb. 3, 2017, approval of

112 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

the Northern Access Pipeline. The agency
said the New York Department of Environmental Conservation waived its authority over the project when it failed to
issue a decision within one year. The
project will build 97 miles of pipeline
from Northwest Pennsylvania to Erie
County, N.Y.
· In March, a federal appeals court
rejected New York's petition to review
FERC's approval of Millennium Pipeline
Co.'s plans to build a line to a 680megawatt power plant in Orange County,
N.Y. Again, FERC says, DEC failed to
provide a water quality certification within
the one year limit imposed by the Clean
Water Act.
On the other side of the ledger, construction on the Constitution Pipeline, a
proposed 121-mile project running from
Pennsylvania to the Iroquois Pipeline in
Schoharie County, N.Y., was blocked
when the company lost its appeal to the
Supreme Court after a state ruling blocked
the pipeline. Constitution Pipeline complained that DEC's denial of water quality
permits in 2016 was illegal.
Air Regulations
On the regulatory front, Gill says IOGANY has had several meetings with
the DEC's Division of Air over methane
emissions. He reports that agency is working on regulations that will require oper-

American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Oil and Gas Reporter - October 2018