American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019 - 96

ConventionSection: Illinois Oil & Gas Association

Illinois Regulators, Industry
Keep On Cooperating
By Dan Holder
WHITTINGTON, IL.-Illinois' oil and
gas operators face the prospect of a tumultuous 2019, with commodity pricing uncertainties stirring concern for many, but
the state's regulatory sector promises a
calmer future, predicts Craig Hedin, president
of the Illinois Oil & Gas Association.
However, Hedin warns, even that positive
news comes with its own set of caveats.
Speaking before the association holds its
annual convention, scheduled for March 57 at the Old National Events Plaza in Evansville, In., he says while the industry has
had a very good relationship with Wayne
Rosenthal director of the Illinois Department
of Natural Resources' Office of Oil and
Gas Resource Management, Rosenthal
probably will leave with the change in governorship. But, he adds, Michael Mankowski,
director of the Office of Oil and Gas
Resource Management, remains.

"Mankowski is a very open individual,
and always willing to discuss issues,"
praises Hedin, vice president and general
counsel at Gesell's Pump Sales and Service
Inc. in Whittington. "Illinois has a very
active oil and gas advisory board, which
was created by statute to work with the
office and IDNR. The board has industry
members on it, and it holds quarterly
meetings, with industry allowed to introduce topics for the agenda."
Hedin says the seven-person advisory
board has six members who must be actively engaged in the oil and gas industry.
Its mission is to review federal and state
laws affecting Illinois oil and gas operations, review technical information concerning how to improve oil and gas production, and advise the department on
how best to permit, drill and plug wells.
It is limited to submitting recommendations to IDNR on how best to streamline
state regulations.

IOGA Annual Meeting - Evansville, In.
Tuesday, March 5
8:30 a.m. Registration Opens, Old National
Events Plaza
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Illinois Basin Technology
Transfer Workshop, "Maximizing Knowledge of Your Illinois Basin Reservoir"
"Drill Stem Testing For Decision-Making
in Exploration, Drilling, Development
Drilling and Reservoir Engineering, Illinois Basin," Robert Stewart and Jack
Fox
"Real-Time Gas Analysis in a Comprehensive Well Site Program," Brian Fribley
and Delwin Parker
"What You Need to Know to be a Successful
Explorationist in the Illinois Basin," Mike
White
"PE Logging: Illinois Basin Examples,"
Jeff Hoy
"The Benefits of Solids Control in Well
Drilling," Jim Brooker
"Updates on Activity in Illinois Basin:
Trends and Reconsideration of Past Wildcats," Jim Coffroth and Joan Crockett

Wednesday, March 6
8 a.m. Registration Opens, Old National
Events Plaza
8 a.m. Exhibit Hall Opens
96 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

9 a.m. Committee Meetings
9 a.m. Tri-State Professional Landman's
Association Meeting
10 a.m. IOGA Annual Board Meeting
11 a.m. Buffet Luncheon, Exhibit Hall
1 p.m. "Addressing Internal and External
Threats: How to Prevent Occupational
Fraud and Cyberfraud from Happening
in Your Organization," Steven Tate and
Chris Kujama
2 p.m. "Lessons Learned from Colorado's
Setback Saga," Seth Whitehead
3 p.m. Technical Programs
4 p.m. Cocktail Reception
6-10 p.m. Wildcatters Awards Banquet and
Oil Field Services Auction

Thursday, March 7
8 a.m. Exhibit Hall Opens
9:30 a.m. Vendor Awards and Drawings
Winners
Must Be Present To Win
10 a.m. IOGA Legislative and Legal Session
"Latest Industry Rules Update," Michael
Mankowski
"Election Results," Dan Reitz
"Latest Industry Case Studies and Regulatory Changes," Matthew McArthy and
Jarred Tynes

NOVs
A joint committee of Illinois legislators
is considering the advisory board's recommendations for revising IDNR regulations on enforcing violations, with the
aim of streamlining the enforcement procedure, Hedin reports.
"It used to be if you got a notice of violation it went directly to the operator
first and then to the department. Now, if
you look at the statute, the NOV should
go through the department first, and it
becomes what we call a director's decision.
Then that notice of the decision goes out
to the operator," Hedin describes.
According to Hedin, during the April
2018 advisory board meeting, Mankowski
pointed out operators had been receiving
NOVs first for the past 30 years, and he
suggested the state amend the rules to conform to Illinois statutes. He noted such
action would help eliminate the backlog
of director decisions awaiting action.
Mankowski also recommended the state
revise its policies on fining violators, saying
he wanted to give hearing officers-now
tied to a schedule of fines-more flexibility
in determining assessment amounts.
"I think they are going to straighten
that out. There probably will be a different
form, but substantively it will basically
be the same. IDNR used to have a matrix
on how it came up with penalties: how
many times an operator had that penalty
before, what is the seriousness of the
penalty," Hedin says. He predicts the
agency will eliminate the matrix, replacing
it with a new set of criteria to determine
the amount of a fine.
"If it is a run-of-the-mill violation,
and if it is rectified or remediated within
the stated time frame, there will be no
fine. IDNR is trying to get to a situation
where it only fines bad guys and serious
offenses. That is going through the process
right now, and should become regulation
in the near future," he says.
According to the advisory board, proposed rule changes also include:
· Revising procedures to allow the
IDNR director to make more decisions
on violations;
· Allowing enforcement hearings to

American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2019

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