On September 30, 2014, a block of twelve Democratic U.S. Senators presented a letter to the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”), urging stricter fracking regulations. The Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”),...more
On September 25, 2014, California Governor Jerry Brown signed legislation that will provide California’s emergency responders with more information about trains carrying crude oil and require railroad companies to provide...more
SB 1096 (Jackson), which sought to foreclose the possibility of oil drilling in state waters from wells that could be drilled at Vandenberg Air Force Base, was defeated in the Assembly on Tuesday...more
SB-1281 faced strong industry opposition due to the bill’s requirement that oil and gas drilling companies use recycled water for new operations during drought emergencies. Industry representatives have stated that such...more
SB-1281 was amended in the Assembly Committee on Appropriations on August 4, 2014. A scheduled hearing on August 6 was postponed and held on suspense under Joint Rule 62(a). As of this writing, a hearing has not yet been...more
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (“GAO”) released a report yesterday, July 28, 2014, that presents a need for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“USEPA”) to update the Underground Injection Control class II...more
The City of Compton is being sued for its ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing, effective on April 22, 2014. (Western States Petroleum Association v. City of Compton, et al., Case No.BC552272.) Although Compton is not...more
On Wednesday, July 23, 2014 the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (“Administration”), an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation (“USDOT”), issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (“NOPR”) for...more
On Friday, July 18, 2014, the Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) announced that it will review California’s Underground Injection Control (“UIC”) Program to ensure compliance...more
On Friday, June 20, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown signed a public resources “trailer bill:” Senate Bill 681 (“SB 681”). Section 5 of the Bill extends the implementation deadline for the Department of Conservation’s Division of...more
On June 13, 2014, the Department of Conservation (“Department”) issued a public notice and posted the latest version of the proposed regulations for the use of well stimulation in oil and gas production (“Revised Proposed...more
Yesterday, Senate Bill 1132 failed in the Senate. In a 18-16 vote, SB 1132 fell three votes short of the necessary majority. The bill was introduced by Senators Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) and Mark Leno on February 20,...more
Last Friday, May 23, 2014, Senate Bill 1017, the Oil Severance Tax Law, failed to pass through the Senate Appropriations Committee. As a result, the bill is effectively dead for the year. SB 1017 was introduced by Senator...more
This past Tuesday, May 20, the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to approve a permanent moratorium on oil and gas exploration and development. Santa Cruz becomes the first county in the state of...more
At last, the new Supervisor of the California Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) has been announced. Steven Bohlen, currently Program Director at the Lawrence Livermore...more
There are a number of California State Senate and Assembly bills that could impact oil and gas operations this year, if passed. Stoel Rives has a dedicated team of professionals tracking these bills. Below you will find...more
This past Tuesday, the Carson City Council voted against a local moratorium on new oil and gas activity within its city limits. Last month, Carson passed a 45-day ban on all oil and gas operations, as reported in our March...more
One of the largest oil-field services companies in the world, Baker Hughes, has revised its long-standing policies on disclosing the contents of hydraulic fracturing fluids on FracFocus.org - a non-profit database designed to...more
The Los Angeles City Council voted to ban well stimulation treatments within city limits by a unanimous vote in February, and is in the process of drafting ordinances to put that decision into effect. Carson, California has...more
In several recent studies on methane emissions relating to the natural gas industry, scientists concluded that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) underestimated the quantity of methane the industry releases to the...more
SB 4 did not place a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing or other well stimulation treatments. SB 4 specifically states that so long as an operator complies with the notification and documentation requirements...more
The City Council of Carson, California has unanimously (by 5-0 vote) approved a moratorium on all new oil and gas drilling within its city limits. The moratorium is set to last 45 days for now, and the City Council will...more
It was only a matter of time before a city banned hydraulic fracturing in California - a “home rule” state, where cities and localities are permitted by constitutional amendment to enact and enforce their own zoning laws as...more
A new deputy district supervisor for District 4 of the Department of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources (“DOGGR”) will take the helm on May 1 of this year. Dan Wermiel - a geologist and previously DOGGR’s technical program...more
Last week, the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued final Permitting Guidance for Oil and Gas Hydraulic Fracturing Activities Using Diesel Fuels under its Underground Injection Control (UIC) program. The final...more