American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017 - 21

Petroleum Association of America, and
the National Ocean Industries
Association. CIPA indicates that staying
additional bonding insurance for
decommissioning recognizes tough
market conditions for U.S. companies.
"The announcement was welcome
news, considering that CIPA, in
conjunction with IPAA, has made this
issue one of our top priorities for the
offshore space," the group says.
"Together, we will work with the Trump
administration to ensure new appointees
are properly educated about the
ramifications this NTL will have on our
member companies."
IPAA, NOIA, the Louisiana MidContinent Oil & Gas Association, and
the Gulf Economic Survival Team filed
Freedom of Information Act requests
with BOEM and the Department of
Interior regarding the bureau's revised
estimates for well plugging and
abandonment and platform
decommissioning costs in the Gulf
(AOGR, Dec. 2016, pg. 22). ❒

EPA Seeks To Add
Gas Processing
To TRI Requirements
WASHINGTON-In a notice
published in the Jan. 6 Federal Register,
the Environmental Protection Agency
proposed a rule change for natural gas
processors that specifically affects natural
gas liquids extraction facilities and will
categorize them in the Toxics Release
Inventory under the Emergency Planning
and Community Right Right-to-Know
Act and the Pollution Prevention Act.
According to the agency, the proposal
increases public information on releases
and other waste management of listed
chemicals for companies that meet the
TRI threshold of 10 full-time employees
and at least one TRI-listed chemical in
volumes that exceed applicable
thresholds, of which EPA projects there
are at least 282 in the United States.
The move originated with an Oct. 24,
2012, petition by the Environmental
Integrity Project and 18 other
organizations, pursuant to section
553(e) of the Administrative Procedure
Act, requesting EPA exercise its
discretionary TRI sector authority to
add oil and gas extraction to the scope
of industrial sectors covered by TRI
reporting requirements. On Oct. 22,
2015, EPA granted, in part, the petition
insofar as it opted to commence the
rule-making process to add natural gas
processing facilities to TRI's scope.
Press accounts indicate that the EPA

says a triennial survey in 2012 by the
U.S. Energy Administration counts 517
U.S. gas processing facilities in the
lower-48 states, of which EPA estimates
more than half probably meet TRI
reporting thresholds for at least one of
the 21 TRI chemicals. ❒

Court Backs Contractor
In Gulf Fight With BSEE
WASHINGTON-A federal district
judge has ruled the Bureau of Safety
and Environmental Enforcement lacks
the statutory authority to enforce
environmental or safety regulations
against a nonlease or nonpermit holder.
Court documents say two employees
for Gulf Island Operating Company Inc.,
working as contractors for an operator in
the Gulf of Mexico, were transferring
chemicals from a boat to a platform in
June 2013 when the receiving tank
overflowed and the chemicals ignited.
The workers jumped from the burning
platform into the Gulf and were rescued.
According to the National Ocean
Industries Association, the operator was
issued a notice of incident of
noncompliance (INC) days after the
incident, and Gulf Island was cited later.
In its lawsuit filed in the U.S. District
Court, Western District of Louisiana,
Lafayette Division, Gulf Island contends
BSEE exceeded or violated its authority
under the Outer Continental Shelf Lands
Act. It claims the federal agency lacks
authority to enforce OCSLA regulations
against contractors, and asks the court to
order BSEE to comply with the act and
stop citing contractors.
The judge's decision holds that the
plain language of the OCSLA limits
BSEE authority to lease holders and
permit holders, and so any fines or
penalties against Gulf Island are invalid.
However, the decision is limited to this
case, with the judge stating he would
not compel BSEE to comply with
OSCLA by not issuing INCs to
contractors. "This court finds the
request is overly broad. The legislature
is free to act to extend the reach of the
statute at any time," the judge notes. ❒

BLM Amends Its Rule
For Oil Shale Royalties
WASHINGTON-The U.S. Bureau of
Land Management released a final rule
in January that designates royalty rates
set in 2008 for oil shale as minimum
rates, and that revises environmental
stipulations for converting a research,
FEBRUARY 2017 21
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American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017

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