The Pennsylvania Department has formally released the second, final version of proposed revisions to its Chapter 78 regulations governing oil and gas surface operations. This is a major rulemaking that has been in the works for several years and will have significant impacts on conventional and unconventional operators alike. PIOGA has serious concerns about many aspects of the proposed regulations. The cover article in the April edition of The PIOGA Press summarizes many of the issues we have identified so far in the current draft of the rules.

A public comment period is now open on DEP’s Advance Notice of Final Rulemaking (ANFR), and the department plans to have the changes to these regulations finalized by spring 2016. We strongly urge members to get involved in the ANFR process in one or more of these ways:

1. Provide input to PIOGA’s Environmental Committee.

A workgroup within our Environmental Committee is carefully reviewing the ANFR to make formal comments on behalf of the association. As part of that process, the group is seeking input from as many members as possible about how the proposed regulations will affect their operations or those of their clients. For the first time, the regulations are divided into separate sections that apply to conventional (Chapter 78) and unconventional (Chapter 78a) operations.

Please review the proposed regulations found here on DEP’s website, under with the heading, “Advanced Notice of Final Rulemaking (April 4, 2015).” Click on the link to Chapters 78 and 78a (PDF). An accompanying section on the DEP webpage explains how to identify the new language.

No later than Friday, April 24, you should send your comments to info@pioga.org so that the workgroup can develop PIOGA’s formal comments in time for DEP’s deadline of May 19. If you have questions, please contact Jean Mosites at jmosites@babstcalland.com or Jeff Walentosky at jwalentosky@moody-s.com. 

2. Participate and provide testimony in a public hearing.

DEP has scheduled three public hearings to take input on the ANFR. The dates and locations include:

  • April 29 – Washington and Jefferson College, Rossin Campus Center – Allen Ballroom, 60 S. Lincoln St., Washington, PA 15301
  • April 30 – Warren County Courthouse, 204 4th Ave., Warren, PA 16365
  • May 4 – Pennsylvania College of Technology, Klump Academic Center, 1 College Ave., Williamsport, PA 17701

The hearings take place from 6 to 9 p.m. Those who wish to present testimony are asked to register in advance by contacting the DEP Policy Office at 717-783-8727. Individuals will be called to testify in the order they registered. If time permits, those who did not register in advance will be given the opportunity to testify. DEP will allow 5 minutes per speaker. 

It is essential that the industry have a strong turnout for each of these meetings. We anticipate that anti-industry interests will turn out in force calling for even more stringent regulations than what DEP has proposed. 

3. Submit comments to DEP.

 Although PIOGA will be submitting comprehensive formal comments on behalf of the association’s members, we encourage you to comment individually to provide DEP with a clear indication of the concerns operators have with the proposed regulations. The comment deadline is May 19.

This DEP webpage includes the proposed regulations, information on how to identify changes to the wording and details about how to submit comments electronically or by mail. We suggest that you highlight any proposed changes to the regulations that would be particularly burdensome or costly and describe how the rules would affect your operations. If you have suggestions for improvements in wording, please let DEP know.

Thanks in advanced for taking the time to become in this crucial issue.