Compact Comments
September 2005

CONGRESSIONAL STAFFERS TOUR
ENVIRONMENTALLY SAFE INSTALLATIONS

IN THIS
ISSUE

U.S. congressional energy staffers took a
first-hand look at environmentally responsible
oil and gas developments in California through
the IOGCC Staffers to States Program.
Joined by the Bureau of Land Management,
the Minerals Management Service and the U.S.
Forest Service, the staffers toured several oil and
gas installations to observe how closely state
and federal regulators work together to both
produce a critical natural resource and protect
our environment.
Tour stops included the Santa Barbara
Channel natural oil seeps; Platform Holly, the
only offshore platform operating in state waters;
Offshore Platform Irene; Los Padres National
Forest; and the Kern River Oil Field. Each of the
producing locations operate under some of the
strictest environmental standards in the world.
“Participants walk away with not only a
better understanding of what it takes to produce
oil and natural gas, but also with a new set of
friends and colleagues with whom to work on
energy issues in the future,” said Kevin Bliss,
IOGCC Washington representative.
Key sponsors for the trip included the
California Department of Oil, Gas and
Geothermal Resources, California Independent

Hoeven Calls For
Task Force to
Alleviate Energy
Manpower
Shortages
STRONGER to
Present Revised
Guidelines at
Meeting
On the Hill

Congressional staffers (left to right) Bethany Pantuck,
Jarrod Yates and Mike Ference on a tour of Platform
Irene operated by Plains Exploration and Production
(PXP) are shown a sample of produced oil.

Petroleum Association, Western States Petroleum
Association and Independent Oil Producers’
Agency.

CONGRESS PASSES IOGCC’S LEGISLATIVE FIX FOR
HYDRAULIC FRACTURING: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
President Bush signed into law the new
energy bill this summer, which includes the
IOGCC’s proposal to resolve the hydraulic
fracturing issue and brings several years of hard
work by the Commission to fruition.
In 1997, the U.S. 11th Circuit ruled in the
case of LEAF v. U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency that hydraulic fracturing be considered
injection under the federal Safe Drinking Water
Act. Under the decision, hydraulic fracturing
operations, which previously had been regulated
by the states’ oil and gas conservation agencies,
were within the Safe Drinking Water Act in
Alabama and potentially in all states. The LEAF

decision had potentially enormous adverse effects
on the oil and gas industry and IOGCC member
states.
The IOGCC adopted a resolution calling for
federal legislation to clarify the LEAF decision
and for an amendment to the Safe Drinking Water
Act. The amendment would state that hydraulic
fracturing is not subject to the Act and, therefore,
remains under the authority of the states. In its
resolution, the Commission noted the states have
a long history of ensuring that hydraulic fracturing
operations are conducted safely to protect drinking
water supplies.
Continued on Page 3

IOGCC
OFFICERS
Chairman
Gov. Frank
Murkowski
Vice Chairman
John Norman
Chairman-Elect
Gov. Dave
Freudenthal
Second Vice
Chairman
Don J. Likwartz
Executive
Director
Christine Hansen

 2

Compact Comments

ON THE HILL
By Kevin Bliss

After the passage
and signing of the energy bill last month,
August was slow on
the Hill. Congress will
hit the ground running
this month, however, and energy is not
likely to be off the agenda as the result
of higher energy costs, especially after
the recent Hurricane Katrina.
Congress deferred dealing with
the issue of opening Alaska’s Arctic
National Wildlife Refuge in the energy bill, deciding that it should be
handled as a part of this year’s budget
resolution. Under Senate rules the
budget resolution will need only 51
votes to pass. The House has passed
an ANWR provision before and, all
things being equal, can be expected
to do so again.
The budget reconciliation could
also contain other energy provisions.
Several lawmakers are again talking
about tightening Corporate Average
Fuel Economy (CAFE) standards governing automobile gas consumption.
Also, the House and Senate
Energy and Water Appropriations
Subcommittees must reconcile their
bills. As we’ve reported here before,
the Senate version of the bill contains a
line item appropriation to the IOGCC,
and the Commission will be working
hard to maintain that appropriation in
the conference report.
Finally, as noted elsewhere in
this issue of Compact Comments, the
IOGCC conducted its third Staffers to
States tour in early August. The State
of California and the other California
co-sponsors did a fantastic job of
designing a trip that was both highly
educational and enlightening as well
as interesting and fun. The program
also provided a wonderful opportunity
for the staffers to become acquainted
with the IOGCC and each other.

NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR HOEVEN
CALLS FOR TASK FORCE TO ALLEVIATE
ENERGY MANPOWER SHORTAGES
Former IOGCC Chairman Gov.
John Hoeven has urged U.S. Secretary
of Energy Samuel Bodman to create a
federal task force to help states combat
the growing manpower shortage in the
oil and natural gas industries.
In a recent letter, the North Dakota
governor suggested the IOGCC coordinate the effort with a task force consisting of the U.S. Department of Energy,
the U.S. Department of Labor and the
U.S. Department of Education.
The IOGCC publication “The
Petroleum Pros,” which outlines recommendations of how states, the federal
government and industry can address the
problem, was included with the letter.
The United States trains the world’s
petroleum engineers and geologists, the
Launching a successful program in his state,
governor said.
“Our universities set the standards North Dakota Gov. John Hoeven, former
and lead the world in research initiatives. IOGCC chairman, has been an advocate in
They deserve the support of the federal combating the manpower problem in the oil
and natural gas industries.
government.”
“The Petroleum Pros” as well as the joint IOGCC and North Dakota publication “Employment Growth: Oil Industry Focus” are available online at www.
iogcc.state.ok.us.

STRONGER TO PRESENT REVISED
GUIDELINES AT IOGCC ANNUAL MEETING
STRONGER, Inc. sent new draft state review guidelines to IOGCC official
representatives, state oil and gas directors and members of the IOGCC State Review
Committee.
During a July board meeting, draft guidelines were finalized based on comments received from state oil and gas directors, federal agencies, industry and
environmental groups.
Revised guidelines will be presented at the IOGCC Annual Meeting in Jackson
Hole, WY, Sept. 17 - 20. If accepted, the new guidelines will go into effect Jan.
1, 2006.
The board also approved the final reports for the Ohio and Oklahoma state
reviews, which currently are available from STRONGER, Inc.
The state review process is a non-regulatory program that relies on states to
volunteer for reviews. No state reviews have been performed during 2005. New
York and Kansas have moved back their scheduled reviews from 2005 until a
date in 2006 to be determined. Arkansas, Colorado, Kentucky and Utah are also
considering reviews during 2006.
Final reports from reviews performed by STRONGER, Inc. may be obtained
by calling Jim Carter at (801) 355-8816 or by e-mail at jcarter@bearwest.com.

 September 2005

3

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING: HISTORICAL OVERVIEW
Continued from Page 1
The IOGCC appointed a committee to study the issue
and assist in the legislative effort. Members of the committee were Marvin Rogers, Alabama assistant attorney general,
chairman; Cammy Taylor, Alaska Oil and Gas Commission;
Kemp Wilson, Montana IOGCC official representative; Hal
Fitch, Michigan Geological and Land Division; Michael Linn,
Pennsylvania; Kevin Bliss, IOGCC Washington representative; Michelle Evans, IOGCC federal project manager; and
Christine Hansen, IOGCC executive director.
The Inhoff-Sessions bill introduced in 1998 included
statutory language that had been proposed by the IOGCC.
While the legislation languished, EPA implemented the
LEAF decision. The Alabama Oil and Gas Board passed a
strict program to regulate hydraulic fracturing of coal beds as
directed by the EPA. LEAF appealed the Alabama program to
the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of LEAF v. EPA
and Alabama Oil & Gas Board.
Alabama intervened in the case and a number of industry
groups filed amicus curiae briefs. The IOGCC participated
in the court case, filing an amicus curiae brief in support of
Alabama’s position. Alabama Assistant Attorney General
Rogers and counsel for the Justice Department argued the case
before the 11th Circuit in Atlanta. Alabama relied heavily in
the testimony of Dr. Don Oltz, Alabama state geologist.
In 2001, the Court ruled in favor of EPA and Alabama
holding that the state’s program complied with the Safe
Drinking Water Act. LEAF petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court
for certiorari, which was denied.

Even though Alabama won its case, the IOGCC continued to press for a legislative fix. While the legislation was
considered by Congress, EPA began what turned out to be
a multi-year national study of hydraulic fracturing. In this
effort, the IOGCC and its member states provided EPA with
information on hydraulic fracturing in the states. Ultimately
EPA found no confirmed cases that drinking water wells had
been contaminated by hydraulic fracturing fluid injection into
coal bed methane wells.
During this period of time, Congress considered various legislative proposals. With support of several industry
groups, provisions were included in one version of the energy
bill that would have exempted hydraulic fracturing from the
Safe Drinking Water Act as long as EPA determined that hydraulic fracturing caused no danger to underground sources
of drinking water.
The energy bill failed to pass as did other legislative attempts to solve the LEAF problem.
With the support of new allies, the legislative version
favored by the IOGCC began to gain support. Bill Cooper,
counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee
became an advocate for the IOGCC’s original legislative
solution.
Ultimately, the final version of the energy bill recently
signed by the President contained the simple fix except
that the final language provides that diesel fuel cannot be a
component of hydraulic fracturing fluids. The effect of this
exception is uncertain.

IOGCC Annual Meeting
“Technology: Revolutionizing Energy and Regulation”

Jackson Hole, WY
Sept. 17 - 20, 2005
Log onto www.iogcc.state.ok.us/wyoming2005.htm
for the latest information.

 BRIEFLY
IOGCC APPOINTMENTS AND OTHER NEWS
•

Utah Gov. Jon M. Huntsman, Jr., appointed Dr. Laura S. Nelson as energy director
for the state. Nelson will assist in the development of public policy for energy
for Utah and work closely with the newly formed Governor’s Energy Advisory
Council.

•

The National Governors’ Association recently named Arkansas Gov. Mike
Huckabee 2005-2006 chairman and Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano vice
chairman.

•

Herschel L. McDivitt has been named director of the Indiana Department of
Natural Resources Division of Oil and Gas.

•

The Institute for Energy, Law and Enterprise at the University of Houston Law
Center is now the Center for Energy Economics at the Bureau of Economic
Geology. BEG is part of the new John A. and Katherine G. Jackson School of
Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin. For more information, visit the
Web site, www.beg.utexas.edu/energyecon.

•

The North American Coalbed Methane Forum, Inc. will hold its Fall Session
October 25-26 at the Lakeview Conference Center near Morgantown, WV. For
more information, contact Ihor Havryluk at 412-798-1391.

•

April Jennings has joined the IOGCC staff as the new member services
coordinator.

Calendar of

Events
Annual Meeting
Sept. 17-20, 2005
The Snow King Hotel
Jackson Hole, Wyoming
Midyear Issues Summit
May 1-3, 2006
Grand Hotel
Point Clear, Alabama
Annual Meeting
Oct. 15-17, 2006
Omni Hotel
Austin, Texas

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
World Wide Web http://www.iogcc.state.ok.us
E-mail iogcc@iogcc.state.ok.us
Phone 405/525-3556 • Fax 405/525-3592
P.O. Box 53127, Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3127

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