Sidley Austin provides this information as a service to clients and other friends for educational purposes only. It should not be construed or relied on as legal advice or to create a lawyer-client relationship. Attorney Advertising - For purposes of compliance with New York State Bar rules, our headquarters are Sidley Austin LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10019, 212.839.5300; One South Dearborn, Chicago, IL 60603, 312.853.7000; and 1501 K Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005, 202.736.8000. VOLUME 5, NO. 28, JULY 12, 2016 SIDLEY UPDATE Shale and Hydraulic Fracturing Federal Congress holds contentious hearing on land planning changes. U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) officials faced significant criticisms from members of Congress representing Western states over its proposed rule to change how it plans to use federal lands. BLM has touted the proposal, coined “Planning 2.0,” as a way to reduce controversies about competing land uses, such as recreation, oil and gas development, and grazing. If finalized, the rule would cover all of the federal lands BLM manages, representing approximately 10 percent of all federally owned lands and 30 percent of U.S. mineral rights. The hearing, convened by the House Committee on Natural Resources’ Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, saw Western state representatives and witnesses from the Western Governors’ Association criticize the proposed rule as eliminating any meaningful role for state and local governments over how federal lands within their borders are managed. Critics also argued that the proposal would reduce the role of BLM state directors and field offices and consolidate authority in BLM headquarters to accommodate environmental groups seeking to restrict or block natural resource development on public lands. Litigation Environmental groups seek to intervene in Delaware Basin suit. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network moved to intervene in a suit between a Pennsylvania landowner and the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) over the ongoing moratorium imposed by the DRBC on shale gas development within the Basin. A multi-state body with authority over the Delaware River’s 13,500-square-mile watershed, the DRBC imposed a de facto drilling moratorium in 2010 while it drafted rules governing hydraulic fracturing. Wayne Land & Mineral Group, which owns mineral rights in Pennsylvania, sued the Commission seeking a declaratory judgment holding that it lacks the power to block drilling. The Delaware Riverkeeper Network claims that hydraulic fracturing would threaten the drinking water supply for 17 million people if natural gas exploration and development were allowed in the watershed. Studies Study claiming hydraulic fracturing health risks retracted. The authors of a study touting that air pollution from hydraulically fractured gas wells increases the risk of cancer and respiratory disease have retracted their paper. In the May 2015 paper, published in Environmental Science and Technology, authors Kim Anderson of Oregon State University and Erin Haynes of the University of Cincinnati blamed gas wells for SIDLEY UPDATE Page 2 exposing nearby residents to carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at levels above the Environmental Protection Agency’s one-in-one-million lifetime cancer risk standard. The study garnered widespread media attention and was lauded by environmental groups while industry groups heavily criticized its methodology and the authors’ association with anti-fracking groups. The authors now claim that the finding was the result of a “spreadsheet error” that, once corrected, showed that PAH concentrations actually correlated with a 0.04-in-one-million cancer risk. If you have any questions regarding this Sidley Update, please contact the Sidley lawyer with whom you usually work, or Roger Martella Partner +1 202 736 8097 [email protected] Sam Boxerman Partner +1 202 736 8547 [email protected] Jim Wedeking Counsel +1 202 736 8281 [email protected] Joel Visser Associate +1 202 736 8883 [email protected] Ben Tannen Associate +1 202 736 8574 [email protected] The Environmental Practice of Sidley Austin LLP Our Environmental Practice consists of approximately 40 lawyers who concentrate on environmental and natural resources law. Established more than 35 years ago, our group is now one of the largest environmental practices in the United States, with extensive experience in all aspects of environmental and natural resources law. The depth and range of our practice and the frequency with which we address cutting-edge issues enable us to advise clients quickly and cost-effectively. For further information on our Environmental Practice, please contact David T. Buente (+1 202 736 8111, [email protected]), Robert M. Olian (+1 312 853 7208, [email protected]) or Judith M. Praitis (+1 213 896 6637, [email protected]). The Energy Practice of Sidley Austin LLP Sidley has a diversified and global Energy practice. We represent clients in virtually every aspect of the energy industry, including upstream, midstream and downstream oil and gas companies, oilfield service companies, oil and natural gas, refined products and CO2 pipelines, electric utilities, merchant electric transmission companies, independent power producers, alternative energy developers, suppliers and contractors, energy trading companies and the financial institutions that serve companies in all of these industry segments. Our energy practice encompasses all types of transactional, litigation and regulatory matters. Sidley’s energy transactional practice includes representing clients in a broad range of mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, project development, project finance and syndicated, structured and master limited partnership financing transactions. Our energy litigation practice includes representation of energy industry clients in all types of federal and state litigation and arbitration proceedings. Sidley’s energy regulatory practice includes matters before the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state regulatory commissions as well as the U.S. Departments of Energy, Transportation and State. For more information on energy-related matters see Energy Landscape: Energy and Commodities Law, Sidley’s energy law blog. To receive Sidley Updates, please subscribe at www.sidley.com/subscribe. BEIJING ∙ BOSTON ∙ BRUSSELS ∙ CENTURY CITY ∙ CHICAGO ∙ DALLAS ∙ GENEVA ∙ HONG KONG ∙ HOUSTON ∙ LONDON ∙ LOS ANGELES MUNICH ∙ NEW YORK ∙ PALO ALTO ∙ SAN FRANCISCO ∙ SHANGHAI ∙ SINGAPORE ∙ SYDNEY ∙ TOKYO ∙ WASHINGTON, D.C. Sidley and Sidley Austin refer to Sidley Austin LLP and affiliated partnerships as explained at www.sidley.com/disclaimer. www.sidley.com