US bill offered to guard water quality from oil, gas development

US bill offered to guard water quality from oil, gas development

Washington (Platts)--4May2005


US Rep. Mark Udall (Democrat-Colorado) has introduced a bill that he said
would protect water quality and surface owner rights from the impacts of oil
and gas development. Introduced Tuesday, Udall's Western Waters and Farm Lands
Protection Act would establish "clear requirements for proper disposal" of
water extracted from oil and gas development, make clear these waters must
comply with discharge permits under the Clean Water Act, and provide greater
involvement of surface owners in plans for oil and gas development by
requiring the US Interior Department to give surface owners advance notice of
lease sales that would affect their lands and to notify them of subsequent
events related to proposed or ongoing energy development.

The bill would also require anyone proposing to drill for federal minerals in
a split-estate situation to first try to reach agreement with the surface
owner that spells out what would be done to minimize interference with the
surface owner's use and to provide for reclamation of affected lands and
compensation for any damages. If no agreement were reached within 90 days, the
matter would be referred to neutral arbitration, according to the bill's
language. If arbitration failed, energy development could go forward, but
subject to Interior Department regulations that would balance the energy
development with the interests of the surface owner or owners. The American
Farm Bureau Federation, one the US' largest agricultural organization, has
endorsed the measure.

This story was originally published in Platts Natural Gas Alert
http://www.naturalgasalert.platts.com

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