Drilling Waste Ruling Adds More Regulatory Uncertainty for Producers

摘要

The latest legal volley over oil and gas regulations could add even more uncertainty for producers, piling onto several Obama-era energy rules up in the air amid Trump administration efforts to roll them back. At issue this time is how states and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) manage E&P wastes, such as drilling muds and cuttings that are byproducts of hydraulic fracturing. The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on Nov. 28 rejected a bid from North Dakota to weigh in on a lower court decision regarding a settlement between the Obama EPA and environmental groups.