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Client Alert
March 30, 2015
BLM ISSUES NEW HYDRAULIC FRACTURING
REGULATIONS
On March 26, 2015, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) published its final rule
concerning hydraulic fracturing on Federal and Indian lands. The rule requires an operator
planning to conduct hydraulic fracturing on Federal or Indian lands to:
•
Submit to the BLM detailed information about the proposed operation, including
wellbore geology, the location of faults and fractures, the depths of all usable water,
the estimated volume of water to be used, and the estimated direction and length of
fractures;
•
Design and implement a casing and cementing program that follows best practices
and meets performance standards to protect and isolate usable water (defined as water
containing less than 10,000 ppm total dissolved solids);
•
Monitor cementing operations during well construction;
•
Take remedial action if there are indications of inadequate cementing and
demonstrate to BLM that the remedial action was successful;
•
Perform a successful mechanical integrity test prior to the hydraulic fracturing
operation;
•
Monitor annulus pressure during hydraulic fracturing operation;
•
Manage recovered fluids in rigid enclosed, covered, or netted and screened aboveground storage tanks (with limited exceptions, open pits are prohibited);
•
Disclose the chemicals used via the fracfocus.org website; and
•
Provide the BLM with documentation of all of the above actions.
These requirements are in addition to applicable state oil and gas regulations.
The effective date of these new regulations is June 24, 2015. The regulations have,
however, already been challenged in a lawsuit filed by two industry groups in the United States
District Court for the District of Wyoming. Independent Petroleum Association of America v.
Jewell, No 15-CV-41-F (D. Wyo. filed Mar. 20, 2015). The effective date of the regulations may
be delayed as the litigation proceeds. But at this point, operators of wells on Federal and Indian
lands should be aware of the new requirements and assess the need for any changes to current
BLM Issues New Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations
Client Alert
March 30, 2015
operations to achieve compliance. A complete copy of the new regulations is available at
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2015-03-26/pdf/2015-06658.pdf.
If you have any questions about the information contained in this Client Alert, please
contact the Thompson & Knight attorney with whom you regularly work or the attorneys listed
below for more information.
CONTACTS:
James C. Morriss III
512.469.6130
[email protected]
Christopher D. Smith
512.469.6108
[email protected]
Ashley T. K. Phillips
512.469.6135
[email protected]
Paul C. Sarahan
512.469.6106
[email protected]
This Client Alert is sent for the information of our clients and friends. It is not intended as legal
advice or an opinion on specific circumstances.
©2015 Thompson & Knight LLP
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BLM Issues New Hydraulic Fracturing Regulations