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Letters & Comments

Endangered Species, Letters and Comments, Offshore Oct 6, 2023

“… National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) must withdraw the Proposed Rule and reissue a critical habitat proposal that identifies for designation only those “specific areas within” areas of the Gulf of Mexico (GOMx) actually occupied by Rice’s whales that qualify as habitat and on which are “found” the “essential features” of Rice’s whale habitat that require special management. NMFS must consider the material economic, national security, and other relevant impacts of such a designation, including from “adverse modification” findings, as well as the revenue implications for the federal and state governments. Should NMFS move forward with designation of Rice’s whale critical habitat, it should exclude from such designation the central and northwestern GOMx where the impact of a designation would far outweigh any potential benefits to Rice’s whales.”

Endangered Species, Letters and Comments Oct 2, 2023
IPAA submitted comments to the record for the Fish and Wildlife Service’s proposed listing of the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard, whose habitat is primarily the Permian basin. Teaming up with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the comments focus heavily on F&WS’s lack of consideration for voluntary conservation measures as well as F&WS’s failure to demonstrate why a listing decision is warranted.
 IPAA is committed to reasonable species conservation but many of the recent listing decision by the Biden Administration are a politically motivated shot directly at the oil and natural gas industry.

Letters and Comments, Methane Oct 2, 2023

Re: Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems; Docket No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2023-0234

The American Petroleum Institute, the American Exploration & Production Council, Independent Petroleum Association of America, The Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma, and the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (collectively “Industry Trades”) appreciate the opportunity to offer comments to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on the proposed “Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems” (proposed on August 1, 2023). For perspectives of offshore operators, the Industry Trades encourage EPA to also review the Offshore Operators Committee (OOC) letter and incorporate them by reference herein. With this submittal, the Industry Trades seek to continue our participation in the rulemaking process as a collaborative stakeholder by providing meaningful solutions to simultaneously address EPA’s goals while addressing the burden of data collection (and identifying potential unintended consequences) that could result if the rulemaking is finalized as proposed.

The oil and natural gas industry has participated as key collaborative stakeholders, advancing the EPA Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) since its inception by contributing expertise and proposing alternatives that reflect the reality of the industry and its evolving day-to-day operating practices. The Industry Trades have focused on providing information that will help inform decision makers and the public about various challenges to data collection and reporting required by the rule, which includes safety, accuracy, and feasibility concerns, as well as the need to protect sensitive information and to ensure that reporting requirements are placed on the correct reporters.

These comments on EPA’s proposed revisions to Subpart W reflect our continued interest in the evolution of the GHGRP to provide an accurate accounting of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from facilities across the full value chain of the oil and natural gas industry. Our comments cover concerns and recommendations in the wide range of sectors that relate to the operations of our collective members.

Letters and Comments, Methane Sep 30, 2023

Re: Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule: Revisions and Confidentiality Determinations for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems

These comments are filed on behalf of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA). IPAA represents the thousands of independent oil and natural gas explorers and producers, as well as the service and supply industries that support their efforts, that will be significantly affected by the actions resulting from this regulatory proposal. Independent producers drill about 91 percent of American oil and natural gas wells, produce 83 percent of American oil and produce 90 percent of American natural gas.

In addition to the specific comments made herein, IPAA has joined comments submitted separately by the American Petroleum Institute (API).

These comments address proposals by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revise reporting requirements for Petroleum and Natural Gas Systems for the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP) under Subpart W.

…

The task mandated to EPA by Congress requires the agency to comprehensively review, revise and validate its Subpart W regulations to make them accurate and reliable because of the role their implementation will play in the MERP, defining exposure and calculating its methane tax. Congress’ deadline of EPA’s action failed to reflect the reality of the task. EPA, faced with the choice of meeting a deadline or meeting its mandate to comprehensively revise Subpart W, chose the deadline and produced a wholly inadequate compendium of emissions calculations. At its best, the Subpart W proposal collects revisions to the current calculation process that EPA failed to validate as either accurate or appropriate. At its worst, the Subpart W proposal is a thinly disguised effort to raise the MERP methane tax rates through careful selection of higher emissions factors and unworkable calculation procedures. EPA should withdraw the current Subpart W proposal and execute its mandate to make it accurate, including taking the necessary steps to validate the emissions factors or emissions calculation procedures that it ultimately puts in place.

Infrastructure, Letters and Comments, Uncategorized Sep 29, 2023

Re: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking, Council on Environmental Quality; National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions Phase 2 (88 Fed. Reg. 49,924, July 31, 2023)

Dear Chair Mallory:

The undersigned associations (collectively, the “Coalition”) offer the following comments in response to the Council on Environmental Quality’s (“CEQ’s”) proposed National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) Implementing Regulations Revisions Phase 2 (“Proposed Rule”).1 Our organizations represent a diverse set of economic sectors that form the backbone of the American economy – agriculture, energy, construction, mining, forestry, manufacturing, transportation, and other sectors. …

CEQ should withdraw the Proposed Rule and modify it in accordance with these comments before considering promulgating a new proposed rule for additional public review and comment. These comments address four central flaws in the Proposed Rule:

  • The Proposed Rule is written to drive policy outcomes. In so doing, the Proposed Rule exceeds the bounds of the letter and intent of NEPA.
  • The Proposed Rule fails to fulfill the specific requirements and overall purpose of the Fiscal Responsibility Act. The FRA amended NEPA to address permitting delays. The Proposed Rule would only exacerbate delays and complexity driven by new requirements that would inevitably be followed by litigation.
  • The Proposed Rule would add new requirements that would further delay and complicate reviews, including requirements that are outside the permissible bounds of the statute itself. In addition, the Proposed Rule adds a new global dimension to required environmental analysis, improperly stepping away from the statute’s focus on “present and future generations of Americans.”
  • The Proposed Rule would remove key process improvements from the 2020 NEPA rule. If made final, the Proposed Rule would not fix the widely acknowledged project delays caused by federal NEPA reviews, delays that continue to plague critical projects, including projects needed to fulfill Congress’ recent investments in energy and infrastructure.

Letters and Comments, Regulations Sep 22, 2023

IPAA joined with the American Petroleum Institute and 12 other energy trade associations in calling on the Biden administration to prioritize the energy needs of the American people by developing fair and consistent federal leasing regulations. In comments submitted to the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the associations reiterated the oil and natural gas industry’s longstanding record of responsible development of the United States’ vast natural resources but expressed concern over the damaging impact this rule could have on American energy security. 

“Our nation and the world will continue to need reliable, affordable oil and natural gas to grow our economy, power our communities and serve as the foundation for broader opportunities for decades to come. Oil and natural gas production on public lands is a crucial part of the nation’s program for energy security and economic strength,” said API Vice President of Upstream Policy Holly Hopkins. “Because of the vital importance of energy production on public lands, overreaching land management regulations place our domestic energy supply at risk.” 

In the comments, the associations raised concerns that the proposed rule overreaches BLM’s statutory authority, disregards Congress’s intent to preserve federal leasing programs and rejects existing robust planning and environmental review processes, allowing BLM to constrain onshore energy development on a case-by-case basis. The Associations urged BLM to revise the proposed rulemaking to ensure the American people can continue to reap the economic, energy security and environmental benefits of continued domestic energy production.

Letters and Comments, Offshore Sep 7, 2023

Dear Ms. Spence:

The Gulf Energy Alliance (“GEA”), the Independent Petroleum Association of America (“IPAA”), the U.S. Oil and Gas Association (“USOGA”), the Southeast Oil and Gas Association (“SOGA”), the Mississippi Energy Institute (“MEI”), and the Louisiana Oil and Gas Association (“LOGA”) respectfully submit the following comments on the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (“BOEM”) proposed rule entitled The Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations1 (the “Proposed Rule”). …

We are deeply concerned that BOEM failed to consider or adequately address the devastating financial impacts the Proposed Rule will have on the U.S. economy and the domestic oil and gas industry, the environment, national security interests, and the American people. The Proposed Rule ignores the feasibility of securing further financial assurance in the current struggling surety market and marks a radical shift from the reliance on the bedrock joint and several liability framework, which holds both predecessors and current lessees in the chain of title accountable for decommissioning obligations.

The Proposed Rule aims to solve a problem that does not exist. Although the agency claims to undertake this rulemaking for to benefit the American taxpayer, the Proposed Rule ignores how the longstanding joint and several liability system has successfully shielded taxpayers from decommissioning costs. Although the liability that American taxpayers have actually absorbed from decommissioning is quite minimal, in its wake, the Proposed Rule will impose significant burdens on the current lessees who are largely independent oil companies. Which will, in turn, delay decommissioning activity and harm the environment, weaken domestic oil and natural gas production, strengthen the positioning of other oil producing countries who pose national security risks to the U.S., increase oil prices and related consumer costs, and ultimately damage the U.S. economy and the American people. …

 

Letters and Comments Aug 21, 2023

Re: Proposed Rule, Council on Environmental Quality, “National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations Revisions Phase 2,” 88 Fed. Reg. 49924 (July 31, 2023)

Dear Ms. Coyle:

The undersigned organizations respectfully urge a comment period extension of at least 45 days on the Council on Environmental Quality’s (“CEQ’s”) proposed rule to amend the procedural provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), including the implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility Act’s significant amendments to NEPA.

The undersigned organizations represent many sectors of our economy. Our industries drive economic growth, from telecom to ports, airlines to automakers, energy, construction and labor, real estate, mining, trucking, manufacturing and more. We are grateful that Congress and the Administration have made the most significant infrastructure investments in a generation, from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act. We are ready to go to work. But without positive reforms to make our permitting process more efficient, transparent, and predictable, the nearly $2 trillion of projected public and private sector investments spurred by these bills may not come to fruition.

CEQ has proposed a complex rule that would impact the federal review process for multitudes of projects and activities, large and small. It is vital that the Agency gets it right…

Letters and Comments Aug 16, 2023
IPAA joined GPA Midstream, API, the Marcellus Shale Coalition, PIOGA, GO-WV, OOGA, KOGA, TXOGA and the Petroleum Alliance of Oklahoma (collectively, Gas Gathering Industry Commenters) in submitting comments in response to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)’s proposed Pipeline Safety: Gas Pipeline Leak Detection and Repair rule on the proposals for onshore gas gathering lines.
“The Gas Gathering Industry Commenters support the Agency’s efforts to prescribe gas pipeline leak detection and repair (LDAR) regulations pursuant to the requirements in Section 113 of the 2020 PIPES Act. Congress directed the Agency in Section 113 to establish minimum performance standards for LDAR programs and to require the use of advanced leak detection technologies and practices for certain types of gas pipeline facilities; namely, gas distribution lines, gas transmission lines, and regulated onshore gas gathering lines in more populated Class 2, 3, and 4 locations. The Gas Gathering Industry Commenters appreciate that PHMSA has an obligation to act expeditiously in satisfying Congress’ instructions, that the policy preferences of the executive branch will be taken into account in meeting that objective, and that reducing methane emissions is a priority for the current administration, the pipeline industry, and other interested stakeholders.
“But Section 113 of the 2020 PIPES Act did not suspend the Agency’s obligation to follow the law in prescribing LDAR regulations for gas pipeline facilities. The Pipeline Safety Act requires PHMSA to conduct a risk assessment in developing proposed safety standards, and that risk assessment must identify the regulatory and non-regulatory options considered, explain why the options identified were either selected or rejected, identify the associated costs and benefits, and describe the technical data or information relied upon in developing the proposed standard and risk assessment…
“PHMSA committed that serious error in developing the LDAR regulations for onshore gas gathering lines in the Proposed Rule…The defects in the Proposed Rule go well beyond the Agency’s failure to comply with the Pipeline Safety Act’s risk assessment requirements. The proposal to require gathering line operators to participate in the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) is unlawful….”
“The Gas Gathering Industry Commenters do not object to all aspects of the Proposed Rule. The proposed reporting requirement for large-volume gas releases is a reasonable concept, although improvements are needed to eliminate unnecessary provisions and duplicative reporting obligations…”
“Despite these limited areas of agreement, the Agency has left itself with no choice but to return to the drawing board in developing the proposed LDAR requirements for onshore gas gathering lines…”

Letters and Comments Aug 7, 2023

Ms. Spence,

The Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) respectfully requests an extension to the deadline for the comment period for the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled Risk Management and Financial Assurance for OCS Lease and Grant Obligations (RIN 1010-AE14) (the “Proposed Rule”) to 120 days. IPAA is a national upstream trade association representing thousands of independent oil and natural gas producers and service companies across the United States that operate both onshore and offshore. Independent producers develop 90 percent of the nation’s oil and natural gas wells. These companies account for 54 percent of America’s oil production, 85 percent of its natural gas production, and support over 2.1 million American jobs.

IPAA is concerned about the Proposed Rule’s significant changes to the financial assurance regime to secure decommissioning obligations for the offshore oil and gas industry. We believe the comment period to reply to the Proposed Rule is too short. The window given is not enough time to analyze, digest, and provide substantive comments on a Proposed Rule of this magnitude that will impose substantial additional bonding requirements on independent offshore oil and gas producers. Most of our offshore producers classify as small businesses under the Small Business Administration’s definition and the resources necessary to devote to fully realize the regulatory and financial component of this rule will take time. Simply put, independent offshore oil and gas companies, which produce approximately 35 percent of the oil and gas from the Gulf of Mexico and employ thousands of employees across the nation, need more than 60 days to evaluate the consequences of this significant rule.

BOEM should extend the public comment period to 120 days to allow for a more detailed and fulsome public record on the workability and consequences of such a significant rule.

IPAA is the industry's strongest presence in the nation's capital and these are important times. The entire oil and gas industry remains under fire from anti-development groups; but with these challenges arise unique opportunities that IPAA is seizing for our members.