Category Archives: Regulatory issues
Determining the social cost of carbon emissions
In 2009, the Obama administration formed the Interagency Working Group on Social Cost of Carbon. The group draws on the latest science and data models to calculate the costs and benefits of reducing greenhouse gas emissions through federal regulations. According … Continue reading
Supreme Court denies Texas claim to Oklahoma water
Texas policymakers emphasizing additional water resources over conservation On Thursday, June 11, 2013 the United States Supreme Court denied Texas’s claim to a stretch of the Red River, which extends into Oklahoma territory. This decision was the end of Tarrant … Continue reading
Gulf Coast Restoration Plan available for public comment
Photo Credit: Kris Krug via Compfight cc In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon well blowout and oil spill of 2010, the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council was established by the Resources and Ecosystem Sustainability, Tourism, Opportunities Revived Economies (RESTORE … Continue reading
Revised BLM rules for fracking on federal and tribal lands
The Department of Interior’s (DOI) Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released an updated draft of the proposed new rule governing fracking on federal and tribal lands: oil and gas, well stimulation, including hydraulic fracturing, on federal and Indian lands. … Continue reading
New EPA nominee faces hard road to confirmation
Gina McCarthy, President Obama’s nominee to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), advanced in the Senate confirmation process by a 10-8 party line vote on Thursday. The vote occurred one week after Republican members of the Senate Environment and … Continue reading
83rd Texas Legislature: Pending bills would regulate water use in fracking operations
We all need water to survive, and so does the Texas economy. As the population grows alongside the booming oil and gas industry, water issues have come to the forefront to stay. The process of hydraulic fracturing, which is … Continue reading