After earthquakes, Ohio governor orders new regulations on deep injection wells

Ohio Gov. John Kasich issued an executive order that immediately imposes new state regulations on deep injection wells used to dispose of chemically laced wastewater from oil and gas drilling. The Associated Press reports that the directive gives the Ohio Department of Natural Resources temporary authority to implement a list of rules announced after a series of Youngstown-area earthquakes was tied to one such well. The official order says the regulations will provide citizen protection possible without causing irreparable harm to an important industry.

Under the order, the chief of the state Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management will have authority to order preliminary tests at proposed well sites, prevent drilling where tests fail, and limit injection pressure. The state also can order installation of automatic shutoff valves and monitor for leakage. The order will not affect a moratorium Kasich placed on deep injection wells surrounding the epicenter of the quakes. The order is effective for 90 days.

New York landowners win right to negotiate pre-fracking oil and gas leases with Chesapeake Energy

More than 4,400 landowners in New York have won the right to seek more favorable oil and natural gas leases, after the state attorney general and a subsidiary of Oklahoma-based Chesapeake Energy Corp. came to terms last week.

"The leases, which were signed in the mid-1990s to the early 2000s, were prior to the proliferation of high-volume hydrofracking, a much-debated gas-drilling process that made formations such as the Marcellus Shale profitable. As such, the terms of the contracts are generally well under current market value," reports Jon Campbell of the Democrat & Chronicle in Rochester.

“Make no mistake about it," said Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman, "this agreement will provide a safety net for thousands of landowners by allowing them the opportunity to negotiate fairer lease terms, both financial and environmental, regardless of their existing contracts. For landowners across the state, this deal literally will provide a new lease on life.”

"The leases had been subject to a force majeure claim from Chesapeake Appalachia LLC, which had tried to extend their terms amid an ongoing environmental review of natural-gas development in New York," notes Jay F. Marks of The Oklahoman. "Such claims typically involve uncontrollable circumstances such as natural disasters."

The agreement covers leases that have expired or would have expired before Dec. 31, 2013. Landowners will be able to negotiate leases with other energy companies, but Chesapeake retains the right to match those terms. Chesapeake admitted no wrongdoing, but the company will pay $250,000 to reimburse the state for its investigation of landowners' complaints. (Read more.)