Chronicling the Bureau of Land Management's Methane Hearings: Part II

II. 2/18: Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Part II of the BLM’s methane reduction hearings took place at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel. As with the other three hearings, native tribal groups gave their testimony earlier in the day, while the rest of the general public gave theirs in the afternoon.

The hearing was represented heavily by local citizens and from those driving across the border from Texas, as well as representatives from environmental groups such as the Citizens Climate Lobby, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Sierra Club.

Primary concerns from Oklahoma City residents were the rampant methane leakages and who specifically would instill compliance rules to oil and gas developers. With the state literally on top of two major shale regions, Caney and Woodford, residents throughout Oklahoma are among the many thousands who experience fracking and its deleterious effects firsthand.

"The leakage also exacerbates problems associated with climate change, one of the worst being methane, which is one of the strongest greenhouse gases, much stronger than carbon dioxide," said Johnson Bridgwater, director of the Sierra Club's Oklahoma Chapter. "Leakage also leads to the formation of ozone in rural areas, giving small towns big-city issues to deal with."

Tim Spisak, senior advisor of conventional energy for the BLM, states,” A lot of gas is being lost, and it's a wasted resource and a loss of royalty revenue. For some of the environmental impacts, we're trying to bring in modern technologies and practices that have developed over the last three or four decades. I think it's clear our existing regulations need to be updated."

“A lot” is certainly an understatement, as displayed in a recent estimate from the Office of Natural Resources Revenue, which found that between 2009 and 2014 no more than 375 billion cubic feet of natural gas from federal and tribal land leases; enough, they say, to power over five million houses for a year.

Echoing those same sentiments, the proposed ruling would do more than instill regular leak checks and limit flaring, it would also strengthen federal royalty rates issued by the government.

Additionally, some energy groups accuse the BLM of overstepping its legislative authority, due to the agency’s rules overriding existing rules implemented by cities and states.  

In a rather predictable move from the Oklahoma Oil and Gas Association, its regulatory and environmental affairs consultant Bud Ground referred to the BLM’s proposal as “duplicitous and conflicting.”

Fortunately, 84 percent of wells overseen by both the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Bureau of Land Management meet the progressively stricter conditions put in place by the two federal agencies. The latter stated that the improved rulings would reduce emissions by approximately 164,000 tons annually—the equivalent of taking over 860,000 vehicles off the road.

In all four states, citizens will have until April 8 to submit their public comments.