Yesterday, IPANM attended the BLM stakeholder meeting for revisions to OnShore Orders #3, #4 and #5. The revisions are very technical in nature and will severely impact ANY COMPANY THAT OPERATES ON FEDERAL LANDS. Comments are due by December 14th. IPANM has already commented on OSO #3. We will update those comments and will prepare comments for OSO#4 and #5. We will also sign on to those prepared by Western Energy Alliance and IPAA. Comments are due December 14th.

Due to multiple requests from IPANM as well as others, the BLM has established a call in line for the meeting tomorrow in Oklahoma city. From the BLM, I received the following notice:
“Individuals who want to take part via telephone may call 1-800-857-2889, and when prompted, enter the passcode 4111819. The phone number and passcode is the same for both meetings. — The Bureau of Land Management”

The meetings will be:

• Dec. 3 at 1:00 p.m. CST. It is being held at the Renaissance Oklahoma City Convention Center Hotel, 10 N Broadway Avenue, Oklahoma City, OK 73102.

• Dec. 8 at 1:00 p.m. MST. This meeting is taking place at the Astoria Hotel and Event Center, 363 15th St W., Dickinson, ND 58601.

Copies of the Powerpoint presentations about the proposed regulations are available at . Also posted on the site are copies of the proposed regulations.

Order 3 establishes standards to ensure that oil and gas are properly and securely handled to prevent theft and loss and to enable accurate measurement and production accountability. Orders 4 and 5 establish minimum standards for the accurate measurement of all oil and gas, respectively. Like the existing orders, the purpose of the proposed rules is to ensure that the oil and gas produced from Federal and Indian leases (except Osage Tribe) are accurately measured and accounted for, so that the proper royalties due are paid. Royalties are split between the Federal treasury and the State where the production occurs. Indian tribes and individual Indian allotment owners keep 100 percent of the royalties collected from leases on their lands.

These rulemakings are underway because Onshore Orders 3, 4, and 5 were put in place in 1989 and have not been updated since. As a result, they do not reflect modern measurement techniques. The requirements contained in the proposed rules reflect advances in technology, as well as critical updates in industry standards and practices. These proposals also respond directly to concerns from the Government Accountability Office, the Department of the Interior’s Office of Inspector General, and the Secretary’s Subcommittee on Royalty Management.

In addition to accepting comments at the meetings, comments are also being accepted through December 14 by any of the following means:

• Mail to U.S. Department of the Interior, Director (630), Bureau of Land Management, Mail Stop 2134LM, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240,
o Attention: 1004-AE15 (for Site Security),
o 1004-AE16 (for Oil Measurement), or
o 1004-AE17 (for Gas Measurement), or

• Via the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions at this website.

The New Mexico Environment Department will be hosting Public Listening Sessions for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s SIP Call for Startup, Shutdown and Malfunction (SSM) Operations.

On May 22, 2015, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a final action to ensure states have plans in place that are fully consistent with the Clean Air Act and recent court decisions concerning startup, shutdown and malfunction (SSM) operations.

In response to this final action, the New Mexico Environment Department Air Quality Bureau will be required to revise 20.2.7 NMAC – Excess Emissions during Malfunction, Startup, Shutdown, or Scheduled Maintenance. The Air Quality Bureau will host a series of listening sessions to provide the opportunity for interested citizens and industry representatives to provide input to the Air Quality Bureau and to ask questions regarding the final action. The locations and times are as follows:

December 2, 2015 – 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Roswell Public Library, 301 N Pennsylvania Ave, Roswell, NM 88201

December 10, 2015 – 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Farmington Museum at Gateway Park, 3041 East Main St, Farmington, NM 87402

December 15, 2015 – 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM at the NMED Air Quality Bureau, 525 Camino de los Marquez, Suite 1, Santa Fe, NM 87505

Please RSVP for the December 15th meeting in Santa Fe due to limited seating.

For more information and to RSVP please contact Robert Spillers at 505-476-4324 or email at robert.spillers@state.nm.us.

Earlier this month, IPANM commented on the proposed revisions to OnShore Order #3. As a result of the many comments and extension requests for commenting on OnShore Orders #4 and #5, the BLM has extended the deadline to December 14th. The BLM has also opted to have stakeholder meetings on the proposals. As a reminder to the invitation that was sent out last week, the first meeting will be tomorrow at 1pm in Durango at the Double Tree Hotel. The next meeting will be December 3, at 1pm at the Oklahoma City Convention Center Renaissance Hotel. The final meeting will be December 8 at 1pm at the Astoria Hotel in Dickinson, North Dakota. Please note that although the BLM has provided a contact named Mike Wade at phone 303-239-3737, Mr. Wade will be out of the office until December 10th.

In addition, the BLM has provided the linked powerpoint presentation on their website in preparation for the meeting.

The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies, who is the managing agency over the Lesser Prairie Chicken, has issued a press release stating that because of the recent court decision, the final listing of the species has not occurred so the agency has reopened enrollment.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 11, 2015
Media Contact: Sean Kyle, 806-252-2766, sean.kyle@wafwa.org

WAFWA Encourages Oil and Gas Company Participation in Lesser Prairie-Chicken Conservation Plan

Recent court decision makes enrollment opportunity available again

The Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) is encouraging oil and gas companies to enroll oil and gas leases and pipelines in a voluntary program to help conserve the lesser prairie-chicken. Because of a Sept. 1, 2015 federal court decision that vacated protection of the lesser prairie-chicken under the Endangered Species Act, WAFWA’s Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances is now open for new enrollments of oil and gas leases and pipelines.
The Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances provides industry with predictability for their operations should the lesser prairie-chicken be listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act again. The bird was listed as threatened in May 2014, but the Sept. 1, 2015 court decision reversed that protection. Because of that decision, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has approved new enrollments by companies operating within the five range states of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas. The companies are required to implement conservation benefits for lesser prairie chickens and pay enrollment and impact fees for unavoidable impacts, which allow the companies to continue oil and gas production, while contributing to conserving lesser prairie-chicken habitat.

“Since this program began in 2014, more than 180 oil, gas, wind, electric and pipeline companies have enrolled about 11 million acres across the five states, and ha ve committed $47.5 million for
habitat conservation,” said Sean Kyle, WAFWA’s Industry Services Director. “We’ve had great support for this program and we encourage all companies not currently participating to take advantage of this enrollment opportunity.”

WAFWA officials do not know how long this new opportunity will be available. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has asked a federal judge to reconsider the Sept. 1 decision, and depending on the outcome, the
new enrollment period could end. Because of the uncertainty, WAFWA encourages all interested companies to enroll as soon as possible.

WAFWA’s Lesser Prairie Chicken Range-wide Conservation Plan and the Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances were developed by state wildlife agency experts in 2013 with input from a wide variety of stakeholders. The Candidate Conservation Agreement with Assurances is one piece of a comprehensive range-wide plan designed to conserve the lesser prairie-chicken.

“Our long-term goal is conservation of the lesser prairie-chicken, regardless of its Endangered Species Act status,” said Alexa Sandoval, Director of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish and Chairman of the Lesser Prairie-Chicken Initiative Council. “Since the Sept. 1 decision to vacate the listing, we have pursued conservation efforts under the range-wide plan with the same vigor as we did before. We’re pleased to report that our landowner and industry partners are equally committed to continued conservation efforts.”

WAFWA has enrolled over 96,000 acres of farm and ranch land to offset industry development over the last year and a half. In addition, WAFWA has acquired 1,600 acres in permanent conservation and contracted for 8,900 acres of habitat restoration, which will create new habitat for the species.

An abundance of spring rainfall, along with ongoing efforts associated with the range-wide plan and other conservation initiatives, has helped increase the population of birds by approximately 25 percent from 2014 to 2015, according to results from the 2015 range-wide aerial survey. Despite this encouraging news, the population is still low compared to historical numbers, and the threats to the lesser prairie-chicken and its habitat still exist. WAFWA is committed to continued successful implementation of the range-wide plan and the long-term recovery of this iconic grassland bird.

Organized in 1922, the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies (WAFWA) represents 23 states and Canadian provinces, an area covering nearly 3.7 million square miles of some of North America’s most wild and scenic country. WAFWA supports and promotes the principles of sound resource management and the building of partnerships at the regional, national and international levels in order to enhance wildlife conservation efforts and the protection of associated habitats in the public interest.

The NMOCD has updated their reporting requirements for C-115 production reporting for all operators in New Mexico. The NMOCD has instituted a new reporting code “F” for gas disposition that is flared. Previously this gas was being reported in other disposition categories. In order to reduce the amount of vented and flared gas in New Mexico, industry task force members working with the NMOCD have beta tested the “F” code in sample production reporting and support these efforts to clarify the production reporting records.

Please review your current reporting practices, especially with regard to gas that is vented or flared and ensure your reporting is consistent with NMOCD requirements.

The NMOCD will be conducting outreach training sessions to reinforce this reporting change in the coming months. Please see the attached links at the NMOCD.”

The change will become effective for the November 2015 production month with reporting due by January 15, 2016

The Notice to Operators: Flaring Code Addition to Form X-1215 Production Report is available on our website in the at: http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/OCD/announcements.html

Or direct to notice:
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/OCD/documents/201510-19NoticetoOperators-Flaring.pdf

The Instructions with the changes are available on our website under HOT TOPICS: How do I file a monthly well production report (C-115)
http://www.emnrd.state.nm.us/OCD/ocdonline.html

FYI, I asked, As soon as you roll out the “F” code will operators be able to report “F” code as soon as they are ready which may be prior to the required reporting date?

“Yes. The moment we roll out they will be able to submit flaring (F) dispositions in their C-115’s. This is true whether they are reporting for current or past periods”.

The BLM has just announced that it will extend the comment period for Onshore Order #3 for 28 days, delaying the comment due date to October 9.

Here is a link to the press release:

We encourage our members to send a copy of your comments, or just your thoughts, to Karin Foster. As a member-driven association, we need your input in order to compile the IPANM comments.

This morning we received a copy of an email from the Acting State Director to her employees indicating that the BLM will NOT merge the New Mexico and Arizona State Offices. The letter states;

“The BLM is committed to always looking for ways to align our resources and staff in a way that best serves the public and best supports the important work you do in managing the public lands. In these times of declining budgets and sequestration, we have a particular obligation to seriously consider new ideas that allow us to direct more resources to the programs and operations that are so important to the lands and the people we serve.

In the spirit of this commitment, the BLM explored the possibility of combining the Arizona and New Mexico state offices to better serve the public in the southwest by directing more resources to the district and field office level. The BLM listened carefully to feedback from partners and stakeholders expressing the importance of maintaining separate state offices. After considering this feedback, the BLM has decided not to move forward with a merger. The BLM will maintain both the Arizona and New Mexico state offices and both state director positions.”