2015 Shapes Up as the Year of Energy Policy Debate

Mary Schaper
Posted January 5, 2015

NPR: President Obama’s chief custodian of federal lands says local and regional bans on fracking are taking regulation of oil and gas recovery in the wrong direction.  “I would say that is the wrong way to go,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell told KQED in an exclusive interview. “I think it’s going to be very difficult for industry to figure out what the rules are if different counties have different rules.” 
In November, two California counties added themselves to a growing list of local bans on hydraulic fracturing. Voters approved measures in San Benito and Mendocino Counties by wide margins.

“There are a lot of fears out there in the general public and that manifests itself with local laws or regional laws,” Jewell said.

The recent move by New York to extend a statewide ban does not sit especially well with Jewell, who, as a former petroleum engineer, has hands-on experience with fracking.

“There is a lot of misinformation about fracking,” Jewell said. “I think that localized efforts or statewide efforts in many cases don’t understand the science behind it and I think there needs to be more science.”

Read more: http://bit.ly/14pYBcQ

More industry news:

• Push to Relax U.S. Oil Export Ban Ends 2014 with Breakthrough: http://reut.rs/1Bqmw8d

• Obama Plans to Regulate Methane Even as Emissions Plummet: http://on.wsj.com/1Bqi2P0

• Data: Alaska Oil Output Dropped in 2014 Amid New Tax System Implementation: http://bit.ly/1Dq3TRb

• Fracking in Nearby States Benefits New York: http://on.wsj.com/1xxnG0d

• North Dakota, Alaska Locked in Rivalry for Oil, Population: http://bit.ly/14ix4dv

• The Energy Boom: It’s Not just for Men: http://bit.ly/1tDrOXA (subscription publication)