Please submit your comments by next Tuesday, May 19  

 On April 4, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) published a Final Draft Rule for revisions to its Chapter 78, Subchapter C regulations governing oil and gas surface operations. This is a major rulemaking that has been in the works for approximately four years and will have significant impacts on conventional and unconventional operators alike. If DEP plans are realized, the new regulations will be finalized by spring 2016. PIOGA has serious concerns about many aspects of the proposed regulations. The cover article in the April edition of The PIOGA Press summarizes a number of the issues we have identified in the current draft of the rules.

A public comment period is now open on DEP’s Advance Notice of Final Rulemaking (ANFR), and the industry saw strong support at the three recently held public hearings. Although PIOGA will be submitting comprehensive formal comments on behalf of the association’s members, we strongly encourage you to comment individually to send the message to DEP that each and every operator and related business involved in the industry has substantial concerns with the proposed revisions. The comment deadline is Tuesday, May 19. 


5/20/15 update: Read PIOGA’s formal comments


 This DEP webpage includes the proposed regulations, information on how to read the draft proposal and instructions for submitting comments electronically or by mail. Please highlight proposed changes to the regulations that would be particularly burdensome or costly, and describe how the rules would affect your operations or those of your clients. If you have suggestions to improve the wording of the rule, please let DEP know. We would appreciate having a copy of your comments sent to info@pioga.org

To assist in developing your own comments, you can click here to download an example of a letter that was submitted by a PIOGA member. (Contact Meghan Keely if you need the letter in a format other than Microsoft Word.) 

 Thanks in advanced for taking the time to become in this crucial issue.