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8 • OIL
&
ENERGY
Study Reveals Underground Injection
of Fracking Waste Tied to Earthquakes
Underground injection of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing may
make fault zones more prone to earthquakes, according to a new
study from Columbia University. The study found a “profound”
increase in the number of earthquakes at three sites where
wastewater from fracking was disposed. Natural gas producers
typically dispose of water and other fluids from fracking by injecting it
into the ground.
The report found that as subsurface rocks become saturated from
wastewater injection, fault lines in the area may become less stable.
This study helps show the link between injection sites and earthquakes.
The study also found that significant seismic activity elsewhere on the
planet, sometimes even on other continents, may “induce” quakes in
injection zones hours or days later. The researchers studied injection
sites in Oklahoma, Texas and Colorado, and recorded “hundreds” of
earthquakes in a year where no more than a dozen is typical.
Coalition Urges Full Funding
for Commodity Trading Reforms
The NEFI-led Commodity Markets Oversight Coalition recently
urged Congress to fully fund the Commodity Futures Trading
Commission (CFTC) for fiscal year 2014. The coalition urged $315
million be provided to the CFTC, which is necessary to finish and fully
implement and enforce new trading rules required under the 2010
Wall Street reform law. The funds are also necessary to “keep up with
complex new market trends such as High Frequency Trading and
respond to challenges to the global financial system, including the MF
Global and PFGBest crises.” Failing to provide funds could jeopardize
market stability and security, they said.
The letter also slammed a House-passed funding bill that cuts the
CFTC by 6 percent from last year’s funding level and includes
language prohibiting the CFTC from hiring new enforcement
personnel or traveling to meet face-to-face with foreign regulators in
order to harmonize rules. The coalition argued that these restrictions
would “diminish the CFTC’s ability to prosecute the most egregious
violations of the Commodity Exchange Act such as misuse of
customer funds, market manipulation and fraud.” They told
appropriators they must “provide the CFTC with the funds and
budgetary flexibility necessary” to do its job.
President Obama issued a veto threat on the House legislation, and
the Senate was writing its own funding bill. Last year, the draft Senate
bill provided the full amount requested by the CFTC, but the
Commission was largely flat-funded in the final spending measure.
NEFI and its allies were able to defeat proposed CFTC spending cuts in
each of the last three years and are confident they will defeat this
year’s cut as well.
New Study Finds XL Pipeline Oil Sands Pose
No Greater Likelihood of Spills Than Crude Oil
A recent study by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT)
concludes diluted bitumen (oil sands) pose no greater likelihood of an
accidental pipeline spill than other crude oil. Proponents of the
proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline said the report gives another boost
to the controversial project that would bring up to 830,000 barrels of
oil daily from the Alberta oil sands and the Bakken oil fields in Montana
and North Dakota to Texas Gulf Coast refineries.
The report found that diluted bitumen has physical and chemical
properties within the range of other crude oils and that no aspect of
its transportation by pipeline would make it more likely than other
crude oils to cause an accidental release. Congress directed the DOT
to conduct the study as part of pipeline safety reauthorization
legislation enacted in January 2012. The DOT asked the National
Research Council, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences and the
National Academy of Engineering, to prepare the study.
U.S. DOT Clarifies Prepaid Hazmat
Registration Fee Refund Process
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) issued a clarification
recently concerning the process to obtain a partial refund to those
HAZMAT registrants who prepaid their 2013-2014 HAZMAT
registration fee. The DOT will not issue the refund in the form of a
paper U.S. Treasury check. Refunds will only be issued via direct
deposit (ACH) to a registrant’s bank account. This means that
registrants must provide the DOT with bank account routing and
account numbers before a refund is issued.
There is some hesitancy among registrants to provide such
information given the past history of scammers using DOT letterhead
to obtain sensitive banking information. The DOT understands this
hesitancy and is offering a secure Internet site and a secure fax line to
accept refund applications. While applications can also be mailed to
the DOT via U.S. mail, the refund will take longer to process and there
is more risk that the application will be misrouted within the agency
itself. The secure fax line is not published but will be given to
registrants when they call the numbers in the refund process
described below.
NEFI members who prepaid the annual DOT HAZMAT registration
fee for the 2013-2014 registration period are entitled to a partial
refund. The refund ($125 for small companies and $1,300 for large
companies) is being made because the DOT accumulated an
unexpected surplus in revenue collected in the form of annual fees.
Only those HAZMAT registrants who
prepaid
2013-2014 registration
fees under the DOT’s multiyear payment option are entitled to a
refund. All other registrants pay a reduced fee for the 2013-2014
registration period.
The U.S. DOT is offering two methods to obtain a refund. The fastest
refunds will be made by U.S. Treasury electronic check to those applying
via PHMSA’s website. For security reasons, a unique refund request
personal identification number (PIN), and directions on how to apply for
the refund, will be mailed to all registrants eligible for the refund. Online
refund requests will require the registrant’s HAZMAT Registration
Number, the PIN given in the mailed letter, the company’s Tax ID
Number, and the necessary bank account information. Online refunds
are available until September 15, 2013.
Those registrants who do not wish to take advantage of the Internet
refund option may request the mailed refund option and instructions
by calling PHMSA at either 202-366-4109 or 800-942-6990, or emailing
For more information, visit PHMSA’s HAZMAT
Registration page or contact Mark S. Morgan, NEFI Regulatory Counsel
at
