See Joy Hamptons article in todays Transcript. Important information about Plains All American Pipeline LPs poor environmental record... normantranscript/news/norman-residents-to-rally-at-city-hall/article_9ae99a66-84c9-11e4-ae76-23aeb14b4293.html In other news, the city has released the agenda for the Thursday Dec. 18 meeting. While it appears the city is taking some steps in the right direction by wanting to prohibit well pad construction in Stream Planning Corridors, they are taking big backward strides as well. The city is now proposing to strike language that currently prohibits operating internal combustion engines in conjunction with drilling operations. OKCs drilling regulations prohibit this as well, and require drilling to use electric motors to power their equipment. So because Finley Resources and other local operators have unwisely chosen to locate their drilling operations near residential areas, they are telling the city government to lift that prohibition. Doing so would be an unnecessary risk to public safety. It would let drillers of the hook and subject rural Norman residents to higher levels of toxic emissions. It would also open up more populated rural areas in Norman to drilling. The prohibition on gas-fueled drilling equipment is the books for several reasons--to limit air pollution, decrease the environmental impact, and limit the exposure to the harmful gas and diesel fumes produced by the large engines needed to power well pumps and drilling equipment. The city should not accept this recommendation. Thats a move backwards. The City is also proposing to strike existing language on the signage requirements for well sites. Doing away with the citys signage requirements would make it much more difficult for average citizens to identify and report the exact location of contaminated and leaking well sites. Doing so would allow drillers to operate without public oversight or accountability. More spills would go unreported. We require license plates for cars. This should not be any different for oil & gas operations. This proposed amendment would not enhance public safety. It would limit accountability and allow drillers to operate in the dark. If the city were to accept this recommendation, it would be an embarrassment. Norman is lagging behind OKCs drilling regulations in several other respects. Norman allows soil farming and land application for the disposal of drilling muds. OKC does not allow drilling muds to be spread over the land. Drilling muds can contain high levels of hydrocarbons, fracking fluids, and other toxic substances and radioactive metals from deep underground. Norman does not have annual inspection fees for well sites and pipelines. OKC does. If Norman did have an annual inspection fee, it could at least help fund additional inspections, better records keeping, and better monitoring equipment. OKC regulations require that equipment be kept in good condition, tested for leaks, and replaced as needed at the discretion of their oil and gas inspector. Norman has no such requirements. Why are we so far behind OKC? City Staff and Council Members should ensure that, the very least, Normans regulations are brought up to par with OKCs. Theres no reason the city should be backsliding and making compromises that will actually do more harm to residents than the existing rules. Drillers are asking the city to undo a number of measures specifically designed to protect public health and safety. Thats not acceptable. In other cases, the new wording of the ordinance has been altered to suggest that the Oklahoma Corporation Commissions requirements are good enough Norman. If that were the case, Norman, OKC, and other major cities in Oklahoma would not have created their own oil and gas regulations in the first place. Drillers are telling Norman to remove a number of provisions that protect residents from oil and gas drilling. If you want a good idea of just how comprehensive OKCs oil and gas regulations are compared to Normans, see for yourself. OKC has 45 pages of rules on the books for oil and gas drilling in city limits. Additionally, OKC has a special zoning overlay that further restricts oil and gas drilling to appropriate land use areas. The OKC regulations state: No person shall drill a petroleum or natural gas well, except within the limits of the Oil and Gas District or U-7 Zone. This means that, In OKC, if a company wants to drill outside of that special overlay, they require approval from the city council to do so. Norman has no comparable policy. Drillers are never required come before the members of the public or present their applications at a public meeting. As long as the land isnt zoned PUD or a parkland district, the City of Norman will issue the permit. Its open season. While some of the amendments Norman is proposing take some positive steps forward by prohibiting drilling in stream planning corridors, related industry practices like soil farming and land application are still permitted in these sensitive hydrological areas. Norman must do better. The very least they can do is to use OKCs regulations as a starting point. OKCs regulations are here: okc.gov/pw/pdf/c37.pdf
Posted on: Tue, 16 Dec 2014 19:36:13 +0000
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