West Virginia Aboveground Storage Tank Act Interpretive Rule Filed and Emergency Rule Out for Comment The Aboveground Storage Tank Act was enacted in response to the January 9, 2014 spill that contaminated the Elk River water supply and affected a nine-county area in West Virginia. Since passage of the AST Act, the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection has been developing rules to implement the Act. On September 9, WVDEP filed an Interpretive Rule to provide guidance on compliance with the December 3, 2014 spill prevention response plan and January 1, 2015 tank inspection and certification deadlines. WVDEP followed up on September 18, 2014 with a 79-page draft emergency rule designed to implement the broader AST Act and establish regulatory requirements following the January 1, 2015 tank inspection and certification deadline. The draft emergency rule will have significant adverse impacts on virtually all industries throughout West Virginia, but perhaps no industry will be negatively impacted more than the oil and gas industry. On October 1, WVDEP reported that over 45,000 ASTs had been registered or were in the registration process. Significantly, approximately 5.7 percent of those ASTs are located in a zone of critical concern, thereby triggering categorization as Level 1 ASTs, the high risk category under both rules. Click here to read about the Interpretive Rule. Click here to read about the Emergency Rule.
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| | | SHALE INSIGHT 2014 Deemed a Success | Recently, the SHALE INSIGHT conference was held in Pittsburgh and drew nearly 2,000 attendees including industry executives, policymakers and technical experts. The takeaway? Click here to read how shale may be transforming the economy. |
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| Dominion Cove Point Gets Federal Approval for LNG Terminal | The $3.8 billion Cove Point terminal in Maryland will be the nearest export location for the Marcellus Shale.
Read the entire article here. |
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| Monroe County, Ohio Lands Ethane Cracker Plant | Appalachian Resins, Inc. was slated to build the billion-dollar ethane cracker plant in West Virginia. Now, the company have crossed the Ohio River and have leased land in Salem Township for the highly sought after plant that benefits the oil and gas industry.
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| Pennsylvania Contributes to a Large Portion of the Nation's Gas Supply | Not only does Pennsylvania produce 20 percent of the national gas supply, but the Commonwealth also saw record production for the first six months of 2014.
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| $5 Billion Natural Gas Pipeline Proposed for West Virginia to North Carolina | The Atlantic Coast Pipeline, being proposed by Dominion, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas and AGL Resources, will carry 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas over 550 miles.
Click here to read the entire article. |
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|  | | | | Featured Shale Team Member
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| Mr. Atkinson's practice focuses primarily on complex environmental and toxic tort litigation, with a special focus in litigation alleging groundwater contamination. As a member of Spilman's litigation strike force, The Battle Group, his experience includes litigating matters involving environmental exposure, as well as complex multi-party lawsuits involving drilling, fracking, procurement of energy, extraction of natural resources and mass toxic tort litigation. Mr. Atkinson also represents businesses in litigation involving exposure to naturally occurring radioactive materials and claims involving the Endangered Species Act. |
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| | | Your receipt and/ or use of this material does not constitute or create an attorney-client relationship between you and Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC or any attorney associated with the firm. This e-mail publication is distributed with the understanding that the author, publisher and distributor are not rendering legal or other professional advice on specific facts or matters and, accordingly, assume no liability whatsoever in connection with its use. THIS IS AN ATTORNEY ADVERTISEMENT. Responsible Attorney: Michael J. Basile
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