navigating nepa an oil and gas exploration and production...
TRANSCRIPT
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Navigating NEPA Navigating NEPA An Oil and Gas Exploration An Oil and Gas Exploration
and Productionand Production--Focused Focused Training ProgramTraining Program
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Prepared by:David B. Cornue, PG, CHMM*,
J. Daniel Arthur, PE*, and Gerry Baker**
*ALL Consulting, ** IOGCC
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Project DetailsProject Details• Funding provided by the U.S. Department of
Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) in Tulsa, Oklahoma
• NETL’s O&G Environmental Program objective is to encourage domestic production from federal land or mineral estate while at the same time improving environmental protection
• This project has been performed as part of the larger Federal Lands Access Project
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Project Purpose• To develop an oil and gas industry-focused training
program addressing the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of 1970
• NEPA is the fundamental environmental policy in the United States addressing environmental impacts resulting from federal actions – such as drilling for oil or gas on federal land or mineral estate
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Project Contributors and Project Contributors and CooperatorsCooperators
• Lead Researchers– Interstate Oil & Gas Compact Commission– ALL Consulting
• Project Advisory Council States (PAC)– Alaska Dept. of Natural Resources– Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission– Montana Board of Oil & Gas Conservation– Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
• Federal Agencies– Bureau of Land Management– Forest Service
• IOGCC Public Lands Committee (PLC)
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Navigating NEPANavigating NEPAPresentation OverviewPresentation Overview
This presentation will address the following elements:
• Demonstration of the need for an oil and gas-focused NEPA training program
• A brief overview of the project:– Goals – Target audience – Deliverables – Schedule
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• What is unique about NEPA as it affects oil and gas?
• A brief overview of what the NEPA training program covers.
Navigating NEPANavigating NEPAPresentation OverviewPresentation Overview
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Navigating NEPANavigating NEPADemonstration of NeedDemonstration of Need
• Existing training programs covering generic NEPA issues already exist – e.g.: The Shipley Group
• Until now, oil and gas-focused NEPA training was not available
• Oil and gas exploration and production activities have unique aspects when it comes to NEPA
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Navigating NEPANavigating NEPAProject GoalsProject Goals
• To educate NEPA stakeholders about the unique requirements for oil and natural gas exploration and production on federal lands or mineral estate.
• To form a basis of uniform criteria and principles regarding NEPA processes for oil and natural gas exploration and production on federal lands or mineral estate.
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• To facilitate cooperation, collaboration, and communication between stakeholders in the NEPA process.
• To form a basis for continued future planning and communications.
Navigating NEPANavigating NEPAProject GoalsProject Goals
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Navigating NEPANavigating NEPATraining Program ElementsTraining Program Elements
• Intended audience– Junior-level practitioners with limited prior NEPA or
oil and gas experience – Federal, state, and industry personnel
• One-day seminar – project deliverables– Seminar presentation– Handbook to supplement the presentation
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Navigating NEPANavigating NEPAProject Overview & ScheduleProject Overview & Schedule
• Task 1 - conceptual plan roll-out presentation at IOGCC’s Mid-Year Meeting in Calgary – May 2008
– There we solicited input regarding aspects of NEPA relevant to oil and gas operations
• Task 2 - preparation of technical content for the seminar and handbook
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Navigating NEPANavigating NEPAProject Overview & ScheduleProject Overview & Schedule
• Task 3 – presentation of a final full-scale training seminar following IOGCC’s Annual Meeting in Santa Fe – November 19, 2008
• Opportunities for subsequent training sessions
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WhatWhat’’s Unique to Oil and Gas?s Unique to Oil and Gas?Oil and gas exploration and production involves someatypical or unique NEPA circumstances such as:
• Programmatic nature of federal lands or minerals development
– Management of large tracts of land using broad-based evaluation and guidance
– Superimposed site-specific environmental impact evaluation
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• Produced water impact to watersheds
• Wildlife issues
– Habitat fragmentation– Population dynamics – cause and effect
WhatWhat’’s Unique to Oil and Gas?s Unique to Oil and Gas?
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• Adaptive management approach
• Public involvement
• Input from the PAC/PLC and IOGCC membership was requested using surveys to identify additional items of interest
WhatWhat’’s Unique to Oil and Gas?s Unique to Oil and Gas?
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Overview of Seminar PresentationOverview of Seminar Presentation• Introduction to the fundamentals of NEPA and its
applicability to oil and gas exploration and production activities
• NEPA is a tiered multiple land use planning process including:
– Categorical Exclusions• Types and applicability
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– Environmental Assessments• Finding of No Significant Impact
– Environmental Impact Statements• Affected environment• Alternatives development• Environmental consequences of alternatives• Record of Decision
• Use of Adaptive Management
Overview of Seminar PresentationOverview of Seminar Presentation
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Overview of Seminar PresentationOverview of Seminar Presentation• Guidance on selecting the appropriate NEPA
document to prepare:
– Categorical Exclusion– Environmental Assessment– Environmental Impact Statement
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• Guidance on the NEPA process including:
– Programmatic vs. project-specific approach
– Scoping
– Tiering off of pre-existing documents
– Supplemental documents
Overview of Seminar PresentationOverview of Seminar PresentationNEPA ProcessNEPA Process
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Overview of Seminar PresentationOverview of Seminar PresentationNEPA ProcessNEPA Process
–Impact analysis
–Use of required mitigation measures
–Public participation
–Roles and responsibilities: agencies, companies
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• “Hot-buttons”
• Public comment – substantive vs. opinion• How to formulate a substantive comment
Overview of Seminar PresentationOverview of Seminar PresentationIssuesIssues
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Overview of HandbookOverview of Handbook
Handbook parallels the seminar presentation:
• Presentation content – slides
• Supplemental content – expanded text to illustrate specific issues
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Santa Fe SeminarSanta Fe Seminar
Presentation on November 19, 2008 in Santa Fe will have a slightly different approach:
• Bob Hargrove of U.S. EPA will present an introduction to NEPA
• Followed by a panel discussion of oil and gas NEPA issues
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Where do we go from here?Where do we go from here?• Future sessions of this seminar
• Future development of additional seminars
– Potential issue-focused seminars• O&G use of categorical exclusions• Adaptive management as a developmental tool
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Contact InformationContact InformationIOGCC Project ManagerIOGCC Project ManagerGerry BakerIOGCC900 N.E. 23rd StreetOklahoma City, OK 73152405-525-3556gerry.baker@iogcc.state.ok.uswww.iogcc.state.ok.us
ALL Project ManagerALL Project ManagerDave Cornue, PGALL Consulting1718 S. Cheyenne Ave.Tulsa, OK [email protected]