After several years of non-stop negotiating, analyzing scientific studies, writing comments and never ending meetings and conference calls, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decision whether to list the Lesser Prairie Chicken as Threatened or Endangered is upon us. I don’t predict the outcome but I can say we have put forth an unprecedented effort to prevent another listing.
Keeping the bird (and the Dunes Sagebrush Lizard) off of the Endangered Species list has been one of our top priorities. Remember, as a result of the court ordered settlement between the environmentalists and the USFW, there are more than 100 additional species listings coming to a drilling location near you in the next few years. Fortunately for PBPA, most of these will not affect the Permian directly.
These fights for private property and state’s rights are not unlike the “Sagebrush Rebellion” of the 1970s and 1980s. Although the Sagebrush Rebels were primarily concerned with control over federal lands, they were protesting federal regulatory overreach eerily similar to what we see today.
Another federal issue we are concerned with is the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and their work on alleged oil and gas industry induced seismic activities. Currently, the USGS is on the ground near Azle, Texas, conducting studies along with scientists from SMU. This is an important development that is a federal response to citizens concerned in the area but it is now receiving national attention.
Additionally, scientists from USGS and from Cornell, Columbia and other universities published a paper last month adding “quantitative” detail to their finding that the earthquake near Prague, Okla., in 2011 was triggered by oil and gas activities.
Other producing states, such as Arkansas, Colorado and Ohio, have also seen an increase in earthquakes amid the surge in drilling activity. Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) last month formed a task force to look into a series of earthquakes in his state north of Oklahoma.
Furthermore, the Texas legislature will be holding a Seismic subcommittee meeting later this month to discuss these issues.
PBPA will continue to advocate in support of the Railroad Commission’s primacy and efforts in this arena. Last month, the Commission agreed to hire a seismologist to analyze the situation and make recommendations. We support the Commission’s actions and hope they will continue to stand firm in their resolve to handle these challenging questions.