Statement of the STRONGER Board on the Appalachia Shale Recommended Practices Group’s Recommended Standards and Practices for Appalachian Shale Development and Production Operations
State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations, Inc. (STRONGER) has developed and adopted guidelines for the review of state oil and gas environmental regulatory programs. STRONGER and its stakeholder review teams use the guidelines when evaluating the programs of states that volunteer to be reviewed.
Both the Secretary of Energy’s Advisory Board (SEAB) and the National Petroleum Council (NPC) have recommended the support and expansion of STRONGER activities. The NPC also recommended that natural gas and oil companies establish regionally focused councils of excellence in effective environmental, health, and safety practices.
Certain oil and gas producers have responded to the recommendations of the SEAB and NPC and formed the Appalachia Shale Recommended Practices Group (ASRPG). This group developed Recommended Standards and Practices for Appalachian Shale Development and Production Operations to be shared and disseminated to interested parties. The ASRPG has provided the Recommended Standards and Practices to the STRONGER Board.
The STRONGER Board supports efforts by producers to improve overall safety and environmental performance. The ASRPG document is an example of the type of document envisioned by section 4.2.2.2. of the STRONGER guidelines relating to distribution of program information to the industry and the public.
The ASRPG document is also an example of the type of information STRONGER will make available to stakeholder workgroups for the development and revision of the guidelines. STRONGER looks forward to continued constructive engagement with ASRPG and other similar regional efforts.