State Review of Oil and Natural Gas Environmental Regulations, Inc. (STRONGER), a national, multi-stakeholder organization that provides services to state oil and gas environmental regulatory programs, has published its report of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s (AOGCC) hydraulic fracturing regulations.
In July 2015 STRONGER Board of Directors sent a three-person Review Team comprised of Tim Baker of the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, Lois Epstein of The Wilderness Society, and Justin Furnace of Hilcorp Energy Company to Anchorage to conduct the in-state interview portion of the review with AOGCC staff. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Bureau of Land Management also provided Official Observers for the review. The report notes several strengths of the AOGCC program, and commends AOGCC for conducting a comprehensive program review with robust public participation addressing hydraulic fracturing in advance of large-scale unconventional development taking place in the state. AOGCC Commissioner Cathy Foerster said of the review,
“The STRONGER review experience was very positive. Of course, the key to a positive review experience is having either really sound regulations, or the desire to fix unsound ones. The review panelists were knowledgeable, thorough, and professional. Their findings and recommendations were reasonable and thoughtful. The pre-review questionnaire and the advance preparation work by the review panel both helped increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the review.”
Download the 2015 AOGCC Hydraulic Fracturing State Review ReportFor more information, contact Ryan Steadley.