The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized its Waters of the U.S. rule on May 27 to protect the nation’s streams and wetlands from pollution and degradation.
The rule provides greater definitions of what is regulated under WOTUS, which EPA said will make “permitting less costly, easier, and faster for businesses and industry.” EPA insists the rule does not create any new permitting requirements for agriculture or threaten private property rights, and maintains all previous exemptions and exclusions.
“For the water in the rivers and lakes in our communities that flow to our drinking water to be clean, the streams and wetlands that feed them need to be clean too,” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Protecting our water sources is a critical component of adapting to climate change impacts like drought, sea level rise, stronger storms, and warmer temperatures ― which is why EPA and the Army (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers) have finalized the Clean Water Rule to protect these important waters, so we can strengthen our economy and provide certainty to American businesses.”
North Dakota doesn’t agree
But North Dakota Sen. John Hoeven contends that the rule poses a “big problem” for farmers, ranchers and job creators and he remains committed to stopping what he considers to be federal overreach.
“We will continue our efforts to either rescind the rule through legislation or defund it through the appropriations process,” he said in a statement.
North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple pressed McCarthy on a May 27 conference call to reconsider the rule since the state already has laws in place to manage and protect its waters.
“Throughout the entire rule-making process, we have been very clear that any attempt to expand federal authority over small wetlands, potholes and other isolated water bodies is unworkable and a disregard of states’ jurisdictional authority,” Dalrymple said. “The EPA contends that the final rule provides more clarity, but the major concern still exists that this rule gives the EPA and the U.S. Corps of Engineers the authority to regulate virtually all types of water, including seasonal streams, ponds and ditches.”
EPA’s jurisdiction has traditionally been limited to “navigable waters” ― large bodies of water that can support interstate commerce ― but the new EPA rule redefines “navigable” giving the agency authority over any body of water that connects to rivers and their tributaries. Dalrymple believes the rule poses significant problems in North Dakota, which is part of the Prairie Pothole Region, where ordinary high-water marks and 100-year floodplains constantly change and could lead to an expansion of EPA jurisdiction. The proposed rules released in April 2014 included subjecting countless small wetlands, creeks, stock ponds and ditches to federal permitting, compliance costs and litigation. Since then, Hoeven has joined bipartisan colleagues in attempts to rescind the proposed rule and require EPA to begin the process again with greater input from stakeholders.
- Maxine Herr
CGG announced the release of PowerLog Frac, a new tool to petrophysically analyze well log data and directly feed results into fracture simulation software. Completions engineers use the resulting models to design better hydraulic fracturing projects and improve well performance.
PowerLog Frac is new and intuitive petrophysics-based software which generates formatted rock and fluid properties to allow engineers to run multiple frac scenarios with increased accuracy in hours instead of days by eliminating manual calculations and spreadsheets.
Frac design and analysis are currently applied in only a very small percentage of hydraulic fracturing projects due to the time needed to acquire input data for the models. Fracture simulation can now be implemented as part of a standard completion process.
PowerLog Frac was created by CGG GeoSoftware in collaboration with Baker Hughes Inc. as part of a joint software development agreement. The new software increases industry access to Baker Hughes frac design expertise. Baker Hughes will use PowerLog Frac in its pressure pumping operations to generate scenarios immediately and directly drive its fracture simulation design software.
