Despite assertions to the contrary by DEP Sec. John Quigley Wednesday, those from the oil and gas industry say they have both substantive and procedural concerns about the department’s ongoing efforts to revise Chapter 78 and Chapter78a regulations that directly affect oil and gas production.
“We have not gotten substantive comments,” Sec. Quigley said of complaints lodged against the formation of the new regulations. “This agency has done this the right way, we have split the regulations, we have taken into account the distinct needs of the conventional community, we are addressing the larger questions of unconventional of natural gas development.”
He added what the department is proposing in the new regulations is “balanced, incremental, reasonable, and absolutely necessary based upon data and the facts on the ground.”
While he said he understands that no regulated community likes additional regulations, which are likely as the revision process continues, “a plain reading of what we are proposing shows that it is incremental, balanced, and very, very reasonable.”
Those comments were met with a stark reaction from the oil and gas industry, who told The PLS Reporter that they have made complaints—both procedural and substantive—about the updated regulations throughout the revision process.