EPA’s	Energy	Extrac0on	Na0onal		

Enforcement	Ini0a0ve	

Oil	and	Gas		

Environmental	Compliance	Conference

May	14,	2014	

February	19,	2014

			 		Andrew	R.	Stewart	

											 		Office	of	Enforcement	and	Compliance	Assurance	

																																																												 		U.S.	Environmental	Protec0on	Agency	
2 

Disclaimer 

This	presenta,on	does	not	represent,	and	should	not	

be	construed	to	represent,	any	formal	or	informal	EPA	

determina,on,	policy	or	regula,on.	This	presenta,on	

may	not	be	relied	on	to	create	any	rights,	substan,ve	

or	procedural,	enforceable	by	any	party	in	li,ga,on	

with	the	United	States.	Technical	considera,ons	are	

provided	for	discussion	purposes	only.	
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Energy	Extrac0on:	Expansion	

Advances	in	hydraulic	fracturing	and	horizontal	drilling	have	opened	

new	areas	for	oil	and	gas	development.		
4 

Examples	of	Environmental	Concerns	

with	Natural	Gas	Produc0on	

• Water use may stress surface 

and groundwater supplies. 

• Faulty wells may contaminate 

 aquifers, threaten drinking water. 

• Poor management and disposal of flowback and produced 

water waste may compromise water quality, wastewater 

treatment, and create lasting waste disposal concerns. 

• Air emissions (e.g., benzene and methane) from shale gas 

exploration and production may threaten air quality. 
5 

EPA’s	Enforcement	Ini0a0ve	

In	March	2010,	EPA	announced	

new	enforcement	ini0a0ve	for	

energy	extracBon.	

IniBaBve	renewed	for	FY14-16.	

Focus	is	onshore	natural	gas	

produc0on.
6 

Goals	and	Approaches	

Major	goals:	

• Take	acBon	where	violaBons	

cause	air	or	water	human	health	

or	environmental	impacts			

• Use	Next	Genera0on	

technologies	to	assess	impacts	

from	extracBon	and	producBon	

acBviBes	

• Increased	field	presence	through	

civil	and	criminal	invesBgaBons	

• Corporate-wide	assessments/

relief	
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Next Generation Compliance 

Components 

Tools 

Rule/permit	

Design	

Advanced	

Monitoring	

Electronic	

ReporBng	 Transparency	

InnovaBve	

Enforcement	
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Next	Genera0on	Compliance	

Applied	to	Energy	Extrac0on

1. More Effective Rules

• For existing rules, are there opportunities where burdens may be 

reduced? 

• For new rules under consideration, OECA runs a Rule Design 

Consultation Service to help workgroups apply Next Gen principles and 

tools. 
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Next	Genera0on	Compliance	Applied	to	

Energy	Extrac0on:	con?nued

2. Advanced Monitoring 

Technology 

• How can EPA get industry to 

use technology to identify leaks 

sooner, prevent product losses 

and reduce pollution? 

• Advanced monitoring 

equipment can help identify the 

most serious problems. 

GMAP	(geospa,al	measurement	of	air	pollu,on)	tool	

can	be	used	to	es,mate	amount	and	loca,on	of	

methane	and	VOC	emissions.		Includes	IR	camera,	

sampling	ports,	GPS,	methane	meter.	
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Pollution that had previously been “invisible” becomes “visible” through real-time monitoring 

Advanced Monitoring: Infrared Camera 
11 

Next	Genera0on	Compliance	Applied	

to	Energy	Extrac0on:	con?nued	

3. Electronic Reporting 

• Can EPA use smart web tools to guide industry in reporting data 

sooner with less errors? 

4. Transparency 

• Public transparency can improve performance and empower the 

community. 

5. Innovative Enforcement 

• Strategic targeting using available data 

• Geospatial data analysis (“GeoPlatform”) 
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Typical	Natural	Gas	Well	Life	

Cycle	

Stages Length of Time 

1 Site Considerations and Preparation 12-18 Months 

2 Well Drill Site Preparation and Drilling 1 Month 

3 Well Completion (Hydraulic Fracturing) 1 Month

4 Well Production 10-30 Years

5 Well Abandonment 1 Month 

Source: City of Southlake, Texas; EPA Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance 
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Legal Authorities: Examples 

SDWA: address public water 

system contamination 

RCRA: address non-E&P wastes 

(including hazardous wastes mixed 

with exempt E&P wastes); and address 

waste that may present an imminent & 

substantial endangerment to health or 

the environment 

CAA: address air 

emissions from 

stationary sources 

CWA: address discharges of a 

“pollutant” from a “point source” to 

navigable waters 

SDWA: address contamination of 

underground sources of drinking 

water 

CERCLA 104: response authority to 

address releases that may present 

imminent & substantial danger, subject 

to the “petroleum exclusion” 

CERCLA 106: abatement authority 

to address imminent & substantial 

endangerment, subject to the 

“petroleum exclusion” 
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SDWA 1431 order to address 

imminent & substantial 

endangerment caused by entry of 

pollutant into public water system 

CWA 504 action to address imminent & 

substantial endangerment to health, 

welfare, or livelihood caused by 

discharge from “pollution source” 

CERCLA 104 removal action to address 

release that may present imminent & 

substantial endangerment, subject to the 

“petroleum exclusion” 

SDWA 1431 order to address imminent & 

substantial endangerment caused by 

entry of pollutant into underground 

source of drinking water 

CERCLA 106 order to address imminent 

& substantial endangerment, subject to 

the “petroleum exclusion” 

RCRA 7003 action to address solid waste 

handling that may present an imminent & 

substantial endangerment to health or the 

environment 

CWA/OPA 311 action to address substantial 

threat to public health or welfare from 

discharges of oil or hazardous substances to 

navigable waters 

CAA 303 action to address 

imminent and substantial 

endangerment of public health or 

welfare, or the environment from air 

emissions or pollution 

Emergency Authorities
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Enforcement	Ini0a0ve:	

Results

• Air reductions of NOx, CO, VOCs, and 

conservation of CH4 from concluded 

enforcement actions 

• Actions to address impacts to water from 

wellpad releases 

• Actions to restore wetlands illegally filled to 

create access roads to well pads 
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Examples of Settlements 

• XTO Energy – Clean Water Act (2013) 

• Fluid Recovery Services – Clean Water Act (2013)

• Elm Ridge Exploration Company – Clean Air Act (2012) 

• Atlas Resources – Clean Air Act and EPCRA (2012)

• ConocoPhillips and Williams – Clean Air Act (2011)
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Questions? 

Andrew	R.	Stewart	

AcBng	Director	

Special	LiBgaBon	and	Projects	Division	

Office	of	Civil	Enforcement	

Office	of	Enforcement	and	Compliance	Assurance	

U.S.	EPA	

stewart.andrew@epa.gov

(202)	564-1463