March 10, 2010

The House has sent SB 297 (Yaw) back to the Senate by a vote of 195 to 0. The bill was amended with an “agreed to” amendment that adjusted dates to August 15^th in the bill since current dates in the bill are too close to be met. The bill requires oil and gas well operators to submit a semi-annual report in addition to the existing annual report, removes the five-year confidentiality provision of oil and gas production reports and requires the DEP to post reports on their website. An amendment adopted in the Senate; reinstates the requirement for non-Marcellus Shale well operators to only report annually, specifies that DEP must only publish well production reports online and directs DEP to use funds from permitting fees to pay for costs incurred under this legislation. To read the bill, click here. With Senate concurrence, the bill could be on the Governor’s desk as early as next week.