IOGA PA – Who Are We?

The italicized section above is the brief introduction to the association that opens our membership directories and IOGA-PA website. It does not detail the rich history of the association nor fully report the many battles fought or victories won on behalf of the industry.

The association traces its beginnings to a series of meetings held in late 1979 and early 1980 including the leading gas producers in the state. The producers were concerned that the existing oil and gas association was doing nothing to meet the needs of gas producers. With national issues like the Natural Gas Policy Act and state issues like Pennsylvania’s resistance to the incentive “tight-sands” pricing, it was clear that something had to be done. Beginning first as the Gas Advocacy Committee within the existing organization, members began a cooperative effort to address the rapidly growing issues. Finally, in 1981 the membership split to form the Pennsylvania Natural Gas Associates (PNGA).

PNGA developed the necessary background science to qualify the Silurian Medina sandstone in Northwestern PA and the Devonian sands of Southwest PA. From that point the battle became a political one, to convince Pennsylvania to qualify the incentive as other states had done. When the state finally acquiesced, PNGA enjoyed its first success. It was the humble beginning of many victories won by what would become the Independent Oil and Gas Association of Pennsylvania.

IOGA of Pennsylvania was active and involved in the development of Act 225, the Oil and Gas Act. The association’s Environmental Committee worked with the Department of Environmental Protection in developing the regulations authorized by this Act. The committee was also directly responsible for developing a DEP General Permit for small natural gas driven compressors. The committee was the driving force behind IOGA’s long-time effort against the US EPA, fighting against the agency’s interpretation ignoring the producing industry’s exemption from the NPDES Stormwater permit. The EPA claimed because wellsite, road construction and pipeline construction were construction activities rather than oil and gas activities. Ultimately that interpretation held until the passage of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.

We are now faced with a state mandated program that is virtually identical to the NPDES Stormwater permit. IOGA will now have to fight that permit’s provisions which again threaten long delays and unnecessary costs and burdens. It is truly unfortunate that this is a permit that adds no environmental benefit beyond what is already mandated by the state’s Clean Streams Law.

The Transportation and Marketing committee is the standing committee that addresses gas transportation and marketing issues on Public Utility Commission regulated utilities and FERC regulated interstate pipelines. The committee deals with all these and other market related issues affecting PA producers. The committee has been successful at the Commission in several cases against transportation charges and procedures that would have harmed producers and independent gas marketers.

The Association has developed a unique arrangement with one utility, Dominion Peoples Gas Company, to invest funds for compression, dehydration and off-system transportation for local gas in the DP operating area. This has resulted in a substantial increase in local production volume in the Greater Pittsburgh and surrounding areas.

Our Exploration and Production Committee provides the expertise for IOGA technical presentations, meetings, and seminars. Once again, this is a standing committee of members. Other IOGA committees handle our communications effort and political efforts. IOGA-PAC is our political action committee established to help with electing officials who promote natural gas development within Pennsylvania for the benefit of the people of the Commonwealth.

Pennsylvania has no state or local taxes on oil and gas production. For decades, certain counties in the state collected real estate taxes on oil and gas properties. IOGA began a lengthy legal battle in Fayette County Pennsylvania which ended in victory in December 2002. The final victory at the State Supreme Court followed three defeats – two at the Fayette County Court of Common Pleas and one at the Commonwealth Court. The Supreme Court found that the General Assembly did not authorize this tax on oil and gas.

We have fought back two attempts in the General Assembly since this victory to authorize collection of this tax. So far we have been successful, but must remain constantly vigilant to this issue.

IOGA of Pennsylvania has fought two battles with Salem Township in Westmoreland County over attempts by that municipality to regulate oil and gas activities reserved by the Oil and Gas Act to the DEP. We won at the Court of Common Pleas level and after an appeal by the Township, won again at Commonwealth Court. The township appealed to the State Supreme Court but that court has not agreed to hear the appeal at this time. The opinion from the Commonwealth Court is can be found at the following link:

The Independent Oil and Gas Association can be viewed as quite simply the producers association directed by producers for the benefit of producers. Our actions and successes indeed speak for themselves.