Mark Cline almost has a reason to cheer … but not quite yet.

On Tuesday, the oilman of Cline Oil of Bradford welcomed news that the House passed,111-84, bill 2154 that would re-enact the Oil and Gas Act of 1984 with provisions relating to today’s conventional oil and gas industry. The bill is now in the Senate’s hands.

“It’ll make a huge difference in the industry in getting this passed and signed into law,” said Cline, who is part of the Pennsylvania Independent Petroleum Producers and a member of the state’s Crude Development Advisory Council.

State Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, who introduced the bill, said the legislation would establish reasonable and responsible oversight of the conventional oil and gas industry to protect the environment and ensure the 160-year-old industry is able to grow in Pennsylvania.

“The conventional oil and gas industry has long been a cornerstone of the economy in my district and areas across the northern tier, providing thousands of good, family-sustaining jobs,” Causer said. “This bill will help preserve those jobs by removing the threat of unreasonable and unnecessary regulations from the backs of our conventional producers in favor of rules that are relevant and appropriate to these shallow well operations.”

Being targeted is Act 13 of 2012; that legislation is something that Cline says has discouraged companies from drilling. Cline called Act 13 a late-night deal, saying that the industry is of no concern to public resources.

“(House Bill 2154) is the latest step in a years-long fight to stop the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection from applying regulations intended to address unconventional, deep-well drilling in the Marcellus Shale to the very different process of conventional, shallow well drilling,” reads a statement from Causer’s office.

Conventional operators have been put in jeopardy, thanks to the absence of understanding by numerous bureaucrats about the many differences between the kinds of drilling, Causer said.

“It is extremely frustrating, especially given the good stewardship long practiced by conventional producers. They live in the communities where their wells are located, breathing the same air and drinking the same water as everyone else. They clearly have a vested interest in doing things right,” he said.

What’s more, House Bill 2154 also would encourage plugging orphan wells and give Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection the authority to issue permits to let municipalities to use brine for dust control, road stabilization, anti-icing and de-icing.

Meanwhile, regulations for unconventional drilling would not be impacted under the proposed legislation.

Not everyone agrees with the proposed bill, and such opponents in recent weeks have included Gov. Tom Wolf, the DEP, Environmental Defense Fund and Pennsylvania Environmental Council.

“House Bill 2154 is a wholesale weakening of necessary protection standards; standards that are already the law in Pennsylvania, and that are accepted common practice in the industry and other oil and gas producing states,” Andrew Williams of the Environmental Defense Fund and John Walliser of Pennsylvania Environmental Council said in a letter to House of Representatives in April.

For the most part, members of the Penn Grade Crude Development Advisory Council put together the legislation. The council, created by Act 52 of 2016, advises and assists DEP with regulatory changes impacting the conventional industry.

“It’s not a win yet, (but it’s) a third of the way there,” Cline said.