Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tuesday, Oct 4, 2011

The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:

Ex-DEP chief: Drilling choices must be part of bigger picture
Former state Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger discusses energy use and production, including natural gas drilling, during a presentation Monday in Penn State’s Walker Building.

County leaders offer guarded praise, voice concerns on fee
The first reaction of some Centre County officials to Gov. Tom Corbett’s proposal for an impact fee on gas wells was disappointment that the state isn’t working to make natural gas subject to property taxes.

Drilling boom sparks rise in water testing

The results surprised them — the water they had been drinking from the well, drilled in 2005, contained coliform and E. coli bacteria.

Gas boom means little space for Pa. flood victims
Pennsylvania residents who lost their homes to Tropical Storm Lee more than three weeks ago are having a tough time finding affordable housing, or any housing at all, because workers in the area’s natural gas drilling boom have filled nearly every room.

‘Fracking’ may be coming to Piedmont, NC area
The state’s debate over whether it should tap into its reserve natural gas supply using horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing will continue at an October 10 public meeting in Sanford.

The Solar Stimulus Rat
When it comes to America’s energy policy, we are continuing our headlong rush, like lemmings over a cliff, to self-extinction. September 30 was the deadline by which the Department of Energy needed to get the remaining billions in stimulus funds out the door.