Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Tue, Mar 12, 2013

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

New York

Skelos Says Republicans Will Block a Vote on N.Y. Fracking Ban
Bloomberg
Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican and co-leader of the New York Senate, said he will block a vote on a bill to extend a ban on fracking.

Are ‘Fractivists’ Promoting Global Warming? (unintended consequences of a futile crusade
MasterResource
Mainstream environmental groups used to support natural gas, which offers significant public health and climate benefits over coal and is a “bridge fuel” to a clean energy future. But celebrity activists like Mark Ruffalo, who has a house in the Catskills, and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have led the movement astray with NIMBY opposition to fracing in areas such as upstate New York.

Sullivan leaseholders sick of fracking wait
Times Herald-Record
A few dozen landowners and businesses in Sullivan County with about 7,900 acres leased for gas drilling are waiting in regulatory limbo.

Ohio

Radiation issue has activists concerned about Ohio budget bill
Beacon Journal
Ohio Gov. John Kasich’s state budget bill includes new rules on drilling for natural gas-oil. Hearings begin in the Ohio Legislature this week, and activists are circulating a fact sheet put together by Stark County activist Chris Borello and others.

Pennsylvania

FERC Approves Two Marcellus Pipeline Expansions
NGI’s Shale Daily (requires subscription or trial access)
FERC on Friday issued certificates for two Dominion Transmission Inc. (DTI) Marcellus Shale-related projects in Pennsylvania and New York: the Tioga Area Expansion Project and the Sabinsville-to-Morrisville Project.

Pennsylvania PUC Provides Update on Act 127 Pipeline Operator Registration Requirements
ShaleEnergyLawBlog
The Secretary of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) published a letter in the March 9, 2013 issue of the Pennsylvania Bulletin containing information on the annual registration requirements for pipeline operators under the Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines Act.

National

Anadarko’s Hackett plans to attend Harvard Divinity School in retirement
Bloomberg/Akron Beacon Journal
Anadarko Petroleum Corp. Executive Chairman Jim Hackett plans to attend Harvard Divinity School following his retirement from a company he led through acquisitions and an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Ernest Moniz: A Pro-Nuclear, Pro-Fracking U.S. Energy Secretary
OpEdNews.com
With the nomination of Ernest Moniz to be the next U.S. secretary of Energy, President Barack Obama has selected a man who is not only a booster of nuclear power but a big proponent of fracking, too. What happened to Obama’s call for “clean” energy in his 2013 State of the Union address?