Yesterday MDN told you about the new, negative tone being set at the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection by its new leader, Sec. John Quigley, by fining Range Resources for a case of methane migration (see PA DEP Slaps Range with Record $8.9M Fine for Methane Migration). Perhaps Quigley has adopted EPA Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz’s philosophy of making an example of one or two companies (see EPA Region 6 Administrator: Crucify Energy Companies). Quigley says Range did a sloppy cement job on a gas well they drilled in 2011 and has refused to correct the situation. Range immediately fired back, very loud and very clear, that water wells in that area had high levels of methane in them BEFORE any drilling took place–and Range has the documented pre-drilling tests to prove it…
