Two Ohio state Democrat representatives have introduced a new bill that would require an “audit clause” to be recorded in every oil and gas drilling lease in the state. The bill is an effort, according to its authors, to insert third party verification of production numbers reported by companies so landowners don’t have to rely [...]
Al Amrendariz, EPA Region 6 administrator (Texas and surrounding states) has been hoist by his own petard. Yesterday he resigned—in disgrace. It seems nearly everyone (but anti-drillers) were calling for his resignation after a video of Armendariz came to light where he outlined his philosophy of enforcement against energy company “violators” to that of the [...]
MDN reported earlier this week that certain key New York State senators (and others) were signaling that if/when hydraulic fracturing is allowed to go forward in the state, it may only happen in communities that support it (see this MDN story). We now have further confirmation that indeed that will likely be the case from [...]
The Town of Bethel, in Sullivan County, NY, was home to the Woodstock “music festival” in 1969. Bethel is also the latest New York township to ban hydraulic fracturing. Both events have at least one thing in common: They’re both supported by hippies and hippie-wannabes. Last night, the Bethel town board voted 5-0 to ban [...]
Wednesday night, Scott Township, PA commissioners unanimously voted to pass a resolution showing symbolic (but no real) support for the PA townships that have sued the State of Pennsylvania over provisions in the new Act 13 Marcellus drilling law. The lawsuit takes exception to state rules replacing local zoning laws that control oil and gas [...]
Lest you think MDN is a bit off the reservation when it comes to criticisms of the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), you might want to read about EPA Region 6 administrator Al Armendariz in an expose by Forbes magazine. Region 6 oversees Texas and surrounding states. Armendariz, a former professor at Southern Methodist University [...]
Anti-drilling group PennFuture yesterday released their spin on Pennsylvania’s new Marcellus drilling law called Act 13. Calling it a “Plain Language Guide,” PennFuture takes aim at trying to dismantle the new law by first undermining people’s opinion of the law, and second by threatening to use their considerable $2 million per year war chest to [...]
In an interesting development in the long fight to allow shale gas drilling in New York State, two key state senators are signaling a compromise may come in the form of, “if you want it, you can get it” with respect to fracking. That is, communities that support fracking will likely be the ones who [...]
Last December, at the eleventh hour shortly before Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan knew he would lose his all-Democrat city council and hence an opportunity to stick it to the drilling industry, Ryan forced through a vote on a measure to ban fracking within the city limits for a period of two years (see this MDN [...]
At the end of March, seven Pennsylvania municipalities along with the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and a handful of individuals filed a lawsuit against the state of Pennsylvania over a newly enacted Marcellus drilling law called Act 13 (see this MDN story). The lawsuit specifically targets a measure in the new law that supersedes local zoning [...]
Is it any surprise that eager beaver, go-get-em NY Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joe Martens now says that his department’s review of comments on proposed new fracking rules won’t be done before end of summer, “perhaps”? No, not a surprise at all. This is typical Martens delay tactic behavior. Martens, speaking in Albany on [...]
Tom West, an attorney handling a combined appeal of two New York cases where local judges upheld drilling bans passed by local townships, laid out a timeline for when the combined case will be heard and decided at an Albany conference yesterday. The two original cases are from Dryden, in Tompkins County, and Middlefield, in [...]
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