Archive for 'Monongalia County'

National Lab Looks for Industry to Fund “Extreme Drilling”

Hey buddy, can you spare a few (million) dimes? The National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) is looking for someone in the oil and gas drilling industry to help get a now four year-old project off the ground. The NETL unveiled, to great fanfare, the Extreme Drilling Laboratory (XDL) in January 2009 in Morgantown, WV. It’s [...]

Morgantown, WV Passes New Marcellus Drilling Ban

The Morgantown, WV City Council is at it again. You may recall they tried to ban hydraulic fracturing last year both inside and up to one mile outside of the city limits. A judge struck down the law (see this MDN story). Council members aren’t about to give up though. On Tuesday, they passed six [...]

Morgantown WV Attempts to Ban Fracking a Second Time

Here we go again. Yesterday, the Morgantown, WV City Council voted on new legislation that would “regulate” (i.e. ban) hydraulic fracturing. But this time, those sharp-as-a-tack council members have contented themselves with regulating it within their own borders. You may recall that last year the same Morgantown City Council (pictured below) passed a ban on [...]

Morgantown Marcellus Wells Coming Online

MDN chronicled the battle earlier this year between Northeast Natural Energy and the city of Morgantown, WV over Northeast’s plan to drill two Marcellus Shale gas wells near the city. In short, the Morgantown City Council tried to ban drilling both inside and outside city limits—up to one mile outside—which would have prevented Northeast from [...]

Morgantown Not Ready to Admit Defeat on Fracking Ban

The next chapter for the Morgantown, WV ban on fracking seems to be an official rescinding of the ill-fated ban which included inside and up to one mile outside of the city lines. But Morgantown Mayor Jim Manilla is not ready to throw the towel all the way in just yet. He wants to make [...]

Morgantown Gas Wells Fracked, No Air Pollution

MDN has chronicled the attempt by Morgantown, WV to ban drilling up to one mile outside of the city line—a saga that spanned many months. In the end, a judge struck down the ban and two wells were drilled and fracked. The main concern was that fracking might somehow contaminate the city’s water supply, which [...]

Drilling Heats Up in Monongalia County, WV

Shale gas drilling in Monongalia County, WV is heating up with two new well permits requested and more on the way:

Morgantown Misses Appeal Deadline – Fracking Ban Now Over

In the ongoing saga of the Morgantown, WV ban on hydraulic fracturing, a ban both within and up to one mile outside of city borders (see here for a list of MDN articles on the topic), the leaders of Morgantown missed the deadline to file an appeal to the West Virginia State Supreme Court. So [...]

Morgantown, WV Update: Fracking to Begin Next Week

It seems the opposition to two Marcellus Shale gas wells being drilled outside Morgantown’s borders is petering out. Press accounts talk of “a handful” of area residents protesting outside of the drill sites this week—meaning less than a dozen, perhaps a single family, who knows?

Chesapeake Withdraws $25K Grant from Morgantown, WV

Yet another gas driller has decided to vote with its pocketbook against a community that insists on banning shale gas drilling.

Morgantown Official Backpedals After Drilling Ban Overturned

It’s always interesting to watch politicians operate after a humiliating defeat. Politicians’ DNA does not allow them to simply look inward and recognize their own errors. They always look outward and blame others, or in some cases, declare the defeat was a good thing and accomplished just what they wanted all along! I refer to [...]

Judge Overturns Morgantown, WV Fracking Ban

For some time now, MDN has covered the hydraulic fracturing ban passed by the city of Morgantown, West Virginia (see list of articles here). In a surprise move last Friday, the Monongalia County (WV) Circuit Court Judge Susan Tucker overturned Morgantown’s fracking ban, clearing the way for Northeast Energy to continue drilling and fracking operations [...]

Northeast Continues Drilling in Morgantown Despite Ban

The ongoing battle between Morgantown, WV and Northeast Natural Energy over two proposed gas wells located close to Morgantown continues, and gets interesting. Northeast had been working with Morgantown to address concerns that the two wells they propose to drill are close to the water intake for the city. Northeast believed everything was fine until [...]

Drilling Company Sues Morgantown, WV for $42 Million in Lost Investment & Lost Future Revenue

Another chapter in the ongoing saga of Morgantown, WV. For those who have not followed the story, Morgantown city council members took it upon themselves to ban hydraulic fracturing outside of the city limits—up to one mile—which they say is allowable under a West Virginia law that grants cities the right to exceed their boundaries [...]

Driller Sues Morgantown, WV Over Fracking Ban, Monongalia County Considers Suing the City Too

As MDN previously observed and predicted, the city of Morgantown, WV is now in court over the vote by city council members to ban Marcellus drilling both inside and outside of its borders—up to one mile outside.

Update on Morgantown, WV Ban on Fracking Outside its Borders: You’re About to Get Sued

Morgantown, WV is about to get sued for banning hydraulic fracturing outside of its borders. As MDN previously reported (see here), the Morgantown City Council voted on June 21 to ban hydraulic fracturing within its borders and up to one mile outside of its borders. The decision has shut down an active operation for two [...]

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