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PA Public Utility Commission Grants Utility Status to Pipeline Company Giving it Eminent Domain Powers

The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has voted to grant Laser Northeast Gathering, a natural gas pipeline company, status as a public utility. The decision will grant Laser the power to condemn private property by eminent domain. That is, Laser will have the power to run pipelines under people’s property even if they don’t want it.

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West Virginia Officials Say Radioactivity from Gas Drilling a Non-Issue

One of the issues raised in Marcellus Shale drilling is a concern that pumping water into, and then extracting it out of the ground will bring with it radioactivity from naturally occurring sources deep underground. In particular, the “cuttings” or leftover rock and dirt that come out of the bore hole might contain higher than normal levels of radioactivity. Officials in West Virginia say there’s no reason for concern in their state:

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