What’s this? The mostly-anti-drilling Associated Press appears to be throwing in the towel and admitting the DEC is likely to release new fracking rules in New York in February?! Indeed they are. But at the same time they are only too happy to cast doubt on when drilling might actually begin (hint—don’t plan on it next year):
Read More “AP: NY Drilling Rules “Likely” to be Released in Feb 2013”
As MDN has cautioned in previous stories, and as Shell themselves have said, the $2 billion ethane cracker plant planned for Monaca (Beaver County), PA is still not a done deal. Yes it’s looking good, yes PA passed the necessary tax incentives, but Shell is still studying the site for the proposed plant. Although Shell was supposed to purchase the land by the end of 2012, that now will not happen.
Like any real estate deal—until the money is in the bank and the deed in your hand, anything can happen…
Read More “Shell Ethane Cracker in PA Still Not a Done Deal”
What is it about states like Texas that causes Ohio’s Gov. John Kasich to view them as “foreign” and their citizens as “foreigners” (see this MDN story). An anal retentive fixation on the part of Kasich? Perhaps.
His fixation is in full bloom again. Kasich reports he recently went on some “foreign travel”—to Houston, Texas—where he had private discussions about raising taxes. Kasich also has a fixation on raising taxes on the drilling industry in Ohio so he can “spread the wealth” around to everyone:
Read More “OH Gov. Kasich Keeps Beating the Higher Drilling Tax Drum”
In 2009, the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) Climate Change Advisory Committee released a plan with non-binding recommendations aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions 30 percent statewide by 2020. The move was prompted by a 2008 law passed by the state legislature. (Ever notice “global warming” became “climate change” because the earth isn’t actually warming? … but we digress.) Part of the “recommendations” to reduce carbon dioxide is more use of natural gas. But getting natural gas from the ground tends to increase the release of methane, another so-called greenhouse gas.
Read More “Climate Change Being Used as Excuse for New Law in PA”
A small non-profit hospital in north-central PA will turn in its first operating loss in five years. The main reason for the loss this year, according to the hospital’s CEO? Marcellus Shale field workers who come to the hospital for treatment—workers without health insurance:
Read More “PA Hospital Loses Money Covering Uninsured Marcellus Workers”
The loonies are coming out of the woodwork in response to the release of the somewhat anti-fracking movie Promised Land starring Matt Damon. Case in point is a rally tomorrow in Youngstown, Ohio sponsored by Fracfree America:
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), part of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation, has issued a corrective order to Columbia Gas (subsidiary of NiSource) dealing with the pipeline explosion near Sissonville, WV on Dec. 11 (see this MDN story). The PHMSA found that the pipeline section that exploded, which was built in 1967, was getting too thin:
Read More “Thinning Pipeline Caused Explosion Near Charleston, WV”
The next time you stand on the curb and holler “TAXI!” in Steel City you may just get a ride in a natural gas-powered vehicle. One cab company in Pittsburgh is doubling the number of natgas cabs in its fleet, saving its drivers more than a generous tip when it comes to fuel savings:
Read More “Pittsburgh Cab Company Doubles Fleet of NatGas Vehicles”
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Dec 27, 2012”