Pennsylvania’s Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) provides revenue projections for use in the state budget process along with impartial and timely analysis of fiscal, economic, and budgetary issues to assist PA residents and the General Assembly in their evaluation of policy decisions. The IFO published its Monthly Economic Update yesterday (for October). The update contains good…
A new so-called study has appeared sponsored by the radicals at Heinz Endowments. It is bought-and-paid-for “research” that claims the Act 13 law passed in Pennsylvania in 2012 hasn’t done a darned thing to prevent shale wells from being drilled closer than 500 feet from houses and schools. Duke University, Harvard University, and Boston Children’s…
In October MDN reported that Equitrans (formerly EQT Midstream) had settled an outstanding issue with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) over the company’s failure to produce a “verified statement” that proves they have turned over every rock and branch looking for old conventional wells that are not mapped in a natural gas storage…
In May MDN told you about a Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision that allows shale drilling to happen *anywhere* in a township, so long as such drilling satisfies standards to protect public health, safety and welfare (see PA Supremes Say Drilling Allowed in ALL Districts of SWPA Town). The ongoing fallout from that case, and antis’…
Ever notice the tagline under the MDN logo? It says: “Helping People & Businesses Profit from Northeast Shale Drilling.” Not mentioned are non-profits, but even non-profits can “profit” from shale drilling. How? By applying for grants awarded either by the industry itself (drillers, pipeline and utility companies), or, in this case, by applying for grants…
It seems the controversy in Pennsylvania over the Snyder Brothers’ strippers isn’t going to end any time soon. No, not those kinds of strippers, silly! We’re talking about stripper wells, which are defined in PA as wells that produce less than 90 thousand cubic feet (Mcf) for a one month period. Stripper wells are vertical…
We’re not trying to beat a dead horse here with yet more coverage of last week’s PA Supreme Court ruling in yet another Act 13 case (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against Act 13 Drilling Law, Yet Again), but that decision is important enough that it bears viewing from multiple angles. Below is an article…
Yesterday MDN reported that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has essentially gutted the rest of the Act 13 drilling law passed in 2012 (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against Act 13 Drilling Law, Yet Again). One of the four provisions in the law eviscerated in the most recently ruling deals with notifications following a spill of…
Following up on yesterday’s Pennsylvania Supreme Court decision to eviscerate the rest of the 2012 Act 13 drilling law (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against Act 13 Drilling Law, Yet Again), there have been a number of articles and reactions to the decision. Most point out that the items struck down by the Supremes in…
The Democrat-controlled Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled yesterday in another (hopefully final) decision on the 2012 Act 13 Marcellus drilling law passed and signed by then-Gov. Tom Corbett. Four Democrat judges have just struck down more of Act 13, leaving not much left except the part that raises money and gives it away (called an impact…
Nearly $30 million of Act 13 shale tax money that comes from an impact fee (i.e. tax) on Marcellus drilling in Pennsylvania is “unaccounted for.” The media is playing this up as “the money has gone missing” with the implication something nefarious is going on. The truth is a little more mundane. Some local municipalities…
Please see this MDN follow-up story for an important clarification/update: More on PIOGA Request to Keep DEP in its Regulatory Box This story is why you pay MDN the “big bucks”–to break down complex issues into an easy-to-understand report. Last Friday the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) filed paperwork with the Pennsylvania Supreme Court…
The end of a loooong chapter in lawsuits over Pennsylvania’s Act 13 drilling law came earlier this week when a federal appeals court ruled that no, Dr. Alfonso Rodriguez, a nephrologist from Dallas in Luzerne County, PA does NOT have “standing” to claim Act 13 applies some sort of medical “gag rule” that doesn’t allow…
It’s interesting to MDN that several of the seven Pennsylvania towns that sued the state over the Act 13 law and its zoning provisions–presumably because they didn’t want any Marcellus drilling in their borders–have done a 180 degree turnabout. It happened first in Robinson Township (Washington County), PA–the very township whose name is forever (shamefully)…
The anti-drilling spin machine is in full cycle from the virulent anti-drilling group PennFuture. They’re hoping you won’t notice what we’re about to point out: the rank hypocrisy of a court decision last Friday. PennFuture is out with a press release that’s all peaches and cream, butterflies and unicorns that a (low) county court in…
It seems there’s still a bit of unfinished business with the ongoing, never-ending lawsuits around the Act 13 oil and gas drilling law in Pennsylvania. At least one final bit of unfinished business. You will recall that seven selfish towns sued the state over the Act 13 law and it’s provision that would substitute a…