Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

Former Energy Sec. Richardson Supports Cuomo Fracking Plan
August 23, 2012August 23, 2012

It seems Democrats themselves have grown tired of anti-fracking shenanigans by their own people at public gatherings. Former Sec. of Energy (and former Governor of New Mexico) Bill Richardson was in New York City yesterday speaking on renewable energy at an event hosted by the Democrat party and Gov. Andrew Cuomo. A couple of anti-frackers who had “slipped in” stood up to protest, unfurling an anti-fracking banner and making claims that fracking would poison water supplies.

Here’s what happened:

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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York

Anti-Fracking Doctor Unsuccessful at Vestal, NY Board Meeting
August 23, 2012August 23, 2012

Several doctors from the Broome County Medical Society (BCMS) attended a Vestal (Broome County, NY) Town Board meeting on Monday to ask them to vote for a delay in hydraulic fracturing until a so-called independent health study can be completed. One of those doctors was Niru Anne, a cancer doctor at Lourdes Hospital in Binghamton and vice president of BCMS.

For a smart person, Dr. Anne is extremely uninformed when it comes to fracking:

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Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

PA DEP Allows Cabot to Resume Fracking in Dimock
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

Now that most of the families in and around Dimock, PA who previously sued Cabot Oil & Gas claiming their water had been contaminated by nearby drilling have settled with the company (see this MDN story), the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has given Cabot a green light to resume fracking seven wells in Dimock that Cabot previously drilled but had not completed. The action to let Cabot finish those wells and bring them online comes two and a half years after activity on the wells was stopped by an order of the DEP.

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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation

South Fayette, PA First Town Challenged Under Act 13
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

Pennsylvania towns that have ordinances conflicting with the new state drilling law known as Act 13 run the risk of not receiving their portion of a new impact fee being collected by the state—unless they revise their laws to not conflict with Act 13. The first town to be challenged under this provision is South Fayette, in Allegheny County (Pittsburgh area). A resident of South Fayette wrote to the Public Utility Commission (PUC), the agency charged with policing compliance with Act 13, to complain that several town ordinances violate Act 13.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

NY Anti-Drillers Threaten Civil Disobedience over Fracking
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

If anti-drillers in New York don’t get their way with Gov. Cuomo (i.e., a total ban on fracking), they’re threatening to engage in so-called “nonviolent” civil disobedience.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Niagara County | Regulation

Wilson, NY Votes to Ban Fracking
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

The village board of Wilson (Niagara County), NY has voted to ban hydraulic fracturing. In a statement, one anti-drilling Wilson board member said he wants fracking to be banned everywhere, not just in New York. Gotta love those freedom-loving, “I know better than you do how to run your life” kinds of people, dontchya?

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Greene County (OH) | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation

Yellow Springs, OH Votes to Ban Fracking
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

Over the objection of their own lawyer, the village board of Yellow Springs (Green County), Ohio voted to ban both injection wells and all hydraulic fracturing within the village at an August 20 meeting. Three board members (out of five) decided they know better than their residents what those residents can do with their own land.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

New York State Ad Wars Heat Up Over Fracking
August 22, 2012August 22, 2012

As we get ever closer to the New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) release of new rules to allow fracking—a decision expected either by or shortly after Labor Day—both sides of the debate are turning up the heat by taking to the airwaves and in print with advertisements.

For some time now, pro-drilling groups led by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) have run radio and print ads (see below). The other side is now entering the fray with their own ads.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County (NY) | New York | Regulation

Town of Rochester, NY will Vote on Frack Ban August 30th
August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

It looks like the Town of Rochester, NY (in addition to the City of Rochester) is about to turn down potential jobs and investment in their economically depressed community by spitting in the face of the shale drilling industry. That is, they plan to ban drilling at a town board meeting on August 30.

Not only will the measure they plan to vote on completely ban fracking, it will also ban “transferring, storing, processing and disposing of materials related to horizontal hydraulic fracturing.” They won’t even allow new buildings to be built related to fracking—so if you’re a law firm that represents a driller and want to build a new office, forget it.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

Poll: New Yorkers Remain Split on Fracking, Some Surprises
August 21, 2012August 21, 2012

Each month the Siena College Research Institute conducts a statewide poll in New York to gage opinions on various political issues and politicians. For several years running they have polled on the question of whether or not New Yorkers support shale gas drilling and fracking. The unsurprising results again for this month are that statewide, New Yorkers are evenly split for and against fracking (see the results embedded below).

However, when you dig into the numbers, a surprising fact emerges about the geography people live in who favor drilling versus the geography of those who don’t.

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Accidents | Butler County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Rex Energy

PA Residents Weary of Fight with Rex over Water Contamination
August 20, 2012August 20, 2012

MDN reported six months ago about an ongoing case 30 miles north of Pittsburgh in Connoquenessing Township, PA, in a community called the Woodlands. Some residents claim their well water was contaminated after Rex Energy drilled at least 15 natural gas wells in the area (see this MDN story). Water buffalos were installed for 11 families, but after a year and extensive testing, the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) said that Rex Energy’s drilling was not the cause and Rex-sponsored water deliveries ended.

A new story in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette updates the story with this background:

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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation

Broome County, NY Township to Hold Hearing on Drilling Ban
August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

In a completely unexpected move, the Town of Chenango (Broome County, NY) has scheduled a public hearing on October 1st to consider a proposed one-year moratorium on natural gas drilling. That is, a couple of town board members in Chenango may ruin the ability for all landowners in the the town to allow drilling on or under their land for the foreseeable future. This is bad news for landowners in Chenango (not far from where MDN is written).

Broome County is likely one of the places where initial permits to drill will be issued, but DEC Commissioner Joe Martens and Gov. Andrew Cuomo have both said communities that don’t want drilling won’t get it. A vote to ban it—even temporarily—is a loud and clear message to the DEC to stay away.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Judge Rules Act 13 Zoning Unconstitutional During Appeal
August 17, 2012August 17, 2012

The ongoing and currently unresolved court case in Pennsylvania over PA’s newly passed Act 13 law has an interesting new twist. You may recall a few weeks ago the middle-level Commonwealth Court in PA upheld a lower court ruling striking down the zoning provisions in the new Act 13 drilling law (see this MDN story). Those provisions under Act 13 substitute statewide zoning rules for oil and gas drilling in place of any local restrictions. Seven townships sued to have that portion of the law struck down and so far two courts have agreed. It’s now on appeal to the PA Supreme Court.

However, while the decision of the lower courts is on appeal to the Supreme Court, the original zoning portion of Act 13 was still in effect—until a judge’s order on Wednesday.

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Economic Impact | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Over 36K Shale Wells in U.S. Have Produced 23 TCF of NatGas
August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

Powell Shale Digest released a research report detailing how many shale wells there are in the U.S., and how much gas and oil/condensate those wells produce (see below). The results? Across the major shale plays—minus the Utica—the U.S. now has over 36,000 wells that have produced 23 trillion cubic feet of natural gas and 682 million barrels of oil/condensate.

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Centre County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA Town to Vote on Fracking Ban
August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

In New York State, it’s not uncommon to read about two or three misinformed town board members voting to ban drilling for all of its citizens. But it’s not something you read about happening in Pennsylvania all that often. So when it does happen in PA, it’s news.

No, a PA town has not recently voted to ban fracking, but Ferguson Township in Centre County will have a referendum on the ballot in the November election asking citizens whether or not they want to strip away the property rights of their neighbors. Ferguson residents who favor the U.S. Constitution, make sure you get out and vote!

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Anti-Driller Cuckoo Birds on Full Display
August 15, 2012August 15, 2012

There’s no nice way of saying this, so I won’t. The closer we get to the release of new rules that will allow the 60-year old technology of hydraulic fracturing to be used in New York, more and more nut jobs will come out of the New York woodwork.

The latest case in point comes from Paul Bray, columnist for the Albany Times Union:

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