Hydraulic Fracturing

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

Western PA Township Wins Right to Put Ban on Nov. Ballot
October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

Those opposed to drilling will get a measure to ban shale gas drilling put on the ballot in Peters Township (Washington County, PA) this fall. A judge has just ruled in favor of the Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness Group to have the measure put on the election ballot for Nov 8. See this MDN story about the group, their motivation (calling sustainable energy a “right”) and the wording of the ballot measure.

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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Who’s the Biggest Fracker in the World?
October 3, 2011October 3, 2011

If you’ve been around the shale gas drilling debate for long, you know that most of the opposition to drilling focuses on a little-understood, decades-old technology called hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking” for short. If you’re a science fiction fan, you may also recognize the word fracking from the Battlestar Galactica television series. The word is used as a curse word substitute for another “f” word to avoid being censored.

Fracking’s closeness in spelling, and sound, to the other “f” word has not gone unnoticed by those who oppose drilling. They’ve used the word fracking in all sorts of double entendres with signs like like “Don’t Frack Me” and hundreds of other variations. Just attend a protest meeting and you’ll see what we mean.

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

PA Gov. Corbett Set to Announce New Shale Drilling Rules
October 3, 2011October 3, 2011

Gov. Tom Corbett is a man in motion. He’s only been in office for nine months, but he’s already fixed a huge budget deficit, a nice gift left to him by the departing Ed Rendell, and he appointed a special commission that has already met and provided him with 96 recommendations for changes that should be made to the Marcellus drilling industry in the state. It seems today may be the day when Gov. Corbett announces which of those recommendations he plans to adopt.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown Misses Appeal Deadline – Fracking Ban Now Over
September 29, 2011September 29, 2011

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 there will be no appeals and the fracking ban is officially overturned and done.

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

NY Proposed Regulation Changes for Drilling Now Available
September 29, 2011September 29, 2011

The full version of New York’s new proposed drilling guidelines, known as the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) has been out in its full and “final” form for about three weeks (see this MDN story). At the time of the final release, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said the actual language of the regulations, the changes to existing oil and gas drilling regulations for New York, would come out “in early October.” The new language has just been released by the DEC, so, after criticizing Joe Martens (Commissioner of the DEC) for many things, MDN grants him an “at-a-boy” for releasing the language earlier than expected. The early release of the new regulation language further diffuses the argument by critics that they don’t have enough time to read and understand what’s coming.

The new regulatory language is important because it carries the weight of law once it’s adopted. Here are links to the sections that are either changed, or where new sections have been added:

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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Range Resources Corp

Range CEO Says Everyone Should Disclose Fracking Chemicals
September 27, 2011September 27, 2011

John Pinkerton will step down as CEO of Range Resources by the end of this year. Having been in the industry for two decades, and with nothing to lose, he minces no words and spoke bluntly at a recent conference about the need for energy companies to fully disclose all of the chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing. He said there are no secrets and everyone uses pretty much the same fracking recipes:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

More Calls to Stop Fracking Because “The Sky is Falling”
September 26, 2011September 25, 2011

Every time MDN writes about our observation that those who oppose drilling do so from an ideology, we get pushback from the man-made global warming true believers. If you want to believe that man causes global warming, be my guest. But don’t expect me to “go green” so you can feel good about yourself. I don’t believe it—not a word of it. It’s not been proven by any kind of science that stands up to scrutiny. It’s all ethereal theories and conjecture—not real, testable, measurable, objective and verifiable science.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Fracking Produces Undeniable Economic Miracle in ND
September 26, 2011September 25, 2011

MDN has written about the economic miracle (and you can call it nothing less than a miracle) in North Dakota—all due to oil and a technology called horizontal hydraulic fracturing (read MDN’s previous story here). The miracle continues and is chronicled on none other than National Public Radio, America’s far-left voice.

Try this on for size: The town of Williston, ND (gotta love a town with the name Willis in it!) used to have a total population of 12,000 people before hydraulic fracturing started to be used to get at the oil in the Bakken formation beneath them. In the past four years, Williston added between 12,000-20,000 new jobs! You read that right, the town more than doubled in size. And, they have 2,000 to 3,000 job openings right now!! Their mayor says Williston just “skipped the recession entirely.” That’s the power of hydraulic fracturing—an economic miracle than you can’t deny.

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

Forest Hills, PA May Adopt Fracking Ban
September 22, 2011September 22, 2011

Forest Hills, PA Council members are supporting a ban on Marcellus gas drilling within their borders. Forest Hills is a small borough in Allegheny County, PA with a population of 6,500. A petition with 275 signatures requesting a ban was delivered to Council members and apparently 4 percent of residents is close enough to a majority for Forest Hills elected representatives to take immediate action.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

119 Groups Ask Obama to Support Fracking
September 21, 2011September 21, 2011

Arguing that existing federal and state regulations are sufficient, a diverse group of organizations sent a letter to President Obama yesterday asking him to not impose new regulations on hydraulic fracturing and instead to support it. The 119 organizations signing the letter included bankers, bowlers, grocers, the energy industry and many others. The full text of the letter and the groups signing is embedded below.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | PVR Midstream

New Water Pipeline Coming for Drillers in Northeast PA
September 21, 2011September 21, 2011

Aqua America Inc. and Penn Virginia Resource Partners (PVR) announced they have formed a joint venture, Aqua – PVR Water Services, to construct and operate a private pipeline system to supply fresh water to natural gas producers drilling in the Marcellus Shale in north-central Pennsylvania. The 12-inch diameter steel pipeline will largely parallel the trunkline of PVR’s gathering system in Lycoming County and will share PVR’s existing rights-of-way.

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Commodity Price | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

What Those Opposed to Gas Drilling Really Fear
September 21, 2011September 21, 2011

Dave McCurdy is president and CEO of the American Gas Association. He’s also a former congressman (Democrat) from Oklahoma. In an interview with the Washington Times, he minces no words and says what MDN has been saying all along: Those opposed to shale gas drilling are motivated by an ideology, a preference for renewable energy. McCurdy points out what they really fear is that renewables can’t compete with natural gas based on economics. So that ideology and fear leads them to oppose natural gas.

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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | EXCO Resources | Hess | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Williams Production | XTO

65 Marcellus Well Casing Violations in PA So Far in 2011
September 19, 2011March 24, 2012

Recently released data on drilling violations from the PA Department of Environmental Protection show that problems continue with the cemented steel casings that are designed to protect groundwater from methane and the fluids used to frack wells. The violations do not mean methane or fluids escaped into local groundwater aquifers—but the potential exists when a well is not cased properly. So far in 2011, 65 wells have been cited for faulty casing and cementing. Out of the many thousands of wells drilled and fracked each year in Pennsylvania, that’s not a bad ratio, but it’s certainly nowhere near acceptable. As DEP Secretary Michael Krancer has said, “One case of methane migration or well contamination is one case too many.” The industry needs to do better.

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Centre County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

PA Religious Group Says Marcellus Gas Drilling is Immoral
September 19, 2011September 19, 2011

As predicted by MDN on Friday (see here), the Pennsylvania Interfaith Power and Light (PA-IPL) religious organization declared in their press conference of Sunday that “ethical drilling” of Marcellus Shale gas essentially equals “no drilling.” Like many other anti-drilling organizations, the PA-IPL is driven by ideology: they seek renewable energy nirvana. They have drunken deeply from the man-causes-global-warming mythology/religion. They view fossil fuels as immoral. MDN suspects however, that the leaders of the PA-IPL don’t peddle bicycles everywhere they want to go but instead use gas-powered vehicles. And no doubt they fly around on jets burning fossil fuels to spread their inanities. And heat their homes with nasty coal-generated electricity. Can anyone say “hypocrite”?

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Accidents | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Penn Environment Lies About Flooded Drilling Rig
September 16, 2011September 16, 2011

If you’re against drilling and desperate to make your case, why tell the truth when a lie will conveniently do? That is, of course, until the lie is exposed.

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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown, WV Update: Fracking to Begin Next Week
September 16, 2011September 16, 2011

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?

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