Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New Video from Reason.tv: The Truth About Fracking
June 28, 2011June 28, 2011

Reason is a monthly print magazine with the tagline of “free minds and free markets.” It covers politics, culture, and ideas through a mix of news, analysis, commentary, and reviews. Reason does not lean right nor left, but instead makes “a principled case for liberty and individual choice in all areas of human activity.” Reason also has an operation they call Reason.tv—short online videos. MDN came across a video posted by Reason.tv yesterday called, “The Truth About Fracking.” It’s a short 5 1/2 minute interview conducted by Reason’s Nick Gillespie with science correspondent Ronald Bailey.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pipelines | Regulation

SRBC Approves 31 Water Resources Projects at June Meeting – Most Related to Marcellus Drilling
June 28, 2011June 28, 2011

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) had a busy quarterly meeting on June 23, held in North East, Maryland. Among the things they did, SRBC commissioners approved 31 water resources projects, the vast majority of which are related to drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The list of new projects approved, previous projects modified and into-basin diversions is detailed below.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Bipartisan Group of Nine Congressman Tell Obama to Get Fracking – Now
June 27, 2011June 27, 2011

Five Democrat and four Republican Congressman have written a joint, bipartisan letter to President Obama encouraging him to move forward with developing natural gas in the United States, particularly by using “unconventional” hydraulic fracturing. Yes, you read that right. Democrats and Republicans together, agreeing on something—and that something is fracking.

The letter states in part:

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA Announces Locations for Case Studies in Multi-Year Hydraulic Fracturing Study – PA Marcellus Shale Figures Prominently
June 24, 2011June 24, 2011

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conduction a multi-year study of the natural gas extraction method called hydraulic fracturing. See MDN’s coverage of the initial announcement and draft release of the study plan here. Preliminary results of the study are due in 2012, but the final results are not due until 2014.

Yesterday, the EPA announced where it will conduct its case studies. Nearly half of the sites—three of the seven—are in the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale region in Bradford, Susquehanna and Washington Counties. Below is the full press release from the EPA announcing the locations, followed by a table from the EPA website charting the key issues to be investigated and the potential outcomes for the retrospective case studies.

Read More “EPA Announces Locations for Case Studies in Multi-Year Hydraulic Fracturing Study – PA Marcellus Shale Figures Prominently”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia

Update on Morgantown, WV Ban on Fracking Outside its Borders: You’re About to Get Sued
June 24, 2011June 24, 2011

Morgantown, WV is about to get sued for banning hydraulic fracturing outside of its borders. As MDN previously reported (see here), the Morgantown City Council voted on June 21 to ban hydraulic fracturing within its borders and up to one mile outside of its borders. The decision has shut down an active operation for two wells being drilled by Northeast Natural Energy. WV has a law allowing cities to extend their reach up to a mile in order to carry out city functions. Many think City Council has overreached in this case.

Read More “Update on Morgantown, WV Ban on Fracking Outside its Borders: You’re About to Get Sued”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown, WV Bans Marcellus Drilling Outside City Limits – Driller May Sue to Recoup Investment
June 22, 2011June 22, 2011

After a few months of heated debate, the Morgantown (WV) City Council has voted to prohibit Marcellus Shale drilling not only within their borders, but also up to a mile outside of their borders. How can they do that? There is a provision in West Virginia state code that allows cities to extend their authority up to a mile beyond their borders to carry out city functions. It is that state loophole that Morgantown has used to shut down two wells slated to be drilled.

Read More “Morgantown, WV Bans Marcellus Drilling Outside City Limits – Driller May Sue to Recoup Investment”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Lift the Moratorium on Drilling Now
June 21, 2011June 21, 2011

An editorial in today’s New York Post, authored by Lawrence Mone, president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, makes an impassioned plea to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to lift the moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling. The Manhattan Institute recently released a study showing the economic benefits of lifting the moratorium (see MDN’s coverage here). In today’s editorial, Mone summarizes those economic benefits this way:

Read More “Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Lift the Moratorium on Drilling Now”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Energy Dept Hearing in Western PA Draws Big Crowd For & Against Hydraulic Fracturing and Gas Drilling
June 14, 2011June 14, 2011

President Obama recently instructed Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to form the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Natural Gas Subcommittee, a group of six experts from academe, industry and environmental groups to advise President Obama on how to improve the safety of shale gas development, with a focus specifically on hydraulic fracturing. No doubt the “advising” part will turn into federal regulations at some point, so both sides of the debate are anxious to make their voices heard.

Read More “Energy Dept Hearing in Western PA Draws Big Crowd For & Against Hydraulic Fracturing and Gas Drilling”
Guernsey County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Utica Shale

Ohioans Take a Field Trip to Pennsylvania to Observe Gas Wells & Farms Safely Co-existing
June 13, 2011June 13, 2011

Representatives from Guernsey County, Ohio took a field trip last week to Pennsylvania to have a look at how gas drilling can safely be done—even in the midst of farming operations.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New York Post: The Real Reason Environmentalists Don’t Like Natural Gas
June 10, 2011June 10, 2011

A column in yesterday’s New York Post talks about the recent flurry of bans against gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing by local municipalities like the cities of Buffalo, NY and Pittsburgh, PA. The columnist speculates on why environmental groups are so viciously opposed to natural gas, when just a few short years ago they were in favor of it. The writer comes to the same conclusion that MDN has written about before: At the heart of the debate is a philosophical worldview that because natural gas is a “fossil fuel” and based on carbon, an abundance of it will slow down the adoption of “alternatives” (like wind and solar) and therefore it must be defeated. And the way to defeat it is to demagogue it and scare people into believing their water supplies will be poisoned.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Is the Anti-Drilling Crowd Losing Steam? Low Numbers Turn Out for Josh Fox Rally in Harrisburg
June 8, 2011June 8, 2011

Perhaps the real question should be: Did the anti-drilling crowd ever really have a head of steam to begin with? The mainstream media certainly wants you to think so. A relatively small group of people who oppose drilling in the Marcellus—indeed people who are demanding a total ban on gas drilling—seem to get a lot of press coverage, while a majority who support it get relatively little press coverage.

MDN’s observation and the reason for this post…

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

New York Will See $11.4 Billion in New Investment, $1.4 Billion in New Tax Revenue, and 18K New Jobs if the Fracking Moratorium is Lifted
June 8, 2011June 8, 2011

New York State will see a huge $11.4 billion in economic investment by 2020, with state and local governments receiving $1.4 billion in new tax revenues, as well as 15,000-18,000 new jobs created if the current moratorium preventing Marcellus Shale drilling is lifted, according to a report released yesterday by the award-winning think tank Manhattan Institute for Policy Research.

The report, titled “The Economic Opportunities of Shale Energy Development,” projects an additional (and astonishing) 75,000-90,000 jobs would be created if the Utica Shale is tapped. (The Utica Shale requires horizontal hydraulic fracturing as does the Marcellus Shale.)

Read More “New York Will See $11.4 Billion in New Investment, $1.4 Billion in New Tax Revenue, and 18K New Jobs if the Fracking Moratorium is Lifted”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

MDN In-depth: NYS Assembly Passes 12-Month Moratorium on Hydraulic Fracturing, Both Horizontal and Vertical
June 7, 2011June 7, 2011

For the second year in a row, the New York State Assembly has passed a bill that would create a one-year moratorium on the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the state. But there’s a difference in this year’s bill. This new bill would stop all hydraulic fracturing—both horizontal AND vertical. Oy vey. Where does one begin with this?

It is MDN’s belief that most “rank and file” people who oppose Marcellus Shale drilling don’t really understand the science of it. They hear a few catch phrases about polluting water, or using too much water, or thousands of gallons of chemicals going into the ground. And vague threats that their drinking water is about to be permanently poisoned. And that’s about all they know or want to know. Their opposition is colored by their philosophy or worldview: big energy companies are evil and lie, burning hydrocarbons like oil and gas destroy the environment and cause dangerous levels of global warming, etc. Yes, this is an over-generalization and paints an entire movement with a very broad brush that does not apply to everyone who is against drilling. MDN is just saying this is the case “in general” or “on average.”

Read More “MDN In-depth: NYS Assembly Passes 12-Month Moratorium on Hydraulic Fracturing, Both Horizontal and Vertical”
Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Landowner Coalition News | New York

MDN Visits Anti-Fracking Big Splash Event in Binghamton
June 6, 2011June 6, 2011

MDN took a field trip on Sunday afternoon to visit Recreation Park in Binghamton, NY (“Rec Park” as it’s known to us locals). The purpose? To see the sights and sounds of the Binghamton Big Splash, a one-day concert with eight local bands, coordinated by the Finger Lakes Clean Water Initiative, designed to oppose Marcellus Shale drilling in New York State.

Of particular interest to MDN was a tent on the premises hosted by the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY), there to present the pro-drilling side of the story. MDN editor Jim Willis had the pleasure of meeting and talking with JLCNY President Dan Fitzsimmons and JLCNY Second VP Bryant La Tourette.

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

Binghamton’s Big Splash Fracking Symposium More Like a Tiny Raindrop
June 6, 2011June 6, 2011

MDN visited an anti-fracking concert called “The Big Splash,” held at Binghamton’s Recreation Park on Sunday afternoon (see today’s companion article). While there were several hundred people on location enjoying music and food—maybe 400 or so by MDN’s count—it certainly wasn’t the “thousands” hoped for at the event. Local bands provided music and anti-fracking groups manned tables around the perimeter of a large tent, providing literature on the “horrors” of hydraulic fracturing.

But the big news of the weekend was from the “warm-up” event on Saturday. The Saturday event was a symposium on hydraulic fracturing held at the Riverwalk Hotel & Conference Center on Water Street in Binghamton. The symposium was hyped by the media in advance, but only 45 people turned up according to press accounts.

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Broome County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | XTO

Large Turnout for DRBC Hearing in Deposit, NY – Last Minute Surprise from DEC Head Joe Martens
June 2, 2011June 2, 2011

The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (PSB) reports about 300 people attended last evening’s Delaware River Basin Commission hearing in Deposit (Broome County), NY to consider an application from XTO Energy (now owned by ExxonMobil) to withdraw 250,000 gallons of water per day from the Oquaga Creek in the Town of Sanford to support Marcellus Shale drilling activities in New York, when and if drilling begins. The PSB said, “While both sides enjoyed healthy representation on Wednesday, the majority of the speakers spoke against the withdrawal.”

XTO’s application is the first in New York State, and only the second application in the overall DRBC region. The first application, which was approved in July 2010, was from Stone Energy for water withdrawals in Wayne County, PA.

Read More “Large Turnout for DRBC Hearing in Deposit, NY – Last Minute Surprise from DEC Head Joe Martens”