Hydraulic Fracturing

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    Rochester Poll: Cuomo Wrong to Delay, Begin Fracking Now

    Unscientific opinion survey? To be sure. But the results from a recent Rochester (NY) Business Journal poll that asks the question of whether or not Gov. Andrew Cuomo should continue to delay a decision on fracking is enlightening. Some 540 RBJ readers participated in the web-based snap poll that asked two questions about fracking. It will be no surprise to you that the vast majority of RBJ readers believe Cuomo should make a decision now–and that the decision should be to allow fracking to commence.

    Most people who read the RBJ are small business people–entrepreneurs and managers and people who make things happen. In other words, they are producers–the opposite of the government-dependent leeches we tend to turn out in NY in large numbers. Producers are clear-headed–they know how to evaluate information and come to a logical conclusion. And the conclusion reached in “liberal” Rochester is this: fracking is safe, it’s time to start. Get off the pot Cuomo! Here’s the details from the RBJ snap poll:
    Read More “Rochester Poll: Cuomo Wrong to Delay, Begin Fracking Now”

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    Maryland Update: Marcellus Drilling a Distant & Ellusive Dream

    A periodic check on the state of shale drilling in Maryland shows that like New York, Maryland has all but killed drilling in their state with a long, drawn-out, so-called “review” of fracking. The price of gas is so low, and the prospects and ease of drilling in neighboring states like PA, WV and OH is so convenient, that most energy companies have simply said “bye bye” to the two counties in western MD that contain recoverable Marcellus Shale gas.

    Will there ever be drilling in MD? Oh perhaps one day, if Maryland politicians (mostly Democrats) ever get off the metaphorical pot and get regulations adopted to allow it. However, at this point the prospects are pretty grim. Energy companies are letting years-old leases lapse, writing them off as losses and not re-signing, which is bad news for Maryland landowners in Garrett and Allegany counties. All four companies that had previously filed for permits to drill shale wells have withdrawn those permits. In other words, Marcellus drilling in MD is, at this point, dead as a door nail. Here’s an update on the MD situation from the “helpful” AP:
    Read More “Maryland Update: Marcellus Drilling a Distant & Ellusive Dream”

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    Middlesex Bans Fracking – A Tad Ironic, Wouldn’t You Say?

    Does anyone else see the irony that a place with the word “sex” as part of its name has banned something called “fracking”? (Yes that observation is juvenile, but sometimes you need a bit of juvenile fun.) The story is this: a bunch of hepped up lefties, egged on by the odious and misnamed Food & Water Watch, got enough people to the polls to ban fracking in a place where there isn’t any interest in fracking–Middlesex County, NJ. The vote is an empty symbol to be sure, but important all the same because the people of Middlesex County are sending a very loud message to the shale drilling industry: drop dead.

    Perhaps the good people of Middlesex would like to quit using natural gas to heat their homes, heat their water and cook with–you know, just to be consistent with their “strong beliefs” on fracking–because the majority of their natural gas now comes from fracking. What’s that? Not on your life? Take your filthy hand away from that gas shut-off valve! Yeah, hypocrites often operate that way…
    Read More “Middlesex Bans Fracking – A Tad Ironic, Wouldn’t You Say?”

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    Anti-Fracking Slottjes Use Norse Energy NY Lawsuit as Fundraiser

    The husband and wife legal team of David and Helen Slottje are using the Article 78 lawsuit filed by Norse Energy against Gov. Cuomo, and Commissioners Martens and Shah as a shameless fundraiser. The Slottjes have made a career out of touring cities and towns in upstate NY, attempting to convince innocently ignorant town board members to illegally ban fracking, thereby denying the Constitutional rights of landowners throughout entire municipalities. The Slottjes have been doing it for years now. (See our initial impression of Helen Slottje from February 2010 in this article: DISH, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman Visits Binghamton – Marcellus Drilling News was There.)

    All of that traveling and “pro bono” work needs to be funded somehow. So whatever the Park Foundation won’t pay them, they have to raise themselves, which they do by using a front organization called the Community Environmental Defense Council (Incorporated). The Slottjes are rather shameless in the yarns they spin, all the while sticking their hands out. Here’s the latest example of “never let a good crisis (or lawsuit) go to waste”…
    Read More “Anti-Fracking Slottjes Use Norse Energy NY Lawsuit as Fundraiser”

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    JLCNY Sends Gov. Cuomo a Lump of Coal for Christmas

    This one put a smile on our faces. The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) sent around an email that encourages those who support drilling to print out and send a copy of the postcard we’ve embedded below. It shows a picture of a lump of coal and tells Cuomo he’s on the naughty list this year–but he still has a chance to redeem himself and make the nice list for next Christmas. Love it! It’s funny yet serious at the same time. The JLCNY hopes drilling supporters will print it out and send it (multiple times) over the next 30 days. We add our voice to theirs and encourage you to do just that.

    Here’s the message (and postcard) from Santa and the JLCNY:
    Read More “JLCNY Sends Gov. Cuomo a Lump of Coal for Christmas”

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    What Does PA Supreme Court Decision on Act 13 Mean?

    what does it all mean?MDN reported the sad news on Friday that PA’s Supreme Court gutted big and important parts of the Act 13 legislation passed in early 2012 (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). The natural, follow-on question is, what does this decision mean for drillers and landowners? The honest answer is, in the short-term, not much. Until now we have lived under existing local/municipal zoning rules while the lawsuit worked its way through the court system. We remain under a crazy quilt patchwork of different rules for different towns. The drillers have, for the most part, learned to live with it and likely will continue doing so.

    As MDN pointed out on Friday, there are some towns with boards packed with anti-drillers that will make drilling so miserable in that area (cough *Robinson* cough) drillers will likely just leave them alone–meaning landowners lose out, local businesses lose out, taxpayers will certainly lose out. Everyone’s a loser. But that’s the definition of victory for anti-drillers–everyone loses. So where do we go from here?…
    Read More “What Does PA Supreme Court Decision on Act 13 Mean?”

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    Taking a Closer Look at Ohio’s “Piddly” Utica Shale Tax Increase

    Now that the drilling industry is heavily invested in Ohio, Democrat (and yes, even Republican) lawmakers in Ohio think they have the industry by the short hairs and they can safely raise taxes on the industry–dramatically. The thinking goes, as expressed by an Ohio Democrat lawmaker, that because of the big-time investment by industry in the state they won’t leave the state if lawmakers now raise taxes on them. It’s a pretty big gamble to take.

    As MDN has written, even the Ohio Oil & Gas Association (OOGA) is now backing the Utica Shale tax increase, although the Ohio Petroleum Council (OPC) has not yet signed on for higher Utica Shale taxes (see The Secret Back Room Deal to Raise OH’s Utica Shale Tax). What, exactly, is being proposed? Let’s analyze this tax and our objections to it…
    Read More “Taking a Closer Look at Ohio’s “Piddly” Utica Shale Tax Increase”

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    PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case

    court gavelNo doubt most MDN readers have already heard the earth-shattering news from yesterday that Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court has sided with the seven towns who sued the state to retain their right to regulate (zone) where drilling and related activities can and cannot happen in their communities. MDN has long covered this story and worried that a split decision after one of the justices resigned would lead to an unresolved situation. As fate would have it, one of the Republicans on the bench, Chief Justice Ron Castille, sold out and turned against the industry, so it ended up being a 4-2 decision with (predictably) all three Democrats voting against the industry plus RINO Castille.

    What was the decision? For different reasons (they couldn’t agree among themselves), the justices said localities should be able to write their own rules for where drilling can and can’t go. Which is certainly not a bad thing (the right to determine), except in some communities local town boards are packed with anti-drillers that make life a living hell for anyone or anything related to drilling. Ultimately innocent landowners and taxpayers are the ones who lose out because drillers will walk away from areas where unreasonable people pack town boards (no drilling, no leases, no jobs, no tax revenue). That’s exactly what will now start to happen in PA.

    Anti-drilling groups like The Sierra Club, Delaware Riverkeeper and PennEnvironment were positively orgasmic in their reaction. They now get to kill drilling in at least some locations in PA. The Marcellus Shale Coalition said it’s a truly a sad day for PA. We agree. Below we bring you what we consider the “best of” coverage of the opinion. We have not had time to thoroughly research it ourselves, so we’ll rely on others to analyze it. We’ve also embedded the full 162-page decision filed by the Supreme Court so you can read it for yourself…
    Read More “PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case”

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    John Hanger Uses Franklin Forks Water Issue to Boost Gov Campaign

    Using the case of three families in Franklin Forks, PA who are suing WPX Energy for contaminating their water wells as a political issue, John Hanger, former Secretary of the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), says the investigation done by the DEP wasn’t independent enough for his liking and the agency should re-do it. The three families claim WPX caused methane to migrate into their water wells. The reason the story has been in the news is because WPX had tried (and finally gave up) to remove fresh water tanks from the residents after the DEP determined WPX’s drilling was not at fault (see WPX Decides to Let Franklin Forks Families Keep Water Tanks).

    Hanger’s protestations give his failing campaign to get the Democrat nomination for governor some badly needed media attention since his candidacy is rapidly sinking. He’s looking for any wedge issue he can find. The WPX story, visible as it is right now, is tailor made. Here’s John’s trumped up reasons for why the investigation should be redone…
    Read More “John Hanger Uses Franklin Forks Water Issue to Boost Gov Campaign”

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    Energy Industry Leaders Gather at Platts Forum in NYC

    One week ago, MDN editor Jim Willis attended the Platts Global Energy Outlook Forum in New York City. The Forum, an annual event that attracts the titans of the worldwide energy industry, was held at the swanky Waldorf Astoria Hotel. Although Jim has been traveling to NYC for years and prides himself on his ability to navigate Manhattan on the subway, every now and again he botches it–like this time. So he ended up walking an extra 6-7 city blocks after getting off at the wrong stop (doh!). But that’s OK. It was a brisk day and the walk did him good.

    Rather than get on the ungodly 3:10 am bus from Binghamton to NYC, Jim elected to ride the 6:10 am bus, which was late arriving at the Port Authority due to traffic at the Lincoln Tunnel. So he missed the first session and joined the second session shortly after it had begun. But wow, what a session it was! Below Jim shares his notes from the session “Switching, Ditching and Bridging Fuels,” his notes and impressions from the lunch keynote address by DOE Sec. Ernest Moniz, and his notes from the afternoon session titled, “Midstream Gathers Momentum”. Jim got to hear some of the biggest names in energy. It was all a bit heady for a “small time” natural gas blogger with an attitude…
    Read More “Energy Industry Leaders Gather at Platts Forum in NYC”

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    OH House Republicans Take Up “Kill Utica Drilling” Tax

    Here we go. The Ohio House has taken up and is now considering raising the severance tax on Utica Shale drilling much higher than it has been–which threatens to stall drilling in the state. Some RINO Republicans have signed on to the bill, following the lead of flaky Gov. John Kasich (also a Republican, increasingly looking like a RINO himself).

    Here’s the latest on the “kill Utica drilling” tax:
    Read More “OH House Republicans Take Up “Kill Utica Drilling” Tax”

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    Norse Energy Sues Gov. Cuomo to Force Release of Fracking Regs

    Stop Press!

    Newly appointed Norse Energy lawyer Tom West (from Albany) is a man of his word. He says what he means and means what he says. Exactly two weeks ago West had a “demand” letter hand-delivered to NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens. The letter, “demanding” to have a release date for the now 5 1/2 year-old draft fracking regulations, was also delivered to State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah and to Gov. Andrew Cuomo himself (see Tom West Demands DEC Com. Martens Release the SGEIS – Soon). The unstated threat was that if there is no response, West fully intends to file an Article 78 lawsuit against all three to force the release. Article 78 is a provision that makes recalcitrant (and ineffective) government officials do their job.

    Yesterday afternoon West made good on the threat and filed the lawsuit (see a full copy embedded below). Among the justifications for requesting the court to force the release of the fracking regulations (called the SGEIS), is this “hit it out of the park” statement:
    Read More “Norse Energy Sues Gov. Cuomo to Force Release of Fracking Regs”

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    USGS Study Finds 15% of NY Water Wells Already Have High Methane

    Well, imagine that. Even more scientific evidence has just arrived, courtesy the US Geological Survey (USGS), that there’s a whole lotta methane in the ground in the Southern Tier of New York State. So much methane that 15% of the water wells tested across nearly 2,000 square miles for more than a year by the USGS show methane levels so high that the methane needs to be monitored and/or mitigated. That is, miles away from any fracking or existing gas wells, water wells are saturated with naturally occurring methane. In case you miss the point: Fracking is NOT the cause of methane migrating to water wells in northeast PA and in New York. There is no shale fracking in NY! And yet, there’s methane–so much you can, oh, light your tap on fire?

    What say you now anti-frackers? Yeah, we thought so. There’s NOTHING you can say. Your lies are exposed. Here’s the press release and a full copy of the study released yesterday by the USGS with data from their tests of water wells in NY state:
    Read More “USGS Study Finds 15% of NY Water Wells Already Have High Methane”

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    Cuomo Obstinately Says He’ll Continue to Dither on Frack Decision

    New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo continues to prevaricate/dither/postpone his decision on whether or not to allow fracking for shale gas in New York State. He said so yesterday at a news conference. By continuing to delay a decision far past everyone’s measure of reasonableness, he’s totally eliminated any chance he had of running for president. He’s also courting a lawsuit that will embarrassingly force him to do his job and make him release the new drilling rules (see Tom West Demands DEC Com. Martens Release the SGEIS – Soon). Today is the deadline by which Norse Energy’s lawyer Tom West has demanded a fixed date when the Cuomo administration will release new drilling regs. If that doesn’t happen (and it almost certainly won’t), a lawsuit to force the issue will be filed–perhaps as early as this month. Cuomo is out of time and out of options–yet he continues to prevaricate.

    Meanwhile, Cuomo’s State Health Commissioner, Nirav Shah, continues to be Cuomo’s spear catcher and take all the heat because Shah refuses (at Cuomo’s direction) to announce whether or not he believes proposed drilling rules will protect the nebulous “public health.” Shah has humorously taken to spouting things about science being done in “sacred places.” Apparently sacred places are located everywhere but New York. Here’s how Cuomo’s dithering talk went yesterday…
    Read More “Cuomo Obstinately Says He’ll Continue to Dither on Frack Decision”

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    A Natural Gas Christmas Carol, Starring Gov. Andy

    An early Christmas present for New York landowners and those with an interest in drilling in New York State, provided by our friends at the Joint Landowners Coalition: a “Natural Gas Christmas Carol”. It is funny, and sad–all at the same time. Give it a read! (Hey, it’s better than a lump of coal.)

    Here’s the letter and a link to the PDF from the JLCNY…
    Read More “A Natural Gas Christmas Carol, Starring Gov. Andy”

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    WPX Decides to Let Franklin Forks Families Keep Water Tanks

    do the right thingWPX Energy has made not only a smart move, but is doing the right thing. MDN told you last week about the three families in Franklin Forks, PA who say nearby Marcellus drilling by WPX Energy caused methane to migrate into their water wells (see WPX to Make 2nd Attempt at Removing Water Tanks in Franklin Twp). The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection investigated (for years) and found the methane in the families’ wells is naturally occurring and not from WPX’s work. So WPX tried to remove the water tanks (“buffaloes”) they voluntarily provided to the families.

    One family let them remove the water buffalo, the other two illegally resisted, so WPX was scheduled to come back today with warrants in hand to remove them. But last week WPX had a change of heart and said in essence, “Go ahead and keep the water buffaloes. We’ll donate them to you if you want them that badly.” To which we say, it was not only a smart PR move but a nice thing, the “right thing,” to do. It immediately denies the anti-drilling crazies more parading in front of TV cameras to talk about how heartless the drilling industry is. Here’s the latest on the Franklin Forks saga…
    Read More “WPX Decides to Let Franklin Forks Families Keep Water Tanks”