Hydraulic Fracturing

Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Lenape Resources | Litigation | Livingston County | New York | Regulation

Lenape Appeals Ruling, Seeks to Overturn Frack Ban in Avon, NY
April 26, 2013April 26, 2013

Lenape Resources Inc., a small independent oil and gas company located in western NY, and its president John Holko, have “guts.” The Town of Avon, NY (Livingston County) where Lenape has a good portion of its operations voted last year to ban fracking. The poorly written law violates existing New York State law which says towns can’t regulate oil and gas drilling. It also was so broadly written it affects conventional/vertical drilling as well as unconventional/horizontal drilling. Lenape has used vertical fracking in Avon for decades (for background, see Fracking Ban in NY Town Closes Conventional Wells Too). Lenape shut down operations in Avon and sued to have the ban overturned.

Unfortunately, in March an “acting” judge in a lower court decision (misleadingly and quirkily called “Supreme” Court in NY) supported Avon’s illegal law (see Third NY Town Wins Court Approval to Ban Fracking). Lenape has received overwhelming support from the oil and gas industry and landowners, so they’ve decided to appeal the lower court ruling to the next level up in an effort to resolve this mess for all drillers in NY:

Read More “Lenape Appeals Ruling, Seeks to Overturn Frack Ban in Avon, NY”
Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

New Federal Effort to Regulate Shale Drilling via NETL & NIOSH
April 26, 2013April 26, 2013

The feds are once again sniffing around shale gas drilling done in the individual states with an eye toward regulating it. This latest effort does not come from the EPA, which is on its own mission to regulate shale drilling via the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, nor does it come from the Dept. of Interior with onerous new rules for fracking on federal lands. This effort comes from the Dept. of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The two agencies have signed a “memorandum of understanding” (MOU) to “identify and monitor the potential impact of shale gas production on air quality and [mythical] greenhouse gas emissions.”

Sprinkle in important sounding phrases like “science-based,” “core competencies,” and “human health,” pull in an alphabet soup of other agencies like DOI and EPA, and voilà: A brand new way is born to regulate oil and gas drilling by the feds…

Read More “New Federal Effort to Regulate Shale Drilling via NETL & NIOSH”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

JLCNY Provides Extensive Update on NY "Takings" Lawsuit
April 26, 2013April 26, 2013

The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) recently issued an update on the status of their lawsuit against New York State for “takings,” the legal concept that New York has now entered the status of denying landowners the rightful use of their land with its ongoing moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, and so, under the U.S. Constitution, the state must reimburse them. The lawsuit update is embedded below. The short version? The JLCNY needs more money before it can file the lawsuit…

Read More “JLCNY Provides Extensive Update on NY "Takings" Lawsuit”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Food & Water Watch Tells MD Gov "Not so Fast" on Fracking
April 26, 2013April 26, 2013

The odious anti-drilling group Food & Water Watch (FWW) sent a letter yesterday to Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley expressing “serious concerns” that O’Malley’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission’s draft report, while issuing warnings about fracking, seems to be resigned that fracking in Maryland is “inevitable” and therefore should be regulated. That doesn’t sit well with far-out groups like FWW, Josh Fox and a small list of other anti-drillers.

The statement (and letter) issued by FWW:

Read More “Food & Water Watch Tells MD Gov "Not so Fast" on Fracking”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

FracFocus Responds to Flawed Harvard Study + MDN has a Question
April 25, 2013April 25, 2013

Earlier this week Harvard Law School released a so-called study saying the independent FracFocus hydraulic fracturing chemical registry falls short and the federal government should step in to enforce reporting by drillers (see Harvard Law School Says FracFocus “Fails” as Compliance Tool).

The two organizations behind FracFocus, the Ground Water Protection Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission have responded to the charges leveled by Harvard. FracFocus points out Harvard never even talked to them or asked to see the inner workings of the organization and how it operates—so how in the world can Harvard come to the conclusions they did? MDN knows: Lefty bias—how else? Who needs facts when your own anti-drilling opinions will do just fine? Here’s the detailed response from FracFocus utterly refutes and humiliates the “study” from Harvard:

Read More “FracFocus Responds to Flawed Harvard Study + MDN has a Question”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Consulting Company Successfully Repels Smear-job by NYPIRG
April 25, 2013April 25, 2013

An attempted smearing of the independent consulting company Ecology and Environment, Inc. by Gannett and anti-drilling groups like NYPIRG has not worked. In 2011 E & E authored a study for the state Dept. of Environmental Conservation on the economic benefits of shale drilling and fracking. Earlier this week the Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA of NY) sent a letter to Gov. Cuomo telling him his indecision is killing all drilling in the state (see IOGA of NY to Cuomo: Your Indecision is Killing ALL NY Drilling). One of the 200 signatories of the letter was E & E, which Gannett and NYPIRG trumpeted as proof the study was not impartial and that the entire set of draft regulations it’s a part of should be scrapped (see NYPIRG calls on Cuomo to rescind fracking review).

Not so fast, says E & E. They are not members of IOGA of NY and only paid membership dues for one of their employees so that person could monitor the meetings and publications of IOGA of NY, according to a letter they sent to the DEC (letter embedded below). What will anti-drillers use now to try and discredit the DEC’s work on new rules for fracking? Here’s the story on E & E and IOGA:

Read More “NY Consulting Company Successfully Repels Smear-job by NYPIRG”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Meetings

Postmortem: Video Shows Tribeca/Josh Fox Lied, Censored Farmers
April 24, 2013April 24, 2013

It’s not worth a lot more in the way of “ink”—but it is worth a final post to show how the anti-fracking side simply lies when it suits them. On Sunday, FrackNation creator/director Phelim McAleer and about 20 farmers from Pennsylvania and upstate New York shouted questions to Josh Fox and the freakish Yoko Ono as they entered the debut of Gasland Part Deux at the Tribeca film festival in New York City. The questioners were barred from entering, even though they had paid for and secured tickets (see Upstate NY Farmers with Tickets Barred from Gasland 2 Premier).

Although Tribeca now claims the theater was full (do they now oversell tickets for movies like they do for airplane seats?), Phelim captured the real reason they were not admitted—on film (see it below)…

Read More “Postmortem: Video Shows Tribeca/Josh Fox Lied, Censored Farmers”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Video: Martens Riffs on Why NY Fracking Decision Taking So Long
April 24, 2013April 24, 2013

New York Commissioner of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Joe Martens, was questioned by Gannett reporter Jon Campbell on Monday about the status of New York’s fracking decision. Below is Campbell’s summary of that conversation, and a video of the interview, so you can hear and see Martens in his own words.

Bottom line: Martens and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah are running interference for their boss, Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo–giving him time to make up his mind. In the meantime, Martens and Shah are riffing (making it up as they go) when asked to defend why it’s taking so long. Give the video a watch…

Read More “Video: Martens Riffs on Why NY Fracking Decision Taking So Long”
Anadarko | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Bradford County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Sullivan County

Manufactured Controversy over Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest
April 24, 2013June 6, 2013

A new manufactured “controversy” is being ginned up by PA Democrat officials and anti-drillers over Anadarko Petroleum’s plan to drill on land they legally own the mineral rights to—25,000 acres in Loyalsock State Forest that covers parts of Lycoming, Sullivan and Bradford counties in PA. Here’s the first time we’ve heard this phrase: The forest contains a “critical bird nursery.” I mean, who could possibly drill in a nursery? Drilling will also happen underneath part of the Old Logger’s Path—not the New Logger’s Path, not the Plain and Simple Logger’s path, but the Old Logger’s Path. And drilling may include portions of the exceptional value stream known as Rock Run. We wonder, are other streams unexceptional? And (OMG!) it may include the lumber ghost town of Masten. DO NOT disturb ghosts—they don’t like it.

Isn’t language in an anti-drilling demagogue’s hands a marvel to behold?…

[Please see an update/note at the end of this article.]

Read More “Manufactured Controversy over Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

New Interior Secretary Jewell Says BLM Fracking Rules Coming Soon
April 24, 2013April 24, 2013

Newly approved Sec. of Interior, Sally Jewell, said on Monday that new rules for fracking on federal lands from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be out “fairly soon.” She also said “one size doesn’t fit all,” apparently trying to assuage concerns by the drilling industry that the federal government is attempting a takeover of regulating fracking. She even claimed she was a fracker once upon a time…

Read More “New Interior Secretary Jewell Says BLM Fracking Rules Coming Soon”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Harvard Law School Says FracFocus "Fails" as Compliance Tool
April 24, 2013April 24, 2013

The online national hydraulic fracturing chemical registry called FracFocus was launched in April of 2011. Created and managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, two organizations whose missions both revolve around conservation and environmental protection, FracFocus was created to provide the public access to reported chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing within their area. By all accounts it’s been a great success with most oil and gas drilling companies participating and supplying data about their drilling operations to the organization.

However, yesterday FracFocus came under heavy criticism from the Harvard Law School who published a 16-page study (embedded below) that says FracFocus doesn’t go far enough—they say voluntary reporting by drillers is “spotty” and the trade secret provision that allows drillers to hold back some information is “overly broad.” The title of this “study” claims that, “FracFocus fails as a regulatory compliance tool.” HLS’ proposed fix? Bring in the feds…

Read More “Harvard Law School Says FracFocus "Fails" as Compliance Tool”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

The Fractured Reality (and Hypocrisy) of NY Anti-Drillers
April 24, 2013April 24, 2013

A perceptive MDN reader from the Buffalo area emailed to make an excellent point. He told us about a real, existential and present threat in western NY from an old nuclear waste dump called West Valley. Stick with us here—there is a point!

There’s a very real possibility the nuclear waste stockpiled at West Valley may erode and be released into the environment within the next 150 years—and possibly much sooner if the area gets washed away by freak torrential downpours which seem to be occurring more regularly in the region. If that happens, nuclear waste may escape and pollute both Lakes Erie and Ontario, and with it, the drinking water for millions of people…

Read More “The Fractured Reality (and Hypocrisy) of NY Anti-Drillers”
Energy Companies | Halcon Resources | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Noise | Ohio | Trucking | Trumbull County

Trumbull County Mobile Home Park Doesn’t Like Utica Drilling
April 24, 2013April 24, 2013

The down sides of drilling, if you happen to live close to a drill site, are noise, flood lights for working at night, and truck traffic. Residents of the Westwood Lake Mobile Home Park in Trumbull County, OH can attest to that. The good news is, drilling only lasts a short time—typically a month or less. Still, someone banging on your door at 3 a.m. in the morning is a bit much…

Read More “Trumbull County Mobile Home Park Doesn’t Like Utica Drilling”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Public Opinion

Pew Research Poll: Only Half of US Adults Know What Fracking Is
April 23, 2013April 23, 2013

A new national poll just released yesterday by the Pew Research Center and Smithsonian magazine quizzed the Americans public on their knowledge of science and technology with questions on current topics and basic scientific concepts (see the full report embedded below). One of the questions on the quiz was this: Which natural resource is extracted in a process known as “fracking”? The multiple choice answers given: Coal, Diamonds, Natural gas, Silicon.

Readers of MDN know the answer—you have a keen interest in the topic of natural gas. How many in the overall general public of adults 18 and older know that fracking extracts natural gas, even with Gasland and FrackNation? A pitiful 51%.

Read More “Pew Research Poll: Only Half of US Adults Know What Fracking Is”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

IOGA of NY to Cuomo: Your Indecision is Killing ALL NY Drilling
April 23, 2013April 23, 2013

Independent Oil & Gas Association of New York (IOGA of NY) executive director Brad Gill and hundreds of other signatories sent a letter (copy embedded below) to Gov. Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo yesterday to inform him that not only is his indecision on the fracking issue preventing new jobs and new companies from coming to New York, it’s also causing the existing drilling industry in the state to leave.

Gill says the industry is “in crisis” and although it has been operating in NY for decades, it’s 5,000 direct and 50,000 indirect jobs are leaving the state in droves. Hey Andy, there is a cost to indecision…

Read More “IOGA of NY to Cuomo: Your Indecision is Killing ALL NY Drilling”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Anti-Drilling Eco-Nuts on Parade in PA for Earth Day
April 23, 2013April 23, 2013

In honor of “worship Mother Earth Day,” small groups of anti-drilling eco-nuts paraded themselves in front six different Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection offices around the state yesterday (see Protesters Rally Outside DEP Offices On Earth Day To Fight Marcellus Shale Fracking). They apparently don’t have jobs and do have lots of extra time on their hands to do such things.

In contrast to the intentional know-nothings who oppose fracking, in honor of Earth Day, the American Thinker (great site by the way) published the account of an air pollution meteorologist who recently visited actively drilled well sites in southwest PA. Here’s what someone with a brain reports about what he witnessed:

Read More “Anti-Drilling Eco-Nuts on Parade in PA for Earth Day”