Industrywide Issues

Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

PA Environmentalist Groups Try to Make a Federal Case Against McKeesport Sewage Treatment Plant over Marcellus Wastewater
July 20, 2011July 20, 2011

Two activist environmental organizations, Clean Water Action and Three Rivers Waterkeeper, are attempting to make a federal case against the McKeesport (Allegheny County) municipal sewage treatment plant that in the past has accepted hydraulic fracturing wastewater because the plant won’t categorically commit to never accepting fracking wastewater again. Here’s the very confusing setup from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

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

Wellsburg, WV City Council Votes to Repeal Two-Month-Old Marcellus Drilling Ban
July 20, 2011July 20, 2011

The Wellsburg (WV) City Council voted in May of this year to institute a ban on hydraulic fracturing within the City and up to one mile outside of the City. On Tuesday, Council members voted to repeal the two-month old ban:

Read More “Wellsburg, WV City Council Votes to Repeal Two-Month-Old Marcellus Drilling Ban”
Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Pittsburgh Councilman Doug Shields Lobbies to Get Drilling Ban Added to City’s Charter
July 20, 2011July 20, 2011

Pittsburgh, PA enacted an ordinance banning hydraulic fracturing and Marcellus gas drilling some eight months ago. Leading the charge against drilling was city Councilman Doug Shields (Democrat-District 5). Now Mr. Shields is concerned that once he’s gone from office, future city councils may waver in their anti-drilling commitment and may repeal the ban, so he wants to enshrine the ban in the city’s charter:

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

Public Policy Institute Predicts 62K New Jobs in NY State when Marcellus Drilling Moratorium is Lifted
July 19, 2011July 19, 2011

Public Policy Institute, Inc. (PPI), the research arm of The Business Council of New York State, has just released a new report titled “Drilling for Jobs: What the Marcellus Shale could mean for New York.” The 24-page report (see a full copy embedded below) takes a look at the huge opportunity in job growth that will be realized in New York State once the hydraulic fracturing moratorium is lifted.

Read More “Public Policy Institute Predicts 62K New Jobs in NY State when Marcellus Drilling Moratorium is Lifted”
Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Rex Energy | Westmoreland County

Landowners in Westmoreland County, PA Reach Settlement with Rex Energy for Contract Breach & Non-Payment
July 19, 2011July 19, 2011

A group of 230 landowners in Westmoreland County, PA have settled a longstanding dispute with Marcellus drilling company Rex Energy. Landowners say they were approached by Rex representatives in 2007 and 2008 to sign leases, and they did sign, but then never received the promised payments. Lawyers charged that Rex was signing as many people as possible in a bid to make it look as though they controlled a significant amount of land in the area to impress investors. Rex claims they never countersigned some leases and therefore did not owe money for those leases.

After two years of litigation, an out-of-court settlement has finally been reached.

Read More “Landowners in Westmoreland County, PA Reach Settlement with Rex Energy for Contract Breach & Non-Payment”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Democrat First to Introduce New Legislation for Marcellus Shale Drilling Impact Fees
July 19, 2011July 19, 2011

Although a final copy of the recommendations voted on by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission have not yet reached his desk, eager politicians are already introducing new legislation to assess impact fees on Marcellus Shale drilling.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | MAX Environmental | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Washington County, PA Landfill Wants to Accept Semi-Solid Waste from Marcellus Drillers
July 19, 2011July 19, 2011

An industrial landfill in Washington County, PA that already accepts “solid waste” from Marcellus Shale drilling operations is now seeking permission to also accept semi-solid waste from Marcellus Shale drilling.

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Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Make 96 Recommendations Including Impact Fee & Forced Pooling
July 18, 2011July 18, 2011

In March of this year, newly elected Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett appointed a 30-member Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission with the aim of producing “a comprehensive, strategic proposal for the responsible and environmentally sound development of Marcellus Shale.” The panel wrapped up their work last Friday by voting on a list of recommendations, ultimately approving 96 of them. The final list will be issued in a report which goes to Gov. Corbett on July 22 and is not available at this time.

However, two prominent items from the approved list are being reported by media sources present at the meeting: a new impact fee and forced pooling.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Laser Northeast Gathering | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PA Utility Commission Reconsiders Decision to Grant Public Utility Status to Pipeline Company
July 18, 2011July 18, 2011

The Pennsylvania Utility Commission (PUC) is reconsidering its decision to grant pipeline company Laser Northeast Gathering status as a public utility with the power of eminent domain (see MDN’s previous coverage of that decision here).

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

NYC Opposition to DEC Fracking Rules Continues: Natural Fractures, Brittle Rock, Aging Tunnels…Oh My!
July 15, 2011July 15, 2011

It’s going to be a long summer for both those for and against drilling in the Marcellus Shale in New York State. The state DEC released new draft drilling regulations just last week and already there’s plenty of jockeying going on to either support or oppose the new regulations. A public comment period of 60 days (August & September) will be followed by more tweaking of the rules before a final version is approved by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

Even though the new draft rules put the New York City watershed area off limits to drilling, that doesn’t seem to be good enough for some Downstaters:

Read More “NYC Opposition to DEC Fracking Rules Continues: Natural Fractures, Brittle Rock, Aging Tunnels…Oh My!”
Allegheny County | Energy Companies | EQT Corp | Industrywide Issues | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania

New Compressed Natural Gas Filling Station Opens in Pittsburgh – How Does $1.85 per Gallon (Gas Equivalent) Sound?
July 15, 2011July 15, 2011

Giant Eagle, a grocery and convenience store chain with 222 stores in western PA, Ohio and West Virginia, has just opened the first of three compressed natural gas (CNG) filling stations in the Pittsburgh area. The company is planning to replace its entire truck fleet (over 200 trucks) with CNG trucks in the coming years. The best part: How does paying $1.85 a gasoline-equivalent gallon grab you? Yes, CNG vehicles cost more (and right now only Honda in the U.S. makes one), but as the infrastructure is built, more auto manufacturers are likely to start making CNG vehicles.

Read More “New Compressed Natural Gas Filling Station Opens in Pittsburgh – How Does $1.85 per Gallon (Gas Equivalent) Sound?”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Public Opinion | Statewide NY

New Siena College Poll Shows New Yorkers Evenly Divided on the DEC’s New Hydraulic Fracturing Rules
July 15, 2011July 15, 2011

A new poll just released by Siena College’s Siena Research Institute finds New York residents are pretty evenly split (for and against) the Department of Environmental Conservation’s draft regulations that will allow hydraulic fracturing and drilling in the Marcellus Shale.

Read More “New Siena College Poll Shows New Yorkers Evenly Divided on the DEC’s New Hydraulic Fracturing Rules”
Bradford County | Industrywide Issues | Inergy | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Sullivan County

EPA Opposes MARC 1 Shale Gas Pipeline in Northeastern PA
July 15, 2011July 15, 2011

The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is throwing its considerable weight against building a new shale gas pipeline that would cross three counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY

NY Gov. Cuomo’s So-Called Friends Target His Girlfriend Sandra Lee in Fracking Fight
July 14, 2011July 14, 2011

Some of Andy Cuomo’s “friends” have decided they want to politically rough him up a bit because of his support for lifting the ban on hydraulic fracturing. The ever-loving, open-minded and ultra-tolerant left (sarcasm intended) is bringing out the long knives and going after Gov. Cuomo’s live-in girlfriend and Food Network starlet Sandra Lee, in an attempt to pressure Cuomo to re-think lifting the fracking moratorium.

Read More “NY Gov. Cuomo’s So-Called Friends Target His Girlfriend Sandra Lee in Fracking Fight”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY DEC Commissioner Says No Double Standard in Putting Some Watersheds Off Limits to Gas Drilling and Not Others
July 14, 2011July 14, 2011

The new draft regulations that will finally allow Marcellus Shale drilling in New York State were published less than one week ago, but already Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Commissioner Joe Martens is coming under fire for one of the key compromises in the rules. Politicians in New York City were steadfastly opposed to drilling anywhere in the Upstate watershed areas, which is where New York City gets its drinking water from. Mayor Bloomberg and others claimed the risk was simply too high—that if the city’s drinking water supply were ever compromised, a filtration system would need to be installed costing billions. And so to assuage those fears, the DEC has said no drilling in both the NYC and Syracuse watershed areas.

Read More “NY DEC Commissioner Says No Double Standard in Putting Some Watersheds Off Limits to Gas Drilling and Not Others”
Bradford County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania

Two New Gas Powered Electrical Plants on the Way in PA – $1.6 Billion Investment
July 14, 2011July 14, 2011

Marcellus Shale gas in Pennsylvania is having an effect on electricity generation. Instead of building coal-fired plants to generate electricity, natural gas powered plants are now in the works. Specifically, two new plants will be built in the next few years—one in Lycoming County and another in Bradford County. Not only does it mean a $1.6 billion investment, it also means hundreds of construction jobs, a cleaner way of producing electricity, and ultimately lower electricity costs for 1.4 million PA residents.

Read More “Two New Gas Powered Electrical Plants on the Way in PA – $1.6 Billion Investment”