Industrywide Issues

  • New Anti-Drilling Movie GASLAND Takes Aim at Hydrofacking

    gaslandlogo Coming soon to an art house theater near you is… GASLAND, winner of the Special Jury Prize for Documentary at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. From the GASLAND official website:

    When filmmaker Josh Fox discovers that Natural Gas drilling is coming to his area—the Catskillls/Poconos region of Upstate New York and Pennsylvania, he sets off on a 24 state journey to uncover the deep consequences of the United States’ natural gas drilling boom. What he uncovers is truly shocking—water that can be lit on fire right out of the sink, chronically ill residents of drilling areas from disparate locations in the US all with the same mysterious symptoms, huge pools of toxic waste that kill cattle and vegetation well blowouts and huge gas explosions consistently covered up by state and federal regulatory agencies. These are just a few of the many absurd and astonishing revelations of a new country called GASLAND.

    Michael Moore, writer/producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko, and Capitalism: A Love Story among others, has pioneered this kind of “documentary” that’s long on innuendo and short on facts, perfecting it as an art. It seems Mr. Moore has spawned imitators, including Josh Fox.

    The drumbeat will only grow louder from the anti-drilling movement. Their two-pronged attack is to claim: 1) Hydraulic fracturing as a mining technique is unsafe, and 2) Your water will become contaminated with nasty chemicals and/or methane gas if there’s a drill anywhere near you. Both claims are false.

    Look, no one wants people’s water to become polluted, or livestock to become ill, or water to become contaminated. Painting energy companies as the Great Satan, as films like this try to do, is simply childish and simplistic at best. There are safeguards in place. Drilling IS happening in a lot of places—with no negative consequences. We need to stay vigilant, of course. But drilling can happen safely, and it should. To ban all natural gas drilling and hydrofracking as a technique is unreasonable.

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    Swamp Angel Energy Guilty of Illegally Dumping 200K Gallons of Brine in PA

    Mother Nature Network (Feb 22)
    Gas drillers plead guilty to felony dumping violations

    Two people from Swamp Angel Energy pled guilty last week to dumping 200,000 gallons of brine in an abandoned oil well in McKean County, Pennsylvania.

    According to the article:

    [P]art-owner Michael Evans, 66, of La Quinta, Calif., and John Morgan, 54, of Sheffield, Penn., admitted dumping 200,000 gallons of brine – salty wastewater that’s created in the drilling process – down an abandoned oil well. The maximum penalty for both Evans and Morgan is three years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Sentencing will be June 24.

    Swamp Angel Energy was (and is currently) drilling in the Allegheny National Forest, located in McKean County. Also according to the article:

    Swamp Angel has 77 active, permitted wells in Pennsylvania, all of them in McKean County.

    Fellow drillers and those in the drilling industry have swiftly and rightly condemned the illegal dumping. The article is anti-drilling with a smug “See, I told you so,” kind of tone, which is to be expected coming from MNN. However, the illegal actions of a few should not be used to paint all drilling companies with the same broad brush.

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    New Marcellus Wastewater Treatment Plant Coming to Elk County, PA

    DuBois Courier-Express/Tri-County (Feb 20)
    Marcellus shale drilling water may be treated at local acid mine treatment site

    Drillers in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania will soon have a new plant to treat wastewater, called flowback, from drilling activities. The new plant will be located in Brandy Camp (Elk County), PA. From the article:

    The project will be located at the existing Blue Valley acid mine drainage treatment and fish culture station in Brandy Camp, which is operated by the Toby Creek Watershed Association, according to a Friday news release.

    The project, to be known as the Blue Valley Hydrofrac Plant, will be owned and operated by Flowback Wastewater Development Group, which has Frank Nickens as director of operations.

    As for capacity of the plant:

    The first phase will provide for treatment of up to 300,000 gallons per day of hydrofracture flowback and production brine wastewaters. The output will be 1.2 million gallons per day of recycled hydrofracture makeup water or 720,000 gallons per day of treated acid mine drainage water.

    The second phase will add an additional 1.15 million gallons per day of treated acid mine drainage.

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    Chesapeake Withdraws Application to Store Millions of Gallons of Wastewater near Keuka Lake

    Syracuse Post-Standard (Feb 21)
    Plan to truck hydrofracking wastewater to Finger Lakes shelved, for now

    Readers of Marcellus Drilling News know that we advocate for landowners, and that we support safe drilling. But, drilling companies sometimes do themselves no favors and deservedly receive suspicion and condemnation. Case in point: Chesapeake Energy, one of the largest drillers in the U.S., is looking for a place to store millions of gallons of wastewater from their drilling operations in Pennsylvania. They thought they may have found a spot in the Steuben County (New York) town of Pulteney, in an old gas well no longer in use. They wanted to store up to 663 million gallons of wastewater—called “flowback” in the drilling business—in the old gas well, and they filed an application to do so.

    Flowback, which is water combined with sand and unspecified chemicals, is what’s leftover after it’s been pumped into the ground and brought back out again. The problem is, the chemicals used by drilling companies are a closely guarded trade secret—something that gives them an edge over competitors when drilling. So no one knows what, exactly, is in the flowback, nor in what proportions. This makes people uneasy when you want to store millions of gallons of it close to homes with water wells, and close to their vineyards. The old gas well sits next door to an active vineyard.

    It’s also bone-headed of Chesapeake to want to store it in this particular abandoned gas well, as the location is just one mile away from Keuka Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York. The proposed underground storage by Chesapeake “would not be lined or contained.” If, by some unfortunate event, the stored flowback were to leak into Keuka Lake, the resulting contamination could be catastrophic. It appears to be a risk just not worth taking. Much better for Chesapeake to look for a facility that will treat the flowback and return it to them to be reused for more drilling.

    Chesapeake has withdrawn its application for now. Although not a popular subject with drillers, if drilling companies were to disclose the chemicals used in the drilling process, it would go a long way to silencing the critics that there is no safe way to drill.

    The article from the Syracuse Post-Standard is fair and balanced (more or less) with a video interview of a local landowner who lives across from the abandoned gas well. It’s worth your time to read the article and watch the video interview.

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    DISH, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman Visits Binghamton – Marcellus Drilling News was There

    This will necessarily be a long article. As a regular reader of Marcellus Drilling News, you have come to expect brief articles highlighting information useful for landowners and other interested parties in the Marcellus Drilling debate. Last night, your faithful scribe attended a local meeting in Binghamton, NY at Binghamton’s East Middle School, to hear DISH, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman and his views on natural gas drilling. I went with an open mind to evaluate whether Mr. Tillman and the other speaker of the evening—lawyer Helen Slottje from Ithaca—would present information that would challenge my views that drilling can be done safely when it’s done right.

    I would say it’s a fair statement that if you went to the meeting as a supporter of drilling, or as an opponent, your view was not changed by the presentations. I attended on behalf of the average landowner, even though I do not have land for lease in the Marcellus myself. I tried to be your eyes and ears at the meeting. Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with, nor compensated by, anyone in the drilling debate on either side of the debate. I’m just an interested blogger and advocate for landowners and the rights of private property owners.

    This is an account of what happened last night…

    Read More “DISH, Texas Mayor Calvin Tillman Visits Binghamton – Marcellus Drilling News was There”

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    Susquehanna River Basin Commission Monitors Waterways for Contamination

    WETM-18 TV (Feb 15)
    Gas Drilling Prompts More Water Quality Monitoring

    Due to concerns over drilling in the Marcellus and discharge of wastewater from drilling operations into area waterways that ultimately find their way to Susquehanna River, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission has placed monitoring devices in the Twin Tiers area of New York (Binghamton and Elmira). So far 10 monitoring devices have been installed, with another 20 to be installed by June.

    Marcellus Drilling News applauds the efforts of the SRBC to ensure local waterways remain contamination-free from drilling activities. Everyone wins when there is vigilance and monitoring.

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    Youngstown, OH Gets 350 New Jobs Due to Marcellus Drilling

    The Vindicator (Feb 16)
    V&M delivers plant, 350 jobs

    Youngstown, Ohio is getting a new $650 million pipe mill and 350 new jobs due to Marcellus Shale drilling. V&M Star Steel has just announced they are building a new plant in Youngstown because of its proximity to the Marcellus Shale deposit. The new mill will manufacture pipes used in drilling in the Marcellus, according to V&M president, Roger Lindgren. The mill is expected to start operations in 2011, and be up to full capacity in 2012. Although this is a new plant and new construction, it is an expansion of V&M’s existing operation in Youngstown, built on property next to their current facility.

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    NY DEC Extends Comment Period on New Regulations by 30 Days

    Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (Nov 4):
    Debate on drilling rules extended by DEC

    The New York Department of Environmental Conservation has caved to the anti-drillers who are screaming for more time to read the 800-page draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS)–the proposed new drilling regulations all drillers in New York would have to follow when drilling in the Marcellus Shale. So the DEC has added another 30 days to the “comment period” which is really nothing more than an extra 30 days for the anti-drillers to try and prevent drilling in New York. No worries, drilling is coming and they can’t stop it.

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    Feds Deny Private Landowers the Right to Drill in PA

    Kangaroo News Service (Nov 2):
    Local Citizens, Civic and Business Leaders Launch Petition to Resume Oil and Gas Development in the Allegheny National Forest

    This one should make every landowner shudder–with anger and fear. The Obama Administration has illegally shut down drilling on private land in Pennsylvania. Landowners who own land in the Allegheny National Forest are now denied access to drill and sell the natural gas under their own land by fiat from the U.S. Forest Service, part of the executive branch of the federal government (i.e., Obama). This naked and forceful grab of individuals’ rights by the federal government cannot go unanswered. Make your voices heard!!

    We have to go all the way to an Australian news service for this one folks:

    In a petition distributed by the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association (POGAM) and Allegheny Forest Alliance (AFA), nearly 2,000 citizens, and civic and business leaders from Elk, Forest, Warren and McKean counties have called for President Obama and the U.S. Department of Agriculture to lift a ban on oil and gas development by the U.S. Forest Service, which effectively has halted drilling on privately owned mineral lands underlying the Allegheny National Forest. The petition was also mailed to Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell to encourage a greater effort by the Commonwealth to support a critical element of northwestern Pennsylvania’s economy.

    In a historically unprecedented action, local and regional managers of the Allegheny National Forest have banned oil and natural gas exploration and barred mineral owners from accessing their property throughout the forest, effectively seizing the development rights to privately owned oil, gas and mineral resources. The ban has shut down oil and natural gas exploration and stymied production in the forest, where the industry has operated for decades in cooperation with the U.S. government. The petition maintains that the ban illegally violates Pennsylvania’s grant of consent to the United States in 1921 to acquire the forest and also violates the protection of private property rights in the federal law, the Weeks Act of 1911, under which it was acquired.

    “The behavior by the Forest Service is most irresponsible, and it amounts to the unlawful taking of private property,” said Stephen W. Rhoads, POGAM president. “State records show that fewer than 50 wells, all of them permitted prior to the drilling ban imposed on January 1, have been drilled in the Allegheny National Forest during 2009. The Forest Service has prevented the drilling of between 200-300 wells that would have otherwise occurred. These undrilled wells translate into private investment of nearly $100 million and jeopardize hundreds of good-paying jobs in the region. The action of the Forest Service amounts to a full-scale assault on the economic health of the families and communities living in and around the Allegheny National Forest.”

    Private oil and gas development within the Allegheny National Forest accounts for at least 20 percent of Pennsylvania’s oil production and as much as 10 percent of Pennsylvania’s natural gas production. It contributes tens of millions of dollars annually into the regional economy of northwest Pennsylvania and western New York.

    For decades, the U.S. Forest Service and the oil and natural gas industry have worked cooperatively to manage oil and gas development. The petition represents a strong consensus among citizens and local community leaders about the importance of this industry and the condemnation of the Forest Services’ current management practices to immobilize the region’s economic recovery and progress.

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    Six Regulators Police Drilling in Eastern Half of PA

    Wayne Independent (Nov 2):
    Few regulators in place for natural-gas drilling

    At a recent meeting in Preston Township (Pennsylvania), Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) officials talked about their role in inspecting gas drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale. The article attempts to make the case there are far too few inspectors for the growing number of drilling locations. In the eastern half of Pennslvania there are only six DEP officers whose job it is to monitor drilling activity and water supplies. The DEP is requesting three more, but with the recent state budget cuts, the additional positions are not assured.

    There was one bit of interesting information for landowners in Wayne and surrounding counties in the article:

    Although Wayne County has had only two natural gas wells drilled in the past two years, other areas in the region have experienced a rapid proliferation of production sites including in Susquehanna, Bradford, and Tioga counties. Hundreds of drill sites are expected to come online by the end of next year in the eastern office’s jurisdiction.

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    First NY DEC Meeting on Proposed Drilling Regulations Held in Sullivan County

    Middletown Times Herald-Record (Oct 29):
    300 folks pack Sullivan fracking forum

    The first scheduled meeting for public comments on the draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) held by the New York DEC happened yesterday in Sullivan County, NY. According to the Middletown Times Herald-Record:

    Most of the speakers in the standing-room-only, mostly anti-drilling crowd of more than 300 at Sullivan County Community College said the proposed Department of Environmental Conservation rules for drilling of the Marcellus shale fall short.

    The anti-drilling standard tactic is to delay drilling in hopes of building support to get it banned altogether. This was evidenced at the meeting. With regard to extending the DEC’s public comment period (which would further delay the start of drilling):

    Paul Rush, deputy commissioner of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection, called for 45 extra days.

    Joe DiPane of Callicoon called for six months, since the shale “has been formed underground for eons,” he said.

    There are two more scheduled meetings, Nov. 10 in New York City and Nov. 12 in the Binghamton area. A third meeting is yet to be arranged in the Elmira area. (See Public Hearings on the New York Draft SGEIS for Marcellus Shale Drilling for details.) Landowners need to attend and make their voices heard!

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    Make Your Voice Heard on the Proposed NY Drilling Regulations

    In addition to attending the hearings previously mentioned (see Public Hearings on the New York Draft SGEIS for Marcellus Shale Drilling), if you’re a landowner in New York, you can also make your voice heard about the new regulations in the following ways:

    (1) Leave a comment on the specially created form on the DEC website: www.dec.ny.gov/cfmx/extapps/SGEISComments/

    (2) Send an e-mail to: dmnsgeis@gw.dec.state.ny.us

    (3) Write a letter to:
    Attn: dSGEIS Comments
    Bureau of Oil & Gas Regulation
    NYSDEC Division of Mineral Resources
    625 Broadway, Third Floor
    Albany, NY 12233-6500

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    Public Hearings on the New York Draft SGEIS for Marcellus Shale Drilling

    New York Dept. of Environmental Conservation (Oct 13):
    Press Release: DEC Schedules Public Hearings on Marcellus Shale Drilling Draft SGEIS

    Landowners will want to attend the public hearings being held by the New York DEC on the draft regulations for drilling in the Marcellus Shale. The regulations are called the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS). Why attend? To educate yourself on the regulations, and (if you’re so inclined), to offer your comments of support. You can be sure the anti-drillers will be out and vocal–so you need to be out and vocal too if you’re interested in ever seeing drilling commence in New York State. Here are the dates for hearings so far:

    • Wednesday, Oct. 28, Sullivan County Community College, E Building, Seelig Theater, 112 College Rd., Loch Sheldrake, NY 12759.
    • Tuesday, Nov. 10, Stuyvesant High School, High School Auditorium, 345 Chambers Street, New York, NY 10282.
    • Thursday, Nov. 12, Chenango Valley High School, High School Auditorium, 221 Chenango Bridge Rd., Chenango Bridge, NY 13901.
    • Elmira – Corning, TBD.

    The doors will open at 6 p.m. for individual questions and speaker sign up (first come, first called for commenting on the record). The public comment session will start at 7 p.m. Check the DEC web site for possible changes in time or location.

    From the press release:

    DEC staff will be available prior to the start of each session to answer individual questions about the format and contents of the draft SGEIS. The following procedures will guide the public hearings:

    • To accommodate as many people as possible, there will be a five-minute limit on oral presentations.
    • Speakers may supplement their oral presentations with written comments. Written and oral comments receive equal consideration.
    • Formal presentations (PowerPoint, etc.) cannot be accommodated.
    • Individuals intending to speak will be required to sign-in upon arrival and will be called in the order registered.

    To view (or download) the 809-page draft SGEIS, go to this page: www.dec.ny.gov/energy/58440.html

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    Sen. Gillibrand Trying to Slow Down Drilling in New York

    Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin (Oct 15):
    Gillibrand urges N.Y. extend comment period on gas drill rules

    More delay tactics from the Democrats. Enough already! From the article:

    U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, on Thursday urged New York to extend the public comment period on proposed regulations governing development of the gas-rich Marcellus Shale.

    New York state released its environmental impact statement Sept. 30 and scheduled a series of public meetings, beginning on Oct. 28 . The state provided a 60-day period for public comment; Gillibrand, D-N.Y., recommended a 90-day public comment period, to Dec. 30.

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    Pennsylvania Budget Almost There – With No Drilling Tax

    Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct 9):
    Pa. budget pieces start to fall into place

    With a state budget still not adopted, and now over 100 days late, Pennsylvania is finally about there. The good news for drillers…no severance tax this year:

    Also not in the package is a tax that some lawmakers had wanted to impose on natural-gas drilling in the vast formation known as the Marcellus Shale.

    Republicans in the Senate – and later Rendell – opposed starting such a tax this year, arguing that it would stunt drillers in an industry still in its infancy in the state.

    Kudos to the Republican Senate for protecting landowners’ money.

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    Pro-drilling Editorial from Corning Leader

    Corning Leader (Oct 7):
    Gas drilling an important opportunity

    Well, what do you know? A positive editorial from a news outlet (for a change). This one from the Corning Leader says in part:

    [S]ometime next spring or summer we’ll see the beginning of what could be a drilling bonanza in the Southern Tier. Hundreds of wells have already been tapped in Pennsylvania and the same level of activity could happen here.

    Potentially, that could generate billions in new revenue for a sustained period of time. Gas companies, support companies, engineering firms and so on are expected to follow others that have already located in the Southern Tier to tap into the northern tip of the Marcellus Shale. Those companies will create jobs, pay taxes and have a beneficial ripple effect through other sectors that could revive one of the poorest areas of the country.

    Thank you for talking about the positive side of drilling!