Regulation

Accidents | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Releases List of Water Wells Impacted by Shale Drilling
August 29, 2014August 29, 2014

Here comes the next media smear campaign. This time the meme is “You know that lie we’ve been telling about how shale drilling contaminates water wells? Well it was true all along. Here’s the proof!” Case in point: The Associate Press has a single, breathless story of a new list just released by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) of 243 water wells “contaminated” by Marcellus Shale drilling. We’ve included the list below. These 243 are wells DEP officials believe have been affected by shale drilling after conducting an investigation. Some of the cases are still under investigation but included on the list because the DEP thinks they were likely contaminated by drilling. Is this the smoking gun? Is Marcellus drilling a threat to water after all? As always, MDN is here to provide some much needed perspective…
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Electrical Generation | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | Regulation | West Virginia

Marshall County Votes to Accept Gas-Powered Electric Plant
August 29, 2014August 29, 2014

In April MDN told you about a plan from a Buffalo, NY company to build an electric generating power plant in Marshall County, WV that will use Marcellus Shale gas to power it (see Marcellus-Powered Electric Plant Coming to Marshall County, WV). The plan is a bit complicated, as we’ve previously outlined. In essence, Moundsville Power, the name of the company, will build the plant and then turn over the deed to the plant to the county. Since it will be county-owned, on paper, the company will not pay any property taxes. Instead, they will pay annual “rental” payments to the county in lieu of property taxes (see Complicated Deal for Proposed WV Gas-Powered Electric Plant). It makes the project affordable and doable. County officials recently approved the plan…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Anti-Drillers Send PA DEP Letter: You’re Falling Down on the Job
August 29, 2014August 29, 2014

A group of virulently anti-drilling (and anti-fossil fuel) groups sent a nasty-gram letter to Pennsylvania Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, Chris Abruzzo, essentially telling him he’s not doing is job. The groups, sprearheaded by the wacky Sierra Club, THE Delaware Riverkeeper (the haughty and arrogant Maya van Rossum), and PennEnvironment, cite a completely discredited “report” from the politically-motivated Auditor General, Eugene DePasquale (see Anti-Drilling PA Auditor General Criticizes DEP in “Report”), along with other so-called reports from groups like the half-baked Earthworks, to accuse the DEP of being sloppy, neglectful, obstructionist, or all three. Mainstream media spins this as “environment groups send a letter to the DEP with their concerns.” It’s nothing of the sort. It’s pure horse manure and frankly, meaningless…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA PUC Appeals Act 13 Case to Supreme Court One More Time
August 29, 2014August 29, 2014

It seems there’s still a bit of unfinished business with the ongoing, never-ending lawsuits around the Act 13 oil and gas drilling law in Pennsylvania. At least one final bit of unfinished business. You will recall that seven selfish towns sued the state over the Act 13 law and it’s provision that would substitute a statewide, uniform and fair set of zoning ordinances for drilling in place of a patchwork, crazy quilt system of local ordinances for oil and gas drilling. These seven selfish towns wanted their own ordinances and sued, ultimately winning at the Supreme Court (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). The PA Supremes couldn’t, however, be bothered with deciding every tiny bit of nuance and sent some items back to the lower Commonwealth Court for final decisions. One of those decisions was about whether or not the PA Public Utility Commission (PUC) has the right to review any local oil and gas ordinances for compliance with state standards, making the award of impact fee money to a town based on such compliance. The Commonwealth Court gutted that right, taking it away from the PUC in a July decision (see PA Court Says 7 Towns Can Keep Marcellus Money & Ban Drilling Too). The PUC has appealed that decision back up to the Supremes…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA AG Kane Goes on Witch Hunt of Drilling Industry over Royalties
August 28, 2014August 28, 2014

You can’t say we didn’t warn you. In April MDN warned you that by inviting Pennsylvania’s avowed anti-drilling Attorney General Kathleen Kane (Democrat) to investigate Chesapeake Energy for shorting landowners on royalties, an invitation extended by PA Gov. Tom Corbett and PA Sen. Gene Yaw (both Republicans), they would unleash something far worse than they expected (see PA AG Kathleen “Anti-Driller” Kane Probes Chessy Royalty Issue). We were right. Word has filtered down that Kane is expanding the scope of her investigation “throughout the energy industry” in PA. Translation: the witch hunt has begun…
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Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Obama Back Door Climate Plan: Use UN to Police US Global Warming
August 28, 2014August 28, 2014

President Barack Obama intends to once again act illegally and unlawfully–in contravention to the U.S. Constitution and it’s separation of powers. Obama’s flouting of the Constitution has been breathtaking during his ignominious presidency–and it’s about to get worse. On Tuesday the New York Times reported a story that Obama and his global warming cronies are concocting a plan to sign a binding agreement, in essence a new treaty–without consent of two-thirds of the Senate as required by the Constitution–that would commit the U.S. to arbitrary and punitive emissions standards to be enforced by the United Nations. Talk about chutzpah…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Lancaster County | Lebanon County | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

PA Gov Corbett Makes Political U-Turn on Pipeline Project
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Last week Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett waded into the thorny issue of whether or not the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) should approve the Williams Tranco pipeline expansion project. Dubbed the Atlantic Sunrise project, the $3 billion project which reaches far beyond just PA, would carry PA Marcellus Shale gas to the East Coast and to southern states (see Williams Open House Sheds more Light on Transco Atlantic Sunrise). Last week Corbett sent a letter to FERC asking the feds to look carefully at the Atlantic Sunrise expansion project because he’s hearing a lot of noise from voters about it. He also requested FERC to zoom out and look at the big picture–consider all of the proposed pipeline projects for PA and whether as a whole it makes sense–and not just look at each project individually…
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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Venango County | Wastewater

PA Driller Slapped with $250K Fine for Dumping Brine, Erosion
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

UPDATE: An alert MDN reader from Venango County with industry knowledge contacted MDN to say he very much doubts Henderson has done any Marcellus Shale drilling. Henderson’s history is as a shallow/conventional driller and not a shale driller. Thanks for that clarification!

William Henderson, the president and operator of three companies–Titusville Oil & Gas Associates Inc., Eagle Line Corporation, and Olympia Oil Services Inc.–has been fined $250,000 by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) for violations of the Clean Stream Law, Solid Waste Management Act, and Oil and Gas Act. The DEP says Henderson and his companies have caused environmental damage from illegal discharges of production fluids (brine), for causing erosion, and more. The violations occurred from 2010 to 2014. It’s not clear to MDN that any of the violations were from Marcellus Shale drilling activities, but it seems likely. Here’s what the DEP said, along with information not provided by the DEP that MDN has dug up on Henderson from 2011…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wastewater | Westmoreland County | WPX Energy

DEP Says WPX Needs to Replace 3rd Water Supply in SW PA
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

In July, MDN told you the water wells for two of three families living near a WPX recycled frack wastewater impoundment (i.e. “pond”), near Ligonier (Westmoreland County), PA, were determined to have been contaminated by that impoundment. That is, the Kalp impoundment leaked into the ground, according to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP), and that has caused a long-term problem with those wells (see WPX Wastewater Impoundment Source of Water Contamination in W PA? and our follow-up story Important Update on WPX Energy Leaking Impoundment in SWPA). The DEP has made a final determination that the third family’s well, the elderly Ken and Mildred Geary, was also affected and that WPX will need to find a permanent water replacement solution for them too…
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Energy Companies | Forced Pooling | Hilcorp Energy | Industrywide Issues | Lawrence County | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA DEP Rescedules Hilcorp Forced Pooling Hearing 4th Time
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Hearings on Hilcorp’s request to force a few recalcitrant property owners with a total of 35 acres in the middle of land leased by Hilcorp to allow Hilcorp to drill have now been rescheduled for the end of October. This is the fourth time these hearings have been rescheduled by the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). Why the ongoing delays for these hearings?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Services | GreenHunter Resources | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

AAF Fails to Get Many to Oppose Barged Frack Wastewater
August 27, 2014August 27, 2014

Americans Against Fracking (AAF), a loose confederation of virulent anti-drilling groups who oppose fossil fuels and their use in society, has issued a press release to commemorate/mourn the closing of the comment period on whether or not the U.S. Coast Guard and a myriad of other federal agencies should allow barging of frack wastewater on the Ohio River. Even though AAF has multiple groups backing it–including the odious and misnamed Food & Water Watch–they were only able to get 3,400 people to sign form letters opposing federal approval for barging of frack wastewater. And so the propaganda machine at AAF has tried to spin that into a positive. What other choice do they have?…
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Broome County | Chenango County | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Delaware County | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation | Schoharie County | Susquehanna County | Williams

Final EIS for Constitution Pipeline Delayed Another 2 Months, Ugh
August 26, 2014August 26, 2014

The Constitution Pipeline, which MDN has covered for more than two years, is a $683 million Williams pipeline project with backing from Cabot Oil & Gas that will run from Cabot’s gas fields in Susquehanna County, PA all the way to Schoharie County, NY. It’s an important project for Cabot Oil & Gas since it will move an additional half billion cubic feet of natural gas per day for the company. A month ago MDN told you the final Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission was due “any day” (see Constitution Pipeline Update from Cabot – Final EIS Due Any Day). The EIS was already delayed, and now we learn that it’s delayed yet again. According to top energy blogger and analyst Richard Zeits, the EIS for the Constitution is now delayed until the end of October–another two months…
Read More “Final EIS for Constitution Pipeline Delayed Another 2 Months, Ugh”
Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Susquehanna County

DEP Fines Cabot $76K for Out-of-Control Well in Susquehanna County
August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

Back in January Cabot Oil & Gas “lost control” of a well in Susquehanna County, PA for a period of 27 hours. Cabot said it could not determine the exact amount of natural gas or fluid released because it was not possible to safely measure the flows. However, most of what got released was methane–the same thing that comes out of cow butts in prodigious volumes. Even though the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) says there were “no significant environmental impacts,” the DEP slapped Cabot with a $76,546 fine for their inability to keep control of the well and for the unquantified discharges that came from it…
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Air Quality | Beaver County | Energy Companies | Ethane | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Regulation | Shell

Details for Shell Ethane Cracker Revealed in Air Pollution Application
August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

We now have a very detailed, inside look at Shell’s proposed ethane cracker plant. In May, Shell filed an Air Quality Plan Approval application with the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection. The 715-page document (just now coming to light, full copy embedded below)–mammoth in scope and size–lays out, in detail, just how much air pollution the proposed ethane cracker would produce. As part of that document we gain insight into the technology Shell plans to use at the plant. The application also outlines other potential impacts from the plant, including soil and vegetation. The application concludes that the proposed plant emissions “are not expected to result in adverse effects to soils, crops, or plant species of concerns, within the vicinity of the project site”…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Health Impacts | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DOH “Improves” Enviro Health Complaints Process
August 25, 2014August 25, 2014

A completely manufactured smear campaign by anti-drilling PBS reporters at Pennsylvania StateImpact continues to be joined by other willing, colluding accomplices in mainstream media outlets who accuse the PA Department of Health of either ignoring or intentionally hushing up so-called complaints. MDN previously outlined the chronology of the propaganda campaign by StateImpact Pennsylvania and the pushback by Secretary of Health Michael Wolf (see PA’s Sec of Health Fires Back at Reckless Accusations Against Dept). Because anti-drillers believe they have a winning issue (completely divorced from reality, but that doesn’t stop them), they continue to hammer away. And so, finally, Wolf (and Gov. Tom Corbett’s administration) are now playing defense instead of calling out these sleazeballs and exposing them for the frauds they are. The Dept. of Health has recently introduced “improvements to the environmental health complaint processes”…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Rep White Introduces Bill to Double-Tax Marcellus Drilling
August 14, 2014August 14, 2014

What is it with politicians like PA Rep. Jesse White (Democrat, Washington County) and their need to suck taxes out of any and every business and person they can? White, you may recall, was caught using fake online IDs, pretending to be some of his own constituents, using anonymity to attack his own constituents who disagree with his anti-drilling positions (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). PA legislators (mostly Republican) who crafted the state’s update to oil and gas drilling laws, called Act 13, wisely (presciently) included a clause in the Act 13 law that says if greedy politicians (like White) pass a severance tax on drilling in the state, the current impact fee will end. The intent was to have an impact fee instead of a severance tax. White has just introduced a bill (DOA of course) that will strip out the sunset clause and keep the impact fee even if a severance tax is passed. That is, White and others of his ilk want to double-tax the Marcellus industry in PA, with the end result of killing it…
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