Regulation

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Third Time the Charm? Youngstown Anti-Drillers Try Again for Ban
January 6, 2014January 6, 2014

The crazies are back in Youngstown, OH–or more properly, they never left. Anti-drillers couldn’t get the good citizens of Youngstown to vote in favor of a frack ban twice in a row, but that doesn’t stop zealots like members of FrackFree Mahoning Valley from trying again. They’re back at it, circulating a petition that–for a third time–asks residents to put the same tired old “ban fracking” measure on the ballot for a vote. After twice being voted down in large numbers. The nutters call it a “Bill of Rights” hoping to fool people. Call the measure what you want–its effect would be to shut down Youngstown from the drilling industry and deny residents the multitude of benefits they now get from Utica drilling (jobs and business tax revenue).

But hey, it’s (still) America where fruitcakes have the freedom to do what they want–including pestering their neighbors to sign a petition circulated twice before. Our advice: If one of the FrackFree Mahoning fruitcakes comes knocking on your door–hand them the fruitcake you got for Christmas and still haven’t eaten, and send them packing…
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About MDN | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Commodity Price | Crude Oil | Economic Impact | Ethane | Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MDN Resources | NGLs | Pipelines | Regulation

MDN’s Top 10 Most Important Stories of 2013 – Our View
December 31, 2013December 31, 2013

Yes it’s trite and certainly overdone, but hey, it’s the last day of 2013 and a slow news day. So MDN editor Jim Willis thought he would put together a list of what he considered to be the top 10 Marcellus and Utica Shale stories from 2013. It’s a look into what we believe, based on your input and feedback, to be the most relevant and important stories from this year. Enjoy!…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Lenape Resources | Livingston County | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY’s Ongoing War Against Natural Gas – An Update
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

Lenape Resources is one of MDN’s favorite NY-based energy companies. We’ve heard their CEO John Holko speak at events touting the benefits of shale drilling in NY. John doesn’t just say good things about drilling, he puts his money (and his time) into the cause as well. In 2012 Lenape sued the Town of Avon, NY (Livingston County) over their hastily passed fracking ban, a ban that not only bans horizontal or shale fracking (which isn’t even allowed in NY) but also ended up banning vertical fracking in the town, something that’s been going on in NY for more than 40 years. Lenape lost the case in lower court and appealed it (see Lenape Appeals Ruling, Seeks to Overturn Frack Ban in Avon, NY).

In its heyday, before the NY frack moratorium that’s now 5 1/2 years old, Lenape employed 100 people. Today? They have 5 people. Sound familiar (cough *Norse Energy* cough)? NY is driving energy companies out of business with ongoing hostility by municipalities like Avon and with delays by the state. NY is about as business unfriendly as you get. Here’s an AP update on Lenape and the ongoing negative impact of the frack moratorium in NY:
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Does PA Supreme Court Act 13 Decision Affect NY Cases?
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

Apparently there’s been some concern, confusion and downright misleading information circulating since the recent PA Supreme Court decision that grants municipalities in PA the right to continue zoning where shale drilling can and cannot take place (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). Some have tried to draw parallels between the “Dryden” and “Middlefield” cases now before the NY Court of Appeals (NY’s highest court) and the decision by the PA Supreme Court, because both involve issues of home rule or the right of localities to impose zoning on oil and gas drilling.

Even though both the PA Act 13 and the NY Dryden/Middlefield cases are both home rule cases, they are nothing alike and the PA case in no way impacts or affects the NY case. Perhaps the biggest difference between the PA and NY cases is this: In PA even though municipalities can now legally zone for oil and gas drilling, they must still allow oil and gas drilling in at least one zone. In NY, towns have completely banned drilling throughout the entire (rural) township. Huge difference. And there are other differences. Because of the ongoing confusion, the pro-drilling attorney for the Middlefield case, Scott Kurkoski, issued the following statement on the JLCNY website to clear the air and set the record straight…
Read More “Does PA Supreme Court Act 13 Decision Affect NY Cases?”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Guest Post | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY’s Albany Anti-Frack Protest – Made Possible by Natural Gas
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

Not only are the crazies marching in Maryland (see today’s story Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March), they’re also about to descend on Albany, NY. MDN friend and occasional guest blogger Vic Furman, a retired IBMer and one of the leaders of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, provided the article below pointing out the hypocrisy of those who oppose shale drilling. Vic says that in nine days when anti-drilling protesters arrive in Albany (many from out of state), they will do so because natural gas and oil from shale drilling made it possible for them to be there.

Take time to read Vic’s post and consider the salient points he makes:
Read More “NY’s Albany Anti-Frack Protest – Made Possible by Natural Gas”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

The anti-drilling crazies in Maryland are on the march, literally! A coalition of extremist so-called “environmental” groups plan to march on Annapolis on the opening day of the General Assembly session to urge legislators to ban shale drilling. No, they are not demanding a moratorium–they are demanding an outright and permanent ban on fracking. How do you reason with unreasonable people? You don’t. You defeat them. And that’s what pro-drilling and clear-thinking people must do in Maryland. There is no sane debate with a crazy people.

Here’s a Maryland “madness” update:
Read More “Maryland Anti-Fracking “Madness” Continues – Crazies on the March”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County | Pennsylvania | Regulation

PA Town in Poconos Symbolically Votes to Condemn Fracking
December 30, 2013December 30, 2013

The day before the PA Supreme Court ruled that towns must allow fracking but can impose their own zoning rules about where it is and isn’t used, the Stroudsburg Borough Council voted, unanimously, to pass a resolution (or depending on your news source, ordinance) that “condemns” fracking. Stroudsburg is located about five miles from the Delaware Water Gap in Monroe County, PA. It’s debatable whether or not there’s anything to frack under Stoudsburg. Because the borough is in the Delaware River Basin the DRBC doesn’t yet allow drilling there anyway–so the vote was purely symbolic.

The ring leader seems to be outgoing councilwoman Kathleen Lockwood who has proven her ignorance on the subject of fracking with her public comments on the matter (see below). Since this was a symbolic vote, we nominate Ms. Lockwood to symbolically remove herself from using all natural gas–she should quit heating her home with it, quit using it to cook her food, and quit using electricity in her home produced by using natural gas–you know, to show the rest of us her resolve in opposing fracking. If fracking is so bad and evil, surely she would want to quit using the results of that fracking–natural gas–right? What’s that? Not so fast? Let’s not be hasty now! Yeah, that’s what we thought…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Fitch Ratings Says PA Court Decision Translates to Less Production
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Elections–and court cases–have consequences. You tax something more, you get less of it. You regulate something more, you get less of it. When there’s less of something, prices for it go up. Fitch Ratings–one of the largest and most prestigious rating agencies in the world–has just weighed in on the ruling by the PA Supreme Court that throws out portions of the Act 13 drilling law (see PA Supreme Court Rules Against State/Drillers in Act 13 Case). According to Fitch, more local regulation of PA’s oil and gas drilling will result in less production. You don’t normally think of Fitch as being in the oil and gas production prediction game–that’s more the purview of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). However, Fitch says the recent PA ruling will almost certainly mean less production coming out of PA–a sobering observation.

Fitch’s opinion counts because investors make decisions based on it. Less gas, higher prices. It also means less tax money will flow to municipalities. Pretty simple economics and Fitch is just stating the obvious. Here’s what Fitch said earlier this week about the PA court decision…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monroe County (NY) | New York | Public Opinion | Regulation

Rochester Poll: Cuomo Wrong to Delay, Begin Fracking Now
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

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”
Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Chu to the Rescue: Former DOE Sec Profits from Regs He Made
December 27, 2013December 27, 2013

Let’s see, ascend to a powerful, important position in Washington, DC–one where you have your hands on the levers of power. Pull those levers to put in place some of the most onerous regulations imaginable that will make companies pay out the nose to (unbelievably) “capture carbon” so the carbon doesn’t escape, like a fugitive criminal, into the atmosphere. Then create low interest loans and outright government grants to companies to create the technology that companies will need to meet the strict new standards. Oh, and after you help create those new rules and the programs to fund the technology, leave that position and go to work for a tech company that happens to provide a solution to meet the new regulations you just created. All very cozy, don’t you think? That’s what former Sec. of the Dept. of Energy Steven Chu has done.

Canadian carbon capture company Inventys Thermal Technologies announced last week that Chu will join their board for undisclosed boatloads of money and stock options to “advise them” in their quest to dominate the carbon capture market, playing off fears of global warming and strict government regulations that will require companies to do something to (unbelievably) capture carbon. The only word we can think of that’s appropriate is: “incestuous”…
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Allegany County | Garrett County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Regulation | Statewide MD

Maryland Update: Marcellus Drilling a Distant & Ellusive Dream
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

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:
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Armstrong County | Energy Services | Equitrans/EQT Midstream | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Regulation

EQT Gathering Gets USACE Green Light for Armstrong County Pipeline
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

EQT Gathering wants to install an 8.1 mile gathering pipeline in Armstrong County, PA. Some of the pipeline crosses federal lands and requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to conduct an environmental assessment and judge whether or not the project would significantly impact “natural and cultural resources.” The Corps has done their investigation and has issued an FONSI–a Finding of No Significant Impact. Which means sometime after a 30-day public comment period (during which shrill anti-drillers will no doubt wail and moan), EQT will be able to move forward with the project. A happy ending!

The statement issued by the Corps:
Read More “EQT Gathering Gets USACE Green Light for Armstrong County Pipeline”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Middlesex Bans Fracking – A Tad Ironic, Wouldn’t You Say?
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

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?”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY | Tompkins County

Anti-Fracking Slottjes Use Norse Energy NY Lawsuit as Fundraiser
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

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

JLCNY Sends Gov. Cuomo a Lump of Coal for Christmas
December 24, 2013December 24, 2013

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”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

What Does PA Supreme Court Decision on Act 13 Mean?
December 23, 2013December 23, 2013

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?”