Regulation

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

Niles, OH Votes to Lift Frack Ban One Month After Passing It
September 20, 2013September 20, 2013

Well that didn’t last long. One month after Niles, OH City Council voted to spite its face by cutting it’s nose off (i.e., voted to ban fracking), they’ve voted to lift the ban. Why? Because the ban language also bans businesses from selling to the drilling industry–including the city itself (situated in Trumbull County), which sells a lot of water for fracking (see Niles, OH Considers Vote to Rescind Ill-Advised Frack Ban for background).

On Wednesday, Niles City Council voted to lift the ban. Congratulations on wising up!…
Read More “Niles, OH Votes to Lift Frack Ban One Month After Passing It”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

3 New Bills Would Change PA’s 1979 Oil & Gas Lease Act
September 20, 2013September 20, 2013

On Monday, three new bills were introduced into the Pennsylvania House of Representatives that, if passed, will update the state’s 1979 Oil and Gas Lease Act. Two of the new bills were introduced by anti-drilling Rep. Jesse White–he of fake ID shame (see PA Rep. White Says Fake IDs were “Error in Judgment”).

A quick run-down on the proposed new bills and what they do:
Read More “3 New Bills Would Change PA’s 1979 Oil & Gas Lease Act”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Dems Go Over the Cliff – Introduce Statewide Frack Ban Bill
September 19, 2013September 19, 2013

Stupendously stupid and truly amazing, some Pennsylvania Democrats continue to push a statewide “open-ended” moratorium on shale drilling (in essence a ban). The party voted to adopt a ban as their official position at the statewide meeting in June (see PA Democrat Party Votes to End Marcellus Shale Drilling Statewide). Now, Democrat elected representatives have introduced a bill to do just that.

PA State Senator Jim Ferlo (D-Allegheny) has just introduced Senate Bill 1100 which would institute an immediate ban (they call it a moratorium) on issuing new permits to drill until a 7-member panel can study it for “at least three to four years” and make a pronouncement about whether or not fracking is safe. Talk about insanity…
Read More “PA Dems Go Over the Cliff – Introduce Statewide Frack Ban Bill”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Highland Park, NJ First Town in State to Ban Fracking – So What
September 19, 2013September 19, 2013

Egged on by community agitators like the anti-drilling Food & Water Watch and Sierra Club, Highland Park, NJ just became the first municipality in the state to officially ban fracking. Big deal. There is no fracking in NJ right now, Highland Park is too populated to support fracking, and there’s nothing worth fracking under the land in Highland Park anyway. But don’t tell the ~~potheads~~ concerned citizens in the protest lines–they’re having too much fun protesting to be bothered with the facts…

Read More “Highland Park, NJ First Town in State to Ban Fracking – So What”
Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Eco Group Sues Health Dept/Shah to Release Frack Health Study
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

MDN has made it plain we believe New York State Dept. of Health Commissioner Nirav Shah, who in February of this year said he was just “weeks away” from releasing the results of his research on the potential public health impacts of proposed new fracking rules from the NY Dept. of Environmental Conservation, is covering for his boss, Gov. Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo (see Cuomo Underling Shah: “No Timetable” on Fracking Decision). We on the pro-drilling side of the debate are not the only ones unhappy with the Cuomo/Shah marionette show.

This week an anti-drilling group from the Finger Lakes area–the Seneca Lake Pure Waters Association–sued Shah and the Dept. of Health in an attempt to get the research documents finally released. The Association previously filed Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) requests in an effort to obtain the documents but Shah refused. Now the courts may finally force Andrew the Great Ditherer to finally get off his rear-end and make a decision by requiring Shah to release his findings…
Read More “NY Eco Group Sues Health Dept/Shah to Release Frack Health Study”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

IOGA NY Launches “Natural Gas Number” Series to Educate Albany
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

Who doesn’t remember, with fondness, growing up watching Sesame Street? On the air since 1969, Sesame Street has done more to influence and educate children (many now adults) than any other television show in the last 45 years. Their iconic “Today’s episode is brought to you by the letter — and the number –” made learning fun. Perhaps in a nod to the success of Sesame Street (or perhaps not), the Independent Oil & Gas Association (IOGA) of New York has launched a new campaign series called “Natural Gas Number” aimed at legislative leaders in Albany–people who badly need to learn the basic facts about drilling.

IOGA’s first “brought to you by” number is 1,882 — the number of days that have passed since the moratorium on shale drilling in New York began…
Read More “IOGA NY Launches “Natural Gas Number” Series to Educate Albany”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Coming Soon: PA Drillers to Pay 56% More for Marcellus Permits
September 18, 2013September 18, 2013

Looks like permit fees for PA drillers are about to go up. The PA Environmental Quality Board proposed increasing the fee in a filing last week.

If adopted as proposed, the permit fee for an unconventional horizontal shale well will go from $3,200 to $5,000–a healthy 56% jump…
Read More “Coming Soon: PA Drillers to Pay 56% More for Marcellus Permits”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Wildlife

PA Endangered Species List New Flash Point in Drilling Debate
September 17, 2013September 17, 2013

Ever hear of a rabbitsfoot mussel? Neither had we. It’s a small freshwater mollusk that lives in Pennsylvania streams. It’s also on PA’s (but not the federal EPA’s) endangered species list. The PA endangered species list is the target of proposed new legislation that would remove the rabbitsfoot mussel (indeed all species now on the list) from being on the list.

The endangered species list is the next flash point in the Marcellus Shale drilling debate in PA. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA) and other industry groups support the legislation which they say will speed up the review process for drilling in some areas without hurting threatened species (by removing some of the red tape). Conservationists and anti-drillers think otherwise…
Read More “PA Endangered Species List New Flash Point in Drilling Debate”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Statewide OH | Utica Shale

Ohio Moves to Quarterly Production Reports Starting Jan 2014
September 16, 2013September 16, 2013

Investors and those who watch the Utica Shale industry, including MDN, have long called on the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources (ODNR) to abandon annual reporting of gas and oil production and instead move to a more frequent reporting system–quarterly would be about right. Late last year MDN prematurely told you quarterly reporting was on the way (see [Corrected] ODNR Moving to Quarterly Production Numbers for O&G). The state legislature took up the measure again earlier this year and made quarterly reporting part of the language in the 2013 Ohio budget bill (see Ohio Moves One Step Closer to Quarterly O&G Production Reports). The budget passed with quarterly reporting language intact.

Last Thursday, director of the ODNR, James Zehringer, along with the chief of the division of oil and gas operations for the ODNR, Rick Simmers, spoke at the Guernsey County Energy Coalition meeting. Simmers said starting in January 2014, Ohio drillers will be required to file quarterly production reports…
Read More “Ohio Moves to Quarterly Production Reports Starting Jan 2014”
Allegheny County | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Pittsburgh Dem Proposes Ban on Drilling in County Parks
September 16, 2013September 16, 2013

Should counties allow shale drilling to take place in or under county parks? It’s a politically charged issue, that’s for sure. Some political leaders, instead of facing the issue head-on, try to “kick the can down the road” and delay the discussion for years.

In a surprise editorial, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette takes liberal Democrat Councilwoman Barbara Daly Danko (Allegheny County) to task for proposing to delay discussion and debate about this important issue. Last week she introduced a bill that would ban drilling in Allegheny County parks until 2017. The PPG says it’s not necessary and makes a decision that much harder later on…
Read More “Pittsburgh Dem Proposes Ban on Drilling in County Parks”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Wayne County

DRBC Director Carol Collier Announces Her Retirement
September 13, 2013September 13, 2013

Executive director of the Delaware River Basin Commission, Carol Collier, apparently has had enough. She announced yesterday she will retire as of March 12, 2014. You may recall Collier was shamed and humiliated on camera by filmmaker Phelim McAleer in his top-notch documentary FrackNation (see the video embedded below). Collier and her support of anti-drilling causes like the fictional Gasland movie is one of the primary reasons landowners in Wayne County, PA still have had no shale drilling–even though other PA counties all around them not in the Delaware River Basin have had drilling for years.

What does Collier’s retirement mean for the future of Marcellus Shale drilling in the DRBC’s jurisdiction? No one yet knows, but landowners are hopeful. One thing you can be sure of: Even though Collier mouths platitudes about finishing up regulations before she retires that will eventually allow drilling, there will be no movement on that issue from now until March. Of that we’re confident. Here’s Collier’s announcement from yesterday:
Read More “DRBC Director Carol Collier Announces Her Retirement”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Attn Gov Cuomo: CA Gov Brown Set to Sign Law to Allow Fracking
September 12, 2013September 12, 2013

This really does take the cake! NY Gov. Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo is now considered left of CA Gov. Jerry “Moonbeam” Brown. Who would have ever thought it possible?

In under a year, California legislators have crafted new drilling rules which Gov. Brown is about to sign. Meanwhile, 5+ years later, Andy is attending fundraisers in the Hamptons, avoiding Southern Tier landowners and hiding from New York’s virulent anti-fracking protesters. Strong leadership skills there, don’t you think?…
Read More “Attn Gov Cuomo: CA Gov Brown Set to Sign Law to Allow Fracking”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Niles, OH Considers Vote to Rescind Ill-Advised Frack Ban
September 11, 2013September 11, 2013

When you rush to do a dumb thing, you later regret it. City council members in Niles, OH have learned that hard lesson after voting last month to implement a ban on shale drilling. In their haste to “protect residents” from drilling, they didn’t bother to read the fine print of the bill they passed (no doubt drafted by a helpful anti-driller). In addition to banning shale drilling in the city–something that wouldn’t happen anyway–the bill also bans businesses that operate in the city and the city itself from doing business with the drilling industry. Oops. The city does a lot of business with the drilling industry.

Now city council members are planning a vote to rescind the ban they just passed last month…
Read More “Niles, OH Considers Vote to Rescind Ill-Advised Frack Ban”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Statewide VA | Statewide WV | Virginia | West Virginia

Charleston Gazette Editorial: Drill Washington National Forest
September 10, 2013September 10, 2013

The debate continues to rage over whether or not to allow shale drilling in the George Washington National Forest. Later this month, the U.S. Forest Service will decide whether or not to allow it (see WashPo Takes Aim at Fracking in the George Washington Natl Forest). Counter to the claptrap published in the Washington Post a few days ago, the Charleston Gazette provides powerful arguments in favor of drilling in a tiny sliver (12,000 acres out of 2 million) of the Washington Forest in today’s editorial.

One gem from the Gazette: The “pristine” Jefferson National Forest with it’s own “leafy cradles” and “gurgling brooks” sits adjacent to and south of the Washington National Forest–in the very same watershed. The Jefferson Forest has had active conventional (vertical) gas drilling for decades–with absolutely no problems…
Read More “Charleston Gazette Editorial: Drill Washington National Forest”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

How Long Before NY High Court Rules on Town Bans? An Answer…
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

Two weeks ago MDN told you the encouraging news that the New York Court of Appeals (New York’s highest court) will hear the Dryden and Middlefield town ban cases (see Anti-Drillers Attempt a Brave Face with NY Appeals Court Decision). Anti-drillers, like former Gannett and Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin reporter Tom Wilbur, are understandably shaken by this turn of events. They believe they had won (using NY’s courts) where they couldn’t win (in the political arena and the arena of ideas)–so when the high court said “yes” to hearing the case, they took it as a bad omen. They continue to put on a brave face, but make no mistake–they’re scared.

What about the timing for a decision in these twin cases being heard together as a single case? Wilbur does a good job of tracking down just how long the appeal to the high court will take to run its full course…
Read More “How Long Before NY High Court Rules on Town Bans? An Answer…”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Regulation

Economic Suicide Attempt #2: Youngstown to Vote Again on Frack Ban
September 9, 2013September 9, 2013

In May 2013, the citizens of Youngstown, OH wisely chose not to commit economic suicide by voting against a ban on fracking–a ban that not only ban fracking but also outlaw the business activities of some companies that support the drilling industry (see Youngstown, OH Votes Down Fracking Ban Amendment). The people had their say, and they said 57% to 43% “we’ll take fracking and the jobs that go with it, thank you very much.” But you have to hand it to irrational anti-drilling zealots–they don’t give up. They are bound and determined to commit economic suicide, and now, they may have just been handed the equivalent of a loaded gun with permission to do it…
Read More “Economic Suicide Attempt #2: Youngstown to Vote Again on Frack Ban”