Regulation

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Marcellus Hiring Practices “Under a Microscope” by DOL
August 5, 2013August 5, 2013

Are you a driller, oilfield services or other supply chain company whose primary activity revolves around the PA or WV Marcellus Shale? If so, there’s a good chance you’re going to get audited by the U.S. Labor Department (DOL). Best to get your records (and hiring practices) in order now.

The biggest violation found by the DOL’s so-called Marcellus Shale Initiative: improperly classifying workers as independent contractors instead of salaried or hourly employees. Hiring workers as independent contractors is coming back to bite a number of companies, large and small. If the DOL finds a violation, they helpfully pass it on to the IRS, so after the DOL is done fining you, the IRS typically shows up on your doorstep for a second pound of flesh. Sweet…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

U.S. Senate Bill Would Prevent Feds from Regulating Fracking
August 5, 2013August 5, 2013

A ray of hope that the federal government might actually do the right thing and let the individual states (as provided for in the U.S. Constitution) regulate fracking in their own states? Stranger things have happened!

A new bill just introduced by two U.S. senators from shale states–John Hoeven from North Dakota (Republican) and Mary Landrieu from Louisiana (Democrat)–would prevent the federal government from interfering with states’ rights to regulate fracking and drilling within their own borders. Three cheers! However, don’t hold your breath that this bill will go anywhere with BHO sitting in The White House…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pipelines | Regulation | Spectra Energy | Statewide OH

Spectra’s OH Pipeline Project Advances, Sept 20 Deadline w/FERC
August 2, 2013August 2, 2013

More than 1 1/2 years ago MDN told you about a planned new 70-mile pipeline and compressor station to connect Utica and Marcellus wells in eastern Ohio to Spectra Energy’s Texas Eastern pipeline system (see Chesapeake Investing in New 70-Mile Ohio Pipeline). Called the Ohio Pipeline Energy Network (OPEN), the project is a $500 million joint venture between Chesapeake Energy, American Electric Power and Spectra Energy. Not since December 2011 have we heard any news about the project–until now.

Even though there’s been no media coverage, Spectra has been hard at work planning and holding public meetings for feedback on eight different proposed pipeline routes. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given Spectra until Sept. 20 to tell them which alternative is their preferred route. FERC will then make a decision and (presumably) issue a permit that will allow Spectra to begin construction. An update on the OPEN project…
Read More “Spectra’s OH Pipeline Project Advances, Sept 20 Deadline w/FERC”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Acting Sec of DEP Making his Agency a “Problem-Solver”
August 2, 2013August 2, 2013

We noted our sadness in March when then-PA Sec. of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, Michael Krancer, announced he was resigning (see Developing… PA DEP Sec. Krancer Resigns). Krancer was tough but fair–someone with a sharp wit (and sometimes a sharp tongue). He knew how to dish it back to anti-drillers–and they hated it. At the time of Krancer’s resignation, Gov. Tom Corbett named his deputy chief of staff, E. Christopher Abruzzo, as Acting Secretary for the DEP. Abruzzo’s appointment was panned by Democrat John Hanger, who wants to run against Corbett in the next election, calling the appointment “bizarre and irresponsible” (see Former PA DEP Sec. Hanger Blasts Interim Replacement for Krancer).

We haven’t read much in the media about Abruzzo since his appointment six months ago, however, yesterday Abruzzo addressed the Washington County, PA Chamber of Commerce’s annual energy symposium. Contrary to what political opponents would have you believe, he sounded and acted quite responsible and un-bizzare…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Muskingum County | Ohio | Regulation | Utica Shale

Not So Fast: Blue Rock State Forest Fracking on Hold
August 1, 2013August 1, 2013

A few days ago MDN told you that the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) had plans to auction off shale drilling rights for Blue Rock State Forest in eastern Ohio (see Surprise! Blue Rock State Forest in Eastern OH to be Fracked). As we pointed out, most federal land auctioned for drilling is located in the western U.S.–this is the first such instance of BLM land being auctioned in the Marcellus/Utica region that we are aware of. The federal government owns the mineral rights in Blue Rock, and the state of Ohio owns the surface rights.

Ohio state officials complained they were not consulted by the BLM about the mineral rights auction or the possibility that the forest will be fracked. So the BLM has (for now) halted their planned auction for later this year…
Read More “Not So Fast: Blue Rock State Forest Fracking on Hold”
Harrison County | Industrialization | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Regulation | Roads | Trucking

Harrison County Ticked Off at Road Damage from Drilling Trucks
July 31, 2013July 31, 2013

Trucks going to and from Utica Shale drilling sites in Harrison County, OH are damaging the roads, and County Commissioner Dale Norris says “the honeymoon is over” with respect to shale drilling in the county.

Norris says commissioners will consider adopting new regulations in the next few weeks to assess a permit fee for trucks using local roads, so they have money to fix the damage caused by the drilling industry…
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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Muskingum County | Ohio | Regulation | Utica Shale

Surprise! Blue Rock State Forest in Eastern OH to be Fracked
July 30, 2013July 30, 2013

MDN has kept readers informed about new federal fracking rules proposed by the Dept. of Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), rules that will make it quite expensive to drill (see New BLM Fracking Rule will Cost Drillers Nearly $100K per Well). We haven’t been overly concerned about the new BLM fracking regulations in the Marcellus/Utica because, as we told you, the rules will only affect fracking on federal land–almost all of which is located in the western U.S. Until now, our concern with the BLM rules has been that the federal government may, at some point, force the BLM rules on the states (see Feds ‘Hope’ States will Use BLM Rules for ALL Fracking).

However, it now appears the new BLM rules may apply in the Utica Shale much sooner than we thought. The Blue Rock State Forest, a 4,578-acre forest in Muskingum County where the state of Ohio owns the surface but the federal government owns the mineral rights, will soon be opened up by the feds for fracking. This revelation will no doubt set off the berserker alarms at anti-drilling HQ…
Read More “Surprise! Blue Rock State Forest in Eastern OH to be Fracked”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Supreme Court to PUC: Knock Off the Zoning Reviews (for Now)
July 26, 2013July 26, 2013

Yesterday, the Pennsylvania State Supreme Court issued a ruling quashing (stopping) the state Public Utility Commission from carrying out some of its duties as specified under PA’s 2012 Marcellus Shale Act 13 law–duties tied to Act 13’s zoning provisions. It is a small and perhaps short-lived victory for the towns who had sued the PUC asking for relief from the PUC’s reviews of their zoning laws. It is a short-lived victory for the towns because the Supreme Court is due to decide on Act 13’s zoning provisions soon, so this decision is in effect until that bigger (and final) decision is made.

That’s the news. Now, to bring you up to speed on the background of this case and what yesterday’s decision means…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

New CLEANER Act for Drilling Waste has a Dirty Purpose
July 26, 2013July 26, 2013

Pennsylvania Congressman Matthew Cartwright, Democrat – 17th District, has just introduced a new bill in the House of Representatives: the Closing Loopholes and Ending Arbitrary and Needless Evasion of Regulations (CLEANER) Act. The way Democrats euphomize the titles of their proposed bills is funny–torturing the language to make it sound like something it’s not. We’d like to propose our own legislation: Stop Torturing Us People In Democrat Idiotic Talkative Yammering (STUPIDITY).

This latest travesty–the CLEANER Act–perpetuates the lie that somehow oil and gas drilling have been inappropriately “exempted” from federal laws that apply to other industries. In this case, anti-drillers maintain oil and gas drilling have been inappropriately exempted from the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) of 1976 via legislation passed in 1980. To put oil and gas drilling under RCRA’s purview now would be to reclassify drilling waste as toxic waste (similar to nuclear waste), requiring very strict tracking and disposal regulations that go far beyond the actual hazard posed by oil and gas drilling waste. The CLEANER bill is unnecessary and its purpose is to make drilling uneconomic–i.e. to stop it.
Read More “New CLEANER Act for Drilling Waste has a Dirty Purpose”
Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Speakers at JLCNY 5-Year Moratorium Event Take Aim at Gov Cuomo
July 24, 2013July 24, 2013

Yesterday marked the very sad and tragic five-year anniversary of no shale drilling in New York State. The moratorium, first instituted by then-Gov. David Paterson in 2008, has increasingly frustrated the 77,000 members of the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY). The JLCNY and New York elected representatives made their collective displeasure with the ongoing moratorium known at a rally yesterday in Binghamton, NY. Addressing a packed room of some 150 drilling supporters, the JLCNY’s attorney Scott Kurkoski gave a stirring speech, followed by a number of elected state and local officials. Each of them took direct aim at Gov. Andrew Cuomo, telling him “it’s been long enough” and “it’s time to move forward.” Watch a video of the speeches below (22 minutes long), courtesy WIVT/WBGH News Channel 34.

The JLCNY also released the following statement yesterday:
Read More “Speakers at JLCNY 5-Year Moratorium Event Take Aim at Gov Cuomo”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Ulster County

Marbletown, NY Frack Ban Passes – 22 Page Manifesto
July 24, 2013July 24, 2013

Sometimes town leaders in New York State who vote to ban hydraulic fracturing are dullards–they don’t bother to research and understand the legal issues. It makes no difference to them that they’re trampling on the Constitutional property rights of their landowning constituents–the very people they’re sworn to protect (but don’t).

Other times, town leaders in New York who vote to ban drilling–like those in Marbletown, NY (Ulster County, Middle Hudson Valley area)–are truly, stupendously ~~stupid~~ misguided. What takes most towns a paragraph or two to do, “Don’t drill and frack anywhere in the town,” has taken the brainiacs in Marbletown 22 pages of new regulations to accomplish in their recently enacted fracking ban. And the town supervisor brags about it!…
Read More “Marbletown, NY Frack Ban Passes – 22 Page Manifesto”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Regulation

New Congressional Report: How Federal Laws Govern Fracking
July 24, 2013July 24, 2013

Three Congressional Research Service (CRS) researchers–two of them attorneys and one an environmental policy specialist–recently issued a new CRS report titled “Hydraulic Fracturing: Selected Legal Issues” (full copy embedded below). The 37-page report takes a close look at federal legislation and its governance of/relationship to regulation of hydraulic fracturing. Specifically, the report looks at the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Water Act and the Clean Air Act, along with a number of other federal laws.

The report also takes a look at state preemption of local zoning regulations when it comes to oil and gas drilling–a hot legal issue in many states, with pending court cases in Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York…
Read More “New Congressional Report: How Federal Laws Govern Fracking”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Extends Public Comment Period for Public Comment Period
July 24, 2013July 24, 2013

Want your voice heard on whether or not the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) should or should not grant a particular permit for shale drilling? The DEP has announced they are extending the public comment period on their draft policy for…er…public comments–at least public comments given in the drilling Permit Review Process. The original public comment period on public comment periods was scheduled to close on July 22. The public comment period on public comment periods has now been extended to August 27.

Here’s the PA DEP’s public comment about the extension of public comments on public comments:
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Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Somber Anniversary: Today NY Fracking Moratorium Turns 5 Yrs-Old
July 23, 2013July 23, 2013

Time to fly the flags at half staff. Why? It seems that freedom and liberty in New York State have died. Tyranny has slowly crept in and has now taken up residence in the Empire State. For five long years, landowners in New York have been denied their Constitutional property rights to allow shale drilling on and under their land, and frankly, there’s no end in sight to this travesty of justice. Oh, we New Yorkers have not given up! As Winston Churchill once famously said, NEVER!

But honestly, it’s hard to keep your chin up month after month and year after year, especially when Democrats control so much of the state and just don’t give a darn about individual freedom or the Constitution. It’s especially disheartening when there’s rampant ignorance on the part of many in the general public who only read headlines and don’t bother to try and understand the sometimes complicated drilling issue. As we pointed out yesterday, the drilling issue in New York has devolved into celebrity emotion vs. science (see NY Fracking Debate is Celebrity Emotion vs Scientific Facts).

To mark today’s somber anniversary, the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York will hold a “Five-Year Anniversary Event” at the Holiday Inn Arena in downtown Binghamton…
Read More “Somber Anniversary: Today NY Fracking Moratorium Turns 5 Yrs-Old”
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Crime | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Seneca County

Anti-Drillers Provide Fraudulent Ban Petition to Covert, NY Board
July 23, 2013July 23, 2013

An MDN reader has alerted us to some “funny business” going on in the Town of Covert, NY (near Ithaca) on the part of anti-drillers who circulated a petition in support of a town ban on fracking. It appears that at least some of the “signatures” on the petition were fraudulently added by the group circulating the petition, the so-called Concerned Citizens of Covert (CCC). The list of names of those supposedly supporting a ban were presented as a typewritten list to town board members, but (as far as we know), the original signed petitions have not yet been produced by CCC.

One Covert landowner says she did not sign the petition but her name, along with the names of other family members who also did not sign, appears on the typewritten version of the petition. She said it looks like the CCC simply went through voter registration roles and added a bunch of names, claiming they had all signed. If that’s true, the CCC petition should immediately be investigated by the local and state attorneys general (but don’t hold your breath)…
Read More “Anti-Drillers Provide Fraudulent Ban Petition to Covert, NY Board”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

New BLM Fracking Rule will Cost Drillers Nearly $100K per Well
July 23, 2013July 23, 2013

So just how much will the proposed new fracking rule (for wells fracked on public lands) from the Bureau of Land Management cost drillers? The Western Energy Alliance hired the respected economics firm John Dunham & Associates to run the numbers. What they found was that if the new rule goes into effect as written, it will cost drillers an extra $96,913 per well on average, making it cost prohibitive to even bother drilling some wells. Perhaps that’s the intent? The new BLM rule will likely not affect Marcellus and Utica Shale drilling because there is very little federal/public land in the northeast. So why bother to report on it? Because Obama administration officials have expressed their desire to one day “encourage” (i.e. force) the new BLM rule to be used for drilling on private land as well (see Feds ‘Hope’ States will Use BLM Rules for ALL Fracking).

The press release from the Western Energy Alliance, along with the full economic analysis from John Dunham & Associates:
Read More “New BLM Fracking Rule will Cost Drillers Nearly $100K per Well”