Regulation

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Warren County | Wastewater

Columbus Twp, PA Ban on Injection Wells Rescinded
October 13, 2011October 13, 2011

Under threat of a lawsuit, supervisors in Columbus Township (Warren County, PA) reversed their previous ban on the disposal of fracking fluids in two injection wells in the township (see this previous MDN story about the lawsuit).

Injection wells are deep wells used to dispose of fracking fluid from those drillers who do not recycle all of the fracking fluid used in their drilling operations. The fluid is pumped into the wells under high pressure, forcing it deep into the ground. Ohio has hundreds of such injection wells due to a better underground geography. However, PA currently has only a relative handful of injection wells (less than a dozen?), including the two in Columbus Township.

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Erie County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Western PA Township Votes to Require Conditional-Use Permits
October 12, 2011March 24, 2012

Greene Township (Erie County, PA) supervisors have just passed an amendment to the township zoning ordinance requiring all new gas drilling to obtain a conditional-use permit before drilling a new well. A conditional-use permit means drillers not only have to file for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, they also have to file for a permit with the township as well, appearing before the board of supervisors and explaining, in detail, their plans—before a permit will be issued.

Under Pennsylvania law conditional-use permits by local municipalities are allowed, although in some areas where it’s been implemented drillers have left the area in protest, preferring to work in areas that are more drilling-friendly.

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

Gov. Corbett’s List of New Rule Changes for Shale Drilling
October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

Yesterday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett unveiled his plans to implement many of the 96 recommendations made by his Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission (see this MDN story for the original list of recommendations). The list is impressive, tightening many loopholes and hiking fees and fines. The governor’s press release outlining all of his proposed plans is embedded below.

All eyes were on a potential “impact fee” to help local municipalities cover costs of road repairs, increased costs for emergency services and other costs that come with an increase in population. Corbett announced he is in favor of an impact fee assessed by the county where the well is drilled. Each well will be subject to a fee of up to $40,000 in the first year, $30,000 in the second year, $20,000 in the third year and $10,000 in the fourth through tenth years, adding up to a potential total of $160,000 per well. The way that revenue is split is lengthy and complicated, but essentially 3/4 of the money stays at the local level.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Washington County

Western PA Township Wins Right to Put Ban on Nov. Ballot
October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

Those opposed to drilling will get a measure to ban shale gas drilling put on the ballot in Peters Township (Washington County, PA) this fall. A judge has just ruled in favor of the Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness Group to have the measure put on the election ballot for Nov 8. See this MDN story about the group, their motivation (calling sustainable energy a “right”) and the wording of the ballot measure.

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

PA Gov. Corbett Set to Announce New Shale Drilling Rules
October 3, 2011October 3, 2011

Gov. Tom Corbett is a man in motion. He’s only been in office for nine months, but he’s already fixed a huge budget deficit, a nice gift left to him by the departing Ed Rendell, and he appointed a special commission that has already met and provided him with 96 recommendations for changes that should be made to the Marcellus drilling industry in the state. It seems today may be the day when Gov. Corbett announces which of those recommendations he plans to adopt.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown Misses Appeal Deadline – Fracking Ban Now Over
September 29, 2011September 29, 2011

In the ongoing saga of the Morgantown, WV ban on hydraulic fracturing, a ban both within and up to one mile outside of city borders (see here for a list of MDN articles on the topic), the leaders of Morgantown missed the deadline to file an appeal to the West Virginia State Supreme Court. So there will be no appeals and the fracking ban is officially overturned and done.

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

NY Proposed Regulation Changes for Drilling Now Available
September 29, 2011September 29, 2011

The full version of New York’s new proposed drilling guidelines, known as the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) has been out in its full and “final” form for about three weeks (see this MDN story). At the time of the final release, the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) said the actual language of the regulations, the changes to existing oil and gas drilling regulations for New York, would come out “in early October.” The new language has just been released by the DEC, so, after criticizing Joe Martens (Commissioner of the DEC) for many things, MDN grants him an “at-a-boy” for releasing the language earlier than expected. The early release of the new regulation language further diffuses the argument by critics that they don’t have enough time to read and understand what’s coming.

The new regulatory language is important because it carries the weight of law once it’s adopted. Here are links to the sections that are either changed, or where new sections have been added:

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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

First EPA Hearing on New Air Pollution Regulations for Gas Drilling
September 28, 2011September 27, 2011

There was a public hearing held in Pittsburgh yesterday on new air pollution rules from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that will affect gas drillers across the country. And it appears there’s some common ground between the drilling industry and environmental groups.

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Allegheny County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Forest Hills, PA May Adopt Fracking Ban
September 22, 2011September 22, 2011

Forest Hills, PA Council members are supporting a ban on Marcellus gas drilling within their borders. Forest Hills is a small borough in Allegheny County, PA with a population of 6,500. A petition with 275 signatures requesting a ban was delivered to Council members and apparently 4 percent of residents is close enough to a majority for Forest Hills elected representatives to take immediate action.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Reorganizes to Better Handle Marcellus Drilling
September 20, 2011September 20, 2011

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is reorganizing, largely in an effort to better handle Marcellus Shale gas drilling in the state. According to DEP Secretary Michael Krancer, the new structure will make it easier to catch and punish the “cheaters.”

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Otsego County | Regulation

Second Lawsuit Filed Against NY Town Challenges Drilling Ban
September 19, 2011September 19, 2011

One day after Anschutz Exploration announced it would file a lawsuit against Dryden, NY (Tompkins County) to overturn a local ban on gas drilling in that township (see MDN story here), another lawsuit against another township in New York State has been filed. This new case was filed by landowner and township resident Jennifer Huntington against the Township of Middlefield in Otsego County. This suit, like the one from Anschutz, says the township has passed what amounts to an illegal law targeting the oil and gas industry, an industry that is specifically regulated by the state according to New York State law. The township’s ban infringes Ms. Huntington’s private property rights as a landowner to allow gas drilling on her land. A copy of the lawsuit is embedded below.

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Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown, WV Update: Fracking to Begin Next Week
September 16, 2011September 16, 2011

It seems the opposition to two Marcellus Shale gas wells being drilled outside Morgantown’s borders is petering out. Press accounts talk of “a handful” of area residents protesting outside of the drill sites this week—meaning less than a dozen, perhaps a single family, who knows?

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Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA to Hold Hearings on Rules to Reduce Fracking Air Pollution
September 16, 2011September 16, 2011

Being “forced” by a lawsuit, the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) drafted new rules and regulations for oil and gas drillers that use hydraulic fracturing. The new rules require drillers to use new or improved processes and equipment (at great expense) in an attempt to cut the level of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other air pollutants the EPA says are emitted during the completion of hydraulically fractured wells. MDN wrote an extensive article on this, complete with a copy of the 604-page list of rule changes (see here).

The EPA is moving forward with several public hearings on the rule changes, the first of which will be in Pittsburgh on Sept. 27th.

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Broome County | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

NY Landowners Face New Threat: Floodplain Boundaries
September 14, 2011September 14, 2011

As many of you have heard via the national media, the Binghamton, NY (Broome County) area—where much of the drilling in New York State is likely to occur once drilling begins—was just hit with the worst flooding in its history, after the previous “worst ever” flooding occurred only five years ago, in 2006. This type of flooding is referred to as a “100-year flood” and it causes the government to re-draw floodplain maps to indicate where such areas are capable of extreme flooding.

Landowners who live in the Greater Binghamton area and who want to lease their land for shale gas drilling will want to closely watch where the boundaries are drawn because the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), which regulates shale drilling, is looking to put land inside those floodplains off limits to drilling.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Public Opinion | Regulation | Washington County

Western PA Township Residents Try to Ban Gas Drilling
September 13, 2011September 13, 2011

Several thousand residents of Peters Township, a small township in Washington County, Pennsylvania, are attempting to force a ban of all natural gas drilling in the township by amending the township’s charter. It’s not clear whether or not the town council will allow a vote on the proposed measure:

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

New York’s 60-Year History of Fracking
September 12, 2011September 12, 2011

When it comes to hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, one size does not fit all with respect to regulation, and moratoriums. Most people caught up in the frenzy of opposing fracking, especially in New York, may not realize that there are thousands of wells drilled in New York State, right now, that are fracked every year, and have been going back for the past 60 years. And with no cases of groundwater contamination.

Wait, what? Fracking happens right now?! Yeah, that’s right. But it’s not the same kind of fracking that would be used to get shale gas.

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