Regulation

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

NY DEC Commissioner Signals Drilling May Not Begin in 2012
October 26, 2011October 26, 2011

In what is surely a blow to landowners in New York, the Commissioner of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Joe Martens, signaled yesterday that drilling permits may not be issued in 2012 as previously hoped. The delay this time comes from the Hydraulic Fracturing Advisory Panel appointed by Martens and stacked with anti-drilling members who supposedly are there to advise Martens on implementing new regulations to allow shale gas drilling (see this MDN story for background on the panel).

It looks like Martens’ strategy of stacking the panel with anti-drillers has paid off and will now delay shale gas drilling beyond 2012. Martens clearly does not want shale gas drilling to proceed in New York. Will this be the final tipping point before landowners take the state to court to demand their property rights stop being violated?

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

Rush Township PA Attempts Drilling Ban with Novel Ordinance
October 26, 2011March 24, 2012

Those opposed to Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Rush Township (Centre County), PA, including a majority of the supervisors in the township, believe they have found a new and novel way to ban drilling that will skirt state law which says only the state has the right to regulate oil and gas drilling. This new way is to introduce an ordinance that prohibits drilling in any location that is a source for public drinking water supplies on the theory that drilling activity near those sources is a threat to the public.

It’s a stretch, but Rush officials are gambling this new ordinance may succeed where an outright ban on drilling would likely be overturned in court. The end result of an outright ban or this new ordinance will be the same: An almost total ban on shale gas drilling in the township, denying landowners their property rights.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission Issues Recommendations
October 25, 2011October 25, 2011

$no fracking$ As mentioned yesterday by MDN, the self-appointed Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission—a group made up of liberal and left-leaning environmental and labor groups including the Sierra Club of PA, Penn Environment, Keystone Progress, Clean Water Action and the League of Women Voters—has released a list of recommendations for regulating shale gas drilling in the state. A copy of the 89-page report is embedded below.

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Industrywide Issues | Regulation | Wastewater

EPA to Regulate Shale Gas Drilling via Wastewater Standards
October 21, 2011October 21, 2011

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is signaling their intent to continue overreaching their authority by regulating oil and gas drilling in the U.S., violating states’ constitutional rights to do so themselves. The EPA’s “back door” way of regulating hydraulic fracturing (buying them time while they try to regulate it by the front door with their multi-year study of the process), is by controlling the disposal of wastewater produced during fracking. From the EPA’s press release yesterday:

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

Will Most Drillers Even Bother with New York?
October 21, 2011October 21, 2011

New York’s passage of new drilling rules to allow for shale gas drilling has had more twists than a Greek tragedy and has taken longer to finish than a death scene in an opera. MDN has asked the rhetorical question, several times, that even IF new rules are passed and permits are issued, will drilling companies bother to show up? See this MDN article from March of this year. Now, others are starting to raise the same question:

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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Range Resources Sues Cecil Township Over New Ordinance
October 13, 2011March 24, 2012

Cecil Township in Washington County, PA—a suburb of Pittsburgh—recently passed an ordinance changing shale gas drilling from a permitted use to a conditional use, meaning each well drilled would have to be approved by the township on a case by case basis. It requires drillers to do twice the work—once in filing a permit application with the state, and a second time with the local municipality. Range Resources, one of the nation’s largest Marcellus Shale drillers (and with operations in Cecil), has just filed a lawsuit requesting the new ordinance be overturned.

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Air Quality | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Clamps Down on Air Pollution Rules for Gas Drilling
October 13, 2011October 13, 2011

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which oversees oil and gas drilling in the state has issued new guidelines for evaluating air pollution sources from oil and gas operations. Specifically, the new guidelines clarify when operations should be considered a single source, and when operations will be considered separately, thereby facing stricter permit requirements. The move tightens controls over potential sources of air pollution from drilling and related operations.

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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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