Southwestern Energy provides the following update of its Marcellus Shale activities in its recently released third quarter report. The update shows that Southwestern’s Marcellus activity is concentrated in Bradford and Susquehanna counties in PA.
Read More “Southwestern Energy has 40 Wells in Northeast PA”
Even though Laser Northeast Gathering has withdrawn its application to become a public utility with the power of eminent domain as MDN reported yesterday, two other pipeline companies with applications before the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission continue to move forward. Peregrine Keystone Gas Pipeline plans to construct a gathering line in Greene, Fayette and Washington counties in western PA, and Pentex Pipeline plans a gathering pipeline in Bradford County in northeast PA.
Read More “Two More Gathering Pipelines Seek PA Public Utility Status”
A statistical certainty is that as the population of an area grows, there’s bound to be more drunk driving arrests and more crime in general—one of the “hazards” of an increasing population. And so it is in Bradford County, PA and other regions in the Marcellus Shale where the Marcellus drilling boom is happening. The increase in crime is not caused by drilling, according to law enforcement officials, but is a simple fact that where there’s more people there are bound to be more criminal incidents. It’s one of the negatives of drilling, like industrialization of rural areas (more trucking, more noise, more traffic) that must be recognized and if possible, mitigated or at least anticipated.
Read More “Marcellus Areas See Increase in Drunk Driving, Lesser Crimes”
Individual landowners and landowner groups are looking to organize into a large coalition in northeastern Pennsylvania in an effort to promote Marcellus Shale gas drilling in a safe, responsible way and to counter those who want to stop drilling. A small group of landowners met on Tuesday in Wysox (Bradford County), PA to discuss strategy. Tom Shepstone from Energy in Depth Northeast Marcellus Initiative (inaccurately referred to as Tom Shepp in the media article below), addressed the group on the need for large coalition of PA landowners—like the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York.
Read More “Northeast PA Landowners Discuss Forming Large Gas Coalition”
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is throwing its considerable weight against building a new shale gas pipeline that would cross three counties in northeastern Pennsylvania.
Read More “EPA Opposes MARC 1 Shale Gas Pipeline in Northeastern PA”
Marcellus Shale gas in Pennsylvania is having an effect on electricity generation. Instead of building coal-fired plants to generate electricity, natural gas powered plants are now in the works. Specifically, two new plants will be built in the next few years—one in Lycoming County and another in Bradford County. Not only does it mean a $1.6 billion investment, it also means hundreds of construction jobs, a cleaner way of producing electricity, and ultimately lower electricity costs for 1.4 million PA residents.
Read More “Two New Gas Powered Electrical Plants on the Way in PA – $1.6 Billion Investment”
Crystal Stroud of Granville Summit (Bradford County), PA has been the darling of the anti-fracking movement for the past few months. MDN reported on her appearance at an anti-fracking rally in Harrisburg in early June (see here). Crystal and her 4-year old son were found to have high levels of barium in their bodies, leading to a number of symptoms like heart palpitations, slurred speech, etc. Crystal blames Chief Oil & Gas and a nearby gas well they had drilled about 1,200 feet from her home. She said that her well water has been contaminated from Chief’s drilling operation. Was this finally the smoking gun that gas drilling pollutes ground water?
Read More “PA DEP Determines Gas Drilling Not the Cause of Barium in Crystal Stroud’s Water Well”
The following happened at an anti-gas drilling rally in Harrisburg, PA on Tuesday:
A boisterous anti-gas drilling rally turned quiet Tuesday as Bradford County resident Crystal Stroud described how her family’s health has suffered this spring following the discovery that their water well was contaminated with toxic substances.
Speaking in a soft voice, Stroud, a 29-year-old wife and mother from Granville Summit, said tests by a commercial water analysis firm show the well has been contaminated with barium, strontium and radon. She experienced barium poisoning as a result with classic symptoms of heart palpitations, hair falling out and shortness of breath, she added. Her 4-year-old son has high barium levels too.
Stroud places the responsibility for the well contamination on nearby drilling activities by Chief Oil & Gas Co. The driller has disputed her claim, saying none of the elements she cited were used in drilling a nearby well, which had not been hydraulically fractured.
Stroud criticized the state Department of Environmental Protection and Health Department for inaction after being alerted about the contamination problem. "It sickens me that nothing is being done," she told a crowd of several hundred in the Capitol Rotunda. "Every day, I struggle with the fact we cannot trust our government to protect the people."*
In a press release issued yesterday, Chesapeake Energy announced it is working on 14 different roadway repair projects in Bradford and Sullivan Counties in Northeastern Pennsylvania due to be completed this summer.
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Repairing 14 Roadways in Northeastern PA This Summer”
Chesapeake Energy has been slapped with the largest fine given to date by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) for methane migration and for a fire at a well.
Read More “Chesapeake Energy Fined $1.1 Million for Methane Migration and Tank Fire in PA”
Maryland’s Attorney General, Douglas F. Gansler, has filed an “intent to sue” on Chesapeake Energy because of the accidental spill of fracking fluid in April in Leroy Township, PA (read MDN’s story about the spill here). Mr. Gansler’s rationale for his litigiousness is that the fluid reached a small stream that feeds the Towanda Creek, and the Towanda Creek in turn empties into the Susquehanna River, and the Susquehanna River empties into the Chesapeake Bay. Therefore, according to Gansler, several federal statutes have been violated, including the Clean Water Act. Also, the City of Baltimore uses the Susquehanna as a backup source of water “in times of drought.”
Read More “Maryland AG Sues Chesapeake Energy Over Spill in Pennsylvania”
Chesapeake Energy has successfully replaced a wellhead that was defective and had caused a blowout with fracking fluid escaping from a well in Leroy Township near Canton in Bradford County, PA last week. Over a two day period, fracking fluid ran over neighboring land and some of it into a nearby stream that empties into the Towanda Creek. (Read MDN’s original article on the blowout here.)
The PA State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is investigating the blowout and the potential environmental damage it may have caused. But that’s not good enough for the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is now throwing its weight around. In a letter to Chesapeake citing the Clean Water Act and various other federal statutes, the EPA is demanding that Chesapeake provide a list of details to the EPA about the incident by May 9.
Some empirical data on the positive economic impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania:
Read More “New Research Details the Positive Economic Impacts from Marcellus Shale Drilling in PA”
A northeastern PA construction company is looking to hire “hundreds” of workers to meet demand for its services in the Marcellus Shale drilling industry:
Chesapeake Energy experienced a blowout at a well being drilled near Canton in Bradford County, PA on Tuesday at 11:45 pm. A blowout occurs when the pressure systems fail and results (in this case) in drilling fracking fluids escaping in an uncontrolled manner. For a time the fluids from the Canton well spread over farm land and into a small stream that empties into the Towanda Creek.
Initially seven families were evacuated from the immediate area. Six of the families have now returned to their homes, but one family will need to stay relocated until the well is 100 percent under control. Crews have significantly decreased the amount of fracking fluid coming from the bore hole, but they have not yet fully stopped it.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission has just leased more land under its control for Marcellus Shale drilling: