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Fayette County, PA Towns Get Shorted on Impact Fee Distribution

Fayette County, PA towns are not happy with the way county commissioners have decided to distribute the impact “fee” (which is really part fee/part tax) of $1.4 million. The towns believe more of the fee should go to them for roadway repair to counter damage done from trucks used in the drilling process. However, county commissioners have “shorted” the towns. Instead of paying each town $10,000 from the impact fee till as the towns requested, payments will be more like half that amount…

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Farmer Does Jail Time After Confrontation with Pipeline Co

A western PA cattle farmer claims workers from Williams/Laurel Mountain Midstream pumped acid mine drainage onto his farm and damaged his fences while drilling a ditch for a pipeline across his property. The farmer was ordered to stay away from the workers last month after confronting them about damage done to his fences. He violated a court order and confronted them a second time when he saw what he thought was acid mine drainage being pumped onto his land from the ditches being dug. This time he got four days in the local clink.

Here’s what we know of the story:

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Duquesne U Anti-Drilling “Study” Based on 14 Interviews

Duquesne University (Pittsburgh) is hosting a conference on the effects of shale gas drilling in a “Boom and Bust” conference being held today and tomorrow at the university. Although the conference flies under the banner of “science” and will share the results of a “scientific study,” it is any but. It’s about the findings of a so-called study that interviewed 14 hand-picked anti-drilling women about their feelings and attitudes toward drilling. They were interviewed twice each.

So much for scientific inquiry at Duquesne.

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Heckmann Corp Buys Appalachian Water Services

Last week Heckmann Corporation, an environmental services company, announced they were merging with Power Fuels, another enviro services company and moving corporate HQ from Pittsburgh to Scottsdale, AZ (see this MDN story). Heckmann is on a tare—today they’ve announced they bought Appalachian Water Services in Fayette County, PA. Heckmann says the purchase is an important part of their strategy for shale wastewater treatment in the southern Marcellus Shale area.

From the Heckmann press release:

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Ohiopyle, PA Summer Camp Brainwashes Kids Against Fracking

Be careful which camp you send your kids to this summer. The camp they attend may just be brainwashing them against the miracle of hydraulic fracturing, like the Mountain Watershed Association did when it held its Clean Water Camp last week at the Ohiopyle Community Center in Ohiopyle, PA.

Little 8 year-olds at the camp were visited by Tour de Frack bike riders on their way to a hippie-fest anti-fracking rally in Washington, D.C. and they took time out to share a brainwashing session with youngsters:

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Peregrine Pipeline Withdraws Public Utility Application

Peregrine Keystone Gas Pipeline had planned to construct a gathering pipeline in Greene, Fayette and Washington counties in western PA. They filed an application with the PA Public Utility Commission (PUC) in 2010 to become a public utility which would grant them the right to use eminent domain to force landowners to allow them to build a pipeline across their property.

Last month an administrative law judge ruled against Peregrine’s application, and on June 8 Peregrine withdrew the application. Although they believe they have a strong case, with the low price of natural gas and the high likelihood of an extended court battle, Peregrine has given up on public utility status.

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Two More Gathering Pipelines Seek PA Public Utility Status

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.

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Triana Energy and Marathon Oil Join Forces in Deal to Drill 350 Wells in the Marcellus Shale in PA and WV

Triana Energy is stepping up its commitment to drilling in the Marcellus Shale by entering into a partnership with Marathon Oil. From the official press release:

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Atlas Energy/Reliance Industries Pay $192 Million for Leases on 42K Acres in PA Marcellus Shale

The recently announced joint venture between Atlas Energy and Indian energy giant Reliance Industries (a deal worth $3.5 billion over 10 years) is already bearing fruit. Together they’ve just forked over $192 million to secure leases for more land in Pennsylvania.

Independent oil and gas company Atlas Energy will buy 42,344 acres in the gas-rich Marcellus shale along with Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), weeks after the two announced a joint venture.

The companies will buy the acreage in Fayette, Washington, Indiana, Westmoreland, Armstrong and Clarion Counties of Pennsylvania at an average price of $4,532 per acre.

Following Wednesday’s deal, the Atlas-RIL joint venture will control about 343,000 Marcellus Shale acres, of which about 206,000 acres are net to Atlas.*

According to the Atlas Energy website:

Substantially all of the acreage to be acquired is held by production and is either contiguous with the joint venture’s existing acreage or is in concentrated blocks of acreage. [Atlas] believes that it will be able to drill over 450 horizontal wells on this acquired acreage assuming 1,000 foot spacing between lateral wells.**

*Hindustan Times/Reuters (Apr 22) – Atlas, RIL to buy more shale acreage for $4,532 per acre

**Atlas Energy Press Release (Apr 21) – Atlas Energy, Inc. and Reliance Industries Jointly Acquire over 42,000 Additional Acres within Their Core Marcellus Shale Position

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PA DEP Staffs Up with More Gas Well Inspectors

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is hiring more inspectors for gas and oil wells. Right now there are 125 inspectors statewide. By the summer, an additional 68 will be on board bringing the total to 193 inspectors. Which is a good thing according to the York (PA) Dispatch, which notes:

In the last year, to cite two examples, inspectors noted that a brine pipeline operated by Range Resources Corp. was spilling production fluids into the ground at Cross Creek Park near Avella, resulting in a $23,500 penalty for the Texas-based company; and Atlas Resources was fined for violations at 13 of its wells in Washington, Fayette and Greene counties.*

MDN agrees. More inspectors are a good thing. It keeps everyone honest, and reassures the general public that drilling can be done safely.

*York Dispatch (Mar 10) – Marcellus Shale: Drilling inspectors welcome