Pennsylvania

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

PA DEP Releases 2013 Air Pollution from Drilling Report
April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

Each year the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) collects air emissions data for the natural gas industry as required by PA’s Air Pollution Control Act. Yesterday the DEP issued a comprehensive report for calendar year 2013. It’s no surprise that several categories of air pollutants increased–the more wells you drill, the more activity, the more air pollution. What *is* surprising is that two categories of air pollution decreased: carbon monoxide (CO) and methane (CH4). You also need to throw this into the mix: The way the information is collected and reported changed in 2013. The DEP began requiring data from compressor stations supporting coalbed methane wells. That is, they grew the pie–the data is sort of apples and oranges. And still the CO and CH4 numbers went down! Below is the DEP summary of the numbers, broken out by type of air pollution…
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Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Sunoco Logistics | Washington County

PA DEP: Sunoco Facing “Significant” Fine for Non-Toxic Mud Spills
April 21, 2015April 21, 2015

Last September MDN told you about a drilling mud spill that ended up in Little Mingo Creek in Washington County, PA (see Mariner East Pipeline Drilling Spills Mud in Local Creek). Sunoco Logistics was using a contractor to drill under the creek when the drill bit hit something really hard and broke, and the mud poured out of a ruptured hole and into the creek. Fortunately the mud, which is a substance called bentonite, is non-toxic and used in products from shampoo to deodorant and toothpaste. However, in sufficient quantities it can suffocate aquatic life. We didn’t think much about that incident until we spotted a story that says the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) is about issue Sunoco Logistics a fine for that accident–a really big fine…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County | Wastewater

Range Loses 2nd Appeal, Must Provide PA Well Site Chemical List
April 20, 2015February 8, 2019

Three families who live near a former drill site and frack wastewater impoundment at the Yeager Marcellus Shale site in Washington County, PA sued Range Resources in May 2012 claiming the air they breathe and the water they drink had been contaminated by Range’s operation at the site (see EPA Investigating Range Drill Site in Western PA). Litigation ensued, and years passed. In 2013, a Washington County court ordered Range (not its contractors, but Range itself) to disclose a list of all chemicals used at the site–right down to the type of motor oil used in vehicles coming and going at the site (see PA Judge Forces Range, Contractors to Provide Chemical List). It will be an almost impossible task to construct such a list at this point, especially in light of the fact they’re in the process of closing the site. So Range appealed. Last June they lost that appeal (see Court Says Range Resources Must Disclose Chemicals in SW PA). Range appealed again, and last week they lost that second appeal…
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Education | Energy Companies | Exxon Mobil | Industrywide Issues | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

ExxonMobil Donates $47M to Higher Ed, Including Marcellus Region
April 20, 2015April 20, 2015

ExxonMobil runs an incredibly generous program called the Educational Matching Gift Program under which they have just donated $47 million to ~900 colleges and universities across the United States. Here’s how it works: for every $1 ExxonMobil employees, retirees, directors and surviving spouses contribute to the Matching Gift Program, ExxonMobil matches it with $3. In Pennsylvania, the total pot donated to higher education was $3.8 million. In Ohio, it was $909,000. Virginia colleges are getting $1.3 million. New York State colleges and universities are getting a whopping $3.4 million–after New York State has screwed ExxonMobil royally (the company has lost millions of dollars in lease expirations when it couldn’t drill shale wells in the state because of Andrew Cuomo’s fracking ban). And yet, ExxonMobil gave money to the Empire State anyway, to some of the very schools who provide shelter and sponsor anti-drilling zealots. It shows the caliber of the people who run the company. One more: New Jersey, big users of oil and gas, but haters of pipelines and shale drilling, got $1.1 million…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | CNG/LNG | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

“Peaceful” Protesters Removed from LNG Export Hearing in Philly
April 17, 2015April 20, 2015

Another example of a “peaceful, non-violent” protest occurred yesterday in Philadelphia. City Councilman David Oh organized a meeting to discuss the feasibility of locating a facility inside city limits to liquefy and export natural gas. The city owns Philadelphia Gas Works (PGW), the largest municipal-owned utility in the country. PGW already has a small LNG facility in the city, but currently it’s set up to import LNG, not export it. Councilman Oh wanted to explore the possibility of converting the site to export LNG. You may recall the corrupt Philly City Council nixed a potential deal to sell PGW to UIL Holdings (see Philly City Council Kills the Phila. Gas Works $1.86B Deal). Since that time, City Council members like Oh have tried to save face and figure out how they might turn around the near-bankrupt PGW. One of the most promising ideas is to set up a small exporting operation. A meeting to discuss that idea was held on the campus of Drexel University. A meaningful portion of those attending were anti-drilling nutters who wouldn’t shut up and had to be escorted out by Drexel security personnel. Yep, just more of your “peaceful, non-violent” types out to make a point…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Kinder Morgan | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Pike County | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | Tennessee Gas Pipeline | Wayne County

Kinder Morgan Hops on the Pipeline Payola Bandwagon in NEPA
April 17, 2015April 17, 2015

Look–we’ve written about this before and we’re not going to belabor the point–about pipeline companies using payola to buy support for the pipelines they plan to build through communities. The Constitution Pipeline did it last March in New York (see Constitution Pipeline Payments to Groups – Donations or Payola?). PennEast recently did it this March in southeast Pennsylvania and New Jersey (see PennEast Payola? Buying Support One Community at a Time). Now it’s Kinder Morgan’s turn. KM handed out checks this week in Wayne, Susquehanna, Pike and Luzerne counties in northeastern PA. It’s amazing how much good press, and good will, a $10,000 donation can buy you–especially when you give it to a school…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Exclusive: PA Feb Natgas Production Numbers Show Decrease from Jan
April 16, 2015April 16, 2015

Kudos to the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection. On April 1 they published the very first monthly production numbers for oil and gas production in the state–for the month of January (see PA’s First Monthly O&G Production Report Goes Live). At the time, the DEP said going forward new production numbers would be released 45 days after the end of a calendar month, and that February’s numbers would be released by April 14. Those numbers were released–just before midnight on the 14th! They kept their word and are to be commended for it. MDN has analyzed the numbers from February, comparing them to January. Unfortunately several drillers have failed to file their monthly reports on time–most notable among them is EQT. Because EQT’s numbers are missing for February (one of the larger drillers in PA), it throws off any kind of meaningful analysis. However, we have enough of the picture from other major drillers who did file on time–drillers like Cabot Oil & Gas, Range Resources and Southwestern Energy–that we can tell you this: Production in PA from January to February went down by an appreciable amount. Currently, without EQT’s numbers in the mix, February production decreased 17% from January levels. Once missing numbers are added, we expect production to have decreased somewhere around 8-10% overall. Below we have a couple of charts with the natural gas production data rolled up, something you won’t find anywhere else!…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | XTO

Democrat County Judge Rules PA AG’s Case Against XTO Can Proceed
April 15, 2015April 15, 2015

Not long after she took office, Pennsylvania’s Democrat Attorney General, Kathleen Kane, brought criminal charges against XTO Energy for an accidental spill in Lycoming County, PA that happened two years before she was in office (see PA AG Abuses Her Authority, Files Criminal Charges Against XTO). Yes, this is the same Kathleen Kane who may be forcibly removed from office because she lied under oath, a little criminal offense called perjury (see PA Grand Jury Finds Anti-Drilling AG Kathleen Kane Lied Under Oath). Meanwhile, Kane continues her reign of terror against XTO and others (see Minuteman Enviro Says PA AG Office “Terrorized” Family Members, Filing Lawsuit and PA Attorney Gen. Kane Abuses Office Again, Arrest Warrant for EQT). The latest on the XTO sham case is that Democrat Lycoming County Judge Marc Lovecchio has (surprise!) refused to dismiss the charges against XTO…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

New Bill Aims to Keep Drilling/Pipelines Out of Dela. River Basin
April 15, 2015April 15, 2015

A new bill aimed at restricting shale drilling and pipelines in the Delaware River Basin has just been re-introduced by a pair of Delaware Democrats in Congress. It flies under the name of the Delaware River Basin Conservation Act. This is the fifth time the bill has been introduced (in 2013 it was HR 644, click here for the full text of the bill). The bill would vest the already out-of-control U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service with power and money to “identify and implement conservation activities” in the Delaware River Basin. The tipoff that this is anti-drilling is that it’s being promoted by the William Penn Foundation as well as the Delaware River Basin Commission. DRBC board members say the bill doesn’t step on their toes at all. In fact, DRBC welcomes the bill because it will help with “defending environmental quality in ways that are outside of its [DRBC’s] operations.” In other words, it’s one more tool to ensure shale drilling never happens in the Delaware River Basin…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PIOGA Turns Up the Heat on Wolf/Quigley Over TAB/Chapter 78
April 14, 2015September 1, 2017

The Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association turned up the heat on newly-elected Gov. Tom Wolf and Acting Dept. of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley. In fact, the temperature is downright hot. The issue is Wolf and Quigley’s possibly illegal maneuver in firing the members of the previous DEP Oil & Gas Technical Advisory Committee (TAB) and appointing all new members, PLUS appointing so-called non-voting members who are largely from environmentalist organizations–there to gum up what until now has been a well-oiled machine. In a letter addressed to current TAB members (minus the extra non-voting members), with copies going to Wolf, Quigley and a host of others, PIOGA tells TAB they should reject Quigley’s last minute reworking of Chapter 78 and 78a rulemaking (i.e. new regulations, see PA DEP Gives Public 45 Days to Comment on O&G Rule Changes). According to PIOGA, Quigley has clearly overstepped his authority as granted by the legislature and although it’s uncomfortable politically, the new TAB members need to “do the right thing” (our words) and reject Quigley’s changes…
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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Wolf Appoints Energy “Advisor”; Says Natgas Should Stay in PA
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf must have a fetish for staffers who can advise him on energy issues. Maybe he feels less-than-adequate following in the footsteps of Tom Corbett–someone who really understood the energy industry? Wolf has two former secretaries of the Dept. of Environment Protection (DEP) on his staff–Katie McGinty, his chief of staff, and John Hanger, his Secretary of Planning and Policy (i.e. Secretary of High Taxes). Wolf also appointed the former Secretary of the Dept. of Conservation and Natural Resouces, John Quigley, to become his current Secretary of the DEP. He had loads of experts on the environment and energy, but apparently they aren’t enough to advise him on what he should think about energy in the Keystone State. So Wolf has appointed someone to be his “top” energy advisor, who happens to be (surprise!) a lawyer…
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Bradford County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Susquehanna County

Rumor Mill: Southwestern Idles 2 Rigs in NEPA
April 14, 2015April 14, 2015

We’re passing along a bit of gossip–we call it gossip because we haven’t (yet) been able to verify it, but we believe it to be true. A long-time MDN reader wrote to tell us that he services most of the rigs operating in the Appalachian basin (Marcellus/Utica), and that Southwestern either has or is about to idle two rigs owned and operated by Precision Drilling in northeast PA: Rigs #538 and #539 in Bradford and Susquehanna counties. According to our source, the Bradford County rig was idled last week and the Susquehanna County rig will be idled this week. We don’t know if Southwestern has any remaining active rigs in northeastern PA owned by other companies.

UPDATE: Turns out Southwestern has no plans to scale back. The reason for idling the Precision Drilling rigs is because they plan to use their own rigs going forward. Another reader confirmed it and told MDN that the Precision Drilling rigs are being replaced with Desoto Drilling rigs #45 and #46. Southwestern owns Desoto. With activity in Arkansas slow (where the Desoto rigs had been located), it only makes sense!
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Research | Statewide PA

Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Yet Another Court Case – Wanted Raw Data
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Time to do a happy dance. THE Delaware Riverkeeper has lost yet another court case in their ongoing effort to make mischief with anything to do with fossil fuels. Maya van Rossum, head of the organization, uses fossil fuels every day of her life, but she hates them (a lotta angst and inner conflict, we imagine). She tried to stop Williams from clearing trees for a pipeline expansion until the clock ran out on April 1st in northeastern PA–you can’t cut from April through November because bats may roost in the trees. Of course where the tree cutting was happening is nowhere near the Delaware River Basin that the Riverkeeper organization is supposed to be minding with its non-profit status. Riverkeeper lost that court case, even though the case was filed in a liberal DC court (see Dela. Riverkeeper Loses Bid to Stop Transco Expansion in PA). Riverkeeper’s latest angle is to try and get the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection to turn over unanalyzed raw data the DEP has been collecting in a multi-year study on fracking and radiation levels. The DEP is still collecting the data, but Riverkeeper thought there might be some juicy bits they could exploit for fundraising headlines. So Riverkeeper sued under the open records law to get access. A Commonwealth Court panel of judges on Friday said “no”…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Dela. Riverkeeper to Hold Stalker Training to “Hound” Gov Wolf
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

What happens when a pack of wacko anti-drillers stalks a governor and “hounds” him virtually to death on the fracking issue? If he’s a Democrat governor in New York, like Andrew Cuomo, he caves to the pressure just to get rid of the crazies from following him from event to event (see NY Gov Cuomo Comments on Fracking, Hounding by Protesters). And so we now have an unconstitutional ban on fracking in the Empire State. That lesson has not been lost on equally crazy anti-drillers in Pennsylvania. Get this: THE Delaware Riverkeeper is going to give lessons on how to stop fracking in the Keystone State by using the same tactic–stalking the governor at every event with anti-drilling messages, hoping to wear him down like the crazies in NY wore down Cuomo. They call it “Bird-Dog” training and starting this Saturday, you too can learn how to be a pompous, pushy %@#, just like THE Delaware Riverkeeper…
Read More “Dela. Riverkeeper to Hold Stalker Training to “Hound” Gov Wolf”
Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

NPR Admits Truth About PA Jobs in Marcellus Shale Industry
April 13, 2015April 13, 2015

Waaaiiiit just a minute. This isn’t supposed to happen! NPR telling the truth about shale jobs in Pennsylvania? Yep, it’s true–April Fool’s was a couple of weeks ago. No, it’s not the anti-drilling NPR “reporters” from Harrisburg and Philadelphia with StateImpact Pennsylvania who told the truth (wash your mouth out with soap!). It was a reporter with the national NPR organization. Jeff Brady has an article published on the Nevada Public Radio website which says, in essence, although the shale industry is seeing big layoffs, the jobs picture in Pennsylvania is still very positive. How positive? Some 98% of the kids graduating from one of PA’s training schools get jobs in the shale industry. Some of those jobs pay $70,000-$80,000 per year. There are currently (according to NPR) around 31,000 people employed directly in the shale industry in PA, with no signs of letting up. Tell us again how PA was such a disaster under Tom Corbett and how Marcellus jobs numbers “didn’t add up” (see Remarkable Change in PA Jobs Since Pro-Gas Corbett Lost Gov Race). After Corbett lost, it was OK for so-called mainstream media to start telling the truth about the jobs bounty in the PA Marcellus. It’s so obvious, you can’t deny it, and the reputation of mainstream sources like NPR was suffering because of their anti-drilling propaganda, so they had to (finally) admit it…
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CNX Resources | CONSOL Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

CONSOL Energy Lays Off Workers in CNX Gas Division in WV/PA
April 10, 2015April 10, 2015

UPDATE 4PM 4/10/15: A highly placed source tells MDN that the number of total layoffs in the gas division is 170, many of which happened today. The total number is just shy of 5% of CONSOL’s total workforce. Our thoughts and prayers go to those affected.

It’s not often that MDN gets to break news–but from scouring available news sources, we believe this is one of those times. Yesterday a long-time MDN reader phoned MDN to report that CONSOL Energy has begun, and is in the process of, a large round of layoffs in its CNX Gas division. The layoffs include personnel cuts in the following CONSOL locations: In WV there have been cuts in the Jane Lew and Bluefield offices; and in PA, cuts have been made (or will be made) in the Waynesburg, Indiana, and Canonsburg offices. We must stress this is second-hand information. We believe our source, but we do not have confirmation of cuts in all of those locations. Our source told us he had once worked in the Jane Lew office when that operation was part of Dominion (prior to CONSOL taking it over) and that someone he once worked with in that office–a woman who’s worked in that office/operation for 28 years–was just given her pink slip. So our source has an inside track on the situation. However, it’s always best to get confirmation, so MDN contacted CONSOL via email to ask for confirmation (or denial) and this is what CONSOL said…
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