Pennsylvania

Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Washington County | Wastewater

PA Rep Jesse White to Introduce Law Banning Open Frack Ponds
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

PA State Rep. Jesse White, a Democrat from Cecil with an ongoing grudge match with Range Resources (and someone who claims to be in favor of responsible drilling), will soon introduce a bill into the PA legislature that would ban Marcellus Shale wastewater frack ponds. He’s looking for co-sponsors for the legislation and using the new Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD) as his political cover/excuse to push for it.

White incorrectly states the CSSD’s new standards call for the elimination of open impoundments or frack ponds. Standard #3 says no open ponds for fracking fluid, but Standard #4 says open frack ponds are permissible for "produced" or "flowback" water—the deep layer salt water that comes out after the drilling fluid has been removed (see MDN’s summary of the rules here: Important: Drillers & Enviros Form New Group, Launch Cert Program). Although he uses the CSSD for justification, White’s proposal goes well beyond what they’re stipulating…

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Cumberland County | Education | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Taxation

Brainwash Complete: Dickinson Co-Ed Wants PA Severance Tax
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

A young college co-ed from Dickinson College has penned an editorial run in the Harrisburg Patriot-News proving what a valuable education one gets at Dickinson—where they teach kids that drilling destroys the environment. (Hint: You may want to re-think sending your children, and your money, to Dickinson College).

Here’s her "brilliance" on display (with snarky MDN comments inserted):

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Supply Chain

Air Products in Wilkes-Barre, PA – A Shale Gas Success Story
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

Air Products is located on the outskirts of Wilkes-Barre, PA. If you’ve ever heard of the Air Products business, you may conjure up an image of small cylinder tanks of helium or other "rare" gases sitting inside a chain fence. Yes, Air Products sells gases by the tank, but they also manufacture the mother of all gas tanks, and that’s where the shale gas business comes in…

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (PA) | Pennsylvania | Ridgeline Energy Services | Wastewater

Punxsutawney Phil Gets a New Neighbor: Marcellus Wastewater Plant
April 12, 2013April 12, 2013

Canadian company Ridgeline Energy Services announced yesterday that it will build a new Marcellus Shale wastewater treatment facility in Punxsutawney, PA. They already have an unidentified customer willing to send 2,500-4,000 barrels of wastewater per day to the new facility when it becomes operational. Construction will begin in about a month.

Ridgeline’s announcement:

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Industrywide Issues | Jobs | NG Vehicles | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Republicans Introduce Marcellus Tax Credits to Create Jobs
April 11, 2013April 11, 2013

Pennsylvania Republicans want the burgeoning Marcellus Shale industry in the state to create even more jobs for Pennsylvanians–so they’ve introduced legislation that will grant tax credits (not assistance, just a break on high taxes) to companies that do things like convert fleets of vehicles from running on gasoline to running on CNG (compressed natural gas). The amounts add up to a few million dollars, a fly speck in the overall budget, but of course it makes the state’s Democrats apoplectic:

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Accidents | Beaver County | Crime | Industrywide Issues | Mahoning County | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Wastewater

Beaver Falls, PA – Downriver from Youngstown Frackwater Dumping
April 10, 2013April 9, 2013

An article in the Youngstown Vindicator asks the question of whether or not the illegal dumping of frack wastewater in the Mahoning River by D&L Energy owner Ben Lupo (see Youngstown Wastewater Dumper Pleads Not Guilty in Federal Court) has contaminated water supplies down river—particularly in Beaver Falls, PA. Beaver Falls gets its water from the Beaver River, which in turn gets its water from the Mahoning River where the dumping took place.

According to the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection, Beaver Falls noticed "some problems" but the incident probably had "just a minor effect." That’s not much comfort for residents in Beaver Falls who wonder whether or not they were drinking polluted water…

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide PA

Eco-Left Continues to Eat Their Own – The Smearing of Ed Rendell
April 9, 2013April 9, 2013

We find ourselves in an unusual situation—sticking up for former PA Gov. Ed "Fast Eddie" Rendell. Must be Rendell’s in-your-face "you outta be fracking by now" op-ed aimed at Gov. Andy "Ditherer" Cuomo last week hit a real nerve on the wacko eco-left (see Former PA Gov. Rendell to Gov. Cuomo: Get Fracking). How do we know? The pro-socialist Pro Publica "news" service (among others) continues to pick away at Rendell trying to smear him with charges that he has close ties to the drilling industry. According to the lefties, Rendell is getting his palms greased by the drilling industry and (of course!) that’s why he’s stumping for them. So just ignore anything Eddie says—at least when it comes to nasty fossil fuels.

Ever hear of the parable in the Bible about the guy with a tree sticking out of his eye trying to tell the guy with a toothpick in his eye how to do things? There are so many conflicts of interest and so much dirty money between eco-left groups and sycophantic reporters (like those writing for Pro Publica) the eco-left doesn’t have a leg to stand on when it comes to criticizing others for so-called conflicts of interest. Go peddle your rank hypocrisy somewhere else Pro Publica. Here’s the latest trumped-up bilge:

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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

The Toxic Fight over Fracking: AP Hints MDN an “Extreme Voice”
April 8, 2013April 8, 2013

An AP story in today’s Washington, PA Observer-Reporter takes a look at the natural gas drilling and fracking debate through the lens of those who either support or don’t support the new “voluntary” Center for Sustainable Shale Development (CSSD). The author made a statement that seemed, to us, to perfectly encapsulate the debate: “The fight is so toxic in part because fracking has become a symbol for the even bigger debate over climate change. Both sides see a historic crossroads, like an energy version of D-Day or Waterloo, in which the winner will determine energy and climate policy for decades to come.” We wish we had said it that way!

Two paragraphs later in the same story (and much to our surprise), the AP writer uses a quote from your humble drilling news source, MDN. The quote aptly (and fairly) represents our view of the CSSD…

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Baker Hughes Rig Counts Hit New Low, But There’s More to Story…
April 8, 2013April 8, 2013

Energy analyst and Seeking Alpha blogger Richard Zeits has authored a new “required reading” article titled, “Natural Gas: Sharp Recent Drop In Baker Hughes Gas Rig Count Explained.” In his new article, Zeits says that although the Baker Hughes rig count (number of active drilling rigs in the U.S.) has reached a new low as of last Friday—only 375 active rigs—the rig count itself does not tell the whole story. With a series of stunning charts, Zeits explores the big change from rigs drilling for natural gas to rigs drilling for oil…

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Blair County | Economic Impact | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Marcellus GTL | Pennsylvania | Taxation

Altoona Gas to Liquids Plant Will Qualify for 7-Year Tax Break
April 8, 2013April 8, 2013

Marcellus GTL announced a few weeks ago they plan to build a $200 million gas to liquids (GTL) plant near Altoona, PA that will convert natural gas into gasoline and propane (see Altoona Area Getting $200M Marcellus Gas-to-Liquids Plant). If they start building by the end of this year, the company will qualify for up to seven years of tax abatement. That’s a pretty powerful reason to get building…

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Accidents | Carrizo Oil & Gas | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Wastewater | Wyoming County (PA)

Carrizo Resumes Fracking at Site of Spill in Wyoming County, PA
April 8, 2013April 8, 2013

On March 13, Carrizo Oil & Gas temporarily lost control of a Marcellus Shale gas well they were fracking in Wyoming County, PA, leading to a spill of over 200,000 gallons of fracking water. The frack water was contained and trucked away (see Carrizo Problem Fracking NE PA Well, Evacuates 3 Nearby Families). Since then, Carrizo has tested local water sources and has found “nothing unusual,” so the state PA Dept. of Environmental Protection has given them the green light to resume fracking the well:

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

PA Impact “Fee” Year 2: Revenue Goes Down, Slightly
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

In early 2012, Pennsylvania enacted the most sweeping rework of oil and gas laws in the state in decades (see Gov. Corbett Signs New Marcellus Drilling Law). Called Act 13, one of the provisions of the law is an “impact fee” collected on each horizontal shale well drilled. The fee is intended to offset the impacts of drilling in places where drilling happens, hence the name. However, in order to get enough support to pass Act 13, politics were played and 40% of the “fee” got re-allocated to non-impact uses—i.e., 40% of the fee became a tax (see PA’s New Tax on Drilling (er Sorry, Impact Fee)). Once the dust settled and the bugs were worked out of the new fee/tax by the state Public Utility Commission—the agency tasked with calculating and collecting it—the first year raised $204 million in revenue (see PA Impact Fee Raises More Revenue than Expected).

The preliminary estimates are now out for the second year, and the fee/tax for year #2 has gone down—from $204 million to $198 million, according to Gov. Tom Corbett. Why? The price of natural gas was lower in 2012 than it was in 2011, putting the fee collected into a different “bracket” (see this page for the somewhat complicated grid that determines how fees are calculated). Gov. Corbett’s comments about year #2 impact fee revenue:

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Air Quality | Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Westmoreland County

Murrysville, PA Stream Monitoring Group Expands to Air Monitoring
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

A volunteer group in Westmoreland County called the Murrysville Stream Monitoring Group tests seven local streams once each month, looking for total dissolved solids. They’ve been testing since September of last year. The group was started and is populated by anti-drillers, people opposed to Marcellus Shale drilling. The locations they’ve selected to test are close to active Marcellus well drilling operations. What have they found so far? Nothing. Each stream has passed every test they’ve done—both upstream close to well drilling and downstream away from drilling. Same result—nothing.

Since they aren’t finding anything in the streams, maybe it’s time for the Murrysville Group to turn their attention to the air. And so they have. But monitoring air is expensive, requiring equipment that costs $3,000 per unit. The group wants three units, and they want taxpayers to fund it:

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Education | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

A Plethora of Shale Organizations/Institutes Spring Up in PA
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

Although there’s a small minority of mouthy people opposed to shale drilling in Pennsylvania (groups like the Sierra Club and PennFuture), most companies and organizations are clamoring to get a piece of the Marcellus drilling industry action in the Keystone State. Case in point: Several years ago the industry-backed Marcellus Shale Coalition was launched, a fabulous organization that promotes Marcellus Shale drilling and ensures certain standards are met by its members. It’s a “carrot” kind of organization—encouraging drillers to join and conform to common-sense rules. A few weeks ago, a new ad hoc group of drillers and environmentalists announced the launch of the Center for Sustainable Shale Development, or “CSSD” (see Important: Drillers & Enviros Form New Group, Launch Cert Program). CSSD wants to supplement state regulations with even tougher, more expensive rules. CSSD wants to force drillers to get their certification—a “stick” kind of organization. Not to be outdone, a few days after CSSD launched yet another group unveiled itself, called the Shale Gas Roundtable. They too are crafting “rules to drill by” that will soon be released (see Out of the Shadows: Another New Group Wants to Regulate PA Shale).

Academe wants in on the action too…

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

Pittsburgh Newspapers Not Ready to Concede Defeat in Range Case
April 5, 2013April 5, 2013

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the Washington, PA Observer-Reporter are not quite ready to throw in the towel on what increasingly looks like a vendetta against Range Resources. The two newspapers sued in May 2012 to have court documents unsealed in a settlement between Range and the Hallowich family in Washington County, PA (see Pittsburgh Newspapers Sue to Unseal Drilling Court Case). The newspapers were hoping to find evidence that Range had covered up a case where their drilling (fracking) had led to contamination of the Hallowich’s water well, or perhaps had adversely affected their health. A judge recently unsealed the court documents and guess what? No evidence of water contamination (see Judge Orders Range/Landowner Settlement in PA Made Public).

Not only was there no water contamination, the Hallowich’s signed an affidavit stating there has been no ill health effects as well (see Affidavit in Range PA Settlement Shows No Drilling Health Impacts). Oops. Major egg on the face of the newspapers. Or using a different metaphor, they went fishing and didn’t even get a bite. What to do? We know! Gin up a false controversy that there’s still a missing document from the the mountains of documents the court released. Yeah, that’ll be worth a few more headlines and copies sold. After all, we have to somehow help pay for the lawyers and time we burned on this effort…

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Economic Impact | Guest Post | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Guest Post: Susquehanna County’s Astonishing Resource Potential
April 4, 2013April 5, 2013

The following article was written by MDN friend and prolific contributor of links and story ideas, Chris Acker. Chris splits his time between Montrose, PA (in Susquehanna County) and Savannah, GA. Here is his biography from the Seeking Alpha website:

Christopher Acker, Geological Engineer with an MBA, grew up in the oil fields of Venezuela where his father, a petroleum engineer, was a drilling contractor for all the major players, onshore and off. Chris’ interest in energy economics and policy found him working for Exxon, Petroleum Industry Research Associates and Petroleos de Venezuela. He bought a parcel of land in the PA countryside twenty-five years ago and later semi-retired to work on antique pianos. See www.PianoGrands.com. A few years ago, it was established that Chris’ property in Susquehanna County sits atop one of the Marcellus shale’s most prolific areas. He is now happily engaged once again in energy economics, with emphasis, naturally, on gas.

Here is Chris’ thoroughly researched, extensively footnoted, superb analysis of Susquehanna County’s potential Marcellus Shale natural gas yield…

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