Washington PA Honda Dealer Starts Selling CNG Vehicles
Here come the compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles! At least in western PA:
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Lawsuit Filed: PA Towns Sue State over Marcellus Act 13 Law
A threatened lawsuit to overturn Pennsylvania’s newly passed Act 13 law that preempts local zoning ordinances passed to prevent shale gas drilling has finally materialized. The lawsuit was filed yesterday by seven PA municipalities and several other people (a copy of the lawsuit is embedded below). Act 13, signed into law in February by Gov. Tom Corbett, contains a provision that disallows local PA municipalities from passing zoning laws that are specifically aimed at preventing shale gas drilling. The loss of zoning power has some municipalities hopping mad.
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Compressor Station Explosion in Susquehanna County, PA
A natural gas compressor station located in Susquehanna County, PA owned and operated by Williams Partners experienced an explosion yesterday morning that blew a hole in the roof of the complex. There were no injuries and the automated emergency shutdown kicked in preventing gas from entering or leaving the station.
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Two PA Construction Companies Double in Size from Marcellus Work
The Wilkes-Barre newspaper The Citizens’ Voice has an inspirational article in today’s edition about women working in jobs operating heavy equipment—not something you hear about often. As part of the story, we learn about the enormous impact Marcellus Shale drilling has had in the northeast Pennsylvania area on business in general, and on two construction-related businesses in particular:
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Clean Harbors Environmental | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Northumberland County | Pennsylvania
Why Sunbury, PA Mayor Supports Marcellus Waste Facility
As MDN reported yesterday, Clean Harbors Environmental Services of Norwell, Mass. wants to build a Marcellus Shale waste processing facility in Sunbury, PA (see this MDN story). Some area residents are not happy about it, but not so with Mayor David Persing. He supports it and offers his thinking and rationale for supporting the proposed project:
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South Fayette School Passes on Offer from Range Resources
The South Fayette School District in South Fayette Township (Allegheny County), PA has decided to pass on an offer from Range Resources to transfer a Marcellus Shale drilling lease previously signed with Chesapeake Energy.
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Allegheny County | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Superior Appalachian Pipeline
New Compressor Station Near Pittsburgh Hits Opposition
Superior Appalachian Pipeline LLC has filed for a permit to construct a new compressor station in northern Allegheny County, PA (near Pittsburgh):
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Beaver County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Litigation | Pennsylvania
After 7 Years of No Drilling, PA Families Sue to End Contract
Seven Beaver County, PA families filed a lawsuit yesterday in Common Pleas Court accusing O&G Investments of Wooster, Ohio of not drilling on their land (and not paying them) for the past seven years. The lawsuit also names Chesapeake Energy, who purchased the leases from O&G last year and who now, “at the last minute,” is trying to tie up the land and continue the contract by moving in equipment to start a drill pad—even though they haven’t received any permits to drill.
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Clean Harbors Environmental | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Landfills | Northumberland County | Pennsylvania
Marcellus Waste Processing Facility Planned for Sunbury, PA
Clean Harbors Environmental Services of Norwell, Mass. has applied for a permit to build a “waste processing facility” in Sunbury (Northumberland County), PA. The facility will accept up to 1,000 tons of Marcellus Shale drill cuttings, drilling mud and other materials per day. Although the waste is not toxic, some local officials are concerned and upset that the state DEP alone will make a decision about whether or not to approve the permit (Sunbury has no say in the matter). Sunbury mayor David Persing supports the new facility.
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Wells Fargo Study: 60% of New PA Jobs from Gas Drilling
Wells Fargo Securities economists recently issued a report on the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on Pennsylvania jobs (a copy of the 12-page report is embedded below). The report offers both an optimistic and pessimistic forecast of job growth, along with what they believe to be a realistic forecast. And all of their numbers are backed up with plenty of commentary so the reader understands why they predict what they predict. The bottom line?Read More “Wells Fargo Study: 60% of New PA Jobs from Gas Drilling”
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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Regulation | Shell
Shell’s ‘Silent’ Partner in Building Cracker Plant: The EPA
Shell will decide whether or not to build an ethane cracker plant in Beaver County, PA over the next two years (see this MDN story). If they decide to build, which seems likely, it will take between four and 10 years and $3 billion to build it. It’s a massive project. And Shell will have the federal Environmental Protection Agency looking over their shoulder the whole time, according to an EPA rep from Texas:
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Marcellus Revitalizes PA Company 150 Miles from Nearest Well
PA State Senator Tim Solobay, a Democrat serving western PA’s 46th district, made the following report about the “broad-reaching economic impact” of Marcellus shale drilling and it’s power to revitalize businesses in the state:
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Federal Judge Upholds Water Ban in Allegheny National Forest
In a lawsuit to allow active drilling in the Allegheny National Forest (ANF) in Pennsylvania, a federal judge ruled last Friday that the U.S. Forest Service does not have to end a ban they imposed on drillers who want to use surface water from the ANF for hydraulic fracturing. Drillers have argued that the Forest Service’s actions in banning water withdrawals from the ANF, and in delaying signoff on new drilling permits, have in essence stopped drilling in the ANF—a de facto ban. For a background on the long-running dispute, see this MDN story from last November.
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Number of NatGas Drilling Rigs Continues Slow Decline in PA
The number of gas drilling rigs continues a slow decline in Pennsylvania as companies reallocate those rigs to Ohio and to areas in the country where shale oil drilling is expanding.
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PA Dem Seeks to Tax Marcellus Towns to Cover Trooper Costs
Pennsylvania Rep. Mike Sturla, D-Lancaster, wants to assess a tax on rural municipalities in Marcellus Shale areas without a police department who rely on PA State Troopers to assist them, to help fund the expense of the troopers. Sturla, chairman of the House Democratic Policy Committee, says the money the state spends on troopers for some 1,300 municipalities is money not available to spend on other transportation-related purposes.
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PA DEP Hosting Webinars on Act 13 Zoning Law
Want to know more about the recently passed Act 13 law in Pennsylvania? That’s the new law essentially removing the right of local municipalities to regulate or otherwise ban drilling within their borders. Some townships are up in arms and threatening a lawsuit. The state Department of Environmental Protection wants to educate local officials and the public and is conducting four one-hour webinars to do it.
From the DEP press release:
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Wells Fargo Securities economists recently issued a report on the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on Pennsylvania jobs (a copy of the 12-page report is embedded below). The report offers both an optimistic and pessimistic forecast of job growth, along with what they believe to be a realistic forecast. And all of their numbers are backed up with plenty of commentary so the reader understands why they predict what they predict. The bottom line?