Pennsylvania

Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

Marcellus Drillers Attempting to Woo Chemical Companies to Build Plants in the Marcellus
May 5, 2011May 23, 2011

Marcellus Shale drillers and regional economic development agencies are trying to interest chemical companies in locating to southwest PA and northern WV by building “cracking plants” that would convert some of the compounds from Marcellus drilling into the raw material used to manufacture plastics and other chemical products. Just one such plant would mean a $1 billion investment, creating thousands of short-term jobs to build the plant, and hundreds of permanent jobs to staff it once built.

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Accidents | Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Maryland | Pennsylvania | Statewide MD

Maryland AG Sues Chesapeake Energy Over Spill in Pennsylvania
May 3, 2011May 3, 2011

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.”

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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Ohio Township, PA Supervisors Pass Ordinance to Restrict Marcellus Shale Drilling Activities
May 3, 2011May 3, 2011

Supervisors in Ohio Township (Allegheny County), PA last night voted to approve an ordinance that places restrictions on Marcellus Shale drilling in the Township. According to Township Solicitor Mike Witherel, the previous ordinance, passed in 2003, placed no restrictions on drilling. The new ordinance puts in place common sense restrictions on drilling activities.

Read More “Ohio Township, PA Supervisors Pass Ordinance to Restrict Marcellus Shale Drilling Activities”
Beaver County | Columbia County | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Utica Shale | Williams Production

Drilling in the Utica Shale in PA – Ranges Says Yes, Williams Says No
May 2, 2011May 2, 2011

The Marcellus Shale layer is about a mile down, depending on where you are. Lately, there’s been talk about tapping into the Utica Shale, which sits below the Marcellus, at about two miles down. A recent permit granted to Williams Production Appalachia to drill its exploratory well deeper on Route 487 in Sugarloaf Township, Columbia County in Pennsylvania sparked rumors that Williams was planning to tap into the Utica. But a spokesperson for Williams, Helen Humphreys, says that’s not true:

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Sec. Michael Krancer Responds to Critics, The Gloves Come Off
May 2, 2011May 2, 2011

Now that Michael Krancer has received official confirmation from the Pennsylvania Senate to be the Secretary of PA’s Department of Environmental Protection, he is talking freely with the press and he has plenty to say.

Krancer said the following about his recent “voluntary request” to drillers to stop sending fracking fluid to municipal treatment plants that are not equipped to handle it:

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Centre County | Pennsylvania

Increase in Marcellus Shale Drilling in Centre County, PA – Volunteers Keep an Eye on Local Streams
May 2, 2011May 2, 2011

A volunteer water monitoring project in Centre County, PA began in 2010 with the aim to produce a baseline for the health of local streams and waterways in the county. The volunteers keep an eye on the streams because of the upswing in Marcellus Shale drilling activity in the county. If there should be accidents, or if fracking fluid should somehow find its way into local waterways, the data collected by the volunteers will prove a valuable resource for evaluating the environmental impact.

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Accidents | Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Federal EPA Demands Answers from Chesapeake Energy on Well Blowout in Bradford County Last Week
April 27, 2011April 27, 2011

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.

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Forced Pooling | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Gov. Corbett Says “No” to Concept of Forced Pooling of Marcellus Shale Leases
April 27, 2011April 27, 2011

Forced pooling happens when most landowners in an area have signed leases and want to allow drilling, but one or two have not. If a landowner has not signed a lease but owns land situated between other land already leased, that landowner could be “forced” to allow drilling. The unwilling landowner would not be forced to allow a drill pad, but a driller on a neighboring piece of property would be allowed to drill underneath the landowner with a “minority interest.” Forced pooling is not currently allowed in Pennsylvania, and according to new Gov. Tom Corbett, it won’t be as long as he’s governor.

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Atlas Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA | Wastewater

MDN In-depth: Marcellus Wastewater Discharges via Municipal Sewage Treatment Plants into PA Waterways
April 25, 2011April 25, 2011

A number of stories have circulated since last week when the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) asked Marcellus Shale drillers to voluntarily (or else) stop using municipal sewage treatment plants by May 19 to treat and release drilling wastewater into PA’s rivers and streams (read MDN’s story here). One of the latest articles is (gasp) a pretty balanced article from the Associated Press, so let’s give credit where credit is due since MDN has previously stated almost all of AP’s reporting on the drilling industry is skewed against it.

Below is a list of things we learn from the most recent AP missive, along with MDN’s thoughts. First the background and history, then an examination of the chemistry, and finally what changed the drilling industry’s collective mind about this issue, including who the “real” culprit in all of this may be.

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Bradford County | Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

New Research Details the Positive Economic Impacts from Marcellus Shale Drilling in PA
April 25, 2011April 25, 2011

Some empirical data on the positive economic impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania:

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Bradford County | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County | Wyoming County (PA)

Northeastern PA Construction Company Looking to Hire Hundreds of New Workers for Marcellus Shale Jobs
April 25, 2011April 25, 2011

A northeastern PA construction company is looking to hire “hundreds” of workers to meet demand for its services in the Marcellus Shale drilling industry:

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Accidents | Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Chesapeake Well in Bradford County, PA has Blowout; Chesapeake Temporarily Stops All Drilling Until Cause is Known
April 22, 2011April 22, 2011

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.

Read More “Chesapeake Well in Bradford County, PA has Blowout; Chesapeake Temporarily Stops All Drilling Until Cause is Known”
Bradford County | Endless Mountain Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Lycoming County | Pennsylvania | Tioga County (PA)

PA Game Commission Signs Deal to Lease State Land in Bradford, Lycoming and Tioga Counties
April 22, 2011April 22, 2011

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has just leased more land under its control for Marcellus Shale drilling:

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Allegheny County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Western PA Township Votes to Require Permits for Marcellus Shale Drilling
April 20, 2011

Crescent Township in Allegheny County, PA (in the Pittsburgh area), will now require all Marcellus Shale drilling companies to file for a permit before they can drill on any property in the Township.
Read More “Western PA Township Votes to Require Permits for Marcellus Shale Drilling”
Allegheny County | Cambria County | Elk County | Greene County (PA) | Indiana County | Industrywide Issues | Jefferson County (PA) | Lawrence County | Pennsylvania | Snyder County | Venango County | Warren County | Wastewater | Westmoreland County

PA DEP, Marcellus Shale Coalition Admit Drilling Wastewater Likely Contaminating Drinking Water
April 19, 2011

There are 15 (of an original 27) municipal sewage treatment plants in Pennsylvania that still accept Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater. That is, until May 19 of this year.

Read More “PA DEP, Marcellus Shale Coalition Admit Drilling Wastewater Likely Contaminating Drinking Water”
Atlas Energy | Chesapeake Energy | Chief Oil & Gas | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | EOG Resources | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Statewide PA | XTO

Most-Fined Marcellus Shale Drillers in PA
April 18, 2011

An in-depth article that takes a look at fines for Marcellus Shale drillers in PA finds the following:
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