Pennsylvania

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

New PA Study: No Link Between Fracking & Water Contamination
October 24, 2011October 24, 2011

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania is a bipartisan legislative agency serving as a resource and research arm for rural policy in the Pennsylvania Assembly and Senate. The Center has just released the results of a study conducted in 2010 and 2011 analyzing the impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling on rural drinking water supplies. This was an unbiased, large scale study of water quality in 233 private water wells in rural Pennsylvania before and after the drilling of nearby Marcellus Shale gas wells. The study results are embedded below.

The study found that dissolved methane exists in about 20 percent of private water wells—before drilling begins. In the executive summary, the study concludes:

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Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Delaware Riverkeeper Quits Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission
October 24, 2011October 24, 2011

In August of this year, a number of anti-drilling groups in Pennsylvania banded together to form the Citizens Marcellus Shale Commission—to counterbalance Gov. Tom Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission. Among the groups sponsoring the new commission are the Sierra Club, Penn Environment, Keystone Progress, Clean Water Action and Delaware Riverkeeper. The new Citizens Commission held five public hearings in September and has collected testimony from hundreds of Pennsylvanians and is due to release a final report today outlining “responsible drilling” measures it recommends should be adopted in PA.

Apparently the final report is not to the liking of the Delaware Riverkeeper (ie, it’s not anti-drilling enough), and so they have resigned from the commission in a snit. Delaware Riverkeeper is perhaps the most extreme of the anti-drilling groups, calling for a ban on all drilling in the state. Here’s the Delaware Riverkeeper press release announcing their departure:

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Accidents | Coterra Energy (Cabot O&G) | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Susquehanna County

Final Resolution to Dimock, PA Water Problem?
October 21, 2011October 21, 2011

Dimock, PA has been a rallying cry for many who oppose shale gas drilling. For those with only a peripheral knowledge of the struggle, the word Dimock conjures up an image of nasty hydraulic fracturing fluids seeping into ground water supplies and contaminating them so they are now undrinkable by humans or animals. But such an image would be wrong.

What happened in Dimock, according to the PA State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), is that the drilling company Cabot Oil & Gas did not properly case (enclose the bore hole), which led to methane (natural gas) escaping through cracks into the local water supply for area homes. Methane gas in water does not kill when consumed, but it can become an explosion hazard as happened with one local water well in the area.

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

Range Resources Sues Cecil Township Over New Ordinance
October 13, 2011March 24, 2012

Cecil Township in Washington County, PA—a suburb of Pittsburgh—recently passed an ordinance changing shale gas drilling from a permitted use to a conditional use, meaning each well drilled would have to be approved by the township on a case by case basis. It requires drillers to do twice the work—once in filing a permit application with the state, and a second time with the local municipality. Range Resources, one of the nation’s largest Marcellus Shale drillers (and with operations in Cecil), has just filed a lawsuit requesting the new ordinance be overturned.

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

PA DEP Clamps Down on Air Pollution Rules for Gas Drilling
October 13, 2011October 13, 2011

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which oversees oil and gas drilling in the state has issued new guidelines for evaluating air pollution sources from oil and gas operations. Specifically, the new guidelines clarify when operations should be considered a single source, and when operations will be considered separately, thereby facing stricter permit requirements. The move tightens controls over potential sources of air pollution from drilling and related operations.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Warren County | Wastewater

Columbus Twp, PA Ban on Injection Wells Rescinded
October 13, 2011October 13, 2011

Under threat of a lawsuit, supervisors in Columbus Township (Warren County, PA) reversed their previous ban on the disposal of fracking fluids in two injection wells in the township (see this previous MDN story about the lawsuit).

Injection wells are deep wells used to dispose of fracking fluid from those drillers who do not recycle all of the fracking fluid used in their drilling operations. The fluid is pumped into the wells under high pressure, forcing it deep into the ground. Ohio has hundreds of such injection wells due to a better underground geography. However, PA currently has only a relative handful of injection wells (less than a dozen?), including the two in Columbus Township.

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Indiana County | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania

Banks Now Getting into Gas Advice Business
October 13, 2011October 13, 2011

Some banks are getting into the business of advising their customers, like farmers, on what kind of gas lease to sign when energy companies come knocking. The wealth management divisions of banks are branching out into what has been traditionally the turf of lawyers. One such bank is S&T Bancorp, based in Indiana, PA.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County

Shale Gas Mineral Rights Case Appealed to PA Supreme Court
October 12, 2011October 12, 2011

We have a new development in the ongoing case from Susquehanna County, PA where a lower court upheld the “Dunham rule” declaring oil and gas are not part of mineral rights. The Dunham rule, a PA law precedent that’s been in place since 1882, was challenged by PA Superior Court (see this MDN story), threatening to overturn dozens if not hundreds of leases and deeds in Pennsylvania. The landowners in the case have now appealed directly to the PA State Supreme Court in an effort to lay this to rest and have the Dunham rule upheld.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

New Database to Track Marcellus Drilling Impact on PA Water
October 12, 2011October 12, 2011

A new database is on the way to track the impact of Marcellus Shale drilling on water quality in Pennsylvania, thanks to a $750,000 research grant by the National Science Foundation. The database will be created and maintained by Penn State, University of Pittsburgh, Bucknell University and Dickinson College. Researchers will identify and use data collected from multiple sources, including watershed groups, government agencies and others.

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Erie County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation

Western PA Township Votes to Require Conditional-Use Permits
October 12, 2011March 24, 2012

Greene Township (Erie County, PA) supervisors have just passed an amendment to the township zoning ordinance requiring all new gas drilling to obtain a conditional-use permit before drilling a new well. A conditional-use permit means drillers not only have to file for a permit from the state Department of Environmental Protection, they also have to file for a permit with the township as well, appearing before the board of supervisors and explaining, in detail, their plans—before a permit will be issued.

Under Pennsylvania law conditional-use permits by local municipalities are allowed, although in some areas where it’s been implemented drillers have left the area in protest, preferring to work in areas that are more drilling-friendly.

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Clearfield County | Greene County (PA) | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines

First Reserve Invests in Two PA Marcellus Gas Pipelines
October 12, 2011

More pipeline news. First Reserve, an investment company that invests primarily in the energy industry, has just pumped $100 million into a joint venture that will give it 50% ownership in two new pipeline gathering systems in Greene and Clearfield counties in Pennsylvania. Both pipelines service the Marcellus Shale drilling industry in those areas.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Susquehanna County | UGI Energy Services

Local Pipeline in NE PA Now Sending Marcellus Gas Interstate
October 12, 2011October 12, 2011

Marcellus shale gas is now flowing through the UGI Energy Services Auburn pipeline to the Tennessee Gas Pipeline in Susquehanna County, PA with volumes expected to reach 120,000 dekatherms per day “in the next several months.” What does it mean? It’s one more access point for Marcellus Shale gas to reach the larger interstate market.

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Centre County | Industrywide Issues | Luzerne County | Pennsylvania | Public Opinion | Statewide PA | Susquehanna County | Wyoming County (PA)

Energy Companies Big Help with Flood Relief in PA
October 7, 2011October 7, 2011

Central and northwest Pennsylvania saw record-breaking amounts of rainfall from Tropical Storm Lee, and massive flooding along with it. It brought devastation to a wide area of Pennsylvania. Although some accuse the Marcellus drilling industry of only being in it for the buck, a number of drillers stepped up to the plate to help with flood relief.

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Blair County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Marcellus Drillers Extracting More Gas Faster
October 7, 2011October 7, 2011

The PA Department of Environmental Protection reports Marcellus Shale drilling companies are extracting more gas faster—60 percent more gas in the first six months of this year, compared to the last six months of 2010. More wells are coming online in PA, and drillers are becoming more efficient and using less chemicals, water and sand as they learn how best to use the ingenious technology of hydraulic fracturing.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Gov. Corbett’s List of New Rule Changes for Shale Drilling
October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

Yesterday, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett unveiled his plans to implement many of the 96 recommendations made by his Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission (see this MDN story for the original list of recommendations). The list is impressive, tightening many loopholes and hiking fees and fines. The governor’s press release outlining all of his proposed plans is embedded below.

All eyes were on a potential “impact fee” to help local municipalities cover costs of road repairs, increased costs for emergency services and other costs that come with an increase in population. Corbett announced he is in favor of an impact fee assessed by the county where the well is drilled. Each well will be subject to a fee of up to $40,000 in the first year, $30,000 in the second year, $20,000 in the third year and $10,000 in the fourth through tenth years, adding up to a potential total of $160,000 per well. The way that revenue is split is lengthy and complicated, but essentially 3/4 of the money stays at the local level.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Washington County

Western PA Township Wins Right to Put Ban on Nov. Ballot
October 4, 2011October 4, 2011

Those opposed to drilling will get a measure to ban shale gas drilling put on the ballot in Peters Township (Washington County, PA) this fall. A judge has just ruled in favor of the Peters Township Marcellus Shale Awareness Group to have the measure put on the election ballot for Nov 8. See this MDN story about the group, their motivation (calling sustainable energy a “right”) and the wording of the ballot measure.

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