Colleges in Pennsylvania and West Virginia Launch New Programs to Train Workers for Marcellus Shale Jobs
Another Pennsylvania University is now offering training for those who want a job working in the Marcellus Shale, this time in Western PA.
-
-
Anti-Drilling Protestors Get Nasty at Shale Coalition Building in Harrisburg, PA
Those in Pennsylvania who oppose drilling in the Marcellus Shale have gotten a bit desperate. They’re unhappy with new Gov. Tom Corbett, especially since the budget he introduced earlier this week contains budget cuts to education and calls for a layoff of state workers in order to plug a massive multi-billion dollar shortfall, without also including a severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling in the state. Pennsylvania, like New York, California, Wisconsin, Ohio and a number of other states is essentially bankrupt from years of overspending and one-time gimmicks and budget patches. The chickens have finally come home to roost and now state governments have to make some hard decisions. It is in that context that anti-drilling protestors got nasty and thug-like yesterday:Read More “Anti-Drilling Protestors Get Nasty at Shale Coalition Building in Harrisburg, PA”
-
New $6.6M Pipe Fabrication Plant in Southwestern PA Being Built for Marcellus Shale Projects
Another example of how drilling in the Marcellus Shale brings more money into communities, in the form of taxes and jobs, this time in Washington County, PA.
-
PA Gov. Corbett Creates Commission to Study and Recommend New Marcellus Shale Drilling Rules
In yesterday’s budget address, new Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett announced the formation of a 30-member Marcellus Shale Commission. The members of the commission (listed below) come from a cross-section of government officials, representatives from the drilling industry, and representatives from environmental organizations. The new commission, which will be headed up by Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley, is a balanced cross section representing all interests in the drilling debate. The commission is charged with taking a close look at the issue of Marcellus Shale drilling and producing a report with recommendations for development and regulation of the industry in PA. The report is due on the Governor’s desk on or before July 22.
-
Western PA Township Makes a Run at Banning Marcellus Shale Drilling Using Noise Ordinance
Administrators of North Huntingdon Township, PA (Westmoreland County), are attempting to control drilling in the Marcellus Shale within their borders. They acknowledge that Pennsylvania state courts have already ruled local municipalities cannot outright ban drilling, so the North Huntingdon planning commission is attempting to place restrictions that would greatly curtail drilling in the Township. The current draft regulations—yet to be voted on—focus on noise:
-
New York Times Proven Wrong – Marcellus Shale Wastewater Has Not Increased Radioactivity Levels in PA Waterways
It seems that The New York Times’ contention that Pennsylvania is poisoning waterways with radioactivity from Marcellus Shale wastewater was fiction and not science, as is now proven by test results from the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP conducted tests over the past four months at key locations where wastewater is treated and released into area waterways. Here’s what they found with respect to radioactivity:
Read More “New York Times Proven Wrong – Marcellus Shale Wastewater Has Not Increased Radioactivity Levels in PA Waterways” -
U.S. EPA Tries to Tell PA DEP How to Do It’s Job – PA Pushes Back
Even though extensive testing done by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has proven Marcellus Shale wastewater does not increase levels of radioactivity in its waterways (see here), that doesn’t stop the over-reaching federal Environmental Protection Agency from interfering in PA’s business:
Read More “U.S. EPA Tries to Tell PA DEP How to Do It’s Job – PA Pushes Back”
-
Was the Pennsylvania DEP Bribed to Avoid Better Tracking of Marcellus Drilling Wastewater?
The latest fallout from The New York Times story is about how wastewater from Marcellus Shale drilling operations in Pennsylvania is tracked as it is disposed. Supposedly the Times has found that there is a conspiracy: -
Former PA Gov. Tom Ridge Says NYT Spreading Disinformation
Former PA Governor Tom Ridge has a new role as spokesman for the Marcellus Shale Coalition. In that role, he met yesterday with local political officials and reporters in Canonsburg, PA, near Pittsburgh. He had some common sense words for those in the audience:
“You cannot eliminate the risk from anything you do,” said Ridge, who was casually dressed in jeans, a blue turtleneck and a blue button-down shirt. “Airplanes crash because pilots make bad judgments, but we don’t stop flying.”(1)
Read More “Former PA Gov. Tom Ridge Says NYT Spreading Disinformation”
-
Accidents | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Washington County
Cause of Fire at MarkWest Compressor Station in Western PA was Faulty Water Heater
There was a fire earlier this week at a MarkWest Liberty Midstream natural gas compressor station in Mount Pleasant (Washington County), PA. No one was injured and the fire was quickly extinguished. It is now known that a faulty water heater caused the fire.
Read More “Cause of Fire at MarkWest Compressor Station in Western PA was Faulty Water Heater”
-
New PA DEP Secretary Krancer Sets the Record Straight, Corrects NYT Errors
It looks like new PA Gov. Tom Corbett’s pick to head the Department of Environmental Protection will soon be confirmed by the State Senate. Michael L. Krancer, 53, of Bryn Mawr in Montgomery County, answered Senators’ questions at his confirmation hearing yesterday. In particular he responded to questions about the recent stories in The New York Times alleging PA has been lax in testing drinking water supplies that The Times claims are now contaminated with high levels of radioactivity from drilling wastewater.Krancer took the opportunity to set the record straight on a few facts The Times got wrong:
Read More “New PA DEP Secretary Krancer Sets the Record Straight, Corrects NYT Errors”
-
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Roads | Wastewater
Chesapeake Energy Invests $92 Million in Northeast PA Roads, Recycles 100 Percent of Wastewater
Chesapeake Energy is one of the largest drillers for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale, period. And they are a big driller in Bradford and other counties in Northeastern PA. With so many wells being drilled in the area, roads have been damaged. Many of the roads are what Chesapeake refers to as “pie crust” roads – nothing more than 2 inches of asphalt laid on clay or dirt – the kind of roads that don’t hold up well to any kind of traffic. Chesapeake is not only repairing the damage, but in many cases making the roads better than they originally were:
-
Pittsburgh City Council President Refers to Marcellus Shale Drillers as “Dogs” – Threatens Upriver Municipalities with “Toxic Trespass”
Pittsburgh City Councilman and Council President Doug Shields (Democrat-District 5) was the driving force behind legislation passed late last year that banned drilling for Marcellus Shale gas inside city limits. Energy companies hold leases on 362 acres, or 1 percent, of land in the city proper. Shields worked with the environmentalist and anti-drilling law firm Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to craft that legislation.It seems that recent stories from The New York Times about potential wastewater contamination are an opportunity too good to “waste” for Councilman Shields.
-
Pittsburgh to Test for Radioactivity in City Water Supplies, Wastewater Scare Continues
The fallout from The New York Times series of articles claiming radioactive contamination from Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater is finding its way into water supplies continues:
Read More “Pittsburgh to Test for Radioactivity in City Water Supplies, Wastewater Scare Continues”
-
NY Times Keeps Up the Vendetta Against Drilling in the Marcellus Shale with Another Article in the Series
The New York Times continues its vendetta against drilling in the Marcellus Shale—it sells papers and God knows they sell far fewer today than they did even a year ago. MDN wonders what made-up quotes pulled from past public statements adorn this new article? The theme of the new article: “Yes, yes, drilling companies say they’re recycling more wastewater (some even approaching 100 percent), but not all of them do! And even recycling produces nasty stuff that pollutes water supplies anyway. So pay no attention to all that recycling talk.” And of course, Pennsylvania continues to be the whipping boy. -
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Launches New Website Dedicated to Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
Pittsburgh is located in the middle of some of the most active drilling in the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. Many drilling and other related companies have located either branch or even headquarters offices in the Pittsburgh area, making it the defacto capital of drilling in the Marcellus Shale. So plenty of news comes out of Western PA to do with drilling in the Marcellus.
Those in Pennsylvania who oppose drilling in the Marcellus Shale have gotten a bit desperate. They’re unhappy with new Gov. Tom Corbett, especially since the budget he introduced earlier this week contains budget cuts to education and calls for a layoff of state workers in order to plug a massive multi-billion dollar shortfall, without also including a severance tax on Marcellus Shale drilling in the state. Pennsylvania, like New York, California, Wisconsin, Ohio and a number of other states is essentially bankrupt from years of overspending and one-time gimmicks and budget patches. The chickens have finally come home to roost and now state governments have to make some hard decisions. It is in that context that anti-drilling protestors got nasty and thug-like yesterday:
The latest fallout from The New York Times story is about how wastewater from Marcellus Shale drilling operations in Pennsylvania is tracked as it is disposed. Supposedly the Times has found that there is a conspiracy:
Pittsburgh City Councilman and Council President Doug Shields (Democrat-District 5) was the driving force behind legislation passed late last year that banned drilling for Marcellus Shale gas inside city limits. Energy companies hold leases on 362 acres, or 1 percent, of land in the city proper. Shields worked with the environmentalist and anti-drilling law firm Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund to craft that legislation.
The New York Times continues its vendetta against drilling in the Marcellus Shale—it sells papers and God knows they sell far fewer today than they did even a year ago. MDN wonders what made-up quotes pulled from past public statements adorn this new article? The theme of the new article: “Yes, yes, drilling companies say they’re recycling more wastewater (some even approaching 100 percent), but not all of them do! And even recycling produces nasty stuff that pollutes water supplies anyway. So pay no attention to all that recycling talk.” And of course, Pennsylvania continues to be the whipping boy.