PA Gov. Shapiro’s DEP Blows $600,000 on “Enviro Justice” Grants
Every budget season in Pennsylvania, it’s the same old dog-and-pony show by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). “We don’t have enough money to pay our staff,” and “We aren’t making as much money from (insanely high) shale permit fees anymore, so we need more taxpayer money to make up the difference.” Etc. Yet a few months later, after the budget is adopted, the DEP somehow finds money lying around to donate to various leftwing causes. Case in point: The DEP announced yesterday it is donating $600,000 to 12 leftist organizations to spread more wokeness across the Commonwealth under the banner of “environmental justice” (EJ). Read More “PA Gov. Shapiro’s DEP Blows $600,000 on “Enviro Justice” Grants”
Yesterday, the Pennsylvania Independent Fiscal Office (IFO) released its latest quarterly Natural Gas Production Report for July through September 2024 (full copy below). There were 63 new horizontal wells spud (drilled) in 3Q24, the same exact number as in 2Q24, but 3Q’s number was a decrease of 39 wells (-38%) compared to the third quarter of 2023. The number of new wells drilled, 63, is the lowest since 2008 (except for 2Q24, which was also 63). This was the eighth consecutive quarter with a year-over-year (YOY) decline in new wells spud. Natural gas production volume was 1,838 billion cubic feet (Bcf) in 3Q24, down 33 Bcf (1.8%) from the 1,871 Bcf produced in 3Q23. 
According to an extensive report appearing on the World Oil website (and in the November issue of the magazine), multiple possible futures lie ahead for the Marcellus and Utica shales. So, which future will come to pass? Today, both industry and government see the Marcellus and Utica formations as tremendous opportunities for companies and state governments, with domestically produced energy, jobs, and a huge economic impact. 
The Baker Hughes national rig count dropped another rig last week and now sits at 582. The national count continues to be rangebound between 581 and 589 since June. Slicing the national count slightly differently—by oil-focused vs. gas-focused rigs—oil rigs fell by two to 477 last week, their lowest since July, while gas rigs rose by one to 100. Last week, all three Marcellus/Utica states maintained the same count for the third week in a row, with PA operating 15 active rigs and Ohio and West Virginia operating 10 rigs each, for a combined 35 rigs. That’s the third week in a row the M-U has operated 35 rigs. It feels like the doom and gloom is finally starting to lift. 
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is aiding and abetting radical environmental groups in circumventing the state legislature. In what amounts to a classic leftist “sue-and-settle” case, radical environmental groups (including the Clean Air Council and Environmental Integrity Project) petitioned the state Environmental Quality Board (EQB), asking the board to amend 25 Pa. Code Chapter 78a by increasing “setbacks” for oil and gas well drilling to a minimum of 3,281 feet from any building or water wells (5,280 feet from hospitals and schools), and 750 feet from any river, creek, or mud puddle (i.e., surface waters). Such an increase in setbacks would stop ALL new shale drilling in the state, which is the goal of these radicals. The DEP ruled that the petition to the EQB was right and proper and should move forward. 
The rig count in the Marcellus/Utica appears to have stabilized, and that’s a good thing. For a while, it was in freefall, at least in Pennsylvania. In October, Pennsylvania’s rig count dropped to just 12 rigs, the lowest that state has operated in the last 17 years (see 
Permitting in Pennsylvania overseen by the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) has been a hot mess for years. A Chapter 102 Erosion and Sedimentation permit sometimes takes two, three, or even six months for approval — instead of the policy-mandated 14 days. According to a DEP press release from yesterday, that’s all behind us now. DEP Acting Secretary Jessica Shirley and Gov. Josh Shapiro said the agency has eliminated the backlog for oil and gas permits. Credit where credit is due. 
Environmental wackos have made building a new natural gas pipeline anywhere in the northeast (or southeast) such a heinously nasty experience with multiple and repeated regulatory challenges and a blizzard of lawsuits that nobody has ventured to propose a new “greenfield” (brand new from scratch) pipeline since Mountain Valley Pipeline, which took a decade to complete at double the original budget. We’re hopeful the situation will change under the new Trump administration. The Marcellus/Utica industry recognizes we need another new pipeline to move more of our molecules to other regions. What would be the “driving force” to prompt a company to be willing to try once again? 
Last Friday (Nov. 8), the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) sent a heads-up to shale drillers and other large water users in the basin to warn them to be on the lookout for a Plan B to source water. Northeastern Pennsylvania (and other states in the northeast) are experiencing drought or near-drought conditions. The streams and rivers that some drillers use to source water for drilling and fracking are getting low in some areas. The SRBC is about to clamp down and block new withdrawals until the situation improves. 
Three weeks ago, Pennsylvania’s rig count dropped to just 12 rigs, the lowest that state has operated in the last 17 years (see 
In May, MDN told you that several Republican Pennsylvania State Senators were planning to introduce a bill to cut off millions of dollars in impact fee revenues to municipalities that set protective standards on the development of natural gas that “imposes a standard or condition on well development that conflicts with or exceeds those contained” in state law (see 
How, exactly, did the Marcellus Shale come to be? What spurred early interest to spend millions of dollars to sink a well in the Marcellus with the hope (gamble) that natural gas would flow from it? We all know that Range Resources sunk that first well in 2004, but there was a LOT that happened before to tee up the Marcellus as a potential target. The Marcellus Shale layer has been known about since the late 1800s. However, it wasn’t until the 1970s and the Yom Kippur War that serious interest in the Marcellus as a source of natural gas began in earnest. 
Earlier this week, three of five supervisors in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA, voted to ban all new fracking via a new setback (distance from well to nearest structure) requirement of 2,500 feet (see