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Drilling Opponents Use AP to Smear PA Gov. Corbett
August 14, 2012August 14, 2012

Once again opponents of Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett are using the Associated Press to try and smear him over the issue of drilling. The latest “hit piece” against the governor comes over the issue of a recent Executive Order (EO) he issued which a) requires drillers and others requiring permits—pipelines, compressors, etc.—to supply fully completed paperwork, and b) if they do, encourages DEP employees to process that paperwork and respond in a timely manner.

So the AP is going after Gov. Corbett for his desire to provide good customer service. You just have to shake your head. Here’s the background and details:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

PA Fish & Boat Commission: Why They Lease for Gas Drilling
August 13, 2012August 13, 2012

The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission recently entered into leases for drilling to occur underneath several lakes it owns. The executive director of the Commission, John Arway, said that two years ago he couldn’t imagine “siding with the natural gas industry regard drilling.” So what changed his mind?

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Wildlife

Audubon Society Works with Drillers on Habitat Restoration
August 13, 2012August 13, 2012

The Audubon Society of Pennsylvania, the Ruffed Grouse Society and the Marcellus Shale Coalition are jointly hosting a series of meetings in southeastern and central PA for hunters, anglers and people interested in the outdoors to discuss habitat restoration after Marcellus Shale drilling. The sessions seek to find out how the drilling industry can become a partner in restoring areas after drilling activities disrupt an area.

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Statewide PA | Sunoco Logistics

Sunoco Logistics Open Season for Mariner East NGL Pipeline
August 10, 2012August 10, 2012

Sunoco Logistics began an “open season” yesterday for their Mariner East pipeline project to deliver natural gas liquids—propane and ethane—from liquids-rich Marcellus Shale areas in western Pennsylvania to refineries and shipping terminals in southeastern Pennsylvania. An open season is the time when drillers can sign up and make long-term commitments to use the pipeline.

From the Sunoco press release:

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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

How Many Jobs will Utica Shale Drilling Create in Ohio?
August 9, 2012August 9, 2012

How many jobs can Ohio expect from Utica Shale drilling? If it follows the same general path of Pennsylvania—and there’s no reason to expect it would not—for every job created in the oil and gas industry, two jobs are created in other industries to support it. It’s a 1:2 ratio.

Every new well drilled in PA created 30 jobs (in 2009) and $4 million in economic activity in the local economy. That is, shale gas drilling is hugely beneficial for both job creation and economic activity.

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

Penn State Paper on Water Usage in the Marcellus
August 9, 2012August 9, 2012

One of the concerns raised by anti-drillers, in an attempt to scare people, is that shale gas fracking will a) use up too much of our precious fresh water supplies, and b) wastewater from drilling will pollute fresh water supplies. The problem with those allegations is lack of evidence. If water supplies are in danger, then why have we not seen such shortages or contamination after 40,000 or so horizontal natural gas wells have been drilled since the early 2000s?

Every now and again a university will publish the facts on drilling, including it’s impacts on water. In May, Penn State University’s Extension program published such a paper, titled “Water’s Journey Through the Shale Gas Drilling and Production Processes in the Mid-Atlantic Region” (embedded below). It takes a look at how much and where water is used in the drilling process, and also deals with how wastewater is handled.

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Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA DEP Sec. Michael Krancer Takes the Gloves Off
August 6, 2012August 6, 2012

When you’re effective at your job and your enemies don’t like it, they call you mean. Case in point: Michael Krancer, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP). He’s very effective in his job as the state’s top regulator of oil and gas drilling. And anti-drillers just hate him.

The Philadelphia Inquirer published a story yesterday outlining just how mean he is (no doubt a badge of honor for Mr. Krancer). The story starts this way:

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Industrywide Issues | New York | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide NY | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Statewide WV | West Virginia

OH River Valley Commission Names Pro-Drilling Chairman
August 3, 2012August 3, 2012

The Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO), established in 1948 to control and abate pollution in the Ohio River Basin, has elected a pro-drilling attorney as their new chairman. Kenneth Komoroski from Pittsburgh, PA assumed his new position on July 1, although the press release was not issued until August 1. Komorski was appointed to the Commission in 2003 by then President George W. Bush.

ORSANCO is an interstate commission representing eight states and the federal government. Member states include: Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and West Virginia. While ORSANCO does not have the same broad powers as the Susquehanna River Basin Commission or Delaware River Basin Commission to issue permits and control shale gas drilling, some of their regulatory power does impact the drilling industry, especially on matters of drilling wastewater disposal.

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Beaver County | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Processing Plants | Shell | Statewide PA

PA Gov. Corbett Goes to Beaver County to Talk Cracker Plants
August 3, 2012August 3, 2012

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett went to Monaca in Beaver County, PA yesterday to talk about a planned ethane cracker plant that Shell says it wants to build there. He was joined by a number of officials—bipartisan in makeup. Corbett’s message? “We’re not there yet.” He said that although a great deal has been done, more will need to be done before Shell pulls the trigger and builds the plant.

The press release from the governor’s office talking about his trip to Monaca:

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Alcoa | Economic Impact | Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania General Energy | Statewide PA

Alcoa Enters Marcellus Drilling – Supplies Drill Pipe to PGE
August 3, 2012August 3, 2012

Alcoa (once upon a time known as the Aluminum Company of America), the world’s third largest producer of aluminum, is getting into the shale drilling industry by producing special pipe for gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale. Yesterday Alcoa announced a contract to provide driller Pennsylvania General Energy (PGE) with aluminum alloy drill pipe.

From the Aloca press release:

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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA | Transco | Williams

Williams Plans Marcellus Expansion of Transco Leidy Pipeline
August 2, 2012August 2, 2012

As the pace of drilling continues (but slows) in the Marcellus, the next major phase of work begins: completing wells and getting all that shale gas to market. That’s why pipelines, compressor stations and processing plants are important. Williams Partners, one of the largest pipeline operators in the country, announced yesterday they plan to expand their existing Transco Leidy Line in northern PA to accommodate new demands for shipping Marcellus Shale gas.

They expect to make a pre-filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in early 2013, and hope to have the expansion complete by late 2015.

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Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Bet You Didn’t Know Fracking Causes STDs & Satanism ;-)
August 1, 2012August 1, 2012

A column in Philadelphia Weekly takes a somewhat tongue-in-cheek look at the claims anti-drillers make about fracking. Claims like fracking causes bird deaths, and fish deaths, and even human deaths. And fracking causes earthquakes, dontcha know. The column is clearly poking fun, but we can’t quite figure out if the author is also giving credence to some of the claims, hinting they might be true.

However, the final two claims he lists are laugh-out-loud funny and we though you would enjoy a smile. Grab a cross and read on…

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

Officials Ask PA Supreme Court to Hurry Up with Act 13 Case
July 31, 2012July 31, 2012

A court filing by state officials yesterday—including the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, the Attorney General and the Dept. of Environmental Protection—asks the PA Supreme Court to expedite an appeal of the Act 13 zoning case. Last week the appellate court in PA ruled against the state’s new Act 13 law zoning provisions (see this MDN story). According to Gov. Tom Corbett, without the zoning portions of Act 13, the new law will be gutted.

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Industrywide Issues | NGLs | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA

The Shift from Dry to Wet Gas Continues
July 30, 2012July 30, 2012

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story in today’s edition on the recurring theme that dry gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale is slowing down in Pennsylvania and is shifting to wet gas drilling in the Utica Shale in eastern Ohio and southwestern PA.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Gov. Corbett Appeals Act 13 Zoning Case to Supreme Court
July 30, 2012July 30, 2012

Last week the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court, the “appellate” court in PA, ruled in favor of seven towns who had sued the state over the zoning portion of the newly enacted Act 13 drilling law (see this MDN story). At the time Gov. Tom Corbett said he would appeal the decision and he has made good on his word. The case now heads to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.

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Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

PA Court Overturns Zoning Section of Act 13 Drilling Law
July 27, 2012July 27, 2012

The Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (the appellate court in PA) yesterday issued ruling on the zoning portion of the newly enacted Act 13 drilling law—and they ruled it unconstitutional. A full copy of the court’s opinion and ruling is embedded below. This is round two in the court fight. Round three, an appeal to the PA Supreme Court, will almost certainly come from Gov. Tom Corbett (he has as much as promised it).

MDN will give our overview of what the court decided, and of the dissenting opinion. But one thing caught our eye right away. MDN has made the argument several times that the Delaware Riverkeeper Network has no standing to be part of the lawsuit against the state and against Act 13 (see this MDN story). The good news with yesterday’s decision is that the justices tossed the Delaware Riverkeeper Network from the lawsuit, saying (as MDN has all along) they have no standing to participate and bring the suit in the first place. It’s a small and symbolic victory for those of us who support drilling, but a victory nonetheless.

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