Washington County

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

PA Family Sues Range Resources over Nearby Drilling, Impoundment
December 1, 2014December 1, 2014

Range Resources has for years been battling allegations that their wastewater impoundments in Washington County, PA have leaked and polluted nearby water wells. The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) investigated and in September levied a $4.15 million fine against Range, requiring the company to close five of seven impoundments (see PA DEP Fines Range Resources $4.15M for Wastewater Impoundments). Along the way several landowners have sued Range–over the impoundments and over nearby drilling. Add one more to the list: The Lauff family in Mt. Pleasant Township has filed a lawsuit alleging negligence by Range in the way they drilled several nearby wells and in their operation of a wastewater impoundment…
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Energy Companies | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

South Strabane Twp Approves Range Plan for 10 Wells in W PA
November 26, 2014November 26, 2014

Last night the South Strabane Township (Washington County, PA) board of supervisors voted to allow Range Resources the right to drill up to 10 wells on an 80-acre site. They did, however, impose some 46 conditions on the drilling–conditions Range said it “could live with.” The drill site is near Kopper Kettle Road and Range likely will not begin active drilling until October 2015. Three supervisors voted in favor, one against and one abstained. The interesting thing, to MDN, is that earlier this month anti-drillers were out in force to oppose drilling under (not even on top of) Mingo Creek County Park, about 12 miles from the Kopper Kettle Road site, spouting silly things like drilling will create a “ring of fire” (see Washington County Votes to Establish “Ring of Fire” at Mingo Park). However, at least night’s meeting, most of the residents who attended support Range’s request…
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Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Rice Energy | Trucking | Washington County

Marcellus Industry Lends a Hand with Nabbing Trucking Violations
November 17, 2014November 17, 2014

There’s no getting around the fact that when drilling comes to an area, so too does a LOT of truck traffic. Anyone who lives in an area with active drilling can attest to the headaches of following a water truck up a hill going half the speed limit. Because the industry is high profile, those who operate truck fleets (and the energy companies who hire them) typically enforce strict rules for drivers. They also maintain their fleets in tip-top shape to ensure there are no safety violations. Case in point: Washington County, PA…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

NEPA Anti-Driller Gets Permanent Injunction Against Trespassing
November 11, 2014November 11, 2014

Vera Scroggins, outside of NEPA a little-known anti-driller from Susquehanna County, PA with a potty mouth (see this video of Vera harassing filmmaker Phelim McAleer), has been permanently barred from stepping foot on property leased (or owned) by Cabot Oil & Gas. This has been a long-running court case/issue in northeast PA. Scroggins refuses to stop her so-called tours of Cabot well sites where she brings along fellow anti-drillers to point out…what? A drilling rig? A little, tiny well head sitting on an acre of land so small you can’t see it from 100 feet away? A truck lumbering up a road? She continually endangers herself and those she carts along on her trespassing adventures. Cabot had to sue to keep her off their land. Scroggins was slapped with a temporary injection last year (see NE PA Anti-Driller Slapped with Trespassing Injunction). The temporary injunction has just been made permanent by a Susquehanna County judge…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Washington County Votes to Establish “Ring of Fire” at Mingo Park
November 7, 2014November 7, 2014

Two days ago MDN told you that Range Resources is the winner of a contract to drill under (not on) Mingo Creek County Park in Nottingham Township in Washington County, PA (see Range Resources Wins Contract to Drill Under Mingo Creek Park). Precisely 2 (out of 207,820) Washington County residents turned up Thursday night to ask county commissioners to delay their impending vote to move forward with the lease. Certainly nothing out of the ordinary about that–except that the language used by those who oppose drilling (and fossil fuels) never ceases to surprise and amuse us. They intentionally attempt to conjure up images of environmental disaster and holocaust, even though there is no evidence to support their claims. For example, one of the two last night told commissioners by drilling under the park from land adjacent to the park it will create “a ring of fire” around the park. Of course, we immediately thought of Johnny Cash…
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Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

Range Resources Wins Contract to Drill Under Mingo Creek Park
November 6, 2014November 6, 2014

Range Resources has won the right to drill under (not on) the Mingo Creek County Park in Nottingham Township in Washington County, PA. We told you back in December that county commissioners were soliciting proposals to drill under the county park (see Washington County Seeks Proposals to Drill Under Mingo Creek Park). In the end, Range Resources, Rice Energy and EQT were all interested–but it was Range’s terms of a $6,500 per acre signing bonus with 18% royalties that won the day…
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Pennsylvania | Washington County

End of an Ignominious Era: PA Rep Jesse White Loses
November 5, 2014November 5, 2014

The voters in Washington County, PA finally rejected PA Rep. Jesse White, Democrat, in the first election he faced since revelations that he abused his office by using fake online IDs to criticize and impugn some of his own pro-drilling constituents (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). In the end, White was as unrepentant and unwilling to blame himself as he has been since the beginning. Instead of taking responsibility for his actions and acknowledging it was his own stupidity that led to his fall from grace, he blamed negative ads and the media for his defeat! Talk about gall. The major media powerhouse in the Pittsburgh region, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, has been in the Jesse White tank from the beginning and offered several editorials supporting him (see PPG (Incredibly) Supports Discredited Dem Rep. Jesse White and PPG Tries to Prop Up Discredited/Shamed PA Rep Jesse White). The folks in SWPA have had enough of White’s anti-drilling tirades and sneak attacks. Bye bye Jesse…
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Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Fracking is Feeding Americans by Saving the Family Farm
November 3, 2014November 3, 2014

Natural gas drilling is saving the family farm in Pennsylvania–literally. Farmers who receive bonus and royalty checks are using that money to buy new equipment and continue doing what they love to do–operate the family farm. It would not be a stretch to say that fracking is helping to feed Americans. Take the case of this organic farmer in Washington County, PA…
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Processing Plants | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County

Civil War Between Cecil Supervisors/Zoning Board Over Compressor
October 20, 2014October 20, 2014

As MDN reported in early October, MarkWest Energy finally (after four years) won the right to build a compressor station in Cecil (Washington County), PA (see MarkWest Wins Court Case to Build Compressor Station in Cecil, PA). The compressor station will be built on property owned by Range Resources. It’s Range’s gas that will flow through that station on its way to market. The Cecil Board of Supervisors voted to not challenge a Commonwealth Court (a lower court) decision that said the zoning board erred when denying MarkWest a permit to build the compressor station. However, the zoning board itself can still appeal the decision (see Cecil Supervisors Vote to NOT Appeal MarkWest Compressor Decision). It appears to us like a civil war has erupted between the Cecil board of supervisors and the zoning board…
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Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania | Southwestern Energy | Statewide WV | Washington County | West Virginia

Chesapeake Sells Close to 25% of Marcellus/Utica Operation
October 16, 2014October 16, 2014

The Chesapeake Energy fire sale continues–and this time it’s cut right into the bone and sinew of the company. The beneficiary of Chesapeake’s ongoing divestiture, this time, is Southwestern Energy. Southwestern has signed a deal to pick up 413,000 (!) Marcellus/Utica acres, most of it in West Virginia with some of it in Washington County, PA. Much of the land is in prime wet gas areas (see the map below). The deal includes 256 (!) operating and producing Marcellus and Utica Shale wells and another 179 (!) non-operated, non-producing wells–a total of 435 drilled wells. Southwestern is paying Chesapeake $5.375 BILLION for the deal–which will make Chesapeake’s real boss, corporate raider Carl Icahn, very happy…
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Harrison County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Supply Chain | Washington County | West Virginia

Painting a Different Picture of Pipeline Companies
October 14, 2014October 14, 2014

You might think, when reading the claims of some groups, that pipeline companies are callous and will run their pipeline any ole place they want, landowners be damned. “See that hayfield? Who cares! Run that steel right on through it!” That’s the (false) impression you get from some people. The reality is, of course, far different. Let’s hear it straight from the horse’s mouth–from the people who do the surveying to figure out the route a pipeline will take…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Statewide PA | Tioga County (PA) | Washington County | Wastewater

Second Generation Wastewater Impoundments – Truly Safe?
October 13, 2014October 13, 2014

Little did we know it at the time, but former PA Dept. of Environmental Protection Chris Abruzzo’s last public interview was granted to MDN editor, Jim Willis, just three weeks ago before Abruzzo resigned (see PA DEP Sec. Abruzzo’s Last Public Interview…with MDN). Topic A that Jim asked Sec. Abruzzo was about the recent record fine of Range Resources ($4.15 million) for a series of leaky wastewater impoundments. Abruzzo stated during that interview, several times, that newer “next generation” impoudments have come along that are much safer. What are these “next generation” impoundments and are they really safer?…
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Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

PPG Tries to Prop Up Discredited/Shamed PA Rep Jesse White
October 8, 2014October 8, 2014

You know that anti-drilling State Rep. Jesse White (Cecil, Washington County, PA) is in trouble when the Democrat editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette takes time to author an entire editorial to make excuses for his deranged behavior in attacking his own constituents by using fake online identities–pretending to be some of his own pro-drilling constituents and posting comments as them to make them look bad (see How the Mighty Have Fallen: PA Rep White Admits Guilt, Not Sorry). It’s sick, it’s unpardonable, and at a minimum unethical–perhaps even illegal. He should have been tossed out of office a year ago when it was exposed–but there you go. Behaving badly is a resume enhancer in the PA Democrat Party and now White’s fellow Dems on the editorial board of the PPG have to hold their noses and try to keep him in office with their lame “approval” of him…
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Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Washington County

Cecil Supervisors Vote to NOT Appeal MarkWest Compressor Decision
October 7, 2014October 7, 2014

Last week ago MDN told you about the victory for MarkWest Energy in Cecil Township (Washington County), PA. A Commonwealth Court judge has ruled Cecil must and will allow MarkWest to build a compressor station in an area clearly zoned for it under Cecil’s own rules–a station they’ve been trying to build since 2010 (see MarkWest Wins Court Case to Build Compressor Station in Cecil, PA). As with all things legal, the question then became–will Cecil appeal the ruling to a higher court in hopes of further delaying the inevitable? That question was partially answered last night. Cecil’s board of supervisors voted 3-2 against appealing the decision–meaning the town must now, as the judge ordered, grant a permit to MarkWest within 45 days (now about 38 days) to build the compressor station. However, there is one more storm cloud ahead for MarkWest…
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Accidents | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | Pennsylvania | Range Resources Corp | Regulation | Washington County | Wastewater

Hearing on Range Yeager Impoundment/Water Contamination Continues
October 6, 2014October 6, 2014

More from the ongoing hearing into the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection’s actions, or lack of actions, in determining a private water well 2,800 feel (half a mile) downhill from a Range Resources wastewater impoundment that was found to be leaky was fouled by that impoundment. We previously explained that in order for a lawsuit by the landowner Loren Kiskadden against Range for “contaminating” his water well to be valid, the DEP must reverse a previous finding that Range’s Yeager impoundment did not foul his well (see Did DEP Mishandle Range Wastewater Impoundment Investigation?). So one of the DEP’s investigators has been on the hot seat explaining his previous findings and reports…
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Energy Companies | Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | MarkWest Energy | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Range Resources Corp | Washington County

MarkWest Wins Court Case to Build Compressor Station in Cecil, PA
October 2, 2014October 2, 2014

Cecil Township in Washington County, PA is one of the original seven selfish townships that sued and eventually had portions of the state’s Act 13 Marcellus drilling law overturned. The portion overturned restored to local municipalities the right to establish their own zoning regulations when it comes to oil and gas related activities. Apparently Cecil thought they had a blank check to deny anything they wanted, but a recent court decision has brought them back to reality. A Commonwealth Court judge has ruled Cecil must and will allow MarkWest to build a compressor station in an area clearly zoned for it under Cecil’s own rules–a station they’ve been trying to build since 2010…
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