Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jul 18, 2014
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Fri, Jul 18, 2014”
-
-
New York Caves to Anti-Drillers Again: Discloses Oil Train Movements
When an oil train in New York explodes from a terrorist act, don’t say we didn’t warn you. The blood of it will be on the hands of eight environmental groups (including Earthjustice, Sierra Club and Riverkeeper). New York State officials caved and decided to turn over details about Bakken crude oil train movements through the Empire State in response to a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request (see NY Enviro Groups Seek to Use Oil Trains to Their Advantage). The anti-drilling (and complicit) Albany Times Union newspaper helpfully published the details…
Read More “New York Caves to Anti-Drillers Again: Discloses Oil Train Movements” -
Google Spy Car Colludes with EDF to Map “Leaky” Methane Pipelines
Apparently Google wasn’t content with snooping on your private home computer network, grabbing your passwords and online activity as their spy car sneaked down highways and city streets supposedly taking pictures for Google Maps (see Google Loses Appeal in Street View Snooping Case). Google and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) colluded to secretly outfit Google’s spy cars with so-called methane leak detectors to monitor methane leaking into the atmosphere because, you know, methane causes (don’t laugh) man-made global warming (*cough* most brutal winter in the past 25 years followed by a cooler-than-normal summer *cough*). EDF decided to out themselves and Google with the following press release:
Read More “Google Spy Car Colludes with EDF to Map “Leaky” Methane Pipelines” -
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Butler County | Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Rex Energy
Martians Demand School Board Ban Fracking Outside its Own Orbit
Turning down $1 million wasn’t enough for the lib anti-drilling parents in Mars (Butler County), PA. They continue to try and deny Rex Energy their lawful right to drill shale wells on non-school property 3/4 of a mile away (see Martians Threaten Lawsuit Against PA Town to Prevent Drilling). Meanwhile, the Elk Lake School District in Susquehanna County, PA has two wells drilled on school campus grounds–with no pollution or harm to the kiddies–and continues to rake in the dough (see Rural NE PA School Nets $1.7M in Royalties from 2 Marcellus Wells). Earth to Mars! Pull your heads out of the sand…
Read More “Martians Demand School Board Ban Fracking Outside its Own Orbit” -
More Housing for Marcellus/Utica on the Way in Pittsburgh Region
A New Jersey-based real estate investment company, UMH Properties, Inc., announced yesterday they’ve purchased four manufactured home communities in the Pittsburgh, PA area for $12.2 million. The reason? To expand in the Marcellus/Utica region. The company plans to build homes for sale and for rent to those who work in the Marcellus and Utica Shale…
Read More “More Housing for Marcellus/Utica on the Way in Pittsburgh Region” -
Antero Resources | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Reserves (Proved and Unproved) | Utica Shale
Antero Resources: Marcellus/Utica Program Going Gangbusters
Antero Resources, now with 488,000 acres of leased land in the Marcellus/Utica region, issued a very impressive update yesterday. According to the update, Antero is running 15 drilling rigs in the Marcellus and 5 rigs in the Utica. Some 26% of their acreage is now classified as “proved reserves.” Those proven reserves have risen by 19%–to 9.1 trillion cubic feet (13% liquids) from year-end 2013 numbers. Wow! They drilled and completed 22 Utica wells (added them to proved developed reserves) in the first six months of 2014. Those wells include: 4 rich gas (1100-1200 Btu), 2 highly-rich gas (1200 to 1225 Btu), 3 highly-rich gas/condensate (1225 to 1250 Btu) and 13 condensate (1250 to 1300 Btu) wells. Here’s the very full and rich update from Antero:
Read More “Antero Resources: Marcellus/Utica Program Going Gangbusters” -
Kinder Morgan CEO: TGP a Star, Gulf Coast Benefits from Marcellus
Kinder Morgan (KM) and its various subsidiaries is the country’s largest pipeline company and fourth-largest energy company of any kind. KM Energy Partners issued a “first six months of 2014” update yesterday (that’s what we call it anyway). The news continues to be good for KM. Chairman and CEO Richard D. Kinder said the company’s Tennessee Gas Pipeline in particular is a star performer for the company: “TGP’s services continue to be in high demand due primarily to ongoing growth in the Marcellus and Utica shale plays. Earnings were boosted by a number of TGP expansion projects that came online last November, along with the approximately $175 million Utica Backhaul project which began service in April.” He also said the Gulf Coast is hugely benefiting from the Marcellus/Utica…
Read More “Kinder Morgan CEO: TGP a Star, Gulf Coast Benefits from Marcellus” -
CNG/LNG | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | UIL Holdings
Philly City Council Continues to Diddle Around on PGW Sale
The (lazy) Philadelphia City Council went on summer recess before doing the city’s business of evaluating the $1.86 billion deal to sell the city-owned Philadelphia Gas Works to UIL Holdings Corporation, a Connecticut-based investor-owned gas and electric utility (see Phila. Gas Works Deal in Jeopardy Due to Vacationing City Council). They’re excuse for heading to the Jersey shore before doing their jobs? They need more “studies”. Their lackadaisical handling of the deal means UIL could, as of yesterday, walked away from the deal. Fortunately for Philadelphians, UIL has decided to stick around–for now…
Read More “Philly City Council Continues to Diddle Around on PGW Sale” -
Developer Lawsuit Over Denied Marcellus Boarding House Project
As MDN told you a month ago, Washington, PA City Council would rather have a long-abandoned eyesore and former convent stay that way rather than have it improved and used as housing for Marcellus Shale workers (see Washington, PA Votes to Reject Marcellus Boarding House). The developer of the property is not taking City Council’s “no” answer lying down in the gutter, like those who hang around the abandoned convent. Lawyers for the developer have filed a lawsuit to force the issue…
Read More “Developer Lawsuit Over Denied Marcellus Boarding House Project” -
Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jul 17, 2014
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading:
Read More “Marcellus & Utica Shale Story Links: Thu, Jul 17, 2014” -
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Norse Energy | Regulation | Statewide NY
JLCNY Says Appeal of Article 78 Lawsuit Decision is “Very Likely”
New Yorkers continue to react to the dismissal of a court case brought by the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) and Norse Energy against state officials to force them to release six-year-delayed fracking regulations (see NY Pro-Drillers Lose 2nd Important Shale Drilling Court Case). Below we have reaction from the JLCNY, which says it’s “very likely” to appeal the ruling from the lower NY court in Albany County, along with copies of the court decisions…
Read More “JLCNY Says Appeal of Article 78 Lawsuit Decision is “Very Likely”” -
EPA Extends Public Comments for Frack Chemical Disclosure Rule
In May MDN told you that the federal EPA is making another power play to regulate fracking via the back door–by potentially requiring drillers to disclose chemicals used in drilling to the EPA, using the federal Toxic Substances Control Act as its excuse (see Rogue Federal EPA Tries New Power Play to Regulate Fracking). In May, the EPA issued an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) which included a 90-day public comment period. The agency has just extended it another 30 days–to 120 days of public comment…
Read More “EPA Extends Public Comments for Frack Chemical Disclosure Rule” -
PA Fish & Boat Commission Wants $1M for Marcellus Investigators
The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission wants its own Marcellus Shale pollution police force and its asking PA lawmakers to cough up $1 million to make it happen. For that $1M the Commission would hire seven people, one chief and six Indians–who would be tasked with investigating suspected cases of pollution related to drilling activities…
Read More “PA Fish & Boat Commission Wants $1M for Marcellus Investigators” -
Scranton Landfill Gets Permission to Process Liquid Frack Waste
MDN has long covered stories about PA’s third busiest landfill, the Keystone Sanitary Landfill, near Scranton. Why? Because they accept drill cuttings (leftover rock and dirt) from shale drilling. In March 2012 the landfill was allowed to increase their daily intake of Marcellus drill cuttings from 600 to 1,000 tons per day (see Scranton Landfill Request for More Shale Cuttings Approved). Then in October 2012 they filed to double capacity again, from 1,000 to 2,000 tons per day (see Scranton Landfill Wants to Double (Again) Shale Cuttings). The PA Dept. of Environmental Protection approved that request as well. In April of this year Keystone filed a request that they be allowed to accept liquid fracking waste–so they can separate and landfill the solids, and return the water to the driller to be reused. That request has just been approved too…
Read More “Scranton Landfill Gets Permission to Process Liquid Frack Waste” -
DEP Sec. Abruzzo Says Budget Bill Means Delay in New Drilling Regs
On Monday, MDN asked the question and explored the issue of whether or not the recent language slipped into the PA budget bill (that was passed and signed by Gov. Corbett) to separate conventional and unconventional drilling regulations would require the Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) and their Environmental Quality Board (EQB) to go back to the drawing board with new regulations stipulated by the Act 13 law (see Is PA’s Act 13 Law on Last Legs with Passage of PA Budget?). DEP Secretary Chris Abruzzo tackled that issue head-on yesterday…
Read More “DEP Sec. Abruzzo Says Budget Bill Means Delay in New Drilling Regs” -
Anti-Drilling/Fossil Fuel | Health Impacts | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Research | Statewide NY
NY Antis Release So-Called Compendium of Fracking Health Risks
Apparently anti-drillers in New York State are tired of waiting for the State Dept. of Health (DOH) to release its findings on public healthy implications from proposed new fracking rules from the Dept. of Conservation (now six years overdue). So a group of anti-drillers calling themselves Concerned Health Professionals of New York (mostly it’s New York’s own anti-drilling diva Sandra Steingraber) put a couple of summer interns to good use and compiled a so-called “report” of alllllll the damage done by shale drilling–a compendium of its evil, nasty, vile effects. (Just don’t tell anyone in PA, WV, OH, TX, OK, CO, CA, ND or any other state where shale drilling is heavily done–those residents don’t realize they’ve been damaged)…
Read More “NY Antis Release So-Called Compendium of Fracking Health Risks”
When an oil train in New York explodes from a terrorist act, don’t say we didn’t warn you. The blood of it will be on the hands of eight environmental groups (including Earthjustice, Sierra Club and Riverkeeper). New York State officials caved and decided to turn over details about Bakken crude oil train movements through the Empire State in response to a Freedom of Information Law (FOIL) request (see 
New Yorkers continue to react to the dismissal of a court case brought by the 70,000-member Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) and Norse Energy against state officials to force them to release six-year-delayed fracking regulations (see