Marcellus Drilling News

Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA

AP Reports PA DEP is Seriously Understaffed and Cutting Corners with Marcellus Shale Drilling Permits
April 14, 2011April 14, 2011

The Associated Press is transparently anti-drilling in its reporting. While everyone pretends the mighty AP is unbiased and “above the fray” and independent, it is not. So let’s just get that out on the table. MDN uses that preface for news from the AP that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is seriously understaffed when it comes to reviewing Marcellus Shale drilling permits.

IF the following is accurate, it is disturbing indeed and deserves immediate attention from Gov. Corbett. But bear in mind the news comes from the AP, so you never know…

Read More “AP Reports PA DEP is Seriously Understaffed and Cutting Corners with Marcellus Shale Drilling Permits”
Energy Services | GASFRAC | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Tioga County (NY)

Canadian Company Pioneers Alternative to Water & Sand in Hydraulic Fracturing, Used on 700 Wells So Far
April 14, 2011April 14, 2011

An interesting “new” technology from Canadian company GASFRAC uses an alternative to water and sand in the hydraulic fracturing process:

Read More “Canadian Company Pioneers Alternative to Water & Sand in Hydraulic Fracturing, Used on 700 Wells So Far”
Energy Services | Indiana County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pennsylvania Brine Treatment | Wastewater

PA Marcellus Wastewater Treatment Plant Threatens Lawsuit Against Pitt Researcher
April 14, 2011April 14, 2011

University of Pittsburgh researcher Conrad “Dan” Volz is resigning in May as director of Pitt’s Center for Healthy Environments and Communities because of his “philosophical differences” with the university over the issue of Marcellus Shale drilling. Volz has been a visible and loud voice against drilling, and that does not sit well at Pitt.

Volz released a report on March 23, subsequently revised and reissued two days ago, critical of the Pennsylvania Brine Treatment plant near Black Lick, in Indiana County, PA. The plant treats and releases Marcellus Shale wastewater into the Blacklick Creek. In the report, Volz recommends the plant’s operations be halted.

Read More “PA Marcellus Wastewater Treatment Plant Threatens Lawsuit Against Pitt Researcher”
Allegheny County | Energy Companies | Energy US | Lease & Royalty Payments | Pennsylvania

Marcellus Drilling in ACORD Municipal Park (Allegheny County, PA) Voted Down by Local Councils
April 14, 2011April 14, 2011

The Avonworth Municipal Authority in Allegheny County, PA recently signed a five-year drilling lease for the ACORD Municipal Park property controlled by the Authority (see the MDN story here). However, the deal was contingent on four of the five municipalities that oversee the 119-acre park in Kilbuck and Ohio Townships. Last night Emsworth council was the second municipality to vote against the measure and so the deal will not go forward.

Read More “Marcellus Drilling in ACORD Municipal Park (Allegheny County, PA) Voted Down by Local Councils”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

U.S. Senate Holds Hearing on Natural Gas Drilling & Hydraulic Fracturing
April 13, 2011April 13, 2011

Federal regulation (MDN would argue federal “interference”) in regulating natural gas drilling is an important issue. MDN maintains that the U.S. Constitution grants the states the right to govern what happens inside their own borders, and that the federal government has too often usurped and trampled those rights in the name of protecting the public. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a prime example of a federal agency that frequently goes too far and oversteps its bounds. The EPA is an unelected group of people that create regulations with the force of law that are forced on states and businesses.

However, Congress seems to do what it wants to do, and agencies like the EPA are a reality we all must live with. So when Congress holds hearings and the star witness is the EPA and the topic is drilling in the Marcellus Shale and hydraulic fracturing, everyone, both for and against drilling, needs to pay attention.

Yesterday the U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works held a hearing titled “Natural Gas Drilling: Public Health and Environmental Impacts.” MDN believes there is much to learn in the opening statements by the Senators, and in the testimony from the witnesses who testified before the hearing.

Read More “U.S. Senate Holds Hearing on Natural Gas Drilling & Hydraulic Fracturing”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

EPA Statement at Senate Hearing Outlines the Main Arguments Against Drilling
April 13, 2011April 13, 2011

The first witness before the April 12 Senate hearing on natural gas drilling was Robert Perciasepe, Deputy Administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The EPA is currently conducting a multi-year study of the 60 year-old practice of hydraulic fracturing on the basis and claim that it may be harmful to water supplies, and since protection of the nation’s waterways has been assumed by the EPA, hydraulic fracturing (if found to be harmful) would come under the EPA’s jurisdiction and regulation. It is a back door way for the EPA to control natural gas drilling in this country.

The following is a small portion of Mr. Perciasepe’s statement before the hearing. MDN highlights it as an excellent summary of the main arguments that come from those who oppose drilling in the Marcellus Shale and other shale gas plays.

Read More “EPA Statement at Senate Hearing Outlines the Main Arguments Against Drilling”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Senate Hearing on Natural Gas Drilling – Sen. Inhofe
April 13, 2011April 13, 2011

The following is the opening statement by the Ranking Minority Member of the Senate Committee on Environmental and Public Works, Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK). Sen. Inhofe offers comments from state regulators about the safety of hydraulic fracturing, and his opinion on federal vs. state regulation of it.

On March 17, 1949, more than 60 years ago, the first hydraulic fracturing job was performed on a well 12 miles east of Duncan, in my home state of Oklahoma. The practice has now been used on more than 1 million currently producing wells, 35,000 wells per year, without one confirmed case of groundwater contamination from these fracked formations. But don’t take my word for it. Let’s hear what the experts, the State regulators, have said:

Read More “Senate Hearing on Natural Gas Drilling – Sen. Inhofe”
Bradford County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Roads | Sullivan County

Chesapeake Trucks Temporarily Banned on Four State Roads in Northeast PA
April 13, 2011April 13, 2011

Chesapeake Appalachia’s trucks have been banned from four Pennsylvania state routes in Bradford and Sullivan Counties until they fix the roads they’ve damaged.

Read More “Chesapeake Trucks Temporarily Banned on Four State Roads in Northeast PA”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New Cornell University Study Says Shale Gas Extraction Worse for Global Warming Than Coal
April 12, 2011April 12, 2011

Robert Howarth, a Cornell University professor of ecology and environmental biology, along with two other Cornell professors, Renee Santoro and Tony Ingraffea, have just published a new peer-reviewed study in the journal Climate Change titled, “Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations.” The study evaluates natural gas from shale compared with other energy sources with respect to how much “greenhouse gases” are created during the extraction process. The study makes the claim that shale gas extraction is actually worse for the environment than burning coal because of greenhouse gases.

This newly published paper in a peer-reviewed journal is big news and has already been covered in the mainstream media echo chamber with more than 300 articles. But the criticisms have also been swift.

Read More “New Cornell University Study Says Shale Gas Extraction Worse for Global Warming Than Coal”
Beaver County | Chesapeake Energy | Energy Companies | Pennsylvania

Chesapeake Energy Leases More Than 1,000 Parcels in Beaver County, PA Since Jan 1
April 12, 2011April 12, 2011

Chesapeake Energy, one of the largest gas drilling companies in the world, is leasing a lot of property in Beaver County, PA. Beaver County is located along Pennsylvania’s western border with Ohio and West Virginia.

Read More “Chesapeake Energy Leases More Than 1,000 Parcels in Beaver County, PA Since Jan 1”
Accidents | Bradford County | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania

Sen. Casey Wrong Again – Bradford, PA House Explosion Due to Abandoned Gas Wells, Not Marcellus Drilling
April 11, 2011April 29, 2013

A few weeks ago U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA), wrote to U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu to ask him to investigate two house explosions in Bradford Township, PA (see MDN’s story here). Casey said he strongly believed the cause of the explosions was from migrating methane gas (natural gas) from “extensive new deep drilling activities” in the area. That is, those nasty, filthy Marcellus drillers caused it. Don’t look now Mr. Casey, but….oops. You were wrong again. The real cause was abandoned gas wells drilled 100 years ago.

Read More “Sen. Casey Wrong Again – Bradford, PA House Explosion Due to Abandoned Gas Wells, Not Marcellus Drilling”
Chesapeake Energy | Commodity Price | Energy Companies | Industrywide Issues | Lease & Royalty Payments | Utica Shale

Chesapeake Energy Paying $2,500 per Acre to Lease Utica Shale
April 11, 2011April 11, 2011

An article on the Forbes website covers a recent energy conference held by Yale alumni. The focus of the article is on how America’s shale gas has turned around chemical companies. But MDN found this interesting paragraph talking about the Utica Shale:

Read More “Chesapeake Energy Paying $2,500 per Acre to Lease Utica Shale”
Chesapeake Energy | East Resources | Energy Companies | Equinor/Statoil | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Shell

Foreign Investment in America’s Shale Gas: Is it Good or Bad?
April 11, 2011April 11, 2011

One of the main arguments in favor of Marcellus shale gas drilling is that America can become more energy independent—less dependent on the energy (oil and gas) from other countries. It is an argument that strikes a chord with many Americans. The argument also goes that much of the gas produced in the region will stay “local” and cause natural gas prices to remain low for consumers. But what if foreign companies and foreign-backed government entities start buying leaseholds and come here and drill? Will the gas remain here, or will it be exported?

Read More “Foreign Investment in America’s Shale Gas: Is it Good or Bad?”
MDN Weekly Update

MDN Weekly Update – Apr 10, 2011
April 10, 2011April 10, 2011

MDN is excited to announce the release of our advertising media kit. Although the MDN website is first and foremost a “labor of love,” it is increasingly important to get a few nickels from the effort to help pay for hosting and the various services used to make it all happen. Many websites run Google ads that frankly have nothing to do with Marcellus shale gas drilling. MDN believes even the advertising should be relevant, interesting and add value for the people who visit. Therefore, the only way to secure an ad on the MDN website is by ordering it direct from MDN. No Google ads allowed. 🙂

To help potential advertisers understand the demographics of those visiting the MDN site, we have created a “media kit” which outlines how much traffic the site receives, where it comes from, and what visitors say about themselves (age, drilling sentiment, whether or not they have leased their land for drilling, etc.). The media kit is a complete picture of who visits and why. In this way, we hope that advertising on MDN will be effective and benefit both the advertiser as well as those viewing the ads.

To receive a copy of the media kit with details of the MDN audience and available advertising opportunities and rates (including banner ads and messages in the daily email alert), fill out and submit the form on this page: //marcellusdrilling.com/about/advertising/.

Below you’ll find the “top 5” lists and this week’s calendar listings.

Happy reading,
Jim Willis, Editor

Read More “MDN Weekly Update – Apr 10, 2011”
Chenango County | Landowner Coalition News | New York

Reminder – Central New York Landowner Coalition to Meet April 9th, Topic: Anti-Gas Activism Targeted at Town Boards
April 8, 2011April 8, 2011

For landowners who belong to the Central New York Landowner’s Coalition (a very large coalition in Upstate NY), there will be an all-coalition meeting on Saturday, April 9th to discuss recent developments by those opposed to drilling. The coalition believes drilling permits are likely to start being issued soon, and those who oppose drilling are now “taking the fight” to local town boards in an attempt to regulate and prevent drilling. The coalition wants to address that issue.

MDN will be on hand to cover the proceedings of this event.

From the announcement:

CNY LANDOWNER’S COALITION ALL-COALITION MEETING

Saturday, April 9th, 2011
The Unadilla Valley Central School
4238 State Highway 8, New Berlin, NY 13411

The SGEIS is due out in 2 months, negotiations are heating up and the anti-gas activists are trying to sway your town boards to ban drilling. It’s time to hear the latest info on our chats with the industry and to unite on a strategy to protect your landowner rights at the town level. Our coalition maps will be posted and committee members will be available for your questions. Plus we’ll equip you with everything you need to be sure your town doesn’t strip you of your landowner rights and privileges.

9:30-11:30 Meeting – Last Names beginning with A-K
1:30-3:30 Meeting – Last Names beginning with L-Z

This is an important meeting to attend. If the state continues on the path to complete the SGEIS and allow permitting, and if we win the battle on the town level, our next meeting after this one very well could be the one meeting that we have been waiting for. However, if we don’t come to this meeting to be equipped to win at the town level, we may be waiting for a long time to see any drilling take place in our region. We look forward to seeing you on the 9th.
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Regulation | Statewide PA | Wastewater

PA DEP Sec. Krancer Continues to Push Back Against the Federal EPA – Tells Them in April 6 Letter that PA is Doing Just Fine, Thanks
April 8, 2011April 8, 2011

On April 6, newly appointed PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Michael Krancer responded yet again to the overreaching federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with a blunt and factual letter outlining the measures PA has already taken, and new policies they will be taking, to protect drinking water supplies for PA citizens. MDN previously wrote (see here) about the EPA’s interference in PA’s affairs following the sensational claims made by a series of articles in The New York Times that claimed PA was allowing radioactive wastewater to be dumped into PA waterways. About the same time as the Times articles, the DEP released the results of ongoing water testing in seven rivers that showed radioactivity levels were at or below normal levels.

Read More “PA DEP Sec. Krancer Continues to Push Back Against the Federal EPA – Tells Them in April 6 Letter that PA is Doing Just Fine, Thanks”