Marcellus Drilling News

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

Mt Pleasant Township, PA Passes Conditional Use Ordinance – But Drilling had Already Ended Anyway
June 23, 2011June 23, 2011

After two years of work and numerous revisions, the supervisors of Mount Pleasant Township in Washington County, PA have finally passed an ordinance that controls oil and gas drilling in the township, although at this point it likely won’t make much of a difference according to Range Resources.

Read More “Mt Pleasant Township, PA Passes Conditional Use Ordinance – But Drilling had Already Ended Anyway”
Ohio | Statewide OH

Ohio State Parks Opening Up for Marcellus & Utica Shale Drilling
June 23, 2011June 23, 2011

Ohio’s state parks and other government-owned land will soon be opened up for Marcellus and Utica Shale oil and gas drilling.

Read More “Ohio State Parks Opening Up for Marcellus & Utica Shale Drilling”
Industrywide Issues | Landowner Coalition News | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Will the Fight Over Marcellus Shale Drilling in New York go Local? Legislation Pending in Albany Will Decide
June 22, 2011June 22, 2011

MDN received an email alert from the Joint Landowners Coalition of New York (JLCNY) concerning legislation that is actively being considered Albany (see the letter below). The legislation in question is the bill A3245 (full text here) which passed the New York Assembly on Monday, and bill S3472 (full text here), the Senate counterpart. The legislation, if passed, would give local municipalities the right to use zoning laws to dictate where drilling can and cannot happen within their borders. This is a major change in how New York governs the drilling industry—both Marcellus Shale drilling which has not yet begun, and existing oil and gas drilling. The language of the bill states:

Read More “Will the Fight Over Marcellus Shale Drilling in New York go Local? Legislation Pending in Albany Will Decide”
Lease & Royalty Payments

New Landowner Resource: Website Catalogs Full Text and Details of 50K Lease Deals in PA and OH
June 22, 2011June 22, 2011

For landowners who are considering leasing their property for gas drilling, or for those who have already leased, you now have an important new resource to research the lease deals others have received: www.MarcellusUSA.com.

Read More “New Landowner Resource: Website Catalogs Full Text and Details of 50K Lease Deals in PA and OH”
Energy Companies | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Northeast Natural Energy | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown, WV Bans Marcellus Drilling Outside City Limits – Driller May Sue to Recoup Investment
June 22, 2011June 22, 2011

After a few months of heated debate, the Morgantown (WV) City Council has voted to prohibit Marcellus Shale drilling not only within their borders, but also up to a mile outside of their borders. How can they do that? There is a provision in West Virginia state code that allows cities to extend their authority up to a mile beyond their borders to carry out city functions. It is that state loophole that Morgantown has used to shut down two wells slated to be drilled.

Read More “Morgantown, WV Bans Marcellus Drilling Outside City Limits – Driller May Sue to Recoup Investment”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Lift the Moratorium on Drilling Now
June 21, 2011June 21, 2011

An editorial in today’s New York Post, authored by Lawrence Mone, president of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, makes an impassioned plea to Gov. Andrew Cuomo to lift the moratorium on Marcellus Shale drilling. The Manhattan Institute recently released a study showing the economic benefits of lifting the moratorium (see MDN’s coverage here). In today’s editorial, Mone summarizes those economic benefits this way:

Read More “Former PA Gov. Ed Rendell to NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo: Lift the Moratorium on Drilling Now”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Wastewater

PA Public Drinking Water Not Radioactive After All
June 21, 2011June 21, 2011

Further proof that the New York Times series of “PA water is radioactive because treated Marcellus drilling wastewater was released into waterways” scare articles was nothing more than hot air and fiction:

Read More “PA Public Drinking Water Not Radioactive After All”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Jobs | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA

Pittsburgh Set to Surpass Pre-Recession Employment Levels Due to Marcellus Shale Drilling Jobs
June 21, 2011June 21, 2011

Pittsburgh and other energy-related regions of the U.S. are bouncing back from the recession faster than other parts of the country. For Pittsburgh, it’s due in no small part to Marcellus Shale drilling. According to a new report just released, Pittsburgh’s employment numbers will pull even and surpass pre-recession levels by early 2012.

Read More “Pittsburgh Set to Surpass Pre-Recession Employment Levels Due to Marcellus Shale Drilling Jobs”
Energy Services | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Patriot Water Treatment | Trumbull County | Wastewater

Patriot Water Permit Renewal in Jeopardy in Northeastern Ohio
June 21, 2011June 21, 2011

Patriot Water operates a Marcellus Shale wastewater treatment plant in Warren, Ohio—in the northeastern part of the state, not far from the border of PA. Patriot pre-treats drilling wastewater and then sends it to the Warren municipal sewage treatment plant where it is further processed and released to the Mahoning River. Patriot has invested $3 million and has hired 45 people to operate the plant.

The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) has told the Warren municipal sewage treatment plant their permit to accept Patriot’s treated wastewater will not be renewed when it expires in July 2012, even though there has not been a single “finding” or violation issued by the OEPA to Patriot.

Read More “Patriot Water Permit Renewal in Jeopardy in Northeastern Ohio”
About MDN

MDN Needs Your Feedback to Continue Publishing
June 20, 2011June 26, 2011

Periodically someone will email me privately, or leave a comment on an article, and ask if the MDN website is sponsored by a drilling company or pro-drilling group of some kind. My answer, which is the truth, is always the same: No! I receive no compensation of any kind whatsoever, either in money or trade or services, for what I write on this site. Zippo. Nada.

There are those who don’t believe me. I’m not sure how I can convince you, but I am telling the truth. I think, if you read this site long enough, you’ll know that I always attempt tell the truth. I share my opinions, and from time to time I even own up to some mistakes.

Read More “MDN Needs Your Feedback to Continue Publishing”
Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Pennsylvania | Statewide OH | Statewide PA | Wastewater

PA Marcellus Drilling Wastewater Going to Ohio
June 20, 2011June 20, 2011

Millions of barrels of fracking fluid—wastewater often referred to as “brine” because of the heavy salts in it—are being imported from Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale drilling operations into Ohio, and it has some Ohioans concerned. Fracking fluid/wastewater/brine is what comes back out of the bore hole after sending water, sand and some chemicals down the hole during drilling.

Many larger drillers now recycle 100 percent of the wastewater for reuse in other drilling. For those who do not recycle it, it must be disposed—either by treating it at special facilities where it is then safe for release back into streams and rivers, or by storing it in underground wells, known as injection wells.

Read More “PA Marcellus Drilling Wastewater Going to Ohio”
Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

“Monumental” Water Withdrawal Legislation Will Soon Become Law in NY – DEC Gets Big Tool to Tightly Control Gas Drilling
June 20, 2011June 20, 2011

It’s looking quite likely that legislation requiring a permit from the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for any water withdrawals from a lake, river or stream in New York State exceeding 100,000 gallons will soon become law. As MDN previously reported (see here), the NY Assembly passed a bill in May governing water withdrawals from state waterways. Now, the NY Senate has joined them in unanimously passing the same bill. It now goes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s desk for signature.

Marcellus drilling operations, which have not yet begun in New York State due to a moratorium, require large amounts of water per well drilled—some 3 to 4 million gallons per well. This new law requiring permits for water withdrawals is one of the important tools that the DEC will use to control drilling in the state when drilling finally begins. No water—no drilling. Or, “Take your time approving that permit,” to slow things down. It’s a powerful tool that the DEC can (and assuredly will) use to keep tight control over gas drilling in the state.

Read More ““Monumental” Water Withdrawal Legislation Will Soon Become Law in NY – DEC Gets Big Tool to Tightly Control Gas Drilling”
Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Statewide PA | Taxation

New Quinnipiac Poll: PA Voters Want Marcellus Drilling to Continue, and an Extraction Tax
June 20, 2011June 20, 2011

According to a new poll by Quinnipiac University, nearly two-thirds of PA voters want Marcellus Shale gas drilling to continue. Slightly more than two-thirds of PA voters also want a drilling (or extraction) tax on gas drilling.

Read More “New Quinnipiac Poll: PA Voters Want Marcellus Drilling to Continue, and an Extraction Tax”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Washington County

Energy Dept Hearing in Western PA Draws Big Crowd For & Against Hydraulic Fracturing and Gas Drilling
June 14, 2011June 14, 2011

President Obama recently instructed Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to form the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Natural Gas Subcommittee, a group of six experts from academe, industry and environmental groups to advise President Obama on how to improve the safety of shale gas development, with a focus specifically on hydraulic fracturing. No doubt the “advising” part will turn into federal regulations at some point, so both sides of the debate are anxious to make their voices heard.

Read More “Energy Dept Hearing in Western PA Draws Big Crowd For & Against Hydraulic Fracturing and Gas Drilling”
Dominion Energy | Energy Services | Exporting | Industrywide Issues | Pennsylvania | Pipelines | Statewide PA

PA Residents: Gas Drilling? Yes. Gas Exporting? No.
June 13, 2011June 13, 2011

Many Pennsylvania residents are in favor of shale gas drilling, but exporting the gas makes them mad.

Read More “PA Residents: Gas Drilling? Yes. Gas Exporting? No.”
Economic Impact | Industrywide Issues | Marshall County | West Virginia

Marshall County, WV Feeling the Positive Effects of Marcellus Gas Drilling
June 13, 2011June 13, 2011

Marshall County, West Virginia is feeling the positive effects of Marcellus Shale drilling as money paid to landowners and workers is spent and creates economic ripples through the local economy.

Read More “Marshall County, WV Feeling the Positive Effects of Marcellus Gas Drilling”