Marcellus Shale Newswire 2/17/2012

Vol. 2, Issue 45

A Collection of Marcellus Shale and Gas Drilling Articles from Pennsylvania and Beyond

PennEnvironment

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Local officials recoil at gas law’s content

By Brian O’Neill

February 16, 2012

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12047/1210535-155.stm

We need to elect better poker players to represent us in Harrisburg.

Pennsylvanians have been sitting on an unbelievable hand: the largest natural gas field outside of Iran, located a half-continent closer to the vast East Coast markets than the traditional drilling states.

 

Nature

By Jeff Tollefson 

February 15, 2012

http://www.nature.com/news/air-sampling-reveals-high-emissions-from-gas-field-1.9982

When US government scientists began sampling the air from a tower north of Denver, Colorado, they expected urban smog — but not strong whiffs of what looked like natural gas. They eventually linked the mysterious pollution to a nearby natural-gas field, and their investigation has now produced the first hard evidence that the cleanest-burning fossil fuel might not be much better than coal when it comes to climate change.

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

EPA probing Washington County shale operations

By Don Hopey

February 13, 2012

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12044/1209896-503-0.stm

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is investigating whether specific Marcellus Shale drilling and compressor station operations in Washington County have caused environmental damage that violates federal regulations.

 

The Times-Tribune

Corbett raiding special funds

By Robert Swift

February 13, 2012

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/corbett-raiding-special-funds-1.1271068#axzz1mHtUsEHE

HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Corbett is proposing a delicate balancing act with the state budget by buttressing it with money taken from a half-dozen special funds created through the decades.

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Shale driller Chesapeake Appalachia is fined by state DEP for major violations

By Sean D. Hamill and Laura Olson

February 10, 2012

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12041/1209294-503-0.stm

HARRISBURG — The state Department of Environmental Protection Thursday said it has fined gas driller Chesapeake Appalachia a total of $565,00 0 for major violations at three Marcellus Shale sites that occurred since 2010, including a well blowout in Bradford County last April that took five days to secure.

 

Chambersburg Public Opinion

Shale impact bill gives away a lot for very little in return

By Matthew Major

February 13, 2012

http://www.publicopiniononline.com/opinion/ci_19944573 

In the weeks leading up to passage of an impact fee on Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania, supporters within the industry repeatedly cited the bill’s setback requirements as an environmental protection counterbalance to its lack of local controls and relatively small revenue general potential.

 

The Inquirer

Rural loophole curbing Pennsylvania pipeline inspections

By Craig R. McCoy and Joseph Tanfan

February 12, 2012 

http://articles.philly.com/2012-02-12/news/31052330_1_gas-pipelines-rural-areas-marcellus-shale

Pennsylvania regulators are taking steps to begin safety checks of some natural gas pipelines in the Marcellus Shale regions – hiring inspectors and drafting new rules that will bring the state in line with the rest of the nation. 

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Regulating shale operations: Public Utility Commission would get new role

By Erich Schwartzel 

February 12, 2012

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12043/1209512-28.stm

The Marcellus Shale legislation awaiting Gov. Tom Corbett’s signature would introduce a quiet player into the divided, often loud, world of gas drilling: the Public Utility Commission, a relatively unknown state agency suddenly charged with determining which communities are illegally regulating gas extraction.

 

Peters Patch

Peters Township Council Plans to Take Action on Marcellus Shale Bill

By Tracy Fedkoe

February 14, 2012

http://peters.patch.com/articles/peters-township-council-will-take-action-on-marcellus-shale-bill

At the regular Peters Township Council meeting Monday night, there was much talk about the recent passing of the Marcellus Shale Bill (House Bill 1950) and its potential effects on the community.

 

MSNBC.com

Compromise Marcellus Shale bill draws protest

By Gary Weckselblatt

February 17, 2012

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46426717/ns/local_news-delaware_valley_pa_nj/t/compromise-marcellus-shale-bill-draws-protest/#.Tz6OzBw8xTs

Nearly 50 people unhappy with the General Assembly’s plans to limit local zoning control in exchange for a local impact fee on Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling protested outside the Bucks County Courthouse in Doylestown on Thursday. 

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Marcellus Shale boom has pressed law firms to boost their staffs, but experts are in short supply

By Drew Singer

February 13, 2012

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/12044/1209380-499-0.stm?cmpid=newspanel3

The same year Bill Caroselli finished law school, Bob Dylan first told the world that the times were a-changin’. A half-century later, the birth of the multibillion-dollar Marcellus Shale industry has transformed the region’s legal landscape, pushing lawyers like Mr. Caroselli to practice oil and gas law after decades of specialization in other fields.

 

PennLive.com

Grover Norquist’s no-tax pledge can’t give Marcellus Shale drill fee the ax

By Donald Gililand

February 12, 2012

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/02/grover_norquists_no-tax_pledge.html

Pennsylvania will shortly have an impact fee for Marcellus Shale.

Grover Norquist called it a tax, but Pennsylvania Republicans passed it anyway. Gov. Tom Corbett, who signed Norquist’s pledge, plans to sign the Marcellus bill, too, according to his spokesmen. Political reality trumps ideology.