Marcellus Shale Newswire 11/04/2011
Vol. 2, Issue 34
A Collection of Marcellus Shale and Gas Drilling Articles from Pennsylvania and Beyond
PennEnvironment
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
State House panel passes its version of shale impact fee
By Laura Olson
November 2, 2011
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11306/1186901-100.stm
HARRISBURG — After an hour of heated discussion, a state House panel approved a Republican-backed drilling impact fee bill on a party-line vote this morning.
That 15-10 tally marked the first substantive action in that chamber on Marcellus Shale drilling regulation this session.
It also means that both the House and Senate have bills primed for quick floor votes when the General Assembly returns to session on Nov. 14.
Pittsburgh Tribune
Valley officials blast House gas-drilling bill
By Liz Hayes
November 4, 2011
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_765557.html
Local leaders are not enamored with the state’s latest legislative proposal on Marcellus shale natural gas well drilling.
A bill that allows counties to set impact fees on gas wells but also would create universal drilling regulations passed the House Finance Committee along party lines on Wednesday — the first movement of a Marcellus shale bill this year in the Republican-controlled House.
PressConnects
That boom you hear is coming from Bradford
By Steve Reilly
October 29, 2011
TOWANDA — If New York residents want to know what happens when the gas industry rolls into town, they don’t have to look farther than Bradford County, Pa.
Once a quiet expanse of sleepy boroughs pocketed amid sprawling tracts of farmland, Bradford has skyrocketed to the forefront of the Marcellus Shale natural gas rush.
Centre Daily
Dozens call for Marcellus Shale drilling ban in Rush Township
By Cliff White
November 2, 2011
http://www.centredaily.com/2011/11/02/2971488/dozens-call-for-drilling-ban.html
A public hearing Tuesday on an ordinance banning natural gas drilling in Rush Township attracted dozens of supporters—and a lawyer representing drillers who made it clear his clients were not pleased.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Bromide levels in Monongahela River rose in 2010, remain high
By Don Hopey
November 4, 2011
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11308/1187389-113.stm
Bromide levels rose in the Monongahela River in 2010 and remain elevated, possibly because of discharges of wastewater from Marcellus Shale drilling or electric power plants, said Jeanne VanBriesen, a Carnegie Mellon University civil and environmental engineering professor who spoke Thursday at a university research symposium about the river.
The Journal
Council adopts shale gas resolution
By John McVey
October 29, 2011
http://www.journal-news.net/page/content.detail/id/569846/Council-adopts-shale-gas-resolut—.html
Crunch time is here in the state Legislature. A mere six weeks remain until lawmakers are scheduled to take their holiday recess. Marcellus Shale cannot get pushed aside again. State legislators are no doubt already thinking about next year’s re-election, but they should remember this: Marcellus Shale is THE pre-eminent issue in the state.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting
Marcellus shale issues explored at WVU law school
By Ben Adducchio
October 31, 2011
http://www.wvpubcast.org/newsarticle.aspx?id=22408
October 31, 2011 · A two-day discussion at the West Virginia University law school drilled into the issues of Marcellus shale gas exploration.
Gas trapped in Marcellus shale reserves lies underneath New York state, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and parts of Ohio.
It’s been at the heart of much debate in the Mountain State.
The role the federal government should play in drilling regulations was one topic explored at the event.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Upper Burrell candidates deal with shale regulations
By Tom Yerace
October 30, 2011
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/lifestyles/s_764657.html
While Marcellus shale gas drilling may be a new issue in some places, Upper Burrell has been the Valley’s ground zero for it.
For more than a year, township supervisors and citizens debated the pros and cons of drilling. A group of residents adamantly opposed to drilling pushed for the township to adopt an ordinance to control it. Although the supervisors adopted an ordinance in July, questions about its effectiveness remain as drilling companies consider potential sites.
The Charleston Gazette
Marcellus challenges outlined
By Ken Ward Jr.
Ocober 28, 2011
http://wvgazette.com/News/201110280152
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Development of West Virginia’s vast Marcellus Shale natural gas reserves poses potential environmental, social and economic problems that state officials are just beginning to consider, experts said during a daylong workshop here Friday.
Pittsburgh Tribune
Valley officials blast House gas-drilling bill
By Liz Hayes
November 4, 2011
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_765557.html
Local leaders are not enamored with the state’s latest legislative proposal on Marcellus shale natural gas well drilling.
A bill that allows counties to set impact fees on gas wells but also would create universal drilling regulations passed the House Finance Committee along party lines on Wednesday — the first movement of a Marcellus shale bill this year in the Republican-controlled House.