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
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.
