Marcellus Shale Newswire 3/02/2012
Vol. 2, Issue 46
A Collection of Marcellus Shale and Gas Drilling Articles from Pennsylvania and Beyond
PennEnvironment
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Butler County residents protest after state tests of their wells absolve driller
By Don Hopey
March 02, 2012
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12062/1213948-503.stm
Janet McIntyre of The Woodlands, a rural community in southern Butler County, said her well water foams and turns purple when it comes out of her faucet.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Fawn residents want active role in gas well drilling
By Jodi Weigand
February 21, 2012
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_782653.html
A grassroots group has organized a community meeting where residents from Fawn Township and surrounding municipalities can learn more about Marcellus shale natural gas well drilling and a new state law that regulates the industry.
Citizens Voice
Impact of drilling fee unknown
By Robert Swift
Feb ruary 26, 2012
http://citizensvoice.com/news/impact-of-drilling-fee-unknown-1.1277074#axzz1nyjxLM1H
HARRISBURG – As counties with active Marcellus Shale wells decide whether to levy a drilling impact fee or not, the full implications of this newest twist in the use of local options in Pennsylvania are just starting to become apparent.
NECN.com
Nonprofit to study Pa. gas drilling, public health
By Associated Press
February 21, 2012
The Southwest Pennsylvania Environmental Health Project opened an office last week in McMurray, southwest of Pittsburgh, and says its mission is to support people “who believe their health has been, or could be, impacted by natural gas drilling activities.”
WPXI.com
Target 11 investigates Marcellus Shale drilling
By Rick Earle
February 23, 2012
http://www.wpxi.com/news/news/local/target-11-investigates-marcellus-shale-drilling/nJdKT/
PITTSBURGH — It’s been billed as a modern-day gold rush. Marcellus shale drilling has already made some folks in our area a lot of money, but others claim the process used to extract natural gas known as fracking is to blame for their water woes.
PennLive.com
‘Occupy Well Street’: Activist encourages peaceful Marcellus shale drilling protests
By Donald Gilliland
February 26, 2012
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2012/02/occupy_well_street_activist_en.html
SCRANTON — In the Pennsylvania hills where derrick lights cast an eerie glow into overcast skies, a frustration has begun to gnaw. Some believe heavy industry is actively destroying all that’s pure and good around them. They can sense, like a toothache, the threat of fresh water fouled by chemicals.
Efforts to get lawmakers to do anything about it have failed.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Regulating shale operations: Public Utility Commission would get new role
By Andrea Iglar
March 01, 2012
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12061/1213558-55.stm
South Fayette’s natural gas drilling regulations are under attack from both the Marcellus Shale industry and the state.
Main Line Media News
Video: Pa. House Dems hold public heairng on Marcellus air quality in Bryn Mawr
By Alan Thomas
February 27, 2012
The Pennsylvania House Democratic Policy Committee held a public hearing before an attentive crowd of about 75 Monday on a bill to address air emissions from Marcellus Shale drilling.
Press Action
Pa. Farmer Ratchets Up Battle Against Shale Gas Industry
By Press Action
February 27, 2012
http://www.pressaction.com/news/weblog/full_article/cleghorn02272012/
Stephen Cleghorn, a Pennsylvania farmer, knows the ins and outs of the natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing. He’s studied the risks and dangers. He’s witnessed the damage it’s wreaked on the environment. He’s commiserated with fellow Pennsylvanians who have gotten sick from contaminated water and whose animals have died from toxic fracking fluids.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Politics, resignations, add wrinkle to area’s DEP office
By Don Hopey
February 20, 2012
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12051/1211453-113.stm
It’s been a rough six months for attorneys at the state Department of Environmental Protection’s regional office in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review
Airing sought for Frazer Marcellus shale natural gas compressor station
By Brian C. Rittmeyer
March 01, 2012
http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/valleynewsdispatch/s_784284.html
An environmental advocacy group is asking for more time for the public to comment on a Marcellus shale natural gas compressor station that would be the first of its kind in Allegheny County.
The New York Times
How to Frack Responsibly
By Joe Nocera
February 27, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/opinion/nocera-how-to-frack-responsibly.html?_r=2
To put it another way, the technique of hydraulic fracturing, used to extract natural gas from once-impossible-to-get-at reservoirs like the Marcellus Shale that lies beneath New York and Pennsylvania, has more than proved its value. At this point, shale gas, as it’s called, makes up more than 30 percent of the country’s natural gas supply, up from 2 percent in 2001 — a figure that is sure to keep rising. Fracking’s enemies can stamp their feet all they want, but that gas is too important to leave it in the ground.