Harrisburg briefly took on the feel of Madison, Wisconsin Tuesday afternoon, when anti-drilling protesters staged a sit-in outside Governor Corbett’s office. Chants of “Corbett’s a Coward!” and “open the door!” rang out, as filmmaker Josh Fox and other environmental advocates unsuccessfully tried to schedule a meeting with the governor.
Fox, whose Academy Award-nominated documentary Gasland has become a rallying point for drilling opponents, told reporters he’s been trying to meet with Corbett for months. “We have sent letters. We have sent emails. We have sent phone calls. We have sent letters on behalf of huge numbers of people. We have never received a response,” he explained.
Fox and the other protesters made their way to Corbett’s office after a noon rally in the Capitol rotunda organized by environmental groups Clean Water Action, PennEnvironment and the Sierra Club. Myron Arnowitt, Clean Water Action’s western Pennsylvania director, said he’s frustrated. “Drilling has been going on in Pennsylvania for almost four years now. And what has our state legislature done? They have done nothing. Nothing. The problem keeps getting bigger and bigger. They keep drilling more wells. They keep having more blowouts. They keep contaminating more rivers.” Arnowitt and other speakers called for a moratorium on drilling – a politically unlikely action the rally’s crowd clearly endorsed. When Democratic Senator Daylin Leach voiced support for a severance tax, he was drowned out by calls for a full ban on drilling.
When the rally ended, many of the attendees visited lawmakers’ offices, to personally lobby for stricter regulations. Fox and several dozen other activists headed to the Capitol’s executive wing. “We were stopped at the door. We were told to call. I called several times,” Fox explained. “We had a few entertaining conversations about why they wouldn’t just come to the door and speak to us. I was sent to the scheduling person, who hung up on me. We are demanding that we have an appointment with Governor Tom Corbett to discuss what’s happening in Pennsylvania as a result of the gas drilling.”
Video shot by Roxbury News shows Fox and other organizers were less than polite about their request. “Are you telling me…that only certain people have the authority to open doors?,” he asked a Corbett staffer on the phone. Fox then pretended to be a member of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, as other protesters yelled and waved money in the air.
Regardless of their tactics, the environmental advocates aren’t alone in the frustration. Two weeks ago, a group of disabled people picketed Corbett’s office, after their attempts to set up a meeting about the Republican’s budget were been repeatedly ignored.
Many members of the press have had similar experiences. Corbett’s spokesman, Kevin Harley, ignored repeated requests for comment on this story, and hasn’t returned a call from this reporter since February 22.
Corbett was in Harrisburg on Tuesday. He gave an off-the-record talk to a group organized by Republican strategist Charlie Gerow in the morning, and headed to Washington, DC in the evening to attend a state dinner at the White House.
The anti-drilling activists have vowed to return on July 20th. They say they’ll spend all day -- and all night – at the Capitol, if they don’t get a meeting.
Showing posts with label Marcellus Shale. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Marcellus Shale. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Flow of Fracking Water to Treatment Plants Stopped?
Officials with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection believe that companies drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation have just about stopped shipping chemically-treated waste water to treatment plants. The DEP had said a May 19th deadline for companies to voluntarily stop taking the waste water to the treatment plants that discharge into rivers. The agency says the plants are ill-equipped to remove all the pollutants. Department spokeswoman Katy Gresh says they've confirmed the transport of the fracking water is down to possibly a handful of trucks in the past 2 weeks, and they are trying to determine if those trucks did indeed carry the waste water.
Friday, June 3, 2011
More Shale Tax Ideas Floated
Two more severance tax proposals are joining the party in Harrisburg.
The new bills come from Republicans legislators from the southeastern corner of the state where there is little or no Marcellus shale. However, they are the latest sign of growing support for some sort of tax on Marcellus Shale drilling. At least five tax or fee proposals are now in front of the General Assembly.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi and Rep. Nick Miccarelli are both introducing levies that would direct revenue toward tax relief. The two measures are a far cry from Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati’s impact fee, which would funnel money to local governments in the Marcellus Shale formation, as well as environmental and infrastructure projects.
Pileggi’s measure would fund a property tax freeze for senior citizens. According to a co-sponsorship memo distributed to senators, “all revenue would be deposited into a dedicated fund to provide a school property tax freeze for Pennsylvania residents 65 and older. …the tax burden would be shifted from seniors, many of whom are struggling to stay in their homes on a fixed income, to companies involved in natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.” Pileggi’s memo doesn’t mention a specific tax rate, but claims the “reasonable and competitive tax” would raise $250 million over the next five years.
Miccarelli’s measure would impose a three percent tax on drillers. “The money would go directly to reducing the personal income tax from 3.07 percent to 2.99 percent,” explained Miccarelli. The tax would eventually increase to five percent, and, he claims, “would generate, by fiscal year 2015, $1.1 billion.”
Pileggi and Miccarelli both represent districts in the Philadelphia area, where support for a severance tax is most intense. Neither of their constituents would see any benefit from Scarnati’s impact fee, which limits revenue to communities where drilling is actually taking place. In his memo, Pileggi writes he, “support[s] Senator Scarnati’s approach,” but if a tax or fee becomes law, the Republican wants to spread its funds around. “My view is that the entire commonwealth needs to benefit from an extraction tax, regardless of whether or not communities have wells or pipelines in their own area,” he said, on the day Scarnati unveiled his plan. Scarnati’s chief of staff, Drew Crompton, did not respond to a request for comment on the new proposals.
Neither new tax has been formally introduced yet. Miccarelli said he’ll release his bill next week. It’s unclear when Pileggi’s plan will be unveiled.
The new bills come from Republicans legislators from the southeastern corner of the state where there is little or no Marcellus shale. However, they are the latest sign of growing support for some sort of tax on Marcellus Shale drilling. At least five tax or fee proposals are now in front of the General Assembly.
Senate Majority Leader Dominic Pileggi and Rep. Nick Miccarelli are both introducing levies that would direct revenue toward tax relief. The two measures are a far cry from Senate President Pro Tem Joe Scarnati’s impact fee, which would funnel money to local governments in the Marcellus Shale formation, as well as environmental and infrastructure projects.
Pileggi’s measure would fund a property tax freeze for senior citizens. According to a co-sponsorship memo distributed to senators, “all revenue would be deposited into a dedicated fund to provide a school property tax freeze for Pennsylvania residents 65 and older. …the tax burden would be shifted from seniors, many of whom are struggling to stay in their homes on a fixed income, to companies involved in natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania.” Pileggi’s memo doesn’t mention a specific tax rate, but claims the “reasonable and competitive tax” would raise $250 million over the next five years.
Miccarelli’s measure would impose a three percent tax on drillers. “The money would go directly to reducing the personal income tax from 3.07 percent to 2.99 percent,” explained Miccarelli. The tax would eventually increase to five percent, and, he claims, “would generate, by fiscal year 2015, $1.1 billion.”
Pileggi and Miccarelli both represent districts in the Philadelphia area, where support for a severance tax is most intense. Neither of their constituents would see any benefit from Scarnati’s impact fee, which limits revenue to communities where drilling is actually taking place. In his memo, Pileggi writes he, “support[s] Senator Scarnati’s approach,” but if a tax or fee becomes law, the Republican wants to spread its funds around. “My view is that the entire commonwealth needs to benefit from an extraction tax, regardless of whether or not communities have wells or pipelines in their own area,” he said, on the day Scarnati unveiled his plan. Scarnati’s chief of staff, Drew Crompton, did not respond to a request for comment on the new proposals.
Neither new tax has been formally introduced yet. Miccarelli said he’ll release his bill next week. It’s unclear when Pileggi’s plan will be unveiled.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
The Changing Face of Washington County
There has been a lot of discourse about Marcellus Shale drilling. You’ve heard the two most common arguments – that it’s good for the economy and its bad for the environment. But today, we’re going to talk about something a little bit different. All the drilling is significantly changing the landscape of the region.
Back in 2006 there were 24 permits issued for Marcellus Shale drilling in Washington County. The natural gas extraction process of hydraulic fracturing was in an earlier experimental phase and not as well known. Things have changed. Last year, 250 permits were issued in Washington County. Wells upon wells are getting drilled. There are compressor stations and pipelines and more on the way. You can’t turn on a television without seeing a natural gas industry ad and every day, newspapers are full of stories. It’s what people talk about.
They have strong opinions. This is serious business. It could ruin the landscape and damage our water, poison our air, destroy our health. Wells explode. Workers get hurt. But –and this is what makes it tricky, it can create jobs, provide money and wean us off a dependency on foreign energy.
But of all the things people disagree on, there is one thing they do agree on. The Marcellus Shale, the drilling, the discourse, all of it are drastically changing the face and character of the region.
If you’ve never been, Washington County sits to the south of Allegheny County. At a little over 200,000, the entire county’s population is less than the population of the city of Pittsburgh. But by square mile acreage, the county is bigger than Allegheny County. So it’s a lot of land for a lot fewer people. With a few exceptions, it’s mostly rural, with miles of two lane roads, acres of rolling hills and vistas of trees. It’s quiet. Which is why Wayne Thompson chose to live here.
"I moved out here to Buffalo Township about 14 years ago. And I moved out here specifically to get away from the city. I mean I grew up, I could see the arches of the West End bridge out my bedroom window and I specifically picked this location to get away from the traffic, to get away from the noise," he said.
Wayne lives in a custom built log cabin off an interchange of gravely roads. It’s the kind of place that he used to cheerfully call “the middle of nowhere.”
But a few years ago, things started changing. First he was approached by a land–man – someone who wanted him to lease his land.
He signed on with Range Resources. Drilling hasn’t started yet on his five acres. But now, if you look out a window on one side of his home you see a chain of flares from rigs that have been burning nonstop for weeks. You can also hear them. They sound like an airplane flying overhead. If you look out the other side you see the beginnings of a massive compressor station.
Kevin Sunday, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection told DUQ that they’ve given a permit to MarkWest for 6 compressor station engines with a stack, two oxidation catalyst engines, four other engines and a dehydrator. That’s 13 buildings.
Listen to the story here.
Back in 2006 there were 24 permits issued for Marcellus Shale drilling in Washington County. The natural gas extraction process of hydraulic fracturing was in an earlier experimental phase and not as well known. Things have changed. Last year, 250 permits were issued in Washington County. Wells upon wells are getting drilled. There are compressor stations and pipelines and more on the way. You can’t turn on a television without seeing a natural gas industry ad and every day, newspapers are full of stories. It’s what people talk about.
They have strong opinions. This is serious business. It could ruin the landscape and damage our water, poison our air, destroy our health. Wells explode. Workers get hurt. But –and this is what makes it tricky, it can create jobs, provide money and wean us off a dependency on foreign energy.
But of all the things people disagree on, there is one thing they do agree on. The Marcellus Shale, the drilling, the discourse, all of it are drastically changing the face and character of the region.
If you’ve never been, Washington County sits to the south of Allegheny County. At a little over 200,000, the entire county’s population is less than the population of the city of Pittsburgh. But by square mile acreage, the county is bigger than Allegheny County. So it’s a lot of land for a lot fewer people. With a few exceptions, it’s mostly rural, with miles of two lane roads, acres of rolling hills and vistas of trees. It’s quiet. Which is why Wayne Thompson chose to live here.
"I moved out here to Buffalo Township about 14 years ago. And I moved out here specifically to get away from the city. I mean I grew up, I could see the arches of the West End bridge out my bedroom window and I specifically picked this location to get away from the traffic, to get away from the noise," he said.
Wayne lives in a custom built log cabin off an interchange of gravely roads. It’s the kind of place that he used to cheerfully call “the middle of nowhere.”
But a few years ago, things started changing. First he was approached by a land–man – someone who wanted him to lease his land.
He signed on with Range Resources. Drilling hasn’t started yet on his five acres. But now, if you look out a window on one side of his home you see a chain of flares from rigs that have been burning nonstop for weeks. You can also hear them. They sound like an airplane flying overhead. If you look out the other side you see the beginnings of a massive compressor station.
Kevin Sunday, a spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection told DUQ that they’ve given a permit to MarkWest for 6 compressor station engines with a stack, two oxidation catalyst engines, four other engines and a dehydrator. That’s 13 buildings.
Listen to the story here.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Local Environmental Groups Challenge Sewer Authorities
The Clean Water Action group along with Three Rivers Waterkeeper have joined in legal action against two sewer authorities in the region who have flushed unfiltered wastewater into the Monongahela River watershed.
The clean water environmental groups filed notice in federal court in Pittsburgh of their intent to sue the Municipal Authority of McKeesport and the Franklin Township Sewer Authority. The plaintiffs claim McKeesport’s wastewater goes directly into the Mon River and Franklin Township’s enters the 10-mile Creek which is a tributary of the river.
Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Shale policy associate for the CWA, says the main concern of this wastewater being dumped in the rivers is the chance that hazardous chemicals from the drilling sites will contaminate drinking water.
“The biggest concern is that the chemicals, metals and salts that these treatment facilities cannot properly remove will affect the quality of the Monongahela River which will ultimately affect the drinking water quality for nearly a million people in the Allegheny County area,” Hvozdovich says.
The groups are aiming to stall these authorities from accepting wastewater until the proper filtration machines can be installed. Hvozdovich also points out that the facilities need to acquire permits and hear public input on whether accepting wastewater should continue, something both McKeesport and Franklin Township have failed to do.
The groups hope the lawsuit deters other sewer authorities in the region from taking drilling wastewater in the future.
The clean water environmental groups filed notice in federal court in Pittsburgh of their intent to sue the Municipal Authority of McKeesport and the Franklin Township Sewer Authority. The plaintiffs claim McKeesport’s wastewater goes directly into the Mon River and Franklin Township’s enters the 10-mile Creek which is a tributary of the river.
Steve Hvozdovich, Marcellus Shale policy associate for the CWA, says the main concern of this wastewater being dumped in the rivers is the chance that hazardous chemicals from the drilling sites will contaminate drinking water.
“The biggest concern is that the chemicals, metals and salts that these treatment facilities cannot properly remove will affect the quality of the Monongahela River which will ultimately affect the drinking water quality for nearly a million people in the Allegheny County area,” Hvozdovich says.
The groups are aiming to stall these authorities from accepting wastewater until the proper filtration machines can be installed. Hvozdovich also points out that the facilities need to acquire permits and hear public input on whether accepting wastewater should continue, something both McKeesport and Franklin Township have failed to do.
The groups hope the lawsuit deters other sewer authorities in the region from taking drilling wastewater in the future.
PennEnvironment: Shale Panel Seems Like "Stalling Tactic"
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s new Marcellus Shale Commission leaves some environmental advocates cold.
During his budget address, Corbett announced a 30-member panel aimed at drafting drilling policies. The commission, headed by Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley, will “oversee how we can build around this new industry and how we can make certain we do this while protecting our lands, our drinking water, our air, and our communities, all the while growing our workforce,” according to Corbett.
Erika Staaf, the clean water advocate for environmental group PennEnvironment, said the new commission seems like a stalling tactic. “We know what the policy handles are that are needed to address the problems and the dangers related to Marcellus Shale gas drilling. We know what the regulations are that need to be updated,” she said. “Legislators have already drafted countless pieces of legislation to address Marcellus Shale gas drilling, and the updates for regulations.”
Staaf is also upset a third of the commission is made up of people with ties to the drilling industry. Representatives from Range Resources, Exxon, Chesapeake and other energy companies will sit on the panel, as will former energy executive Terry Pegula, whose family donated $280,000 to Corbett’s gubernatorial campaign. State and county-level government officials are also on the commission, as are a few environmentalists. “Really, the deck is stacked against them,” said Staaf. “There’s a handful of environmental groups, but when it comes down to a vote with only 15 to 20 percent being from the environmental community, it doesn’t sound like they have much of a voice on this panel.”
Corbett wants the commission to issue its report within 120 days.
During his budget address, Corbett announced a 30-member panel aimed at drafting drilling policies. The commission, headed by Lieutenant Governor Jim Cawley, will “oversee how we can build around this new industry and how we can make certain we do this while protecting our lands, our drinking water, our air, and our communities, all the while growing our workforce,” according to Corbett.
Erika Staaf, the clean water advocate for environmental group PennEnvironment, said the new commission seems like a stalling tactic. “We know what the policy handles are that are needed to address the problems and the dangers related to Marcellus Shale gas drilling. We know what the regulations are that need to be updated,” she said. “Legislators have already drafted countless pieces of legislation to address Marcellus Shale gas drilling, and the updates for regulations.”
Staaf is also upset a third of the commission is made up of people with ties to the drilling industry. Representatives from Range Resources, Exxon, Chesapeake and other energy companies will sit on the panel, as will former energy executive Terry Pegula, whose family donated $280,000 to Corbett’s gubernatorial campaign. State and county-level government officials are also on the commission, as are a few environmentalists. “Really, the deck is stacked against them,” said Staaf. “There’s a handful of environmental groups, but when it comes down to a vote with only 15 to 20 percent being from the environmental community, it doesn’t sound like they have much of a voice on this panel.”
Corbett wants the commission to issue its report within 120 days.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Radiation Levels Normal in 7 PA Rivers
A week after the New York Times reported high levels of radioactivity in natural gas drilling wastewater, the Department of Environmental Protection has released data from tests monitoring Pennsylvania rivers.
Studies conducted in November and December in seven Pennsylvania rivers, including the Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Beaver and the Conemaugh, show “normal” or below-average levels of radiation. “Here are the facts,” said acting DEP Secretary Michael Krancer in a statement. “All samples were at or below background levels of radioactivity; and all samples showed levels below the federal drinking water standard for Radium 226 and 228.”
The results come nine days after the high-profile New York Times story which warned waste treatment facilities don’t have the capacity to remove radon and other elements from drilling wastewater. “… [C]oncern is based partly on a 2009 study, never made public, written by an E.P.A. consultant who concluded that some sewage treatment plants were incapable of removing certain drilling waste contaminants and were probably violating the law,” wrote the paper. “The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways.”
DEP conducted tests after the Times first contacted DEP about radiation concerns, according to the initial article.
Earlier on Monday, before the results were released, former DEP Secretary John Hanger told WITF-FM that radiation concerns are overblown. “The radioactivity that comes – that it is in the wastewater is a result of coming into contact with those elements naturally. They’re in the ground, and there’s a certain amount of radioactivity associated with the ground,” he said. “There is a lot of information. There’s been a lot of review. I understand the sort of - the dramatic effect of the word “radiation” and “drinking water.” And we don’t need to argue about this. Let’s get the results of the test. It’s underway. I think they should be testing everywhere.”
Hanger said DEP took a hard look at radiation levels during his tenure, and concluded it wasn’t a threat. Among the questions asked, he said, were, “Do these numbers pose a threat to gas drilling workers? The answer was no. Do they pose a threat to anybody who transports the materials – truck drivers? The answer was no. do these numbers pose a threat to anybody who processes the water at a plant? The answer was no. And then last and most importantly, do these numbers post a threat to our drinking water and the public? And the answer was no.” He’s criticized the Times report at his blog, johnhanger.blogspot.com.
Two western Pennsylvania water suppliers, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and the Pennsylvania American Water Company, are conducting their own radiological tests, as well.
Studies conducted in November and December in seven Pennsylvania rivers, including the Allegheny, the Monongahela, the Beaver and the Conemaugh, show “normal” or below-average levels of radiation. “Here are the facts,” said acting DEP Secretary Michael Krancer in a statement. “All samples were at or below background levels of radioactivity; and all samples showed levels below the federal drinking water standard for Radium 226 and 228.”
The results come nine days after the high-profile New York Times story which warned waste treatment facilities don’t have the capacity to remove radon and other elements from drilling wastewater. “… [C]oncern is based partly on a 2009 study, never made public, written by an E.P.A. consultant who concluded that some sewage treatment plants were incapable of removing certain drilling waste contaminants and were probably violating the law,” wrote the paper. “The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways.”
DEP conducted tests after the Times first contacted DEP about radiation concerns, according to the initial article.
Earlier on Monday, before the results were released, former DEP Secretary John Hanger told WITF-FM that radiation concerns are overblown. “The radioactivity that comes – that it is in the wastewater is a result of coming into contact with those elements naturally. They’re in the ground, and there’s a certain amount of radioactivity associated with the ground,” he said. “There is a lot of information. There’s been a lot of review. I understand the sort of - the dramatic effect of the word “radiation” and “drinking water.” And we don’t need to argue about this. Let’s get the results of the test. It’s underway. I think they should be testing everywhere.”
Hanger said DEP took a hard look at radiation levels during his tenure, and concluded it wasn’t a threat. Among the questions asked, he said, were, “Do these numbers pose a threat to gas drilling workers? The answer was no. Do they pose a threat to anybody who transports the materials – truck drivers? The answer was no. do these numbers pose a threat to anybody who processes the water at a plant? The answer was no. And then last and most importantly, do these numbers post a threat to our drinking water and the public? And the answer was no.” He’s criticized the Times report at his blog, johnhanger.blogspot.com.
Two western Pennsylvania water suppliers, the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority and the Pennsylvania American Water Company, are conducting their own radiological tests, as well.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Marcellus Gas Tanks Catch Fire
A malfunctioning heater in a gas collection tank caused the 400-barrel tank in Washington County to catch fire this morning. The MarkWest Liberty Midstream Resources compressor station in Mount Pleasant caught fire around 5:15 this morning. The fire caused the hatch of an adjacent tank to blow off due to the heat. A worker used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire about 40 minutes after it started. Both tanks were essentially empty with only residual gas remaining inside. A third tank about 10-percent full of flowback water did not ignite.
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Katy Gresh says an inspector was on the scene shortly after the accident was called into 911. He left the compressor station after determining there was no release of contaminated water and there was no ongoing threat to the environment.
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Katy Gresh says an inspector was on the scene shortly after the accident was called into 911. He left the compressor station after determining there was no release of contaminated water and there was no ongoing threat to the environment.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Proposed 3 Year Ban on New Drilling in PA Forests
A group of Democratic State Senators is trying to head off an end to the moratorium on new drilling permits in state forest land. This comes after Governor Tom Corbett last week repealed a 4 month old policy instituted by the Rendell Administration aimed at limiting any environmental damage caused by Marcellus Shale gas drilling in state parks.
Michael Krancer, acting Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, called the Rendell policy regarding state parks "unnecessary." He said the DEP would continue to review all comments from interested parties concerning drilling on state lands. The state owns the "surface rights" to the state parks but mineral rights are privately owned and court rulings have indicated that the mineral rights owners must be given reasonable access.
Governor Corbett indicated earlier that he also intends to end the moratorium, issued in October by then Governor Rendell,on awarding new leases for drilling in state forests. The state, which owns nearly 85% of the mineral rights in its forests, has leased about a third of the 2.1 million acres of forests for drilling.
State Senator Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny County) is co-sponsoring legislation that would enact a 3 year moratorium on additional drilling leases in the state forests...."We have to be concerned about the environment. We have to be concerned about our green spaces. We have to be concerned about our water, our water supply, our watersheds."
Fontana says they also have to think about the people..."We have residents of this state that are campers, that are hunters, that are fishermen that don't want to go out and pitch a tent and look out of their tent and see drilling rigs."
The legislation faces an uphill climb in the General Assembly and could quite likely be vetoed by Governor Corbett.
Michael Krancer, acting Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection, called the Rendell policy regarding state parks "unnecessary." He said the DEP would continue to review all comments from interested parties concerning drilling on state lands. The state owns the "surface rights" to the state parks but mineral rights are privately owned and court rulings have indicated that the mineral rights owners must be given reasonable access.
Governor Corbett indicated earlier that he also intends to end the moratorium, issued in October by then Governor Rendell,on awarding new leases for drilling in state forests. The state, which owns nearly 85% of the mineral rights in its forests, has leased about a third of the 2.1 million acres of forests for drilling.
State Senator Wayne Fontana (D-Allegheny County) is co-sponsoring legislation that would enact a 3 year moratorium on additional drilling leases in the state forests...."We have to be concerned about the environment. We have to be concerned about our green spaces. We have to be concerned about our water, our water supply, our watersheds."
Fontana says they also have to think about the people..."We have residents of this state that are campers, that are hunters, that are fishermen that don't want to go out and pitch a tent and look out of their tent and see drilling rigs."
The legislation faces an uphill climb in the General Assembly and could quite likely be vetoed by Governor Corbett.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Gas Well Blast Injures Three
State officials say an explosion and fire at a Marcellus Shale gas well in Washington County sent three workers to the hospital. Emergency officials say the blast in Avella, Independence Township was reported shortly before 6:30 last night. Department of Environmental Protection spokesperson Katy Gresh says workers were transferring water used in the hydraulic fracturing process into five tanks at the time of the blast. Several tanks caught fire and crews battled the blaze for hours. Two of the injured workers were taken to the hospital by helicopter and the other was taken by ambulance. Gresh says the three wells at the site appear unaffected and a spokesperson for Chesapeake Appalachia LLC Powers says there was no danger to the public.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Study Supports Marcellus Drilling
Supporters of proposed Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling unveiled a study composed by Penn State University researchers. Associate Professor of Natural Gas Engineering Robert Watson helped author the report and says one of the major concerns surrounding the drilling – water – is not an issue of great impact. Watson says water used to drill wouldn’t pollute groundwater and would represent only a small amount of the state’s total consumption. Watson says that gas could be “the biggest thing since steel” for the Commonwealth, if we play our cards right by leasing state gamelands to drillers and not taxing extractions. He says the industry created by Marcellus Shale drilling could last 100 years.
State Representatives Tim Solobay and Brian Ellis, who co-chair the House Oil and Gas Caucus, say the governor’s plan to tax drilled natural gas would harm, not help, state revenues. “We don’t believe the numbers he’s projecting of how much we would collect are accurate, because we don’t believe we’d get the growth that he anticipates,” says Ellis. They say the jobs created by the wells would extend past drillers – transportation, management, and professional experts would be necessary employees as well, they say, further stimulating the state’s job market.
Governor Rendell has proposed taxing gas extraction from the shale formation to help balance the budget. An administration spokesman says the tax would not negatively impact drilling interest because other states have already imposed taxes on the drilling.
Meantime, the public interest group PennFuture says the study released today is "replete with fuzzy logic and even fuzzier math.”
President and C-E-O Jan Jarrett says the the study's main finding that a severance tax would drive up the cost has a very basic flaw....“There is no cheaper gas anywhere, with or without a severance tax. Pennsylvania’s natural gas deposits have a huge competitive advantage, with higher Btu ratings than supplies elsewhere, and reduced delivery costs, since the gas is close to lucrative northeast markets. And I don’t care how much they dress it up with a study, this fact cannot be denied."
Jarrett says there's no indication that the tax will harm the industry..."Pennsylvania is 15th out of 32 gas-producing states, nearly all of whom have a severance tax. The gas is here, and the industry will drill where the gas is."
State Representatives Tim Solobay and Brian Ellis, who co-chair the House Oil and Gas Caucus, say the governor’s plan to tax drilled natural gas would harm, not help, state revenues. “We don’t believe the numbers he’s projecting of how much we would collect are accurate, because we don’t believe we’d get the growth that he anticipates,” says Ellis. They say the jobs created by the wells would extend past drillers – transportation, management, and professional experts would be necessary employees as well, they say, further stimulating the state’s job market.
Governor Rendell has proposed taxing gas extraction from the shale formation to help balance the budget. An administration spokesman says the tax would not negatively impact drilling interest because other states have already imposed taxes on the drilling.
Meantime, the public interest group PennFuture says the study released today is "replete with fuzzy logic and even fuzzier math.”
President and C-E-O Jan Jarrett says the the study's main finding that a severance tax would drive up the cost has a very basic flaw....“There is no cheaper gas anywhere, with or without a severance tax. Pennsylvania’s natural gas deposits have a huge competitive advantage, with higher Btu ratings than supplies elsewhere, and reduced delivery costs, since the gas is close to lucrative northeast markets. And I don’t care how much they dress it up with a study, this fact cannot be denied."
Jarrett says there's no indication that the tax will harm the industry..."Pennsylvania is 15th out of 32 gas-producing states, nearly all of whom have a severance tax. The gas is here, and the industry will drill where the gas is."
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Marcellus Shale Subject of Dueling Press Conferences
A pair of press conferences at the state capitol yesterday took opposing the issue on whether or not to impose a tax on natural gas extractions in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale. Governor Ed Rendell wants to impose a 5% tax on natural gas drilled from the Marcellus Shale formation, which experts say has the potential to develop into a major domestic energy source in the coming years. Environmental group PennFuture held an event at the Capitol’s media center supporting the plan, and urging lawmakers to set aside a portion of tax revenues for environmental protection efforts. House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, a Luzerne County Democrat, spoke at the event and says, “This is an opportunity at the beginning of a process to make sure that we guarantee that we do not make the fundamental historical mistakes of natural resource extraction that we’ve seen in Pennsylvania time and time again.” Down the hall, at the exact same time, lawmakers and representatives from the energy industry were decrying the severance tax, saying it would drive drillers out of the commonwealth and cost Pennsylvania millions of dollars in lost jobs and revenue.
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