Marcellus Shale Newswire 11/04/2011

Vol. 2, Issue 34

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

Explainer

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

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20111029/NEWS01/110290359/That-boom-you-hear-coming-from-Bradford?odyssey=nav%7Chead

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.