Marcellus Shale Newswire 06/03/2011

Vol. 2, Issue 12

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

PenneEnvironment

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Above Ground: Gas drilling sparks neighbor disputes

By Erich Schwartzel

May 29, 2011

http://shale.sites.post-gazette.com/index.php/news/business/23973

Paul Parker is the one of the only people left in Hopewell Township in Washington County who hasn’t signed a lease to a gas drilling company. He has spent the past two years campaigning and speaking his mind against the Marcellus shale gas drilling companies at the expense of his relationships with his neighbors. 

 

Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

IUP students to test Beaver Run Reservoir for drilling problems

By Rich Cholodofsky

June 1, 2011

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/westmoreland/s_739800.html

The Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County is paying Indiana University of Pennsylvania $55,000 this year to test and analyze the water from the Beaver Run Reservoir. This is to address concerns from customers that chemicals from the gas wells on the 5,000 acre property have infiltrated the water supply. The Beaver Run Reservoir supplies 150,000 residents with water. This is independent from Consol Energy and will be tested four times this year.

 

Scranton Times-Tribune

Observatory watches gas-drilling activity

By Laura Legere

May 30, 2011

http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/observatory-warily-watches-gas-drilling-activity-1.1154596#axzz1O7wkp8AB

Less than three miles from the Thomas G. Cupillari Observatory plans to drill an exploratory natural gas well are already under way. If there is a significant amount of gas in the Marcellus Shale then the Southwestern Energy Production Co. will drill six production wells. The researchers at the observatory are concerned that the lights from the well that are on all night will scatter upwards and obscure the dark sky. There is not another comparable source of light for miles. 

 

Pittsburgh’s WDUQ News

The Changing Face of Washington County

By Erika Beras

June 2, 2011

http://wduqnews.blogspot.com/2011/06/changing-faceof-washington-county.html

In 2006 there were 24 permits in Washington County for Marcellus Shale drilling, but last year there were 250 permits issued. Throughout the Marcellus Shale drilling debate, one thing can be agree upon, that physically Washington County has changed drastically. The county itself is mostly rural with only 200,000 residents but people like Wayne Thompson look out their window to see a gas rig only a few hundred feet away. 

 

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Fracking suspected as link to quakes

By David Jolly

June 2, 2011

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11153/1150850-82.stm

On Wednesday, a British company temporarily halted hydraulic fracking as they are unsure if it set off two small earthquakes near Lancashire, England. “We take our responsibilities very seriously,” Caudrill Chief Executve Mark Miller said, “and that is why we have stopped fracking operations, to share information and consult with the relevant authorities and other experts.”

 

The Philadelphia Inquirer 

Suit seeks study of effects of gas drilling on Delaware River Basin

By Sandy Bauers

June 1, 2011

http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20110601_Suit_seeks_study_of_effects_of_gas_drilling_on_Delaware_River_Basin.html

The New York Attorney General filed suit on Tuesday against the federal government because they did not complete a study of environmental impacts of hydraulic fracking on the Delaware River Basin before dismissing a move that would extend a moratorium in the area. The river provides drinking water for 15 million people and so the Attorney General wants to understand the possible risks before making any decisions about natural gas drilling in the area. 

 

Central PA’s Pennlive

Environmental groups submit proposals to Marcellus Shale Commission

By Donald Gilliland

June 1, 2011

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/06/environmental_groups_submit_pr.html

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, The Nature Conservancy, Pennsylvania Environmental Council, and Western Pennsylvania Conservancy submitted 20 proposals to the Marcellus Shale Advisory commission on Tuesday. All four of the groups agreed on 14 of the proposals which included tighter regulation of wastewater, drilling sites should be held to the same standards for erosion as construction sites, and reduction of forest fragmentation.