Wastewater Well in Ohio Triggered 11 (or more) Earthquakes

January 2, 2012

A wastewater disposal well in the Youngstown area of northeast Ohio almost certainly caused 11 minor earthquakes since last spring, a seismologist investigating the quakes said on January 2nd.   Research is continuing on the now-shut injection well at Youngstown and seismic activity, but it might take a year for the wastewater-related rumblings in the earth [...]

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Is Shale Gas a “Resource Curse” or Will the Boom Help Us?

January 1, 2012

Sean O’leary had an article on December 24th in the Martinsburg Journal News entitled “Will our natural gas boom help us?” This is a timely question, and we wish there were a good answer. Let’s see what Sean O’leary had to say: With the recent enactment of rules regulating the extraction of natural gas from [...]

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Chesapeake Sued over Hundreds of Voided Michigan Leases

December 29, 2011

There are plenty of legally sound business practices that are morally questionable.  One example is creating a shell company– a company that only exists on paper and doesn’t actually hold any assets.  A corporation could create a shell company for several reasons (e.g. dodge taxes*, hide risks from share holders, protect reputation, etc).  In the [...]

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Black, Foamy Water Worries Fracking Neighbors in S.W. PA

December 26, 2011

Pennsylvania residents blame illness on natural gas extraction There is a lot of construction near Janet McIntyre’s home in southwestern Pennsylvania. It’s not new houses, but new industry: 10 gas wells, a compressor station and multiple drilling-waste ponds. McIntyre never worried about her water before. When she looks out on the wooded rural landscape from [...]

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WV Business Property Taxes Are Lower Than Ohio, According to WV-CBP

December 23, 2011

 Will the business personal property tax deter a cracker plant? THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS FROM THE WEST VIRGINIA CENTER ON BUDGET & POLICY, AND IS REPRODUCED HERE IN COMPLETE FORM TO PRESERVE THE FULL MEANING AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE ARTICLE. A recent Charleston Daily Mail article about a proposed tax incentive designed to lure a potential “ethane [...]

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The State of Ohio Offers Incentives for an Ethane ‘Cracker’ Plant

December 23, 2011

Recent news is that Ohio is competing with Pennsylvania and West Virginia for a multibillion-dollar ‘cracker’ chemical plant that would process ethane from the Utica and Marcellus shales. Shell Chemical is expected to decide in early 2012 where the ethane cracker plant will be built. It is reported that the company has looked at more [...]

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Fracking Contamination ‘Will Get Worse’

December 21, 2011

An expert in tracking leaking methane from oil and gas wells says a groundbreaking U.S. federal study on hydraulic fracturing highlights not only an old and growing problem, but the need for tighter regulations in the shale gas industry. “The shale gas boom combined with hydraulic fracking will cause wellbores to leak more often than [...]

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The Economic Benefits of Shale Natural Gas in OH, WV & PA

December 20, 2011

A new report from Ohio State University raises some questions that political leaders seem to want to ignore about the economic benefits of West Virginia’s Marcellus boom, as shown in the Sustained Outrage blog of the Charleston (WV) Gazette.  The report is called Economic Value of Shale Natural Gas in Ohio and was prepared by Amanda Weinstein and [...]

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Myths in the Public Relations Messages from the Gas Industry

December 20, 2011

Prof. Anthony Ingraffea Four myths frequently reported by the gas industry were recently described by Professor Anthony Ingraffea, who is a Faculty Fellow at the Atkinson Center for a Sustainable Future at Cornell University: Myth 1. Fracking is a 60-year-old, safe, well proven technology – – Yes, fracking is 60 years old. But using this [...]

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Manypenny Working to Fortify Marcellus Bill

December 19, 2011

Delegate Mike Manypenny (D – Taylor) is preparing to champion for surface owners rights and environmental/public health  protections in the upcoming January session of the WV Legislature.  Mannix Porterfield reported for the Herald tribune that Manypenny has developed 23 bills because he thinks the recently inked Marcellus bill didn’t do enough to safeguard the environment [...]

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