New Regs for Fracking on Federal Lands near Release

October 5, 2011

The Interior Department is within weeks of releasing new regulations for drilling for natural gas on federal lands, according to statements made by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar at a breakfast event  for reporters hosted today by the Christian Science Monitor in Washington, DC.  A report by the Monitor quotes Salazar as saying, “Hydraulic fracking is [...]

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WVU Researcher Studies Methane Sources in Mon Watershed

October 4, 2011

Pam Casey reported in The State Journal today that “WVU’s Shikha Sharma believes that residents and researchers should be aware of what already exists in the waters — and where it came from.”   Sharma, an assistant professor at WVU, intends to employ isotope identification to distinguish biogenic methane from thermogenic methane in aquifers and [...]

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Control the Boom or Face Federal Regulation Warns Industry Advocate

October 4, 2011

Former US Senator Byron Dorgan was the keynote speaker at a two-day American Petroleum Institute conference in Pittsburgh that kicked off today.  ”A wave of new U.S. oil and gas projects will face heightened federal regulation if the petroleum industry and state regulators can’t control the side effects of the boom, …. Dorgan warned an [...]

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PA Governor Proposes Impact Fee, Environmental/Public Health Rules

October 4, 2011

On Monday Governor Tom Corbett announced his proposal for new laws for the Marcellus shale industry in Pennsylvania. The complete text of the 4-page outline form proposal can be viewed here. The proposal has already come under fire from some enviro/public health groups for being weak.  The Delaware RiverKeeper Network believes that the costs of [...]

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Public Land, Public Projects, and Gas Revenue

October 2, 2011

Infrastructure, including stormwater systems, roads, bridges, water treatment plants, and locks and dams, is aging across the nation.   Federal and state programs are having trouble keeping up with necessary maintenance and modernization; regional agencies, such as the 10-county Southwestern Pennsylvania Commission, are a sensible solution since ailing infrastructure often causes regional problems (ex. inadequate waste [...]

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Following Wetzel County Tour, Concerned Pocahontas County Commission Writes WV DEP

October 1, 2011

As reported in a previous post, on September 22nd, Pocahontas County Commissioners traveled roughly four hours across the state of West Virginia for a five hour tour of the Chesapeake Energy gas fields of Wetzel County. After speaking with landowners and visiting well sites and compressor stations, are the commissioners still concerned about the potential [...]

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Fracking Starts in Morgantown

September 30, 2011

Citizen protests and city council  resolutions failed in the effort to block fracking near the Monongahela River in Morgantown.  Industry won the battle in court and Morgantown got fracked.   The State Journal reported that Northeast Natural Energy initiated the hydraulic fracturing of the first of two permitted wells at the Morgantown Industrial Park on [...]

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EPA Hears 108 Speakers at Pittsburgh Session on Proposed New Air Quality Rules for Natural Gas Industry

September 29, 2011

People living near Marcellus gas wells as well as various environmental organizations called for fast adoption of strong, health-protective, air pollution emissions standards for oil and gas well drilling operations at a daylong U.S. Environmental Protection Agency public hearing in Pittsburgh on September 27th. All but a dozen of the 108 speakers who signed up [...]

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WVU Dean Says We Need Study of Public Health Impacts of Fracking

September 29, 2011

The Intelligencer/Wheeling News Register: Dr. Alan Ducatman believes that there is a need for research focusing on identifying public health threats related to hydraulic fracking. Ducatman,  Chair of the WVU School of Community Medicine and interim Dean of the planned WVU School of Public Health, spoke at the program “Marcellus Shale Drilling: A Health Perspective” [...]

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Morgantown Misses Deadline to Appeal Rejection of Fracking Ban by Circuit Court

September 27, 2011

City of Morgantown The City of Morgantown missed the deadline for notifying the WV Supreme Court that it would appeal the overturn of its ban on hydraulic fracturing, reports WTRF.com.  The notification period expired on September 11th some thirty days after the decision by Judge Susan Tucker.  “I think it’s safe to say we overlooked the recent [...]

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