Decision Upheld to Fast-Track Drilling in Allegheny Forest

September 26, 2011

The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled to uphold the 2009 District court decision to block the US Forest Service’s attempt to enact conservative policy on permitting drilling in the Allegheny National Forest.  The Forest Service enacted a policy that called for a multiyear environmental review to assess impacts prior to allowing drilling in [...]

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Pocahontas County Commissioners Tour Marcellus Well Pads in Wetzel County

September 26, 2011

Pocahontas County Commissioners traveled to Wetzel County on September 22nd to see firsthand the impacts of Marcellus Shale gas drilling. Commissioners David Fleming, Jamie Walker and Martin Saffer spent more than five hours speaking with landowners, visiting well sites, compressor stations and driving on the county’s back roads. The tour of the Chesapeake Energy gas [...]

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Science Lags as Real Health Problems Emerge Near Gas Fields in Six States

September 25, 2011

Gas Mask Needed for Farm Chores (ProPublica) Since 2008, ProPublica has reported on hundreds of cases of water contamination in more than six states where drilling and fracking are taking place as well as the difficulties of handling the vast quantities of waste the drilling processes produce. In July, when the EPA proposed new emissions rules [...]

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Economic Policy Institute Says New Air Pollution Rules Will Benefit the Nation

September 24, 2011

Legislation co-sponsored by Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (WV) and Rep. David McKinley (WV) would delay any EPA action on a cross-state pollution rule and another measure to reduce toxic air emissions from coal-fired power plants. The measure also would create an interagency panel that would study how EPA proposals would impact competitiveness, energy prices and [...]

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Sunrise Project Involves 45 Miles of Gas Pipeline in Wetzel and Greene Counties

September 23, 2011

Pipeline Construction The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has given notice to Equitrans LP, a subsidiary of EQT Corp., to proceed with construction of the Sunrise Project. The project consists of installing about 41.5 miles of 24-inch-diameter pipeline and 2.7 miles of 16-inch-diameter pipeline that runs from Wetzel County WV into Greene County PA to a new [...]

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Drilling Hazards and Homes: How Close is too Close?

September 22, 2011

As draft legislation to regulate horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing in West Virginia is making progress in committee, WV SORO takes up dispute with one particular amendment that has not been proposed yet: the buffer between a home and a well pad.   As the draft legislation stands, a rig could be set up 200 feet (or less, possibly) from [...]

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West Virginia Gubernatorial Candidates and Shale Gas Drilling

September 20, 2011

On September 7th three West Virginia candidates for governor, Tomblin, Maloney, and Baber participated in a televised debate in Wheeling. Shale gas drilling was one of the points discussed, and it has been raised several times as a campaign issue over the course of the gubernatorial race.  On September 13th the West Virginia Broadcasters Association [...]

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Natural Gas Severance Taxes Collected in West Virginia Less Than Expected

September 18, 2011

Natural Gas Price Decreases Natural gas severance-tax collections in West Virginia represent about 5% of the industry revenue from selling the gas, which totaled $52.8 million for fiscal 2011. The state shares 10% of net natural-gas severance tax proceeds.  Of this 10%, producing counties get 75% and the remaining 25% is divided among all counties [...]

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Public Hearing on New EPA Fracking Rules on September 27th in Pittsburgh

September 17, 2011

David Lawrence Convention Center The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will hold the first of three public hearings on proposed oil and gas emissions standards, from 9 am to 8 pm on  Tuesday, September 27th at the David Lawrence Convention Center in  downtown Pittsburgh. Hearings will also be held September 28th in Denver and September 29th [...]

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Protesting at the Morgantown Industrial Park Underway, Fracking Scheduled for September 22nd

September 16, 2011

Pickets March on Morgantown Drill Site A number of Morgantown area residents associated with the West Virginia for a Moratorium on Marcellus drilling and fracking (WV4MOM) held two separate roadside protests Thursday near a Marcellus shale drilling site just a few miles from downtown Morgantown, according to Radio WAJR. The group continues to call for a [...]

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