By April 15th, local governments in Pennsylvania were required to complete paperwork related to how the shale gas well fee money was spent in 2012. However, millions of the money distributed under Act 13 remains unaccounted for because local governments were confused about how the forms were to be completed, NPR reports. A Public Utility Commission (PUC) spokesperson pointed out that it may be hard to track down and verify all the information, because under the law, the PUC does not have the authority to audit local governments. Next year, the PUC plans to switch from paper to electronic reporting to improve the reporting process.
At its annual shareholder meeting today, Consol Energy announced that it intends to pursue – and focus on – additional drilling in the Appalachian Gas Fields. Financing for that drilling, the company indicated, may come from selling off and/or restructuring other pieces of its energy portfolio. The Post-Gazette has more on the company’s plans here.
As Pam Kasey explains in her May 2, 2013 article in the print edition of the West Virginia State Journal, the industry has voluntarily come together to be “good actors” in mineral development by incorporating input from oil and gas industry leaders, environmental groups and philanthropic organizations to design a certification program for gas producers in Appalachia, including West Virginia and Pennsylvania, under a new organization called the Center for Sustainable Shale Development based in Pittsburgh. This two year CCSD certification, while voluntary, examines 15 of the most critical areas in natural gas production to ensure producers are following the highest standards and comply with efforts to make production of natural gas in Appalachia as ‘green’ as possible.
Voters rejectedan anti-fracking referendum proposed by Frackfree Mahoning Valley by an unofficial count of 57-43. The proposal was denominated as the “Community Bill of Rights” and would have banned hydraulic fracturing inside of Youngstown city limits. Even if passed, a prohibition would not have any effect because drilling is regulated by the state and not cities. However, the vote demonstrates that there is public support for developing natural resources from the Utica Shale formation.
DTE Energy, Spectra Energy Corp. and Enbridge Inc. are jointly developing the proposed Nexus Gas Transmission Project, a proposed 250-mile natural gas pipeline which would connect production in eastern Ohio to the existing pipeline grid in southeastern Michigan. The proposed pipeline would serve distribution companies, industrial energy consumers and natural gas-fired power generators in the Ohio, Michigan and Ontario areas. Construction would follow existing utility corridors and 50-foot wide easements already acquired by the partners. Pending market demand and the necessary permitting and approval process, the project is expected to be operating as early as November 2016. For more information, click here.
The Republic reports that Senator Joe Scarnati, R-Jefferson, recently introduced Senate Bill 555. The bill would create a health advisory panel to review public health data for areas where shale gas extraction occurs and determine the health impacts and benefits such operations. The Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission suggested creating a permanent health advisory panel.
An energy company’s proposal to expand its use caverns left behind from a century of salt mining in New York’s Finger Lakes Region for the storage of natural gas has drawn the ire of several community members that oppose the plans. The company would expand its use of depleted salt caverns in the vicinity of Seneca Lake, one of several narrow lakes in west-central Upstate New York, for the storage of liquid propane and natural gas.
For more than a century, companies have been mining salt beside Seneca Lake by drilling approximately 2,000 feet into a salt formation and injecting water to dissolve the salt. Previous owners used the remaining Seneca Lake caverns to store natural gas for decades. Opponents of the proposal said that an accident at two proposed brine ponds may jeopardize Seneca Lake, which provides drinking water to 100,000 people. Critics of the proposal also pointed to a 2004 explosion at a Texas salt storage facility and a 2012 salt mine collapse in Louisiana.
The federal Bureau of Land Management’s proposal for regulating hydraulic fracturing on federal lands, which was submitted to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review in January 2013, is expected to be released soon in the form of a new draft proposal. During a teleconference on April 30, 2013, U.S. Department of Interior Secretary Sally Jewell remarked that the agency will provide a new opportunity for public comment rather than finalizing the existing draft proposal. The existing draft would address well integrity, wastewater management, and the disclosure of non-proprietary chemical information. Notably, the existing draft was sent to OMB before Sally Jewell, a former oil industry engineer who is familiar with fracking, was confirmed as Secretary of the Interior.
U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has announced that the Environment and Public Works Committee will hold a vote May 9, 2013, on Gina McCarthy’s nomination to serve as the next Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. McCarthy appeared before the Committee in April to discuss her qualifications for the position. Currently, there is no timetable for the full Senate to vote on her nomination.
Range Resources argued in the Court of Common Pleas of Washington County, Pennsylvania this week that it was improperly denied conditional use permits to place well pads in Robinson Township. Counsel for Range Resources argued that the Township Supervisors did not follow the correct process, actively sought members of the public to speak out against Range Resources at public hearings, and held the proposed wells to a higher standard than required by the Township for wells approved in 2010. The Township’s counsel stated in the hearing that Range resources did not provide enough information in its conditional use applications.
In two decisions issued on May 2, 2013, a New York State intermediate appellate court held that the New York Oil, Gas, and Solution Mining Law (“OGSML”) does not preempt a municipality’s authority to enact a zoning ordinance to prohibit natural gas drilling within its jurisdiction. The rulings affirmed two trial court decisions which upheld local drilling bans in the upstate New York towns of Dryden and Middlefield. The intermediate appellate court concluded that, although the zoning ordinances at issue would have an “incidental effect” on the natural gas industry, such ordinances were not the type of regulatory provisions the state legislature intended to preempt in the OGSML. The attorneys for the parties challenging the zoning ordinances will reportedly seek appeals to the Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court.
Chesapeake Energy Corp. remains poised to take advantage of the Utica shale once the infrastructure is in place for gas transportation and processing. Chesapeake currently has 66 wells in production in Ohio, with 183 more awaiting either pipelines or completions. By year end, the company hopes to be producing 330 million cubic feet of gas per day. There are currently 14 Chesapeake rigs operating in Ohio.
Ohio House Democrats introduced a bill on Wednesday that would make it illegal to dispose of oilfield waste, also known as brine, in any of Ohio’s 179 active Class II injection wells. Under current state law, brine must be either reused at another well site or disposed of underground. Should the bill pass, the use of brine on roads, used as a pre-treatment for ice in the winter and to suppress dust on dirt roads in the summer, would also be prohibited. However, given the track record of other similar and unsuccessful attempts at legislation, the possibility of such a ban passing the Republican-controlled legislature is remote.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection will present an Oil & Gas Workshop at the Charleston Civic Center on May 16th beginning at 8:00 a.m. Speakers will address a wide variety of topics of interest to operators, contractors, consultants and attorneys- including waste water issues, permitting, compliance, pipeline safety, and horizontal well issues. To attend the workshop, contact B. J. Chestnut at B.J.Chestnut@wv.gov by May 10, 2013.
New York State officials said on May 1, 2013 that there is “no timetable on a decision” to lift the state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing. The Commissioner of the New York Department of Health said that new information obtained during a recent meeting with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will be included in the state’s public health review of hydraulic fracturing. A February 12, 2013 press release from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation previously indicated that the public health review would be complete “in a few weeks.”