Articles in the Drilling Down series from The New York Times examine the risks of natural-gas drilling and efforts to regulate this rapidly growing industry. more...
Pittsburg dispatch., March 17, 1891, SECOND PART, Page 12,
A Dry Wildcat - The Nockamixon well, on the J.H. Stein farm, Bucks County, drilled by the Eastern Oil Company, has been finished and is a duster. The well was a wildcat, and was sunk to a depth of 2,100 feet, finding nothing resembling a sand rock.
What's New!
Network Monitors Water Quality in Shale Gas
Drilling Region
The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC), based in Harrisburg, Penn., has established a 50-station remote water quality monitoring network to provide continuous, real-time data on local streams and rivers in an effort to determine whether fracking is impacting water quality in the basin. more...
Feds link water contamination to fracking for the first time
In a first, federal environment officials today scientifically linked underground water pollution with hydraulic fracturing, concluding that contaminants found in central Wyoming were likely caused by the gas drilling process.
http://www.epa.gov/region8/superfund/wy/pavillion/EPA_ReportOnPavillion_Dec-8-2011.pdf
DRBC cancels vote on fracking regs
No meeting on November 21
In a dramatic turn of events, the DRBC failed to gain a consensus to adopt its fracking regulations for the Delaware River Basin and thus cancelled the vote scheduled for Nov. 21 in Trenton.
For Immediate Release
November 18, 2011
DRBC POSTPONES NOVEMBER 21 SPECIAL MEETING
New Meeting Date Still To Be Determined
(WEST TRENTON, N.J.) -- The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) today announced that the special meeting scheduled for Nov. 21 to consider draft natural gas development regulations has been postponed to allow additional time for review by the five commission members.
No additional information is available at this time.
The DRBC is a federal/interstate government agency responsible for managing the water resources within the 13,539 square-mile Delaware River Basin. The five commission members are the governors of the basin states (Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania) and the commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' North Atlantic Division, who represents the federal government.
Please visit the commission's web site at www.drbc.net for updates as they become available.
REGIONAL - NOVEMBER 21 IS D-DAY: DON'T DRILL DELAWARE DAY
Monday, November 21, 2011
Meet 7:30 a.m. on the steps of the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial
1 Memorial Drive, Trenton, New Jersey
The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) will decide at its 10 a.m. meeting whether or not to adopt regulations that would allow gas drilling permits to be issued, thus ending the current moratorium in the Delaware River Watershed. If the five commissioners vote to approve, this invaluable watershed would ultimately be littered with some 20,000 wells, drilled horizontally and fracked with truckloads of toxic chemicals. Here is your opportunity to say "no" to the desecration of this water resource for some 15 million people. Details will follow about actions planned & transportation to the NJ state capitol.
DRBC POSTPONES VOTE ON DRAFT NATURAL GAS REGULATIONS
Special Meeting Rescheduled for November 21
DRBC WILL NOT ACT ON DRAFT NATURAL GAS REGULATIONS AT SEPTEMBER 21 MEETING
Special Meeting Scheduled for October 21
Shale Gas Industry Converges On Philadelphia
The Marcellus Shale Coalition, a powerful gas industry lobbying group, is staging a major conference in Philadelphia on Sept. 7th and 8th. CEOs from Chesapeake Energy, Range Resources, and CONSOL are confirmed participants, along with other irresponsible gas drilling giants. Dubbed “Shale Gas Insight,” this is not only a key trade show for the industry, but also an expression of its political muscle. Former PA governor and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, now a paid gas industry “advisor,” will deliver the keynote. Current Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett will also appear along with other pro-fracking politicians.
Stand For Clean Air, Water and Earth — and Human Health
The widespread and broad-based movement of resistance against shale gas drilling will take a stand in our nation’s birthplace this September.
We will show our political strength on September 7th with a HUGE RALLY IN PHILADELPHIA AGAINST DIRTY DRILLING, demanding swift action to stop this public health and environmental disaster.
On September 8th we’ll hold a conference of our own to propel this popular movement forward.
These “Shale Gas Outrage” days of action will feature:
• Affected families, movement leaders, experts, and entertainers
• An interfaith ceremony blessing all endangered rivers and watersheds
More information at http://shalegasoutrage.org/
Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing
Stephen G. Osborna, Avner Vengoshb, Nathaniel R. Warnerb, and Robert B. Jacksona,b,c,1
a Center on Global Change, Nicholas School of the Environment, bDivision of Earth and Ocean Sciences, Nicholas School of the Environment, and
cBiology Department, Duke University, Durham, NC 27708
Edited* by William H. Schlesinger, Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, Millbrook, NY, and approved April 14, 2011 (received for review January 13, 2011)
Crews stop flow of drilling fluid from Marcellus Shale site
Published: Friday, April 22, 2011, 6:59 PM Updated: Friday, April 22, 2011, 7:19 PM
CANTON, Pa. — Workers stopped the flow of liquid and natural gas from a well that spilled chemical-laced water for two days and were hoping to start on a permanent solution to control the well, company officials said Friday.
Chesapeake Energy Corp., which was drilling the Marcellus Shale well near Canton in Bradford County, said the liquid leak was stopped Thursday.
Breaking news in Bradford County - Fracturing water spill into Towanda Creek
Gas Drilling Emergency in Bradford Count
HB 150 (Vitali, D-Delaware) (PN 1077):
HB 971 (George, D-Clearfield) (PN 1062):
SB 601 (Yaw, R-Lycoming) (PN 759):
HB 144 (Pickett, R-Bradford) (PN 711):
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Two natural gas companies have agreed to temporarily suspend use of injection wells in central Arkansas where earthquakes keep occurring.
Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy and Clarita Operating of Little Rock told the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission on Friday that they've stopped operation of the wells near Greenbrier and Guy pending the panel's next regular meeting on March 29.
Clarita's parent company is True Energy Services of Ada, Okla.
The commission says there is likely a link between the wells and the earthquakes. There have been more than 800 quakes in the area in the past six months and a magnitude 4.7 quake – the strongest in Arkansas in 35 years – hit there Sunday.
The high-pressure wells are used to dispose of waste water from natural gas drilling. more...
03/07/2011 to 03/08/2011 more..
Drilling Down
New York Times article confronts industry denial head-on, confirms the shocking PA policy that allows gas drilling waste to be used as brine to tamp down dust on roads and de-ice roads; and as salt to de-ice roads. That means it goes straight into streams, rivers, aquifers, estuaries, our drinking water. This second NYT article confirms that toxic radioactive waste is classified as "residual" not "hazardous" due to a dangerous exemption. And it shows the rampant disregard for public health which results from the revolving door between government and industry, especially in Pennsylvania.
DRBC EXTENDS COMMENT PERIOD ON DRAFT NATURAL GAS DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
WEST TRENTON, N.J. (March 2) – The Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) today announced that the period for submitting written comments on the proposed natural gas development rulemaking will be extended an additional 30 days through the close of business (5 p.m.) April 15, 2011. The comment period was to have ended March 16.
NEWS RELEASEBlast at Marcellus Site Injures Three
Three workers were burned in what neighbors described as an explosion and fire Wednesday night at a Marcellus shale drilling site in Washington County. The blast occurred at a Chesapeake Energy site in Avella, a community in Independence Township near the West Virginia border, Department of Environmental Protection and county 911 officials said. Five “frac tanks” — mobile steel storage tanks used to hold liquids — burned until 9:30 p.m., DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh said. She said the three gas wells were not affected by the flames. One injured worker was flown to Allegheny General Hospital, and another to the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center-Mercy. It was not clear where the third worker was taken for treatment. The extent of their injuries was not known. The cause of the fire is also unknown.
THREE contract workers were injured in an explosion and fire on 24 February at the Chesapeake Energy-operated Powers well site, outside Avella, in the Pennsylvania sector of the Marcellus Shale. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection .....
Gas drilling foes, backers clash
Time Running Out on Shale Drilling Bil
WHEELING - The West Virginia House and Senate each have until Wednesday to pass some form of Marcellus Shale legislation on to the other body. Otherwise, no new regulations will be adopted this session.
Sens. Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, and Orphy Klempa, D-Ohio - along with Delegate Erikka Storch, R-Ohio - say they remain committed to doing everything they can to pass bills to allow more regulation of the booming natural gas industry, which now seems to be expanding by the day in the Northern Panhandle.
Mayor Calvin Tillman Leaves Dish Texas
Mayor Calvin Tillman Leaves Dish, Texas Fearing 'Fracking' Effects On Family's Health
First Posted: 02/24/11 11:55 AM Updated: 02/24/11 12:36 PM
Fearing for his children's health, Mayor Calvin Tillman is leaving behind his government position and getting out of Dodge... or rather, Dish.
Dish, Texas is a town consisting of 200 residents and 60 gas wells. When Tillman's sons repeatedly woke up in the middle of the night with mysterious nosebleeds, he knew it was time to move -- even if it meant leaving his community behind. In an exclusive interview with The Huffington Post, Mayor Tillman reveals that when it came down to family or politics, the choice wasn't a tough one to makeA “Rules and Guidelines for DRBC Public Hearings on Proposed Natural Gas Development Regulations” document is now available at http://www.nj.gov/drbc/naturalgas-draftregs-hearingrules.pdf. This document is linked from the DRBC’s home page and the draft natural gas development regulations page at http://www.nj.gov/drbc/notice_naturalgas-draftregs.htm.
Anatomy of a Gas Well: What Happened When a Well Was Drilled in a National Forest
Thursday, October 14, the Pennsylvania Senate passed House Bill 1926 by a vote of 45-4. The bill now returns to the House where it could be concurred with on Monday, October 18.
HB1926 contains State Senator Richard Alloway’s (R-33) “Castle Doctrine” amendment. This language would permit law-abiding citizens to use force, including deadly force, against an attacker in their homes and any places outside of their home where they have a legal right to be. If enacted, this law would also protect individuals from civil lawsuits by the attacker or the attacker’s family when force is used. MORE...
...Gasland' Oscar nomination roils drilling industry
- January 26, 2011|By Andrew Maykuth, Inquirer Staff Writer
The natural gas industry on Tuesday stepped up a campaign to discredit the anti-drilling film Gasland after the documentary, which was inspired by Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale development, was nominated for an Academy Award. more...
People gather on the steps of New York City Hall protesting the states plan for shale oil drilling in the city's watershed in New York January 4, 2010.
Credit: Reuters/Shannon Stapleton
WASHINGTON | Tue Feb 8, 2011 6:11pm EST
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. environmental regulators issued a draft plan on Tuesday outlining how they will determine whether a technique for drilling natural gas harms supplies of drinking water.
Congress commissioned the Environmental Protection Agency to study hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking", after complaints that the process pollutes water. The EPA is slated to make public initial results of the study by the end of next year.
The study will investigate reported instances of drinking water contamination in three to five sites across the country where fracking has occurred, the agency said in the draft.
In addition, the EPA will conduct two to three prospective case studies, to take samples before, during and after water extraction, drilling and production of gas.
During fracking, drillers blast pressurized water and chemicals deep underground to break rocks and release gas or oil from coal beds, shales and tight sands.
The technique has been around for decades, but companies have expanded its use in recent years to extract abundant but hard-to-reach reserves of shale gas.
Congressman Ralph Hall, chairman of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, said in a statement that he would closely review the study because he felt fracking had been the subject of "misleading attacks".
"Natural gas is a vital resource, and hydraulic fracturing is a well-established process that is enabling greatly increased production of clean, affordable energy," he said.
The EPA's science advisory board plans to review the draft on March 7 and 8, and the public will be able to comment on the plan during that time.
Several U.S. cities have begun to take action on fracking. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Buffalo, New York have preemptively banned the process.
(Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Dale Hudson)
Water Recycling and Reuse
Range Resources announced on July 14, 2010 that the Company would voluntarily disclose the composition of each of the hydraulic fracturing components for all the wells operated by Range Resources with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) completed in the Marcellus Shale.