PA Marcellus News Digest
June 11, 2012
Releases
Pennsylvania DCED Secretary Walker and DEP Secretary Krancer Release Statement on Inaccurate Reports on Horsehead Site Remediation
PR Newswire
June 9
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker issued the following statement on inaccurate reports regarding the site remediation of the Horsehead facility in Monaca, Beaver County.
Link: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-dced-secretary-walker-and-dep-secretary-krancer-release-statement-on-inaccurate-reports-on-horsehead-site-remediation-158311685.html
PR Newswire
June 9
HARRISBURG, Pa., June 9, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer and Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker issued the following statement on inaccurate reports regarding the site remediation of the Horsehead facility in Monaca, Beaver County.
Link: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-dced-secretary-walker-and-dep-secretary-krancer-release-statement-on-inaccurate-reports-on-horsehead-site-remediation-158311685.html
Analysis: Cracker Plant Tax Credit Expensive for Taxpayers While Promising Few Permanent Direct Jobs
Wallaby
June 11
Governor Tom Corbett's administration has proposed giving $1.65 billion in state tax credits over 25 years to companies that build and operate ethylene cracker plants in Pennsylvania. This plan would be expensive for taxpayers and would come with no requirements to create jobs or make new capital investments, according to a new analysis from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012061169.HTM
Wallaby
June 11
Governor Tom Corbett's administration has proposed giving $1.65 billion in state tax credits over 25 years to companies that build and operate ethylene cracker plants in Pennsylvania. This plan would be expensive for taxpayers and would come with no requirements to create jobs or make new capital investments, according to a new analysis from the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center.
Link: http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2012/2012061169.HTM
Articles
Ethane tax-credit plan similar to Canadian one
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
June 10
Industry officials fed Gov. Tom Corbett's administration the model for an ethane tax-credit program he proposed, and it arrived from half a continent away in Alberta, Canada, a Corbett official said.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1962397-74/shell-alberta-ethane-corbett-industry-officials-gas-government-program-tax
Pitt Trib
Timothy Puko
June 10
Industry officials fed Gov. Tom Corbett's administration the model for an ethane tax-credit program he proposed, and it arrived from half a continent away in Alberta, Canada, a Corbett official said.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1962397-74/shell-alberta-ethane-corbett-industry-officials-gas-government-program-tax
Proposed tax break for Shell gas 'cracker' plant draws debate
Times-Tribune
Robert Swift
June 11
HARRISBURG - A new proposal by Gov. Tom Corbett to give a long-term $1.7 billion state tax break for a planned Marcellus Shale gas petrochemical refinery in southwestern Pennsylvania is a late-emerging issue in the state budget debate.
Link: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/proposed-tax-break-for-shell-gas-cracker-plant-draws-debate-1.1328068
Times-Tribune
Robert Swift
June 11
HARRISBURG - A new proposal by Gov. Tom Corbett to give a long-term $1.7 billion state tax break for a planned Marcellus Shale gas petrochemical refinery in southwestern Pennsylvania is a late-emerging issue in the state budget debate.
Link: http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/proposed-tax-break-for-shell-gas-cracker-plant-draws-debate-1.1328068
Pitt study highlights Marcellus Shale supply chain opportunities
Pittsburgh Business Times
Malia Spencer
June 7
Amid Western Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling boom a common refrain from area manufacturers has been a frustration in breaking into the industry supply chain that largely reaches back into companies out of energy-rich states like Texas or Oklahoma.
Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/energy/2012/06/pitt-study-highlights-marcellus-plans.html
Pittsburgh Business Times
Malia Spencer
June 7
Amid Western Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling boom a common refrain from area manufacturers has been a frustration in breaking into the industry supply chain that largely reaches back into companies out of energy-rich states like Texas or Oklahoma.
Link: http://www.bizjournals.com/pittsburgh/blog/energy/2012/06/pitt-study-highlights-marcellus-plans.html
Shell-ing of plan is nearsighted
Inquirer
Opinion
June 11
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are already separated by 300 miles and a range of mountains, but there is no reason for them to be divided by spite.
Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20120611_Shell-ing_of_plan_is_nearsighted.html
Inquirer
Opinion
June 11
Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are already separated by 300 miles and a range of mountains, but there is no reason for them to be divided by spite.
Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20120611_Shell-ing_of_plan_is_nearsighted.html
Pennsylvania County’s Dreams Of Wealth Didn’t Work Out
Bloomberg
Roben Farzad
June 7
Four years ago, as the economy was entering a devastating recession, swaths of rural Pennsylvania were booming.
Energy companies were using hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, to tap the vast natural gas reserves of the Marcellus Shale underlying much of the Keystone State. In Wayne County, these corporations offered struggling farmers lucrative leases for mineral rights.
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-07/pennsylvania-county-s-dreams-of-wealth-didn-t-work-out.html
Bloomberg
Roben Farzad
June 7
Four years ago, as the economy was entering a devastating recession, swaths of rural Pennsylvania were booming.
Energy companies were using hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, to tap the vast natural gas reserves of the Marcellus Shale underlying much of the Keystone State. In Wayne County, these corporations offered struggling farmers lucrative leases for mineral rights.
Link: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-07/pennsylvania-county-s-dreams-of-wealth-didn-t-work-out.html
Top GOP leader blasts SEPTA for snubbing natural gas buses
Inquirer
Andrew Maykuth
June 10
A powerful Republican state representative who is a strong supporter of Marcellus Shale gas development is threatening to punish SEPTA for buying buses that are fueled with diesel rather than natural gas.
Link: http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-10/business/32157052_1_cng-septa-officials-natural-gas
Inquirer
Andrew Maykuth
June 10
A powerful Republican state representative who is a strong supporter of Marcellus Shale gas development is threatening to punish SEPTA for buying buses that are fueled with diesel rather than natural gas.
Link: http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-10/business/32157052_1_cng-septa-officials-natural-gas
Slippery slope of wooing Big Oil
Pitt Trib
Eric Heyl
June 9
People do crazy things when they're in love.
Apparently, so do states.
Pennsylvania spotted an attractive oil company awhile back, eyeing her from afar while daydreaming of dating her. The state never believed it would happen; his terrain was pockmarked with coal mining scars, while Shell was a stunningly beautiful international conglomerate with no shortage of suitors.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1944037-74/pennsylvania-shell-state-oil-company-love-tax-workers-17-20000
Pitt Trib
Eric Heyl
June 9
People do crazy things when they're in love.
Apparently, so do states.
Pennsylvania spotted an attractive oil company awhile back, eyeing her from afar while daydreaming of dating her. The state never believed it would happen; his terrain was pockmarked with coal mining scars, while Shell was a stunningly beautiful international conglomerate with no shortage of suitors.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1944037-74/pennsylvania-shell-state-oil-company-love-tax-workers-17-20000
DEP 'keeps you in dark' about spills, officials say
Pitt Trib
Tim Puko
June 9
Gas drilling-related companies spilled oils, gases or chemicals about 134 times onto land and into water across Pennsylvania since Jan. 1, 2011, but the state rarely, if ever, notified the public.
By law, it doesn't have to.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1944049-74/officials-dep-state-county-spills-public-spill-department-drilling-notify
Pitt Trib
Tim Puko
June 9
Gas drilling-related companies spilled oils, gases or chemicals about 134 times onto land and into water across Pennsylvania since Jan. 1, 2011, but the state rarely, if ever, notified the public.
By law, it doesn't have to.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1944049-74/officials-dep-state-county-spills-public-spill-department-drilling-notify
Marcellus well drilling slowing down
Herald Standard
Steve Ferris
June 10
At the mid-point of the year, the number of Marcellus shale natural gas wells drilled in Fayette and Greene counties appears to be on pace to be less than half of the number drilled last year.
Link: http://www.heraldstandard.com/gcm/news/local_news/marcellus-well-drilling-slowing-down/article_3e90f9b8-9e25-5db6-97df-cc571a6b6c5f.html
Herald Standard
Steve Ferris
June 10
At the mid-point of the year, the number of Marcellus shale natural gas wells drilled in Fayette and Greene counties appears to be on pace to be less than half of the number drilled last year.
Link: http://www.heraldstandard.com/gcm/news/local_news/marcellus-well-drilling-slowing-down/article_3e90f9b8-9e25-5db6-97df-cc571a6b6c5f.html
Corbett admin defends Shell tax deal, calls clean up cost reports false
Inquirer
Amy Worden
June 9
After days of silence, the Corbett administration today denied reports that the state would cover clean up costs at the contaminated industrial site in western Pennsylvania where Shell Oil Co. wants to build an ethane plant.
Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Corbett-admin-defends-Shell-tax-deal-calls-clean-up-cost-reports-false.html
Inquirer
Amy Worden
June 9
After days of silence, the Corbett administration today denied reports that the state would cover clean up costs at the contaminated industrial site in western Pennsylvania where Shell Oil Co. wants to build an ethane plant.
Link: http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/harrisburg_politics/Corbett-admin-defends-Shell-tax-deal-calls-clean-up-cost-reports-false.html
Commissioners offer separate support in gas drilling lawsuit
Herald Standard
Patty Yauger
June 10
As the Commonwealth Court concludes four days of arguments regarding certain aspects of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act, local officials have offered support to the plaintiffs in the proceedings.
Last week, Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky issued a letter to Robinson Township Supervisor Chairman Brian Coppola who, along with various other municipalities, agencies and physicians, mounted a challenge to a section of Act 13 — the state’s oil and natural gas drilling law.
Link: http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/commissioners-offer-separate-support-in-gas-drilling-lawsuit/article_a13010ea-042d-50a2-910a-44f367aca555.html
Herald Standard
Patty Yauger
June 10
As the Commonwealth Court concludes four days of arguments regarding certain aspects of the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Act, local officials have offered support to the plaintiffs in the proceedings.
Last week, Fayette County Commissioner Vincent Zapotosky issued a letter to Robinson Township Supervisor Chairman Brian Coppola who, along with various other municipalities, agencies and physicians, mounted a challenge to a section of Act 13 — the state’s oil and natural gas drilling law.
Link: http://www.heraldstandard.com/news/local_news/commissioners-offer-separate-support-in-gas-drilling-lawsuit/article_a13010ea-042d-50a2-910a-44f367aca555.html
Corbetts support for solar energy only skin deep
Mercury
June 10
When Gov. Tom Corbett came to Schuylkill Township two months ago and smiled for the cameras as he cut the ribbon on the eighth largest solar farm in Pennsylvania, he talked about the "symbiotic relationship" between solar energy and industry.
Link: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/corbetts-support-solar-energy-only-skin-deep-video/1
Mercury
June 10
When Gov. Tom Corbett came to Schuylkill Township two months ago and smiled for the cameras as he cut the ribbon on the eighth largest solar farm in Pennsylvania, he talked about the "symbiotic relationship" between solar energy and industry.
Link: http://business-news.thestreet.com/the-mercury/story/corbetts-support-solar-energy-only-skin-deep-video/1
Marcellus Shale landfilling fees dry up for local counties
Daily Review
James Loewenstein
June 8
TOWANDA - Since September 2010, Bradford County has received more than $130,000 in landfilling fees that are charged locally for accepting Marcellus Shale drill cutting waste, and has used the money to pay for improvements in county parks, to provide grants to local fire companies and ambulance services, and to pay for local environmental education projects.
Link: http://thedailyreview.com/news/marcellus-shale-landfilling-fees-dry-up-for-local-counties-1.1326769
Daily Review
James Loewenstein
June 8
TOWANDA - Since September 2010, Bradford County has received more than $130,000 in landfilling fees that are charged locally for accepting Marcellus Shale drill cutting waste, and has used the money to pay for improvements in county parks, to provide grants to local fire companies and ambulance services, and to pay for local environmental education projects.
Link: http://thedailyreview.com/news/marcellus-shale-landfilling-fees-dry-up-for-local-counties-1.1326769
Corbett sold out state to gas industry
Pocono Record
Karen M. Dixon
Letter to the Editor
June 8
In response to a recent letter stating that "Gas drilling getting safer, is cleaner fuel;" I differ in opinion, based on personal experience.
Link: http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120608/NEWS04/206080311
Pocono Record
Karen M. Dixon
Letter to the Editor
June 8
In response to a recent letter stating that "Gas drilling getting safer, is cleaner fuel;" I differ in opinion, based on personal experience.
Link: http://www.poconorecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20120608/NEWS04/206080311
Westmoreland Commissioners seek public input on shale-impact fees
Pitt Trib
Rich Cholodofsky
June 7
Westmoreland County commissioners will hit the road for a five-night tour of municipalities to gather suggestions about how to spend as much as $2 million to be collected through impact fees placed on Marcellus shale gas wells.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/1935715-74/county-commissioners-fees-impact-money-westmoreland-municipal-public-road-shale
Pitt Trib
Rich Cholodofsky
June 7
Westmoreland County commissioners will hit the road for a five-night tour of municipalities to gather suggestions about how to spend as much as $2 million to be collected through impact fees placed on Marcellus shale gas wells.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/1935715-74/county-commissioners-fees-impact-money-westmoreland-municipal-public-road-shale
Cracker Plant Tax Credit Expensive for Taxpayers While Promising Few Permanent Jobs
Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
June 8
Governor Tom Corbett’s administration has proposed giving $1.65 billion in state tax credits over 25 years to companies that build and operate ethylene cracker plants in Pennsylvania. Only one company, Shell Oil, currently has plans to develop such a plant in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale. The proposed tax credit would be a windfall for Shell, whose parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, is the second largest company in the world[1], with revenue of $484 billion in 2011 and profits of $31 billion[2].
Link: http://pennbpc.org/cracker-plant-tax-credit-expensive-taxpayers-while-promising-few-permanent-jobs
Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center
June 8
Governor Tom Corbett’s administration has proposed giving $1.65 billion in state tax credits over 25 years to companies that build and operate ethylene cracker plants in Pennsylvania. Only one company, Shell Oil, currently has plans to develop such a plant in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale. The proposed tax credit would be a windfall for Shell, whose parent company, Royal Dutch Shell, is the second largest company in the world[1], with revenue of $484 billion in 2011 and profits of $31 billion[2].
Link: http://pennbpc.org/cracker-plant-tax-credit-expensive-taxpayers-while-promising-few-permanent-jobs
Shell game: Make the tax credits pay off with a tight contract
Post-Gazette
Editotial
June 11
Gov. Tom Corbett rekindled a controversy by offering $66 million a year in tax breaks to Shell Oil to ensure that the multinational energy company would commit to building a petrochemical plant in Beaver County.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/shell-game-make-the-tax-credits-pay-off-with-a-tight-contract-639742/
Post-Gazette
Editotial
June 11
Gov. Tom Corbett rekindled a controversy by offering $66 million a year in tax breaks to Shell Oil to ensure that the multinational energy company would commit to building a petrochemical plant in Beaver County.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/shell-game-make-the-tax-credits-pay-off-with-a-tight-contract-639742/
Shell tax credit is about more jobs
Patriot-News
C. Alan Walker, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Opinion
June 9
One of the current strategies to obstruct Gov. Tom Corbett has taken on an air of pure bloody mindedness: the manufactured controversy over proposed tax credits to lure Shell Chemical to construct a $4 billion ethane-processing plant in the state’s southwest.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/06/shell_chemical.html
Patriot-News
C. Alan Walker, secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
Opinion
June 9
One of the current strategies to obstruct Gov. Tom Corbett has taken on an air of pure bloody mindedness: the manufactured controversy over proposed tax credits to lure Shell Chemical to construct a $4 billion ethane-processing plant in the state’s southwest.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2012/06/shell_chemical.html
Shell tax credits call for guarantee
Standard Speaker
Opinion
June 8
Gov. Tom Corbett faces a serious public relations and public policy problem while promoting one of the biggest industrial tax breaks in state history.
The governor's tenure has been marked by sweeping direct and indirect cuts to funding for education and social services, amid a refusal to impose a fair state-level tax on the natural gas industry that could help mitigate the cuts' effects.
Link: http://standardspeaker.com/opinion/shell-tax-credits-call-for-guarantee-1.1326659
Standard Speaker
Opinion
June 8
Gov. Tom Corbett faces a serious public relations and public policy problem while promoting one of the biggest industrial tax breaks in state history.
The governor's tenure has been marked by sweeping direct and indirect cuts to funding for education and social services, amid a refusal to impose a fair state-level tax on the natural gas industry that could help mitigate the cuts' effects.
Link: http://standardspeaker.com/opinion/shell-tax-credits-call-for-guarantee-1.1326659
Federal agencies probe Range Resources' Yeager Marcellus Shale gas drilling site
Post-Gazette
Don Hopey
June 9
Federal health and environmental agencies are investigating whether Range Resources Inc.'s Yeager Marcellus Shale gas drilling site in Washington County caused toxic air and groundwater pollution that damaged the health of nearby residents.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/marcellusshale/federal-agencies-probe-range-resources-incs-yeager-marcellus-shale-gas-drilling-site-639636/
Post-Gazette
Don Hopey
June 9
Federal health and environmental agencies are investigating whether Range Resources Inc.'s Yeager Marcellus Shale gas drilling site in Washington County caused toxic air and groundwater pollution that damaged the health of nearby residents.
Link: http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/local/marcellusshale/federal-agencies-probe-range-resources-incs-yeager-marcellus-shale-gas-drilling-site-639636/
Pa. may pay for cleanup of Shell refinery site
Patriot-News
AP
June 8
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Lawmakers briefed on Gov. Tom Corbett's package of financial incentives for a planned petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania said Friday that it could also include the cost to clean up pollution from the zinc smelter that has operated there for decades.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/pa-may-pay-for-cleanup-of-shell/7cd3e07973bd49059fac73e5eb2ae1f2
Patriot-News
AP
June 8
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Lawmakers briefed on Gov. Tom Corbett's package of financial incentives for a planned petrochemical refinery in western Pennsylvania said Friday that it could also include the cost to clean up pollution from the zinc smelter that has operated there for decades.
Link: http://www.pennlive.com/newsflash/index.ssf/story/pa-may-pay-for-cleanup-of-shell/7cd3e07973bd49059fac73e5eb2ae1f2
Subsidies may grow for Shell Oil
Pitt Trib
Alex Nixon
June 8
Taxpayers could be on the hook for cleaning up pollution at a zinc smelter site in Beaver County, increasing the public price tag if Shell Oil Co. buys the property for a new petrochemical plant.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1941453-74/shell-horsehead-state-property-environmental-program-tax-cleanup-corbett-credits
Pitt Trib
Alex Nixon
June 8
Taxpayers could be on the hook for cleaning up pollution at a zinc smelter site in Beaver County, increasing the public price tag if Shell Oil Co. buys the property for a new petrochemical plant.
Link: http://triblive.com/news/1941453-74/shell-horsehead-state-property-environmental-program-tax-cleanup-corbett-credits
Corbett: "We weren't being secret" about $1.7B nat.gas tax credit.
Morning Call
John L. Micek
Blog
June 8
Gov. Tom Corbett again defended a proposed $1.7 billion tax credit for Shell Oil and other natural gas companies this morning, arguing that "it isn't a bailout" for the gas giant and will spark a rebirth of manufacturing in the state.
Link: http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2012/06/corbett-we-werent-being-secret-about-17b-natgas-tax-credit.html
Morning Call
John L. Micek
Blog
June 8
Gov. Tom Corbett again defended a proposed $1.7 billion tax credit for Shell Oil and other natural gas companies this morning, arguing that "it isn't a bailout" for the gas giant and will spark a rebirth of manufacturing in the state.
Link: http://blogs.mcall.com/capitol_ideas/2012/06/corbett-we-werent-being-secret-about-17b-natgas-tax-credit.html
No comments:
Post a Comment