Thursday, January 24, 2013

PA Marcellus News Digest 1/24/13

PA Marcellus News Digest
January 24, 2013

Releases

DEP Extends Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate Program
Agency Committing Additional $1.5 million Following Program Milestone
DEP Newsroom
Jan 23
HARRISBURG -- The Department of Environmental Protection announced today that the Alternative Fuel Vehicle Rebate program will be extended once it reaches its milestone of awarding 500 $3,500 rebates for large-battery system plug-in hybrid electric vehicles and battery-electric vehicles.
Link:
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=19824&typeid=1

LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS RELEASES STUDY CONCERNING PIPELINE SAFETY
Wallaby
Jan 24
[...]Olivia Horn, President of the League of Women Voters of Pennsylvania, discussed why the organization addressed the issue of pipelines. “Pipelines are a problem in Pennsylvania,” she stated. “We have miles and miles of unregulated, large diameter, high pressure pipelines carrying natural gas to remote areas of our commonwealth. There is a lack of dedicated training for emergency responders to deal with natural gas explosions. New infrastructure poses additional threats to environmentally sensitive areas. The public is unaware of the existence of pipelines, pipeline hazards, and responsible behavior around such lines. We can no longer afford to keep pipelines out of sight and out of mind. These concerns and others pose potentially explosive problems for all of us.
Link:
http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2013/20130123CY.HTM

US Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) Regulations Handbook, 2012
Wallaby
PR Newswire
Jan 24
Summary "US Hydraulic Fracturing (Fracking) Regulations Handbook, 2012" is the latest report from GlobalData, the industry analysis specialists, and offers comprehensive information on hydraulic fracturing regulations applicable in the US both at the federal and state level. The report provides information on the regulatory bodies supervising hydraulic fracturing operations and laws and acts enacted for the regulation of fracking operations. The report also provides information related to the current state-level regulatory bodies and the policies framed for protecting the environment and public health from the potential impacts of fracking. The report is compiled using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, primary and secondary research, and in-house analysis by GlobalData's team of industry experts.Scope - Hydraulic fracturing regulations in the US at the federal level and the acts enacted for environmental and public health protection.
Link:
http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2013/2013012488.HTM

White introduces bill forcing DEP to disclose
environmental test data to landowners, leaseholders
Wallaby
Jan 24
HARRISBURG, Jan. 24 – State Rep. Jesse White introduced legislation this week that would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to disclose the full and complete testing results, including raw data and documentation, of any environmental tests conducted by the department on a landowner’s or leaseholder’s property in Pennsylvania.
Link:
http://wallaby.telicon.com/PA/library/2013/2013012483.HTM

Articles

DEP shelves more stringent water test
Times Online
Rachel Morgan
Jan 22
Late last year, the DEP came under fire when court documents showed that in its testing of drinking water, it was not reporting all findings to homeowners.
Link:
http://www.timesonline.com/news/local_news/dep-shelves-more-stringent-water-test/article_3a85cca2-ad8a-5478-b280-6e8c1a8689fd.html

Welcome oversight: DEP deserves a review on Marcellus regulation
Post-Gazette
Jan 24
It involves one of Pennsylvania's most controversial enterprises and it's coming under the welcome scrutiny of the state's fiscal watchdog.
Link:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/editorials/welcome-oversight-dep-deserves-a-review-on-marcellus-regulation-671726/

DEP secretary calls paper on impact fee well count "incorrect"
Times-Tribune
Laura Legere
Jan 24
Researchers either "seriously misunderstood or misrepresented" Pennsylvania's impact fee law in a peer-reviewed paper questioning regulators' count of covered gas wells, Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer wrote in a letter on Tuesday.
Link:
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/dep-secretary-calls-paper-on-impact-fee-well-count-incorrect-1.1434181

Former Drilling Co. officer pleads guilty in fraud scheme
Pitt Trib
Rossilynne Skena
Jan 24
A former controller at Indiana County-based Falcon Drilling Co. pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court to participating in a scheme to defraud the company of nearly $10 million.
Link:
http://triblive.com/news/indiana/3350787-74/brooks-former-fraud#axzz2IvA2kzNE

'FrackNation' well-received by gas-drilling advocates
Times-Tribune
Laura Legere
Jan 23
MONTROSE - Natural gas drilling supporters gathered in Susquehanna County on Tuesday night to view the television premiere of a documen- tary aimed at rebut- ting environmentalists' claims about the risks of hydraulic fracturing.
Link:
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/gas-drilling/fracknation-well-received-by-gas-drilling-advocates-1.1433698

White: DEP not using best test for water contamination
Observer-Reporter
Christie Campbell
Jan 23
State Rep. Jesse White is again faulting the state Department of Environmental Protection for incomplete water quality testing after learning the agency does not use a test that would identify the presence of 22 additional contaminants.
Link:
http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20130123/NEWS01/130129715#.UQG2CB3peSp

Dirty gas
Post-Gazette
Matt Walker, community outreach director for the Clean Air Council.
Letter to the Editor
This is a rebuttal to the Jan. 17 Perspectives piece. Some important facts are conveniently left out when shale gas advocates try to pitch its artificial climate benefits. Fracked gas is devastating to the climate, especially in the next two most critical decades. Methane (read: shale gas) is 72 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. We could make substantial progress on climate change if we focused on reducing methane. The gas industry is the largest human-made source globally.
Link:
http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/opinion/letters/dirty-gas-671569/

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