Thursday, April 11, 2013

Marcellus Digest 4/11/13

PA Marcellus Digest – April 11, 2013

DEP Allows Fracking To Resume At Spill Site Before Investigation is Complete
State Impact
Marie Cusick
April 11, 2013
The state Department of Environmental Protection hasn’t finished its investigation into a gas well spill that caused the evacuation of three homes in Wyoming County last month, but in the meantime the agency has allowed the drilling company to resume fracking operations.

Protesters Criticize DEP’s Oversight of Gas Industry
State Impact
Marie Cusick
April 10, 2013
A small group of protesters gathered outside the Harrisburg headquarters of the state Department of Environmental Protection today. They say the agency is failing to protect the public from the risks associated with natural gas development.

No fine for compressor station operator
The Times Tribune
Laura Legere
April 4, 2013
The Department of Environmental Protection will not fine the operator of a Susquehanna County natural gas compressor station that was damaged by an explosion and fire last year because state regulators determined that the incident did not violate the station's air quality permits or federal air pollution laws.

Ed Rendell’s fracking ties deeper than originally thought
Salon
Justin Elliott
April 8, 2013
Recently, we wrote about former Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell’s connections to the natural gas industry after he published a pro-fracking op-ed in The New York Daily News.

Another Connection Between Rendell and the Gas Industry
State Impact
Marie Cusick
April 9, 2013
Former Governor Ed Rendell faced criticism after he published a pro-fracking op-ed in the New York Daily News last month and failed to mention his connections to the natural gas industry.

Canada's drilling laws hold lessons for Pennsylvania
Patriot News
Nathaniel Foote
April 9, 2013
Pennsylvania boasts more than 2,500 local governments. Each has authority over land use and zoning within its boundaries. This allows locals to determine what gets built where; keep schools and factories apart, for example. Zoning is also used to restrict oil and gas drilling, particularly in residential areas.

West Wyoming council urged to attend meeting on fracking
Times Leader
April 11, 2013
Members of the Luzerne County Citizens for Clean Air urged borough council on Monday to attend a meeting to hear a presentation from a representative of the Community Environmental Defense Fund regarding the banning of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for natural gas production and related activities.

Our take: Frackers in Pennsylvania get another break
York Daily Record
April 8, 2013
Many have rightly criticized Gov. Tom Corbett and a majority of state legislators for their deferential treatment of natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania:

White files right-to-know request with DEP regarding Range waste impoundment in CecilWallaby
April 8, 2013
State Rep. Jesse White filed a right-to-know request with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection on Friday in an effort to ascertain the circumstances leading to a natural gas drilling impoundment’s reclassification from a freshwater impoundment to a hazardous waste site.

Triple Divide Premieres Online for 13 Days -Investigative fracking documentary available April 8-20
For a $5 donation, online users can watch the film for 48 hours atrent.tripledividefilm.org. This 18-month, cradle-to-grave investigation by Public Herald, an investigative news nonprofit co-founded by journalists Joshua Pribanic and Melissa Troutman, features uncovered state documents, never before seen interviews with industry giants and advocates, exclusive reports with impacted landowners, and expert testimonies.
With stunning cinematography, the film reveals how state regulators are using compliance as a
means of “regulating” without enforcing the law, abandoning the public and environment in the wake
of shale gas development.

Organizations United for The Environment call it the “best documentary on fracking, ever!”
Writer Elizabeth Hoffman said, “Troutman and Pribanic document several cases of people sickened by
fracking...violations with no consequences...drillers proceeding without authorization...drillers with
violations nevertheless getting new permits...[and] scientists raising serious questions about the whole
mess.” Judy Bear, a water well driller and the first female director of Pennsylvania Groundwater
Association, provides her insight in Triple Divide and asks what should concern every citizen: “Who is
protecting the residents of this state if our own state is not willing to do it?”

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