An Appeals Court decision issued Friday has (in our opinion) HUGE ramifications for New York State and the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC) that has been corrupted by political influence from Gov. Andrew Cuomo. It also has ramifications in other states with overactive environmental agencies too. It is hard for us to overstate how important…
Jim Willis Editor & Publisher, Marcellus Drilling News (MDN) … … Fractivists have succeeded (barely) in employing the Pennsylvania Supreme Court as a disruptive weapon against natural gas development in the Commonwealth. As they so often do, radical environmentalists are creating chaos and confusion; this time in Pennsylvania. As MDN reported, earlier this week the Pennsylvania Supreme…
Tom Shepstone Natural Gas NOW … … River basin commissions created by compacts to coordinate water resource planning have become greedy bureaucratic empires thirsty for ever more control. There is battle for sovereignty going on this country between states and river basin commissions they created long ago to jointly develop water resources. It’s like a…
As they so often do, radical environmentalists are creating chaos and confusion–this time in Pennsylvania. As MDN reported, earlier this week the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of Appeals, in a sharply divided 3-2 decision, sided with a virulent anti-drilling group, the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation, against the state in saying that any revenue generated from leasing…
Anti-fracking activists like Gasland director Josh Fox have long used a 2013 study outlining a “roadmap” for transitioning to 100 percent renewable energy as the centerpiece of their sales pitch to the America that a radical policy — banning fracking — is actually feasible. But that research led by Stanford University professor Mark Jacobson has…
The petrochemical conference in Pittsburgh earlier this week wasn’t the only event in town. The DUG (Developing Unconventional Gas) East conference and exposition took place at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center, several blocks from the petchem event. The reporting from one session in particular caught our attention. A panel of drillers and service companies…
In a sharply divided 3-2 decision (full copy below), the Pennsylvania Supreme Court of Appeals has sided with a virulent anti-drilling group, the Pennsylvania Environmental Defense Foundation, against the state in saying that any revenue generated from leasing and drilling on state-owned land MUST be used solely for conservation and the environment. The state cannot…
The legal beagles of top energy law firm Babst Calland recently released their seventh annual energy industry report called, “The 2017 Babst Calland Report – Upstream, Midstream and Downstream: Resurgence of the Appalachian Shale Industry; Legal and Regulatory Perspective for Producers and Midstream Operators.” This latest annual review chronicles the comeback of the Marcellus/Utica and…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Record keeping essential to prove lack of production in paying quantities; Firefighter pursuing chemical disclosure law in OH; Shell executive: Safety of workers, contractors at forefront of cracker project; Another Steyer-bankrolled anti-fracking campaign falls apart, this time…
Tom Shepstone Natural Gas NOW … … Andrew Cuomo, Governor Corruptocrat, imagines he can now get away with anything. That’s obvious from the deal he just cut with the Musk empire and SolarCity. The SolarCity deal made by Andrew Cuomo, Governor Corruptocrat of New York, is emblematic of the Tammany Hall governance Mario’s boy has…
Tom Shepstone Natural Gas NOW … … A DRBC power grab, encouraged by radical fractivists and enabled by cowardly leadership, is challenged with a compelling appeal made to the 3rd Circuit. The Delaware River Basin Commission has made a bid for control over every aspect of life in the watershed. This DRBC power grab is not…
Revenue generated by Pa.’s natural gas impact tax has topped $1.2 billion since 2011, the state’s Public Utility Commission announced recently. The upcoming distribution of more than $173 from Pa.’s unique tax on natural gas, is, as one Beaver Co. commissioner put it, “happy news for the commissioners and happy news for the county.” In…
Whatever happened to the lawsuit filed by a Wayne County, PA landowner against the egregious overreach by the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) in its ongoing stall/delay/block of any shale drilling within the Basin? In March, MDN reported that U.S. District Judge Robert Mariani ruled against the Wayne landowner in a lawsuit that challenged the…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: NY Supreme Court justice to AG Schneiderman: “You are wasting my time”; Rover pipeline fine will be used for work at Ashland County Courthouse; Bailout of 2 Ohio nuclear plants stalls in Statehouse; Shell project manager says…
Late last week, a New York State Supreme justice, clearly frustrated with the shenanigans surrounding New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s #ExxonKnew crusade, “repeatedly expressed impatience with the length of the investigation,” as Courthouse News Service reported, and essentially told Schneiderman’s office that it’s about time they prove their investigation is legitimate. During the court…