Regulation

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The laws and regulations dictating how energy is extracted and transported.

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June 17, 2013

Moniz: Department of Energy Will Move ‘Expeditiously’ On LNG Exports

Speaking this morning at the Energy Information Administration conference Washington D.C., newly confirmed Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz says his agency will move “expeditiously” to evaluate applications for more liquefied natural gas (LNG) export facilities. The push to export comes as the industry has seen a boom in shale production. It’s produced a glut of gas that [...]

June 13, 2013

Corbett Forces Out DCNR Secretary Richard Allan [UPDATED]

Governor Tom Corbett says his secretary of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) has resigned at his request, but the reasons for the change were not immediately disclosed. Allan has led the agency since shortly after the first-term Republican governor took office in early 2011. DCNR has come under increasing public scrutiny over plans [...]

June 10, 2013

Explosives Aimed At Shale Gas Mapping Raise Concerns in Fayette County

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports residents in Fayette County are concerned state and federal regulators are allowing a company mapping the Marcellus Shale formation to detonate explosives near homes and outside an approved seismic testing area. According to the Post-Gazette, the company CGGVeritas Land Inc. is collecting geological information for Chevron and has detonated 10 out [...]

June 3, 2013

Drilling Opponents Pack DCNR Meeting On Loyalsock State Forest

After facing months of public pressure over the possibility of expanding natural gas drilling in the Loyalsock State Forest, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) held a public meeting on the issue. DCNR estimates between 400 to 500 people turned out tonight to Lycoming College in Williamsport. The meeting ran an hour [...]

May 30, 2013

Minuteman Denies Wrongdoing after Raid by Federal and State Authorities

A Northumberland County business that was raided by federal and state officials yesterday has issued a statement denying any wrongdoing. Minuteman Environmental Services in Milton bills itself as an “oil and gas field services” company. It hauls waste and equipment for the natural gas industry. Agents from the FBI, the state attorney general’s office, Pennsylvania Department [...]

May 29, 2013

Federal and State Officials Raid Natural Gas Support Services Company

WNEP-TV reports federal and state officials raided an environmental services company this morning in Milton, Northumberland County. Minuteman Environmental Services bills itself as an “oil and gas field services” company. It hauls waste and equipment for the natural gas industry. From WNEP: The raid at the Minuteman Environmental Services in the Milton Industrial Park began [...]

May 28, 2013

Gas Industry Building Database Of Water Test Results, But Won’t Make It Public

More than two years ago the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a gas industry trade group, began building an electronic database to house information about the water quality in thousands of private wells across Pennsylvania. It’s made up of “pre-drill” or baseline data– critical information that helps establish whether drilling operations may have caused water contamination issues. The [...]

May 24, 2013

New York Governor Says He’ll Make Fracking Decision Before 2014 Election

The Syracuse Post-Standard reports New York Governor Andrew Cuomo says he will make a decision on whether to lift the state’s moratorium on fracking before the 2014 election. It’s not clear how much that statement means, though, since the debate in New York has gone on for nearly five years. In 2011, the head of [...]

EPA Fines Western PA Treatment Plants For Marcellus Wastewater Violations

The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports the federal Environmental Protection Agency has settled water pollution violations for three wastewater treatment facilities in Western Pennsylvania. EPA is assessing the plants (which formed a new company called Fluid Recovery Services LLC) $83,000 in penalties. The violations relate to discharges of Marcellus Shale drilling wastewater into the Allegheny River watershed in between February 2007 and [...]

May 23, 2013

Scientific Panel Will Examine Public Concerns Related To Shale Gas Drilling

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports a National Academy of Sciences committee will convene next week to scrutinize public concerns and potential risks of shale gas drilling. The panel will examine a number of topics including air, water, and climate concerns, but they will not issue specific recommendations, according to the Post-Gazette: “This review will be successful if the [...]