A federal grant will lead to another compressed natural gas fueling station in western Pennsylvania. The Butler Transit Authority will receive $2.4 million, as part of a $60 million effort funded through the federal Clean Fuels Grant Program. There aren’t too many options for filling up natural gas fueled-vehicles right now, as you can see by clicking [...]
Commonwealth Court’s decision to throw out Act 13′s local zoning restrictions is already impacting municipal zoning. Cranberry Township, Butler County barred Marcellus Shale drilling from residential zones in 2010. After Pennsylvania’s new Marcellus Shale law mandated drilling be allowed in all types of zones, the township’s Board of Supervisors prepared to re-write Cranberry’s ordinances. But as Cranberry [...]
Gas drilling has turned some quiet rural areas of Pennsylvania into growing industrial zones. Residents complain of increased truck traffic, bad air, and contaminated well water. Some of those residents have turned to activism. Others have filed lawsuits. But a growing number of Pennsylvania residents living near Marcellus Shale sites are also packing up their [...]
One of the state’s largest environmental groups will now be run by a former regional chief from the Department of Environmental Protection. PennFuture announced Monday that George Jugovic, Jr., will take over as president and CEO of the organization. Jugovic was the southwest regional director for the DEP in Pittsburgh, serving under former Governor Ed [...]
Kim McEvoy says she wakes up every morning thinking about water. “Where we’re getting the water, it’s like, how much water do you need today,” says McEvoy. “It’s on your mind all the time — water, water, water.” To brush her teeth, she pours bottled tap water that her fiance brings home from work. To [...]
The Tribune-Review takes a look at some of the jobs natural gas drilling is creating: From 2000 to 2007, the state recorded 17,000 to 20,000 workers in mining and logging, Department of Labor records show. That has jumped by more than 50 percent, largely since May 2009. More than 33,000 Pennsylvanians worked in that sector [...]
The AP has more details on a Butler County dust-up over who’s responsible for chemicals discovered in ten families’ drinking water: A western Pennsylvania woman says state environmental officials refused to do follow-up tests after their lab reported her drinking water contained chemicals that could be from nearby gas drilling. Janet McIntyre’s is one of [...]
Yesterday, we told you about a preliminary Penn State University study showing no correlation between Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling boom and crime rates. The study found calls to the State Police and arrests have stayed relatively level in Pennsylvania’s top drilling counties. In a phone interview with StateImpact Pennsylvania today, author Gary Zajac stressed the [...]
Yesterday, we wrote about Washington and Butler Counties leading the nation in job growth. We credited the boom to the Marcellus Shale drilling industry, which is active in both counties. Today, the AP adds a bit more context. Natural gas extraction was the main driver in Washington County’s growth, the article reports, but in Butler [...]
The drilling hotbed of Washington County saw a 4.3 percent increase in employment, between March 2010 and March 2011. That’s the third-highest spike in the country, according to data released today by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Butler County follows close behind, with a 4.2 percent increase. That’s good for sixth, nationally. Both counties [...]
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