Correction: An earlier version of this story reported that the Hallowich family had a split estate. That’s not the case, the Hallowich’s retained their mineral rights and continue to receive royalties from natural gas production. Just as landowners across the state began to realize they were sitting on top of a lucrative slice of natural [...]
A Washington County couple settled a high profile Marcellus Shale contamination case for $750,000 and signed affidavits that say no medical evidence ”definitively” connects their children’s health problems to drilling activity. Stephanie and Chris Hallowich also signed an affidavit that says their children were in good health. More than $155,000 will go to the plaintiff’s attorneys. [...]
Range Resources, MarkWest Energy and Williams Gas agreed to settle a high profile contamination case in Washington County for $750,000, according to recently unsealed court records. An order to unseal the records was entered Wednesday in Washington County Court of Common Pleas by President Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca. Judge O’Dell-Seneca reversed an earlier decision to permanently keep [...]
Previously sealed records are now available in a high-profile drilling contamination case in Washington County. An order to unseal the records was entered Wednesday the county’s Court of Common Pleas by President Judge Debbie O’Dell-Seneca. Judge O’Dell-Seneca reversed an earlier decision to seal the records. In the order she stated that Range Resources’ arguments to [...]
Pipeline expansions serving the Marcellus Shale gas boom have helped boost production rates above seven billion cubic feet a day, according to an analysis by IHS. The report says the Marcellus now leads the Haynesville Shale as the most productive shale play in the country. The Haynesville Shale formation stretches beneath northwestern Louisiana, eastern Texas and [...]
Range Resources has filed an appeal in Washington County Court, after its application to drill at two sites in Robinson Township was rejected, according to the Observer-Reporter: Range Resources claims township supervisors abused their discretion and failed to apply the appropriate legal standards when they denied the company’s conditional use applications Feb. 12 to drill [...]
Good news seems to keep pouring in for Pennsylvania’s shale drillers. Last week, Cabot Oil and Gas reported record production volumes and earnings for 2012. Speaking at a hearing in Philadelphia City Council Wednesday afternoon, David Yoxheimer, from the Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research, says Marcellus wells produced 2 trillion cubic feet of natural [...]
A major Environmental Protection Agency report on natural gas drilling will include a lot of information from Pennsylvania. The federal study won’t be released until 2014, but the agency recently published a progress report. The EPA is examining five stages of hydraulic fracturing, and assessing each step’s risk of contaminating drinking water. That includes everything [...]
The Environmental Protection Agency has released new information about its ongoing review of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and the impact on drinking water. Today’s report does not include any conclusions, but outlines the research process and timeline. The EPA study examines the entire drilling process, not just fracking. The Agency has broken up the process [...]
A Pennsylvania appeals court has ruled in favor of two newspapers seeking to unseal court records in a fracking contamination case. Hallowich v. Range Resources is one of the most closely watched cases involving claims of health impacts and property damage against a Marcellus Shale gas driller. But when the case was settled, the Court [...]
StateImpact seeks to inform and engage local communities with broadcast and online news focused on how state government decisions affect your lives.
Learn More »