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DEP

IT’S BAAAAACK – ONE SIZE FRACKS ALL ZONING

January 28, 2015
IT’S BAAAAACK – ONE SIZE FRACKS ALL ZONING

When Act 13 was signed into law by former PA Governor Tom Corbett on February 14, 2012, it contained language which would override all local ordinances and enactments of standards pertaining to the natural gas industry activities. Such ordinances or standards would have been set by the PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to “maintain consistency and uniformity”. Seven Pennsylvania municipalities fought back and filed a lawsuit. By July 2012, the Commonwealth Courts struck down the statewide zoning provisions of the Act 13 as unconstitutional under both the Pennsylvania and the U.S. Constitution. It was appealed to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and in December 2013, the court upheld the previous decision, which allowed municipalities to set their own ordinances. If you thought this was the end of it – you were wrong. […]

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DING! YOU GOT RESIGNATIONS!

October 3, 2014
DING! YOU GOT RESIGNATIONS!

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo and DEP Deputy Chief Counsel Glenn Parno both abruptly resigned on Thursday Oct. 3, 2014 amid the “P-Mail” scandal. Pennsylvania Attorney General, Kathleen Kane revealed the previous week that her office had discovered hundreds of pornographic emails sent or received hundreds of sexually explicit photos, videos, and messages from state e-mail accounts between 2008 and 2012. PA Governor Tom Corbett followed Kane’s revelation by requesting records of interoffice emails containing pornography. Corbett had said he wasn’t aware of the email exchange while he was Attorney General or Governor during that time period. An Office of Attorney General policy signed by then Attorney General Corbett in 2006 prohibits using office technology to view or store “any sexually suggestive, pornographic or obscene […]

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DING! YOU GOT P-MAIL!

September 26, 2014
DING! YOU GOT P-MAIL!

It’s been said politics is dirty. More often than not “dirty politics” refers to government officials taking money from special interests and corporations. Pennsylvania leads the way, redefines DIRTY POLITICS and brings it to the electronic age. PA Attorney General Kathleen Kane revealed PA Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo and at least 8 other prominent state officials exchanged sexually explicit photos, videos, and messages from state e-mail accounts between 2008 and 2012. The “P-mails” (porn-mail) were discovered during Kane’s internal inquiry into how her predecessors handled Jerry Sandusky pedophile case. Governor Tom Corbett was one of the Attorney Generals handling the Sandusky investigation. The Sandusky criminal investigation began while Corbett was serving as attorney general and continued through 2010, the year Corbett made his run for […]

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BOLUS’S CAPONE CONGRUENCY

June 10, 2014
BOLUS’S CAPONE CONGRUENCY

Al Capone, head of the most profitable crime syndicate of the Prohibition Era and mastermind of the notorious 1929 “Valentine’s Day Massacre,” seemed above the law. In 1931, Capone was convicted not of crimes related to bootlegging , extortion or murder, but rather for failing to pay income tax. Al Capone once complained about the bad reputation of his criminal enterprise: “Some call it bootlegging. Some call it racketeering. I call it a business.” On Friday, June 6, Brian Bolus and other members of his family were indicted on insurance fraud, theft and “related counts” connected with doing business. The Bolus businesses were also charge and include: Minuteman Environmental Services Inc., Minuteman Spill Response, Inc., Minuteman Towing Inc., Bolus Truck Parts and Towing Services Inc., Key Brockway Inc., Key Sales […]

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PENNSYLVANIA ACT 13: the Gift to the Fossil Fuel Industry

January 23, 2014
PENNSYLVANIA ACT 13: the Gift to the Fossil Fuel Industry

ACT 13 was signed into law by Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett on February 14, 2012. An Act amending Title 58 (Oil and Gas) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, providing for an unconventional gas well fee and for transfers from the Oil and Gas Lease Fund; providing for distribution of fees and transfers; establishing the Natural Gas Energy Development Program; consolidating the Oil and Gas Act with modifications and additions relating to definitions, well permits, permit objections, comments by municipalities and storage operators, well location restrictions, well site restoration, protection of water supplies, notification to public drinking water systems, containment for unconventional wells, transportation records regarding wastewater fluids, corrosion control requirements, gathering lines, well control emergency response, hydraulic fracturing chemical discharge requirements, bonding, air containment emissions, public nuisances, enforcement orders, well […]

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SHALE UPDATES

January 7, 2014
SHALE UPDATES

The year 2013 has passed, and ahead of us is 2014. I thought this may be a good time to revisit and update a few stories that are sure to crop up again in the new year. “Teh kitteh” photo is there to get all you facebooker’s attention. More about the kitteh later. ACT 13 ONE-SIZE FRACK ZONING As you know, the zoning provision in Act 13 was struck down by the PA Supreme Court last month. PA Governor Tom Corbett and the fossil fuel industry aren’t happy about it. Well, just when you thought it would be safe to celebrate the victory, it may be short-lived. In a last ditch effort, and scrambling for any legal hand hold, Corbett (and we assume with the backing of his fossil fuel […]

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STAND UP – SPEAK OUT

January 3, 2014
STAND UP – SPEAK OUT

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Environmental Quality Board recently announced that a public comment period is open for the long-awaited proposed revisions to oil and gas regulations that include performance standards for oil and gas activities. The regulation include a consideration of drilling impacts on public resources as well as standards related to managing drilling waste, restoring drilling sites and gathering pipeline construction, and requirements for finding and dealing with abandoned wells close to proposed well sites. This is your chance to voice your opinion on these important environmental regulations through written comment or at public hearings in January. Clean Air Council will be sending additional information in the coming weeks, but right now it’s important to get out to one of the public hearings if you […]

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SPINNING METHANE LEVELS IN WATER

January 2, 2014
SPINNING METHANE LEVELS IN WATER

The United States Geological Service (USGS) released a report in September 2012 and a second one in December 2013. The September 2012 press release title was “Dissolved Methane found in SOME New York Groundwater”. Note the term “SOME”. December 2013’s press release title is “Methane is COMMON in Groundwater from Valleys in South-Central New York State”. Note the term “COMMON”. As I’ve stated numerous times, we need to define our terms. What is meant by “SOME” and what is meant by “COMMON”? As these terms relate to quantity, “Some” is less than “Common”. SOME AND COMMON Both are fuzzy terms, so let’s look at the two studies a bit closer. The USGS 2012 study stated: (emphasis added) A recent study that looked at groundwater samples from more than 200 wells […]

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FRACK FAIRY TALES FROM MSC

December 27, 2013
FRACK FAIRY TALES FROM MSC

Newly hired President of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), David Spigelmeyer has a sad and reacts to the recent ACT 13 rulings by retelling old Frack Fairy tales. One would think in light of growing opposition to the fossil fuel industry’s industrialization of our communities that Spigelmeyer would have come up with better frack fairy tales. Briefly, Spigelmeyer, was Vice President of Government Relations for Chesapeake Energy. He and a number of other Chesapeake employees were let go in mid 2013 during a “massive restructuring” of the company. Forbes magazine characterized it as a “bloodbath”. Since the beginning of 2013 approximately 1,200 employees have been let go. If you are interested in reading what Chesapeake Energy employees (current and former) are saying, CLICK HERE.   ACT 13 FRACK FAIRY TALE […]

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THE FRACKING of FRANKLIN FORKS FAMILIES

December 9, 2013
THE FRACKING of FRANKLIN FORKS FAMILIES

In 2010, Gasland, a documentary by Josh Fox, explored the impact of natural gas drilling, specifically the practice of slickwater horizontal hydraulic fracturing. To the lay person, it’s known as fracking. Gasland was attacked by the natural gas industry, and thanks to those attacks, people became more aware and started to educated themselves about the hazards and risks. Gasland also did something else; it brought a small rural town in northeast Pennsylvania into the limelight. That town was Dimock. While media attention on Dimock has faded, we must keep in mind there are many other “Dimocks” out there. Small towns, where the gas drillers are denying responsibility. Small towns being ignored by the PA Department of Environmental Protection. Small towns, where real people are without clean water through no fault […]

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