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Department of Environmental Protection

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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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PRODUCTION (DEP)

May 27, 2014
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY PRODUCTION (DEP)

Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recently spent some money producing a 7-minute video entitled “Regulating the Natural Gas Industry in Pennsylvania”. Published on May 7, 2014, DEP staff share their personal experiences conducting the important work of DEP’s Oil and Gas Program across Pennsylvania. Note: Per the video on YouTube - “Comments are disabled for the video . “ What does that say about DEP wanting to hear from the public? It begins with April Weiland, Water Quality Specialist Supervisor for DEP. She states that she “loves helping the INDUSTRY as well as the environment, but there’s a misnomer out there when you say you WORK FOR OIL & GAS…” In the first minute Weiland inadvertently confirms what we suspect – DEP works for the fossil fuel industry. Some […]

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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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KNOW FRACK? Maybe!

November 6, 2013
KNOW FRACK? Maybe!

In following the Range Resources case involving water contamination of 8 families in Amwell Township, we learned: Range Resources Don’t Know Frack PA Department of Environmental Protection Don’t Know Frack Testing Labs Don’t Know Frack We’ve been subjected to the same tired excuse by the natural gas corporations of why they can’t tell us what’s in the fracking chemicals. It’s a trade secret. It’s proprietary information. Top and Bottom Secret. Hush Hush. Double super-dooper heavily guarded recipe. If they tell ya, they’ll have to kill you – but of course if they don’t tell you, it will kill you anyways. So who the frack knows what’s in the frack? After months of run around, excuses, and pleas for extension of time we find it’s the SUPPLIES who know what’s in […]

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MSC DATABASE: TRANSPARENT AS DRILLING MUD

May 29, 2013
MSC DATABASE: TRANSPARENT AS DRILLING MUD

The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), a Natural Gas industry backed organization, started building a database about 2 years ago. The purpose of the database is to collect information about the water quality of private wells in Pennsylvania. When a homeowner complains about their water being contaminated by natural gas drilling activities, MSC, the driller in question, the various industry front groups and public relations campaigns, like Energy-In-Depth (EID) are quick to drag out the standard talking point of “Water was like that before drilling”. Usually they will also toss in the fact that Pennsylvania has no regulations governing the construction of private water wells, and this is why the “water was already like that”. Critics of this excuse point out the differences between PRE-DRILL water tests and POST-DRILL water tests, […]

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DEP AIR TESTING ALA BEIJING?

May 16, 2013
DEP AIR TESTING ALA BEIJING?

This week the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), also known as the Department of Energy Production, announced they would be doing air quality testing in Susquehanna County. This is in response to the concerns of residents in the sacrifice zone. A mobile unit will be driving around taking air samples. It was at the fairgrounds in Harford township earlier this week to gather “baseline” readings of the ambient air. According to Colleen Connolly, DEP Spokesperson, the fairgrounds were chosen because there are no nearby compressor stations or natural gas wells. The testing will include dust from the road and pollen. (I wonder what Suite Code dust and pollen falls under) At Elk Lake and various compressor station and well pad sites, the mobile unit will be testing the air […]

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DEP Celebrates National Drinking Water Week with FRACKade

May 7, 2013
DEP Celebrates National Drinking Water Week with FRACKade

NOTE: THE FOLLOWING IS INTENDED TO BE SATIRE, TONGUE-IN-CHEEK, HUMOR, ala THE ONION TYPE STORY. The Pennsylvania Department of Energy Production (DEP) kicked off a celebration of National Drinking Water Week with a gala event at Cheapskate Energy Arena in Oklahoma. Broke Axelander, spokes model for Energy Gone Tomorrow, opened the event with a rousing rendition of “We’re in the Money”. Attendees included oil & gas executives, representatives from organizations such as the Marcellus Shill Coalition, and Energy-Inept, and legislators seeking campaign contributions and free super-bowl trips. Part-time Acting DEP Secretary reiterated Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett’s commitment of frackwater in every faucet and a drill rig in every yard. He reminded the audience of the Governor’s low approval rating and to make every dollar count towards the Governor’s re-selection in […]

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IPPA Attack Parrot Strikes Again – Energy-in-Depth Regurgitates

November 4, 2012

With the news regarding Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) playing games with water testing, it comes as no surprise that the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA) would dispatch their attack parrot (Energy-in-Depth EID) to refute it. EID is a Public Relations campaign created by the IPAA and run by FTI Consulting, a “global business advisory firm”. See Energy-in-Depth – The Gas Roots for more “indepth” information. The Attack Parrot du-jour is Nicole Jacobs. She is listed as a Deputy Campaign Manager. Jacobs is also an “associate” for FTI Consulting, and an Independent Consultant for ShaleNet. So now that we know who are the “players”. Let’s take a look at the most recent attack parrot piece blogged right on time. By the way, you can set your watch by […]

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