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When the Roots Aren’t Made of Grass, the Solutions Save the System, and the Only Thing Hotter than the Planet is the Bacon

March 18, 2015
When the Roots Aren't Made of Grass, the Solutions Save the System, and the Only Thing Hotter than the Planet is the Bacon

About two thirds of the way into Josh Fox’ Solutions Grassroots Tour performance at Clarke Chapel, Lycoming College, Pennsylvania, I got up and walked out. I wasn’t noisy-but I was definitive. I could say that Fox’ gig just wasn’t very well put together (it wasn’t), or that it seemed pretty cheesy on the side of a pitch for his new installment in the Gasland documentary series (it was). I could say that the “theater” promised in the trailer was wholly MIA, and that it wasn’t much of a concert-but the surprise musical guests were really really great.   Nope, I got up and walked out because the Progressive Democrat brand of politics being sold to an audience mostly made up of all the usual anti-fracking movement suspects-and no one really […]

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PennEast Spams FERC

March 18, 2015
PennEast Spams FERC

The PennEast Pipeline is in the pre-file stage of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission rubber-stamping process. (Docket#15-1) Since its announcement in late 2014, the PennEast Pipeline has been met with unprecedented opposition. Townships and county governments have passed and filed resolutions against it, and opposition to the PennEast Pipeline ruled the FERC scoping hearings held earlier in 2015. Between September 2014 and now, over 1,500 comments have been submitted to FERC. The vast majority are thoughtful and original writings of residents along the pipeline route, who express, in their own words, why they oppose PennEast. What’s a Pipeline Corporation to do? It is obvious PennEast is under fire with the growing numbers of people and communities who are against this project. How does PennEast fight back? One way would be […]

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Segmentation – A Pipeline Loophole

March 17, 2015
Segmentation – A Pipeline Loophole

In 2014 the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) successfully won a lawsuit against the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). The lawsuit involved the Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company’s (TGP) Northeast Upgrade Project (NEUP). The NEUP project involved the interdependence of its 300 Line upgrade project components. TGP tried to hide this interdependence to avoid critical environmental regulation and oversight. Avoiding interdependence and thus finding a loophole by segmenting projects eliminates the need to look at cumulative impacts of the project will have. Segmenting projects eliminates the need to take existing pipelines and known future projects. It puts the specific pipeline in a vacuum. In a decision issued June 6, 2014, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, ruled that the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, the NJ Sierra Club and […]

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Marcellus Shale Players

March 2, 2015
Marcellus Shale Players

The often mentioned and long awaited Marcellus Shale Players is Now Available ON-LINE The Marcellus Shale Players is a 5-year and on-going project by Dory Hippauf. It began with the simple question of “WHO IS….” Too often players are overlooked or simply dismissed as industry shills, yet these players are actively working hand in hand with politicians to write regulations, create laws and exemptions to benefit themselves. They craft and control the message you see often repeated in advertising and echoed through their connections. The Marcellus Shale Players contains nearly 10,000 entries (and growing) of the who’s who in shale and now it’s available to the public through Shale Justice. Ever wonder what a hockey team owner has to do with shale? Look up Terry Pegula on the Marcellus Shale […]

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PENNEAST and the TACO PIPELINE

February 15, 2015
PENNEAST and the TACO PIPELINE

One of the talking points touted by the fossil fuel industry is in regards to how many jobs it will create. When people hear the numbers, they are thinking these are jobs directly related to fossil fuels, like workers on a drill pad, or construction of pipelines. Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett often boasted the shale industry had created 200,000 jobs in Pennsylvania. This conflicts with the 28,000 jobs reported by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (DOL). Why the difference in numbers? The 200,000 number often cited includes what the industry calls “support” or “ancillary” jobs, whereas the DOL number of 28,000 is directly related to the industry’s activities. According to Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry report for new hires in 2014 there were 6,844 Pipeline related […]

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PENNEAST GARBAGENOMICS

February 11, 2015
PENNEAST GARBAGENOMICS

Of the items mentioned to be considered in the Pre-Filing Environmental Review Process is the socio-economic impact. I would like to comment on the Economical Development Analysis released by PennEast this past Monday, on Feb. 9, 2015. The PennEast Economical Development Analysis was produced by EConsult Solutions and Drexel University and it eerily mirrors a similar report produced by EConsult Solutions on Feb. 5, 2015 for Sunoco Logistics’ Mariner East project[i]. PennEast Economic Development Analysis February 9, 2015[ii] The original Pre-File documents submitted by PennEast, during the Open Houses, and in numerous statements made by PennEast representatives to media outlets, stated the PennEast project would create 2,000 jobs. The recently released Economic Development Analysis claims 12,160 jobs. This is a difference of 10,160 jobs and should raise red flags as […]

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GOOD FRACKING NEIGHBORS IN WEST VIRGINIA?

February 2, 2015
GOOD FRACKING NEIGHBORS IN WEST VIRGINIA?

From the time the natural gas industry first stepped into the Marcellus Shale region, they have claimed to be “good neighbors”. In July 2014, the American Petroleum Institute (API) published a “first-of-its-kind industry standard for community engagement in areas of the country where horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing have opened new energy development opportunities.” Dubbed ANSI/API Bulletin 100-3, the standard provides a detailed list of steps that oil and natural companies can take to help local leaders and residents prepare for energy exploration, minimize interruption to the community, and manage resources. It includes recommendations for how to conduct public meetings on safety, work with local educational institutions to discuss training for new job opportunities, develop relationships with mineral owners, and ensure that oil and gas production is done in way […]

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Thanking the Gas Wolf Governor for “Saving” a Few Acres From the Frack is like Thanking the Armed Robber for Leaving the Curtains After He Guts Your House

January 30, 2015
Thanking the Gas Wolf Governor for "Saving" a Few Acres From the Frack is like Thanking the Armed Robber for Leaving the Curtains After He Guts Your House

Fresh out the inaugural gate, Pennsylvania’s Governor Gas Wolf wasted no time signing 22 permits to continue the conversion of the state into a giganto-frack-gas factory. At the direction of the new governor, (reported by Energy Justice), the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP),”permitted 22 shale gas wells for five counties in just three days from January 21-23. One of those well permits, Chief Oil’s Teel 4H, is within a mile of a cluster of 19 water wells in Dimock, PA that were spoiled by gas drilling in 2008″ (Bad Call: PA Governor Wolf Pursues Drilling on 700,000 Acres of State Land | Energy Justice: Shale Initiative). The report continues: The 22 new well permits last week were granted to operators including Chevron, Rex Energy, Cabot Oil & Gas, Chesapeake […]

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WOLF GETS CAKE AND EATS IT TOO

January 30, 2015
WOLF GETS CAKE AND EATS IT TOO

Via an executive order, Governor Tom Wolf issued an executive order #2015-03 which on first glance appears to stop all drilling on state lands and forests. To those who have broken out the champagne and are toasting the Governor’s actions you may want to put the cork back into the bottle and read the actual executive order. Executive Order 2015-03 - Leasing of State Forest and State Park Land for Oil and Gas Development There are two important items in the Executive order: The first is in the “whereas”: WHEREAS, DCNR has concluded that additional leasing of State Forest land or State Park land for oil and gas development would jeopardize DCNR’s ability to fulfill its legislative duty to conserve and maintain these public natural resources, and to sustain its […]

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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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