Associate

Aside from those that have leased lands for development, Pennsylvania school districts do not seem to be benefiting much financially from Marcellus Shale activity, according to a recent report from Pennsylvania State University.

Lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee have called on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to consider the results of a recent study that concludes that hydraulic fracturing contributes to acute and chronic health problems when examining the potential risks of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on water quality and public health.

President Obama announced his intent to nominate Richard C. Newell, an associate professor of energy and environmental economics at Duke University, for administrator of the Energy Information Administration (EIA). He succeeds Guy Caruso, who headed up the EIA under the Bush administration. Howard Gruenspecht has served as acting EIA administrator in the interim. Newell has written widely on the economics of markets and policies for energy, the environment and related technologies, particularly alternatives for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving other energy and environmental goals. He received his Ph.D. from Harvard University, his master’s from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and his bachelor’s from Rutgers University.

At the Midyear Issues Summit in Point Clear, AL, the chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC) said the group’s 30 member states and seven associate member states will continue to push for federal funding to plug orphaned wells in the states. Commission Chair John Hoeven, governor of North Dakota, said the IOGCC remains committed to environmental protection, and in particular the abandoned wells. “There are believed to be tens of thousands of orphan wells in this country,” said Hoeven. “Many of these wells are very shallow and pose no risk to the environment. However, there are others that are unplugged or inadequately plugged and are a genuine threat to the environment and safety. We have focused on these problem wells and are working with Congress on federal funding for a permanent fix.” The IOGCC also renewed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The MOU was created in 2002 to improve regulatory cooperation among the states and the EPA, to promote protection of the environment in a cost-effective manner, to minimize regulatory duplication between the state and national levels of government and to increase efficiency and communication.

Cambridge Energy Research Associate’s Tom Robinson said this week that by the end of the year his firm expects gas market fundamentals to begin showing signs of improving with the gas supply bubble deflating significantly. And while there will be plenty of supply through 2002, said Robinson, it will, of course, depend on how hot it is this summer.

Stacey L. Gerard has been named associate administrator for theDepartment of Transportation’s Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS). Shepreviously was director of the Office of Policy, Regulations andTraining in the OPS.