Commissioners

The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) appointed Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Chairman Barry Smitherman chair of the NARUC committee on gas. Smitherman, who had served as a co-vice chair of the committee, replaces outgoing chair Timothy Alan Simon of California. Commissioner Todd Snitchler of the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio was appointed gas committee co-vice chair along with Commissioner Paul Roberti of the Rhode Island Public Utilities Commission. Roberti also leads the NARUC task force on pipeline safety.

A citizens group opposed to gas drilling within the city of Dallas is rounding up supporters to attend a City Plan Commission meeting Thursday at which commissioners are expected to reconsider a previous denial of permits to drill that are being sought by Trinity East Energy LLC.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) will consider 35 applications for water withdrawals, most of them intended to support natural gas drilling, at its next meeting in mid-December.

The board of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) may address the issue of coordinating U.S. natural gas and electricity grids at its next national meeting, according to the head of the natural gas committee.

The board of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) is slated to consider a resolution addressing the issue of coordinating U.S. natural gas and electricity grids at its next national meeting.

In a move anticipated by oil and natural gas producers, the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Monday it was suspending 64 water withdrawal permits due to ongoing drought conditions in the basin, the highest number of suspensions since it began issuing permits in 2008.

Chesapeake Energy Corp. and the City of Salem, OH, have agreed to sign a three-year nondevelopmental lease, with an option for an additional three years, for 381 combined acres of land owned by the city. Chesapeake agreed to pay a signing bonus of $3,500/acre, plus 20% royalties on gross revenue on any production.

Blame it on the rain, or a lack thereof. Just days after the Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) had restored all of the 17 water withdrawal permits it had temporarily suspended in mid-April, back-and-forth drought conditions in northeast Pennsylvania have forced the agency to re-suspend two permits.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission (SRBC) said Tuesday it has restored all but one of the 17 water withdrawal permits it had temporarily suspended last week following drought conditions in the basin.