Consol

Elected officials in Cecil Township, PA, voted unanimously on Monday to adopt changes to two of its ordinances governing Marcellus Shale development but are still waiting to hear if Range Resources Corp. will drop a lawsuit it filed against them in October over the changes.

A coalition of conservancy and stakeholder groups critical of Pennsylvania’s natural gas drilling said Monday the state needs to slow the shale drilling pace to ensure that safeguards are in place to protect citizens.

Range Resources Corp. has filed suit against a Pennsylvania township, alleging that the municipality violated state meetings law by not giving proper notice before making sweeping, prohibitive changes to its Marcellus Shale drilling ordinance.

Proving the common saying that region trumps party in Pennsylvania politics, a pair of Republican state representatives are proposing a severance tax on natural gas production in the Marcellus Shale.

The Ohio Chamber of Commerce is partnering with three universities in the state to conduct an economic impact study on shale development.

In a new push for development of the Marcellus and Utica shales, Ohio Gov. John Kasich has appointed former Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Director David Mustine to a top post with JobsOhio, Kasich’s new private, nonprofit corporation designed to spur job creation and economic development.

In a challenge that could have repercussions in small towns across Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, Range Resources on Tuesday filed an appeal of South Fayette Township’s ban on drilling in conservation areas and all residential zones, including suburban communities and rural farmland.

West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary Randy Huffman told NGI’s Shale Daily it is unlikely that the DEP would honor a request by the City of Morgantown to issue a stop work order on two Marcellus Shale gas wells in the city’s industrial park.

City officials in Morgantown, WV, were scheduled to meet Tuesday night to discuss two resolutions targeting two Marcellus Shale gas wells in the city’s industrial park and take up a proposed watershed protection ordinance.