Local

A governor’s task force proposed as an 11th-hour compromise to avoid a ballot proposition fight over the issue of local control of oil/natural gas drilling, particularly hydraulic fracturing (fracking), has yet to get off the ground since Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper announced plans for it early this month.

As a backdrop to a larger drama that appears headed toward a statewide electoral stage, a Boulder County District Court judge on Thursday rejected a ban on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) by the city of Longmont, CO, but allowed the ban to stay in place while the city considers an appeal.

A Pennsylvania appeals court on Thursday dismantled the state’s argument that the Public Utilities Commission could still review and challenge local zoning ordinances that did not facilitate oil and gas development in a ruling that preserved a key decision by the state Supreme Court in December.

The signs on Monday were pointing toward Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper calling a special session of the state legislature later this month to pass a hoped-for bipartisan measure that would resolve nagging issues over local control of oil and natural gas activities throughout the state.

The oil and gas industry and other businesses are pushing back on Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper’s attempt to promote a legislative compromise on the contentious issue of local control over drilling activity.

A ballot initiative under consideration in Colorado would give local governments control over oil and gas development. More than 50 local elected officials have sent a letter to Gov. John Hickenlooper expressing their support for the initiative.

State and local officials said an explosion early Tuesday at Chevron Appalachia LLC’s Lanco 7H well in Greene County, PA, was one of the worst the state has seen in modern history and the largest accident yet at an unconventional well in the state.

The Obama administration has issued a presidential permit for the 80-mile U.S. pipeline link in North Dakota that is slated to carry ethane as part of a 430-mile international pipeline through Saskatchewan and terminating in Alberta.

A Tulsa, OK-based synfuel technology company has entered a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with an unnamed shale gas exploration and production (E&P) company to study the feasibility of a plant for turning natural gas into diesel.