Marcellus

Marcellus Shale activity has clearly taken hold in western Pennsylvania. In the region’s Allegheny County the number of properties leased for oil/gas exploration climbed by 322% between 2008 and 2009, and about 7% of the county’s land has been leased for drilling and extraction since 2003, according to University of Pittsburgh data.

Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts would reclaim authority over erosion and sediment control in the Marcellus Shale under legislation that Republican state Rep. Karen Boback said she will introduce in September.

Pennsylvania’s county conservation districts would reclaim authority over erosion and sediment control in the Marcellus Shale under legislation that Republican state Rep. Karen Boback said she will introduce in the House next month.

In the story “Pennsylvania Putting the Pressure on Marcellus Gas Drilling” (see Daily GPI, June 30), NGI said that the Associated Press (AP) had reported that a list of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing operations being compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) would include compounds associated with neurological problems or other serious health effects. DEP now says that the list AP used included all chemicals used at well sites, not just in fracing operations, the AP said Thursday.

Regulations that would restrict wastewater discharges from drilling operations in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale area to a more stringent 500 milligrams per liter (mg/l) standard, while other new and expanded facilities in general use would be allowed discharges up to a threshold of 2,000 mg/l, may be on a fast track to approval.

Regulations that would restrict wastewater discharges from drilling operations in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale area to a more stringent 500 milligrams per liter (mg/l) standard, while other new and expanded facilities in general use would be allowed discharges up to a threshold of 2,000 mg/l, may be on a fast track to approval.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has scheduled a meeting in May with natural gas and oil companies that hold permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale to discuss what steps the industry will be required to take to prevent gas from mitigating from wells and polluting the state’s natural resources.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has scheduled a meeting in May with natural gas and oil companies that hold permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale to discuss what steps the industry will be required to take to prevent gas from mitigating from wells and polluting the state’s natural resources.

Concerns that natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale could damage the region’s water quality have prompted the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to require energy companies obtain commission approval before beginning any gas extraction project in shale formations within the drainage area of the basin’s special protection waters (SPW).