Opponents

Opponents of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) in Michigan plan to begin collecting signatures for a petition that could ask voters in 2014 whether to allow the drilling stimulation practice to be used in the state.

Supporters and opponents of shale development in New York State will get their day in court on Thursday, when a state appellate court in Albany takes on two key cases that could ultimately decide how much power municipal governments may wield in regulating oil and natural gas activities.

Natural gas pipeline expansion projects came under attack last week in the courts and at FERC, including a New Jersey group of pipeline opponents that petitioned a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, to review Commission orders with respect to Spectra Energy’s New Jersey-New York Expansion. Tennessee Gas Pipeline and Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line (Transco) projects were the favorite target of environmentalists as well.

A New Jersey group of pipeline opponents has petitioned a federal appeals court in Washington, DC, to review FERC orders with respect to Spectra Energy’s New Jersey-New York Expansion, which has long been under attack by officials in the state.

Supporters of an “environmental bill of rights” charter amendment in Mansfield, OH, prevailed at the polls last week, but opponents of the measure fear it could be used beyond its intended purpose — to possibly block wastewater injection wells — and applied to other types of business.

Supporters of an “environmental bill of rights” charter amendment in Mansfield, OH, prevailed at the polls on Tuesday, but opponents of the measure fear it could be used beyond its intended purpose — to possibly block wastewater injection wells — and applied to other types of business.

Some opponents of exporting liquefied domestic gas argue that doing so would encourage more development of shale gas resources using hydraulic fracturing (fracking) well stimulation. Since fracking is bad (causes pollution), so are liquefied natural gas (LNG) exports, they argue. But that’s not how it works, FERC said in approving facilities proposed by Cheniere Energy Inc. units to liquefy and export gas from the Louisiana coast.

Pennsylvania House Speaker Sam Smith (R-Punxsutawney) accused opponents of shale gas drilling of spreading misinformation about Act 13, calling their claims that the law’s language on chemical disclosure would prevent doctors from treating their patients “outrageous.”

Windsor Energy Corp. has found itself on shaky ground in New Brunswick after it allowed a contractor to conduct seismic testing in a town without its consent, violating the province’s Oil and Natural Gas Act.