Passed

Pittsburgh City Council members last Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution calling for a one-year moratorium on Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania. The resolution is in support of legislation introduced by state Sen. Jim Ferlo and drew the ire of the producer-backed Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

Pittsburgh City Council members Tuesday unanimously passed a resolution calling for a one-year moratorium on Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania. The resolution is in support of legislation introduced by state Sen. Jim Ferlo and drew the ire of the producer-backed Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC).

A $28 billion 2010-11 state budget was passed last Wednesday by Pennsylvania legislators but a severance tax on natural gas drilling, which budget negotiators agreed to in principle, was not included in the bill. Instead, Pennsylvania House and Senate members agreed to enact a severance tax by Oct. 1 to take effect by Jan. 1.

A $28 billion 2010-11 state budget was passed late Wednesday by Pennsylvania legislators but a severance tax on natural gas drilling, which budget negotiators agreed to in principle, was not included in the bill. Instead, Pennsylvania House and Senate members agreed to enact a severance tax by Oct. 1 to take effect by Jan. 1.

Pennsylvania legislators continue to wrestle over details of a $28 billion state budget, and a severance tax on natural gas drilling, possibly to be passed as a separate measure later this year, remains on the table. At the same time, the state’s regulators are pressuring drillers in the Marcellus Shale to improve the safety and environmental impact of their operations.

The Senate Wednesday passed by a wide margin a Democratic-Republican amendment that resolves a number of key financial reform issues, including the unwinding of systemically significant financial companies that are on the verge of collapse, but it did not address derivatives trading.

A Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee has passed legislation that would place a five-year moratorium on the leasing of state forest lands for natural gas operations and could make leases harder to get even after the moratorium expires.

A Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee has passed legislation that would place a five-year moratorium on the leasing of state forest lands for natural gas operations and could make leases harder to get even after the moratorium expires.

A Pennsylvania House of Representatives committee has passed legislation that would place a five-year moratorium on the leasing of state forest lands for natural gas operations and could make leases harder to get even after the moratorium expires.