Protections

The Town Council of Chapel Hill, NC, has approved a resolution voicing its opposition “absent guaranteed public health and environmental protections” to hydraulic fracturing (fracking) because of potential threats to local water supplies. Creedmoor, NC, and the Town of Cary, NC, have also taken steps to regulate fracking locally (see Shale Daily, Jan. 9). In separate statements, North Carolina Gov. Bev Perdue and the state’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources have said they believe fracking can be done safely if it is properly regulated (see Shale Daily, March 26; March 19). The North Carolina Geological Survey believes that technically recoverable gas exists in the state’s Sanford sub-basin (including Lee, Chatham and Moore counties in central North Carolina) and possibly the Dan River sub-basin (including Stokes and Rockingham counties in northern North Carolina).

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) can be done safely “as long as the right protections are in place prior to issuance of any permits for the practice,” according to a draft report from North Carolina’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR).

Having outlined guidelines for balancing sage grouse and economic protections, the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Monday said it will conduct a series of eight scoping meetings in Utah Jan. 17-Feb. 1 to gain feedback on an environmental impact statement (EIS).

Corbett wants an impact fee, but his proposal is closer to the House version. Still, following the Senate vote, he offered limited praise for the measure, calling it “a significant step forward toward finalizing a strong and sensible Marcellus Shale legislative package…While productive discussions are ongoing and continue to resolve the various issues related to the Marcellus Shale, [Wednesday’s] action reaffirms the strong commitment of the Senate to achieve out common goals of safe and responsible natural gas development in Pennsylvania.”

A new report that slams the natural gas industry and state regulators for “widespread violations of Arkansas clean water standards” in the Fayetteville Shale is based on old data and overlooks the fact that some of the report’s recommendations already have been implemented, state regulators told NGI’s Shale Daily.

In a move that may work in the favor of natural gas interests, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized Clean Air Act protections “that will slash hundreds of thousands of tons of smokestack emissions,” EPA said Thursday.

In a move that may work in the favor of natural gas interests, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has finalized Clean Air Act protections “that will slash hundreds of thousands of tons of smokestack emissions,” EPA said Thursday.

A new bill introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly last week would give whistleblower protections to workers in the oil and gas industry. House Bill 1605, sponsored by state Rep. Dan Frankel, a Democrat from Pittsburgh, would extend the 1986 Whistleblower Law to include employees of drilling companies and oilfield services companies. “This bill provides greater protection for our communities without imposing any new regulation on drillers,” Frankel wrote to members of the state House of Representatives in late April, searching for co-sponsors. “It simply protects individuals who report wrongdoing or waste to their employer or governmental authority, or who participate in an investigation, hearing or court action when asked.”

In a move that could be seen as retribution for state Senate Republicans’ negotiating tactics and opposition to a proposed natural gas severance tax, Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell Tuesday signed an executive order placing an immediate ban on leases for oil and gas development on any land owned and managed by the state’s Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR).