In an unusual reach by local government, the Forward Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to enact an ordinance regulating natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines built in the municipality, located in Allegheny County, PA.
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Pennsylvania Township Enacts Ordinance to Regulate Pipelines
In an unusual reach by local government, the Forward Township Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to enact an ordinance regulating natural gas transmission and gathering pipelines built in the municipality, located in Allegheny County, PA.
People
The Texas Senate unanimously confirmed the appointment of Toby Baker of Austin to serve as a commissioner of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Baker has been serving in that capacity since his appointment by Gov. Rick Perry on April 16. His term will expire on Aug. 31, 2017. Baker also serves as the governor’s designee to the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council, the Coastal Land Advisory Board, and the state’s representative to the Gulf of Mexico Alliance.
Board OKs $500M Consol Deal for Pittsburgh Airport Drilling
Allegheny County Airport Authority (ACAA) board members Friday unanimously approved a deal with Consol Energy Inc. for Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling rights at Pittsburgh International Airport. The arrangement could be worth $500 million over the next 20 years.
Industry Briefs
The City of Dallas Plan Commission late Thursday voted unanimously to deny without prejudice an application by Trinity East Energy LLC for specific use permits to perform the first natural gas drilling within the city limits. The commission refused to recommend to Dallas City Council approval of the company’s plans to drill on two city-owned sites and one private site in northwest Dallas. The city-owned sites are in a floodplain, and the private site is near where a soccer complex is being developed. Drilling in a floodplain is against city ordinance, and council would need to amend the city’s floodplain ordinance before voting on zoning approvals for drilling. The city has yet to adopt a new ordinance to deal with gas drilling despite the completion earlier this year of a set of recommendations developed by the Dallas Gas Drilling Task Force (see Shale Daily, Dec. 10). Dallas City Council next month is expected to have the final say on Trinity’s request.
Pennsylvania PUC Clarifies Issues Surrounding Impact Fees
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) voted unanimously on Thursday to clarify several portions of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law, as to how it pertains to levying an unconventional natural gas drilling impact fee.
Pennsylvania Senate Passes Bill Allowing Fracking With AMD
The Pennsylvania State Senate unanimously passed a bill last Monday absolving mine operators and landowners from liability for any injury or damage caused by the use of acid mine drainage (AMD) in hydraulic fracturing (fracking) operations.
Chenango, NY, Considering One-Year Moratorium on Oil, Gas Activities
Elected officials in the Town of Chenango, NY, voted unanimously on Wednesday to schedule a public hearing over whether to enact a one-year moratorium on oil and natural gas activities, including hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
Pennsylvania PUC Delays Implementation of Impact Fee
The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) has delayed implementation of Act 13, the state’s omnibus Marcellus Shale law, “due to an ambiguity with an injunction imposed by the state’s Commonwealth Court,” the PUC said late Thursday.
People
Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) Commissioner Barry Smitherman was unanimously elected RRC chairman. He replaces former Chair Elizabeth Ames Jones, who left the commission to devote more time to her campaign for Texas Senate (see Daily GPI, Feb. 15). Her seat on the three-member RRC has yet to be filled. Smitherman was appointed to the RRC in July 2011. Previously he sat on the Public Utility Commission of Texas, where in 2007 he became chairman. Smitherman currently serves as Texas’ representative on the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, as vice chair of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners’ gas committee. He is on the visiting committee of the Bureau of Economic Geology with the Jackson School of Geosciences at The University of Texas at Austin, The University of Texas School of Law Center for Global Energy, International Arbitration, and Environmental Law, and the Eanes Education Foundation advisory board.