Posts Tagged ‘Canonsburg’

Gov. Ridge: “The development of the Marcellus Shale will benefit all of the citizens of our state, our region, and our nation”

Canonsburg, Pa. – The Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), representing the majority of those responsible for the development and transportation of clean-burning shale gas throughout the Commonwealth, is pleased to formally announce that former Gov. Tom Ridge has joined the group as a strategic advisor.

“I am pleased to work with the members of the Marcellus Shale Coalition to ensure that this clean and abundant natural gas resource is developed for the full benefit of my home state of Pennsylvania and the nation. Joining the planning effort at this early stage will allow my voice to be added to efforts already underway to ensure worker safety and environmental protection, and to encourage the fullest economic benefit for our state, our communities, and the entire workforce involved in this transformational effort,” said Gov. Ridge.

“The responsible development of the Marcellus Shale represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen our region’s economy and our nation’s security,” said Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the MSC. “We are honored to have Gov. Ridge working alongside our organization to help ensure that Pennsylvanians fully recognize our industry’s commitment to environmental and workforce safety, as well as the positive and overwhelming economic benefits that responsible shale gas development continues to generate across the region.”

“Pennsylvania, Penn Woods, is rich in natural resources and has led our nation in energy development. We have learned from the past that we must develop our resources safely and efficiently. During my term as Governor, we grew our economy by providing incentives for economic growth and always by ‘Growing Greener.’ The development of the Marcellus Shale will benefit all of the citizens of our state, our region, and our nation. Not only can the environmental and economic benefit be transformational for generations to come, our homeland security will be forever strengthened.,” added Gov. Ridge. “There is much work to be done to maximize the benefits of these abundant and domestic resources, and I’m looking forward to help lead this important effort.”

Before becoming Pennsylvania’s 43^rd governor, serving as the Commonwealth’s chief executive from 1995 to 2001, Gov. Ridge represented northwestern Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives for more than 10 years. Following the tragic events of September 11^th, 2001, Gov. Ridge became the first Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and, on January 24, 2003, became the first secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Canonsburg, Pa. – Earlier today, an explosion at a shallow, non-Marcellus Shale oil well occurred in Indiana Twp., Allegheny County, claiming the lives of two workers, according to reports. Although the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) represents companies producing natural gas, the MSC issued the following statement expressing condolences, and reinforcing its commitment to operating in the safest and most environmentally sensitive manner possible:

“Our Coalition may not represent this particular company or these particular workers, but the events that took place today represent an absolute tragedy for everyone involved in producing energy here in Pennsylvania. Our deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the families who lost loves ones today.

“What happened in Indiana Twp. today reminds us all how critically important it is to value the health and safety of your workforce. That’s why our member companies and their contractors continue to work day-in and day-out to ensure those protections and safeguards are in place, and are constantly improved and strengthened, as new technology and insight becomes available. These are investments we will continue to make, part of an industry-wide effort to implement a series of best management practices aimed at ensuring that clean-burning energy resources from the Marcellus are developed the right way, and in a manner that protects our workers and the environment above all else.”

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

Canonsburg, Pa. – Tonight, Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) president and executive director Kathryn Klaber will deliver the following remarks at a public EPA forum on hydraulic fracturing. Excerpts and full text — as prepared for delivery — of her remarks are below:

• “Fracturing is considered a safe and essential part of the responsible development of natural gas, which studies have shown has the potential to create nearly 212,000 new jobs throughout Pennsylvania over the next decade.”
• “Our industry is working tirelessly to ensure that fracturing is done effectively, prudently and in a way that continues to create thousands of good-paying jobs and stable supplies of homegrown energy for U.S. consumers.”

My name is Kathryn Klaber, and I have the tremendous privilege of serving as the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s first president. And on behalf of the MSC – the organizational body that represents the vast majority of shale gas producers and midstream companies operating in the Commonwealth – I appreciate the opportunity to discuss the significant role hydraulic fracturing continues to play in the responsible development of clean-burning, job-creating natural gas.

As the MSC said at the outset of this study in March, our industry is confident that an objective, science-driven, and peer-reviewed evaluation of fracturing will reach the same conclusions produced by a host of other studies, including most notably one issued by your agency in 2004.

In that report — the product of an intensive, four-year course of study first initiated under the Clinton administration — EPA found “no evidence” suggesting the fracturing of shallow coalbed methane reserves posed a threat to underground drinking water supplies. Certainly you’re aware that coalbed methane strata reside thousands of feet closer to the water table than shale formations, and that the technology used today to access clean-burning natural gas from these formations is much more advanced and sophisticated than what was available in the past.

Here in Pennsylvania, fracturing has been in use for more than 50 years, and has been tightly regulated by the state almost before we had a name for it. Today, as you know, fracturing is considered a safe and essential part of the responsible development of natural gas, which studies have shown has the potential to create nearly 212,000 new jobs throughout Pennsylvania over the next decade.

Because of tight regulations and laws in place, coupled with the commitment from industry to protect the environment, there’s never been a single case of groundwater contamination associated with fracturing, as noted by PA DEP, top EPA officials, other state regulators, and the Groundwater Protection Council.

As EPA’s study moves forward, it’s critical to consider what the top officials responsible for regulating fracturing in the Commonwealth have said. Scott Perry, director of DEP’s bureau of oil and gas management – with whom my members work closely with – said this in May:

• “We’ve never seen an impact to fresh groundwater directly from fracking.”
• “No one’s ever documented drinking water wells that have actually been shown to be impacted by fracking.”

Pittsburgh Congressman Mike Doyle has said that state officials have “done a great job in regulating” Marcellus Shale exploration.

Unfortunately, while perceptions remain that our industry continues to resist regulations, the truth is quite the opposite. In fact, my member companies met earlier today with top DEP officials about well-casing standards; the second of such productive meetings in just months.

Our industry is working tirelessly to ensure that fracturing is done effectively, prudently and in a way that continues to create thousands of good-paying jobs and stable supplies of homegrown energy for U.S. consumers.

Once again, thank for the opportunity to speak here tonight about the critical role that hydraulic fracturing continues to play in realizing the Marcellus’s promise.

NOTE: Click HERE to view these remarks on-line.

Callahan brings more than a decade of energy experience to the job, lauded by MSC chairman and president as a “key collaborator” in engaging elected officials and partners

CANONSBURG, Pa. – As Marcellus Shale employers continue to work with policymakers on a comprehensive framework for taking full advantage of the myriad opportunities that natural gas exploration make possible, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) today announced the addition of a key member to its staff who will be among those serving on the frontlines of that critical and ongoing effort.

Starting this week, David Callahan will serve as MSC’s vice president, a position dually based in Harrisburg and Canonsburg, Pa., but one that will take Mr. Callahan all across the multistate Marcellus region. A native Pennsylvanian, Mr. Callahan has 20 years of experience in the field of government relations, a majority spent representing a number of energy interests, including the Pennsylvania Gas Association (now the Energy Association of Pennsylvania) and the Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania.

“The safe and steady development of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for shared prosperity across the entire Marcellus,” said Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the MSC. “But that vision of the future that will only be realized through engagement and cooperation with policymakers and elected leaders in the region. David’s experience working collaboratively with legislators and regulators alike will serve our members well, and ultimately benefit everyone by advancing a strategy that generates jobs and revenues in the short-term, and the promise of long-term energy security and affordability beyond that.”

“The industry continues to create tens of thousands of jobs each and every year all across the multistate Marcellus region, our membership has continued to expand as well – and so has our strength and expertise,” said Ray Walker, Jr., chairman of the MSC and a senior vice-president for Range Resources. “The addition of David to the growing MSC staff represents a key step forward for this Coalition, and an important resource in our campaign to educate the public about the historic opportunities of the Marcellus, while educating policymakers on the imperative of keeping the Marcellus ahead of the competition curve in the ongoing and aggressive race for talent, equipment and investment.”

Mr. Callahan, currently a resident of Mechanicsburg, Pa., earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and his master’s from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

CANONSBURG, Pa. – Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) president and executive director Kathryn Klaber issued the following statement today after reviewing the letter sent to all Marcellus operators by the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as a follow-up to the agency’s investigation of a mechanical wellsite incident in Clearfield County last month:

“Today’s letter from DEP puts forth a series of new regulations that have already been incorporated by many of our members as part of their regular wellsite operations. Our industry is committed to continuously enhancing and improving our operations, and leveraging the opportunities of the Marcellus in a manner that’s safe, efficient and beneficial to all Pennsylvanians.”

Marcellus producers express commitment to working with lawmakers on comprehensive tax, regulatory and legislative plan for the future

CANONSBURG, Pa. – Earlier today, Gov. Ed Rendell signed a budget plan for 2010-2011 that recognizes the critical contributions that natural gas producers are making in Pennsylvania. The new budget, the product of months of hard work by members of the General Assembly, does not include new taxes on Marcellus Shale employers – but does include a commitment by our elected leaders to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of how best to seize on the opportunities of the Marcellus in the future, and do so in a manner that benefits all Pennsylvanians.

Subsequent to the governor’s signing today, Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) president and executive director Kathryn Klaber issued the following statement in strong support of the plan:

“Today’s announcement represents a positive step forward. The MSC has said from the start that it was going to take more than hard work and favorable geology to leverage the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of the Marcellus into jobs, revenue and long-term energy affordability for all Pennsylvanians.

“To do this, and do it right, we need an updated and modernized regulatory and legislative framework, and a fair tax strategy that keeps our state ahead of the curve in attracting the investment needed to bring these resources to the surface. Today, Pennsylvania announced its intention to compete for these opportunities. And we are pleased to have played a role in working with the legislature to get this process started on the right path.

“MSC members will continue to be key participants in this iterative, ongoing process, working alongside the General Assembly, the Administration and stakeholders across the Commonwealth to put our state in the best possible position to seize on the extraordinary opportunities of the Marcellus. And when it comes to that objective, there’s nothing more important than having a tax, regulatory and legislative framework in place that’s collaborative in its approach, and comprehensive in its design. Today’s agreement moves us one step closer toward the realization of such a plan.”

NOTE: As reported last week in the Towanda Daily Review, Bradford County currently ranks among the top job-producing counties in the state – a surge in employment that’s directly tied to the responsible development of the Marcellus Shale in the area. All told, Bradford Co. added more than 2,000 workers to the job rolls over the past 12 months, even as more than 60 other counties in Pennsylvania experienced a loss in jobs over that time.

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

MATTHEW TODD VINE Times Leader Intern

HAZLETON – Local businesses eager to get in on the Marcellus Shale gas drilling bonanza will have a chance to hear about opportunities on Tuesday.

That’s when the Northeast Pennsylvania Manufacturers and Employers Association will hold a combined Schuylkill/Luzerne CEO roundtable at the Top of the 80’s restaurant on Route 93 to talk about Marcellus Shale development with a focus on manufacturing jobs.

Darlene Robbins, president of the association, said that about 25 member companies were registered for the event by Wednesday.

“Our purpose of the event is to provide the discussion to the companies,” Robbins said, “about the services that are available with this Marcellus Shale development.”

Robbins said the businesses already registered include service providers, universities, workforce development agencies and electrical contractors.

According to the Marcellus Shale Coalition, based in Canonsburg, an industry funded study by The Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences at The Pennsylvania State University found 44,000 jobs already created in the state and projected more than 200,000 direct and indirect jobs would be added by 2020.

The potential jobs include site construction, well production, pipe manufacturing and transportation.

The Marcellus Shale is a layer of sedimentary rock about a mile underground that contains natural gas. This layer underlies much of Pennsylvania and West Virginia, and parts of New York, Ohio, Maryland, Virginia. Drilling is just getting started in Luzerne County, and companies have leased thousands of acres, mostly in the northern and western sections of the county.

Copyright: Times Leader

Group urges commonsense reforms, dialogue aimed at safely expanding natural gas development, jobs in Pa.

Canonsburg, Pa. – The Pennsylvania state House of Representatives is currently considering what would be the nation’s most onerous taxes on the environmentally responsible development of clean-burning, job-creating natural gas from the Commonwealth’s Marcellus Shale formation. Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC), issued this statement:

“Pennsylvanians continue to face troubling economic times, with nearly one out of every ten citizens in the Commonwealth out of work today.

“Despite this difficult climate, the environmentally-safe development of the Marcellus Shale’s natural gas resources continues to create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs at a time when they’re most needed. This responsible development is not only generating hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue for state and local governments, but it’s also delivering clean-burning, homegrown energy supplies to struggling families in the form of affordable natural gas for home and water heaters, as well electricity.

“We will continue to work closely with the General Assembly, the governor and his administration, as well as county and local officials, to craft commonsense solutions – especially modernizing our outdated regulatory framework – that encourage competitiveness, expanded job creation and energy security.

“Unfortunately, this enormous tax hike and misguided call for blanket moratoriums on shale gas production not only put Pennsylvania on a path to become one of the least competitive energy-producing states in the country but also threatens critical capital investments, which are essential for continued job growth. Instituting new taxes and an unnecessary moratorium will only drive away jobs – what a missed opportunity that would be.”

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

MSC president cites need for commonsense TDS regulations

Canonsburg, Pa. – The responsible use, treatment and stewardship of the Commonwealth’s water resources are among the most important considerations involved in the development of clean-burning natural gas from shale. As a result, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) – whose members represent 100 percent of the shale gas producers throughout Pennsylvania – counts among the industry’s major accomplishments the tremendous increase in recycling of shale water. Today’s meeting at Reserved Environmental Services facility features one example of the many facilities the industry is using to achieve its high recycle rates, reducing the amount of water used at each Marcellus well and decreasing the overall discharge volumes.

“Protecting the Commonwealth’s rivers, streams and tributaries remains a top priority for the MSC. New technologies allow our members to recycle on average nearly 60 percent of the produced water used in this tightly regulated process. And because of these technologies – which continue to advance by the day – some MSC members are recycling nearly 100 percent of their water,” said Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the MSC.

New regulations sought by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) call for an “end of pipe”, 500 milligrams per liter cap on the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS) in the disposal of produced water. These proposed regulations, which are now pending before the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, could create a host of unintended consequences — as virtually no water treatment facilities across the Commonwealth could meet this threshold.

In fact, the Reserved Environmental Services facility is not currently capable of treating produced water at the discharge standards in the pending regulation, and will not have that capability before the effective date of the that regulation. For context, San Pellegrino Mineral Water’s TDS concentration is nearly twice the level of what these proposed regulations would require.

“As the safe and steady development of the Marcellus Shale continues to generate jobs, revenue and opportunity for the Commonwealth, the MSC stands ready, willing and eager – as always – to partner with DEP, the governor and the General Assembly to ensure this opportunity is seized upon in the safest, most beneficial manner for residents of the state and for our environment,” Klaber said. “Unfortunately, the new TDS rules represents a bump in that road and require more work to actually solve the TDS issues they are purported to address — but one we hope will be smoothed out along the path to an energy future to which we will continue to contribute, and of which we can be proud.”

READ MORE

• Gov. Rendell: “The technology in treating [produced] water is improving rapidly.” (CNBC’s Squawk Box, 6/9/10)
• Release: Marcellus Shale Coalition Releases the Facts on Flowback Water Treatment
• Study: Evaluation of High TDS Concentrations in the Monongahela River (Tetra Tech)
• Release: Environmental Firm Finds Marcellus Shale Drilling Activity Had Minimal Impact On Total Dissolved Solids

Copyright: Marcelluscoalition.org

Court will hear landowners’ claims that gas companies took advantage of them.

MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania landowners who want to snatch a better deal from natural gas companies hoping to drill into their ground and the potentially lucrative Marcellus Shale formation beneath it will get the ear of the state’s highest court.

Wednesday’s oral arguments in front of the state Supreme Court are certain to be watched closely for its impact on one of Pennsylvania’s biggest economic opportunities and environmental challenges in decades.

For exploration companies with offices from Calgary to Canonsburg, the decision could either bring a huge sigh of relief or the havoc of renegotiating land leases across the state, possibly throwing the entire gas industry into chaos.

The fact that the court moved quickly to hear the case — and resolve a burgeoning number of complaints in state and federal courts — demonstrates the seriousness of the matter.

“By its actions, I think the court recognizes that this really is an extraordinary issue for Pennsylvania and it’s critically important that it is resolved,” said David Fine, a Harrisburg-based lawyer representing ElexCo Land Services Inc. and Southwestern Energy Production Co.

To some extent, justices will hear plaintiffs’ attorneys tell a story of big corporations taking advantage of unsuspecting landowners, paying them a fraction of the upfront per-acre leasing fee that they later paid to other landowners as competition in the land rush intensified.

“They didn’t know Marcellus Shale from a hole in the wall and they feel the gas companies came in and got them to sell away the rights to their property,” said attorney Laurence M. Kelly, who is representing Susquehanna County landowner Herbert Kilmer and his family.

The real legal question will be whether some tens of thousands of leases were never valid because they violate a state law that guarantees landowners a minimum one-eighth royalty from the production of oil and gas on their land.

The lawsuits are just the latest sign that Pennsylvania’s laws governing mineral rights and environmental protection are lagging behind the large, modern-day industry presence that has descended here.

Dozens of exploration companies and contractors have flocked here since early 2008 from as far away as Houston, Denver, and Calgary, Alberta, in a rush to lock up land rights over the thickest portions of the shale. That rush has eased somewhat since the recession drove down natural gas prices — but the legal disputes have not.

By Fine’s estimate, more than 70 lawsuits have been filed in federal and state courts by plaintiffs seeking a judgment that the leases they signed were never valid.

In general, the leases in question give the exploration company the right to subtract certain costs — such as taxes, assessments or transportation — before paying the 12.5 percent royalty. That violates the law, plaintiffs say.

The law, however, is silent on the meaning of “royalty” and whether it is determined before or after those expenses.

Fine and industry officials say it is standard language in leases to deduct those costs — a contention disputed by landowner advocates in Pennsylvania and elsewhere.

But judicial decisions in two of the cases raised the prospect of a myriad of different legal opinions.

In Susquehanna County, the judge in the Kilmer vs. ElexCo case handed the companies an initial victory, saying the law does not specifically prohibit the subtraction of costs. Kilmer has appealed to state Superior Court.

Separately, a federal judge in Scranton hearing a case against Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. denied a motion to dismiss the case, saying the law’s silence does not necessarily mean the costs can be legally deducted.

Fine decided to ask the state Supreme Court to take up Kilmer vs. Elexco immediately, and effectively settle the matter for everyone.

Still, the high court’s decision could create a new kind of chaos. Records of oil and gas leases dating back to the royalty law of 1979 are kept in county courthouses, often in arcane filing systems, making it nearly impossible to know how many landowners and leases are potentially affected.

“I’m sure that no one person knows,” Kelly said.

Copyright: Times Leader