Posts Tagged ‘gas’

MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG — State environmental regulators worked Sunday to get to the bottom of what caused a natural-gas well to spew explosive gas and polluted water for 16 hours last week before it could be brought under control.

Neil Weaver, spokesman for the Department of Environmental Protection, blamed a failure on the well’s blowout preventer, a series of valves that sit atop a well and allow workers to control the pressure inside. Investigators are trying to figure out what caused the malfunction.

The blowout is the latest in a string of accidents connected by regulators to the rapidly growing pursuit of the rich Marcellus Shale gas reserve that lies beneath much of Pennsylvania.

It seems likely the Pennsylvania blowout will enter the debate in the Capitol, where legislators are battling over the merits of an extraction tax and tighter regulations on an industry that has spent several billion dollars and drilled more than 1,000 wells in Pennsylvania in just a couple years.

State Rep. David Levdansky, D-Allegheny, said such oil problems could bring increased interest in a moratorium on leasing public land for gas drilling and a severance tax that could largely fund existing environmental protection and cleanup programs. Levdansky is a leading environmental advocate.

Weaver declined to discuss whether investigators have found anything so far or whether well driller EOG Resources Inc. of Houston committed any violations that could lead to fines or any other penalties.

An EOG spokeswoman said Sunday the investigation into the cause is ongoing, and the company had no light to shed on the blowout.

Crews evacuated the site Thursday night and didn’t regain control over it until just past noon Friday. No one was injured, the gas didn’t explode and polluted water didn’t reach a nearby waterway, officials said.

The blowout sent highly pressurized gas and polluted water 75 feet into the air. Huge tanks were required to cart off chemical- and mineral-laced water collected on the grounds of the private hunting club where the well had just been drilled.

Copyright: Times Leader

A company drilling for natural gas says it is already working with local officials.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

Although the community at large hasn’t been privy to it, some local emergency management officials have been working closely with an energy company to draft emergency response plans to address any local natural gas drilling-related catastrophe that might occur.

EnCana Oil & Gas USA is slated to begin drilling a well at a site in Fairmount Township in about a month, and many local residents, officials and emergency responders have become anxious, feeling left-in-the-dark about whether local emergency responders have the equipment, knowledge and protocols in place to handle a drilling-related catastrophe.

But Wendy Wiedenbeck, public and community relations advisor for EnCana, said local firefighters would not be responsible for containing or fighting a gas well fire or gas release at a well site.

“In the event of an incident, local emergency responders will be asked to provide support to our operations personnel who are specially trained to deal with incidents at oil and gas locations,” Wiedenbeck said.

“Should a serious well-control incident occur, such as release of gas or fire, EnCana will look to local emergency responders to provide support while EnCana calls upon well-control experts to assist in addressing such an incident,” she said.

The well-control company EnCana has identified in an Emergency Response Plan submitted to the state Department of Environmental Protection is Wild Well Control in Houston, Texas. A second call would be placed to Cudd Well Control, also in Houston.

“Depending on the severity of the well-control issue, they would respond as soon as possible. In the meantime, the area around the well – the exact area again depends on the well-control issue – would be secured and/or evacuated. This is another example of how Encana and local emergency responders will work together,” Wiedenbeck said.

Wiedenbeck said Encana has experienced well-control incidents in the past, and the risks are inherent in the oil and natural gas industry.

“Our training, systems, and protocols are designed to fit the level risk associated with the activity. Our goal is to minimize the risk and to operate in a safe manner. Safety is our number one priority,” she said.

County office works on plan

Steve Bekanich, coordinator of the Luzerne County Emergency Management Agency, said last week that he has had several conversations with EnCana officials, but a volunteer with the county EMA “has taken the lead for my office. … We are close to completing an emergency response plan.”

Bekanich said Barney Dobinick, who is also the EMA coordinator for Lake Township, is “handling all direct talks with EnCana for ease of operations. He’s briefing me almost on a daily basis. … I’m very comfortable with what Barney has been doing. He’s been a trusted staff member for 20 years.”

Dobinick said a 230-page set of response guidelines is near completion. After meeting with EnCana representatives in mid-June, the plan will be shared with area municipal officials for their approval and made available to the public. Sometime in the next few, a public meeting also will be scheduled to gather input and answer questions.

Until the plan is complete, Dobinick said it would be counter-productive to release any aspects of it until EnCana has reviewed it and possible changes are made.

“If we determine there’s a better way, we’ll amend it. We’re not hiding anything. We just want to have a complete plan in place (before it’s released),” he said.

Bekanich said adjustments can be made even after the plan is disseminated to municipal officials and input is gathered from the public.

Dobinick did say, however, that local emergency responders would handle some emergencies at well sites, for example, a brush fire, an office trailer or vehicle fire or a hazardous materials spill.

Jack Dodson, emergency management coordinator for Dallas Township and Kunkle fire chief, has said his major concern was having emergency personnel who might have to extract disaster victims from a well-related catastrophe prepared to do so.

Dobinick said there are response guidelines for mass-casualty incidents, getting basic and advanced life support on-scene and implementing a disaster plan for hospitals and medical air transport.

“And depending on the seriousness of an event, it would determine how much, if any, of an area would be evacuated,” Dobinick said.

Off-site also part of concern

Dobinick said he’s more concerned about local responses to off-site incidents, such as the crash of a truck carrying “residual backflow” material, or “frack water” used in the hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale formation.

He said fire departments would handle the initial stabilization of such an incident and work to prevent contamination of any nearby waterway. A state-certified hazardous material clean-up team would come in if needed to remove the material and any contaminated soil.

Dobinick said he feels “very comfortable” with the guidelines and hopes to have the majority of the document complete by the end of the week. He’s still waiting on some information from the county 911 office and the American Red Cross.

Plus, Bekanich noted that Luzerne County is a member of and has access to the resources of the East Central Pennsylvania Regional Task Force – a seven-county all-hazards task force formed in 1998 along with eight other such task forces in the state in response to terrorist threats.

Bekanich said 48 professionals from Luzerne, Wyoming, Schuylkill, Colombia, Northumberland, Montour and Berks counties attended a training event/exercise last week at the county EMA headquarters and worked on a scenario to determine “how we would bring logistics and resources together for an event such as a catastrophic well failure.”

If a catastrophe did occur, Bekanich said, “it’s not like we would be in this on our own. We have resources and technical expertise from seven other counties to rely on for support.”

Dobinick also said EnCana has commissioned a transportation study and will be sitting down with officials from the Lake-Lehman School District to address any concerns about incidents that could affect school bus routes.

Several area residents have voiced concerns about emergency response and traffic at public meetings over the last few months and have been dissatisfied with information supplied by EnCana.

Company schedules meetings

Wiedenbeck said meetings with stakeholders are scheduled for this week.

“Our goal is to understand how these agencies work together, how our operations impact them and how we can work together to make sure we collectively work together so local emergency responders continue to do the great job they’re already doing,” Widenebeck said.

The purpose of sitting down with Dobinick and others is to determine the capabilities of local responders and “if there are gaps, how do we fill them.”

In some instances, Wiedenbeck said, there might be grants available to purchase emergency response equipment that might be needed – for example, a new radio system.

“Our job is to work together with emergency responders, the recreation district, township supervisors and the school district to understand existing protocols and how those protocols might be impacted if there is an incident. We also need to understand existing resources, identify potential gaps and solutions for addressing the gaps, if any,” Wiedenbeck said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission has a set of rules for gas companies.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

The Department of Environmental Protection isn’t the only state agency intent on protecting water sources from natural gas drilling activities that could affect area residents.

Tom Beauduy, deputy director of the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, said the commission requires drilling companies to account for “every gallon of water” withdrawn from any water source within the basin – where it comes from, where it’s used and what happens to it after it’s used.

And, a $1 million water quality monitoring system is being put in place near drilling sites within the basin, Beauduy said.

Beauduy said Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania hit the commission “like a tsunami,” just like it did every other impacted agency in the state.

The natural gas industry uses 4 million to 6 million gallons of water per natural gas well to release gas from the shale in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Currently, the industry is using about 1 million gallons per day in the state, and Beauduy expects that amount to increase to 28 million a day.

The commission, which is responsible for water resources planning, management, conservation, development, use and allocation, responded quickly to the industry’s needs. Protocols were adjusted so the commission could deal with the surge of water allocation requests, but no corners are cut when granting water withdrawal approvals, Beauduy said.

All companies known to be drilling in the Marcellus Shale region, which underlies more than 72 percent of the Susquehanna River Basin, were notified of the commission’s regulatory requirements. And the commission activated a previously unused rule that authorized an administrative “approval by rule” process for water withdrawals solely from public water supplies.

To date, Beauduy said the commission has approved 111 surface water withdrawals, with 55 applications pending; and 22 approvals of public water supply withdrawals, with 14 pending. It has also issued 662 approvals by rule for individual well pad sites and has 181 pending.

While the amount of water the gas industry needs might seem massive, Beauduy pointed out that the golf and ski resort industry in Pennsylvania consumes an average of 56 million gallons per day. He said industry needs can be accommodated if regulated properly. The industry must abide by restrictions that prevent negative impacts on streams and rivers that could harm aquatic life and water quality.

And while DEP regulates how the industry must dispose of flowback water from fracking operations, the commission will track area rivers and streams to catch a contamination problem.

The commission will have 30 water quality monitoring stations set up by the end of June in the regions where drilling in the Marcellus Shale is most active, as well as other locations where no drilling activities are planned so the commission can collect control data. The monitoring network will provide constant data collection with instruments sensitive enough to detect subtle changes in water quality on a frequency that will allow background conditions and any changes to them to be documented throughout the year.

Each monitoring station will be equipped with water quality sensors and a transmitter to continuously monitor and report water temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, ability to conduct electricity (conductance) and water clarity. The water depth also will be recorded to establish a relationship with stream flows.

The monitoring of conductance is key to detecting impacts associated with natural gas activities if they occur because water produced by the natural gas industry is generally 200 times more conductive of electricity than water normally measured in streams in the basin.

The monitoring network, the data from which will be accessible online by the public, will provide early warnings to help DEP officials respond more rapidly and better pinpoint causes if water quality conditions change. It will also help local public water suppliers, local watershed groups and communities stay informed.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

PSU report touts job growth, increased taxes; planned severance tax a concern. Others say study inflates benefits.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

Development of the Marcellus Shale has the potential to create more than 200,000 jobs in Pennsylvania during the next 10 years, according to an update to a Penn State University study released on Monday.

The report warned, however, that imposing a state severance tax on the natural gas industry, as Gov. Ed Rendell has proposed, could induce energy companies to redirect their investments to other shale “plays” in the United States. Plays refers to natural gas development in other shale developments.

If that happened, any revenues gained from a severance tax could be offset by losses in sales taxes and income taxes resulting from lower drilling activity and natural gas production as producers shift their capital spending to other shale plays.

Some, however, have expressed doubt about the impact of a severance tax and claims and assumptions about economic benefits and job growth in the report.

The update, commissioned by the Marcellus Shale Coalition, was conducted by professors with the university’s Department of Energy and Mineral Engineering. It supplements a study the department released last July.

The updated study also states that during just the next 18 months, gas drilling activities are expected to create more than $1.8 billion in state and local tax revenues.

“At a time when more than half-a-million people in Pennsylvania are currently out of work, the release of this updated report from Penn State … confirms the critical role that responsible energy development in the commonwealth can play in substantially, perhaps even permanently, reversing that trend,” Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said in a press release.

“Last year alone, Marcellus producers paid more than $1.7 billion to landowners across the state, and spent more than $4.5 billion total to make these resources available. By the end of this year, that number is expected to double, and millions of Pennsylvanians will find themselves the direct beneficiaries of that growth,” Klaber said.

The updated study finds that Marcellus development will create more than 111,000 new jobs by 2011, a result of an increase in the number of wells developed from the roughly 1,400 in operation today to 2,200 expected during the next 18 months.

All told, by 2011, this work is expected to deliver nearly $1 billion in annual tax revenue to state and local governments.

In addition to generating tax revenue, natural gas development stimulates the economy in two major ways: business-to-business spending and payments to land owners, the study states.

Exploring, drilling, processing and transporting natural gas requires goods and services from many sectors of the economy, such as construction, trucking, steelmaking and engineering services. Gas companies also pay lease and royalty payments to land owners, who also spend and pay taxes on this income.

In 2009, Marcellus gas producers spent a total of $4.5 billion to develop Marcellus Shale gas resources, drilling 710 wells that year. The writers estimate that this spending added $3.9 billion in value to the economy and generated $389 million in state and local tax revenues, and more than 44,000 jobs.

Based on energy company plans to drill 1,743 wells this year, value-added dollars, tax revenue and jobs creation are expected to approximately double for 2010, according to the report. And by 2015, the numbers are expected to nearly double from this year.

Some question PSU report

While the report paints a rosy economic picture for the state, assuming that no severance tax is imposed, some are leery of assumptions and claims made in the report.

Dick Martin, coordinator of the Pennsylvania Forest Coalition, an alliance of outdoor enthusiasts, landowners, churches and conservation groups, first notes a disclaimer in the study, that Penn State does not guarantee the accuracy or usefulness of the information.

Martin said the study contains some flaws.

While the study states that development costs are higher in the Marcellus Shale than in other shale plays, “the industry itself tells its shareholders that the Marcellus is a low-cost gas deposit,” he said.

“Chesapeake Energy has told its shareholders that it can make a 10 percent return when gas prices are at only $2.59 per thousand cubic feet. Gas price today is $4.08,” Martin said.

Martin also said the study relies on data and assumptions supplied by the gas industry and that it looks only at benefits and not at costs to communities, infrastructure, environment and regulators.

He said the study does not look at data from other states that either imposed or raised severance taxes. He said there is no evidence that severance taxes affect either production or investment in states that impose or raise severance taxes.

Martin pointed to a review by the state Budget and Policy Center of the study Penn State released in July, saying the review is still valid because the update is based on the 2009 report and used the same methodology.

The review claims that the 2009 Penn State report “overplays the positive impacts of increased natural gas production, while minimizing the negative.”

Among other flaws, the report “exaggerates the impact a severance tax would have on development of the Marcellus Shale and overstates what taxes the industry now pays, going so far as to count fishing and hunting license fees paid by those who benefit from the industry as a tax due to industry activity,” the review states.

Also according to the review, the report acknowledges that many drillers will avoid corporate taxes, paying the much lower personal income tax or avoiding taxes altogether through deductions.

The report also “inflates the economic impact of expanded gas production in Pennsylvania to puff up the industry’s economic promise,” the review states.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

Pa. senator says protection needed to ensure drilling doesn’t contaminate water.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

The state senator representing the Back Mountain is proposing a series of bills to protect drinking water sources from contamination associated with natural gas drilling.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said on Monday that the chances of water contamination grow as drilling into the Marcellus Shale increases in Pennsylvania, and the proposed bills are in response to citizen and community concerns about the safety of water resources.

“Prevention and protection are preferable to crisis management and emergency response,” Baker said.

EnCana Oil & Gas plans to drill two natural gas wells in the Back Mountain – one each in Lehman and Lake townships – and a third in the Red Rock area in Fairmount Township, not far from Ricketts Glen State Park.

The well site in Lehman Township is less than two miles from the Huntsville Reservoir.

Although there are proposed water protection regulations moving through the approval process, Baker said state law has “more force.”

And as drilling proceeds on a larger scale, “area residents want answers that show responsibility being assured, rather than risks being assumed,” Baker said.

“Reasonable environmental protections will not discourage the development of this industry; they will help to make sure that unreasonable costs are not imposed on local communities and homeowners,” she said.

In order to protect aquifers and determine any adverse consequences attributable to drilling, one bill would require testing at three times – before drilling, at the completion of drilling, and six months afterwards – at three different depths.

A second bill would rule out drilling at sites too close to drinking water sources such as reservoirs.

A third bill would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that operators of wastewater treatment facilities are properly trained and sufficiently monitored to lessen the chances of human error creating a major problem.

Baker said some of the costs would be borne by the gas companies.

Oversight costs could be paid for through a severance tax, which is expected to be debated in the coming weeks.

She reiterated her opposition to any severance tax plan that would devote the revenue generated to filling a hole in the state budget rather than providing for community protection in drilling areas.

“The environmental and economic catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the crucial nature of taking all reasonable precautions and for being prepared for dealing with extreme situations when things go horribly wrong,” Baker said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

By Tom Veneskytvenesky@timesleader.com
Sports Reporter

The talk inside Giles Evans’ sporting goods shop has changed recently.

For years hunters and anglers have come into Brady and Cavany Sporting Goods, in the heart of Tunkhannock, to swap stories about where the fish are biting and the big bucks are roaming. And every day, Evans leans on the counter and takes it all in.

But recently, in addition to hunting and fishing, a new topic has sprung to the forefront: gas drilling.

Evans said he hears more and more hunters and anglers expressing concerns about how the drilling boom will affect the streams they fish and the woods they hunt. It’s a concern that continues to grow as quickly as the well pads dotting the ground in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“This is a big event up here,” Evans said. “A lot of people are making money, but a lot of people are concerned about the land and the water.”

Anglers, Evans said, are worried about the pristine trout streams in the area – Tunkhannock, Meshoppen, Mehoopany and Bowman’s creeks to name a few. They wonder if the streams can withstand the water withdrawals needed for the drilling process or, worse yet, what happens if they become contaminated.

“Anglers consider these places as pristine and they’re really concerned for the creeks,” Evans said. “The gas drillers are putting a lot of pads in around Meshoppen, near Whites Creek. That is a fantastic little trout stream. God forbid something happens there.”

Or anywhere else for that matter, according to Joe Ackourey, an avid fly fisherman and member of the Stanley Cooper Sr. Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Ackourey said the area of Wyoming County and northern Luzerne County that is targeted for drilling is home to numerous high-quality wild trout streams. The majority of those streams, he said, flow through remote mountainous areas and could be easily damaged.

The disturbance created by gas drilling – clear-cutting for pads, erosion, increased water temperatures and water withdrawals – can be fatal to the wild trout and other aquatic life that inhabits the streams.

“I just don’t like the major changes that are going to take place to these ecosystems all for the sake of the mighty dollar,” Ackourey said. “I fear for those streams and the wild trout that inhabit them.”

Lease helps hunting club

Dallas resident Russ Bigus has hunted the mountains and farmlands of Sullivan and Wyoming counties for decades. He enjoys the abundant wildlife in the area and the pristine landscape.

Bigus also supports the gas drilling boom and the economic benefit that comes with it.

If done properly, Bigus feels, gas drilling can actually enhance the region’s natural areas.

The money paid to farmers and landowners who enter into leases with gas companies will make it easier for them to keep their land as open space, Bigus said.

While he admits there is reason to be concerned about environmental degradation, the revenue generated from drilling could prevent open space from becoming something else.

It has happened in other parts of the state, Bigus said.

“In Juniata County it used to be all farms with great habitat for wild pheasants,” he said. “That’s all gone now. Those farms have been sold for development.

“That doesn’t have to happen any more with the income generated from natural gas drilling. Hunting opportunities will remain the same or get better with our open space here remaining open.”

Bigus said his hunting club, the White Ash Landowners Association located in Cherry Township, Sullivan County, currently has a gas lease agreement for its 5,000 acres.

Much of the club’s land has been degraded by strip mining in the past, he said, and the impact from gas drilling is minimal in comparison.

“It’s a very short-lived impact from what I’ve seen,” he said. “And our land is even more financially stable now.”

Still, Bigus cautioned that drilling can be an environmental disaster if not regulated properly.

According to Luzerne County property records, private hunting and fishing clubs that have leased land for drilling include North Mountain Club in Fairmount Township, Mayflower Rod & Gun Club in Ross Township and Rattlesnake Gulch Hunting Club in Ross Township.

“Scary what could happen”

Dr. Tom Jiunta, who resides in Lehman Township, hikes and fishes around the Ricketts Glen area and near his cabin in Laporte, Sullivan County.

Both areas are potential hotspots for gas drilling activity, and Jiunta fears what could happen to the streams and trails, such as the Loyalsock Trail, that he and countless others enjoy.

Aside from the major disruption of clearing land and the potential for pollution, Jiunta said other effects could be devastating, such as noise from drilling, air pollution and the introduction of invasive species as equipment from other states is moved into the remote locations of Northeastern Pennsylvania.

“There’s a lot of subtle impacts that may not be noticed until a few years from now,” Jiunta said.

Despite his concerns, Jiunta said he isn’t totally opposed to drilling if it’s done properly “in the right places with the right regulations in place.” Pennsylvania is lacking as far with the latter, he said. “You can’t depend on the industry to police itself and we don’t have enough DEP (state Department of Environmental Protection) staff to keep on top of this.

“It’s really scary what could happen.”

As far as hunters go, some already have been affected by gas drilling. Evans, the sporting goods store owner, said hunters have told him that they lost their traditional hunting spots in Susquehanna County last deer season when the areas were deemed off limits due to gas drilling activity.

Even in areas where gas companies halted operations for the first week of deer season, Evans said, hunters were affected.

“Customers told me that in the Hop Bottom and Springville areas, the gas companies were out before the season with helicopters laying cables for seismic testing,” Evans said. “It was a noisy process and that scared a lot of deer out of the area and changed their patterns.”

Compromise needed

Bigus agreed that some hunting area will be lost while drilling commences, but believes conflicts can be reduced by an open line of communication between landowners and gas companies.

“For example, make sure they agree that there will be no activity for the first week of deer season, and have them do most of the work in the summer,” he said. “It’s important to establish a good relationship.”

And for all the concerns expressed daily by his customers, Evans said there is at least one example of how drilling can be done with little impact.

A well drilled near Nicholson, he said, was located next to a road and didn’t venture into the woods, lessening the impact on hunters and the environment, according to Evans.

But for that one positive, a looming negative experience continues to leave a sour taste with hunters and anglers.

In 2009, the Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. was fined $120,000 by DEP after methane gas infiltrated into private water wells in Dimock Township. In addition, between 6,000 and 8,000 gallons of fracking fluid leaked from a pipe at a drill site in the area and contaminated a nearby wetland.

This year Cabot was fined an additional $240,000 and ordered to shut down three wells because of methane contamination of water wells.

While DEP has prohibited Cabot from drilling in the area for one year, the damage was already done when it came to the views of hunters and anglers.

“That business in Dimock really has hunters and anglers concerned,” Evans said. “Everybody’s worried about it because there’s so much unknown, and the Cabot incident didn’t help.

“A lot of people that talk about it in the store just hope that they get done, get out and nothing gets harmed. In the meantime, they’re scared to death about what could happen.”

Copyright: Times Leader

The Times Leader staff

There are approximately 49,000 acres of State Game Lands throughout Luzerne County and portions of that are near areas being eyed by natural gas companies.

Pennsylvania Game Commission spokesman Jerry Feaser said the agency doesn’t have any active leases for gas drilling at this time in Luzerne County, but in other areas where drilling has occurred on game lands, use by hunters is restricted to a degree.

According to Feaser, the drill sites aren’t classified as safety zones but the access to active sites is restricted. Boundaries are determined by the Game Commission and the gas companies. Once the drilling process is complete, Feaser said, the area is available for hunting and trapping.

On Game Lands where the PGC owns the gas rights and enters into a lease, Feaser said, they typically reach agreements with companies to avoid activity during peak hunting seasons. Also, the agency can prioritize setbacks or limit where drilling can occur near environmentally sensitive areas and other habitats on game lands where it owns the rights.

“Our focus is protecting wildlife habitats, and if there is a possible threat to sensitive areas, we don’t allow drilling,” Feaser said. “However, the complication is when we don’t own the rights to the gas resource, we then lose the ability to control the project.”

Copyright: Times Leader

That situation could shift, says co-author of study of political donations.

By Andrew M. Sederaseder@timesleader.com
Times Leader Staff Writer

While natural gas companies and their related political action committees have given millions of dollars to elected officials throughout Pennsylvania since 2001, the donations have not flowed as heavily into the coffers of politicians serving Luzerne County.

One of the authors of a report that looked at the correlation of campaign contributions and legislation related to the natural gas drilling industry predicted they soon will.

A study released this week by the non-profit organization Pennsylvania Common Cause, takes a look at the link between gas firms and political donations and finds that since 2001, the industry has contributed $2.8 million to political candidates in Pennsylvania.

The study, titled “Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets” also reports that since 2007 the industry has spent $4.2 million to lobby members of the state legislature and the Rendell administration.

“I think part of the industry’s success is cultivating people at the very top,” said James Browning, director of development for Pennsylvania Common Cause and one of two men who put the report together.

The report includes a list of the top 25 recipients of the funding from Jan. 1, 2001 through April of 2010. At the top of the list is state Attorney General Tom Corbett, a Republican candidate for governor. He received $361,207, according to the report. Two previous gubernatorial candidates also made the list – Mike Fisher, who lost his bid in 2002, accepted $98,386, and Lynn Swan, who lost his bid in 2006, took in $351,263. Both men are Republicans.

Gov. Ed Rendell is sixth on the list. The Democrat from Philadelphia has accepted $84,100 in campaign contributions over the past nine and a third years. Current Democratic candidates for governor Dan Onorato, $59,300 and Jack Wagner, $44,550, ranked seventh and 10th respectively.

Others on the list include current and former judges, a former lieutenant governor, a candidate this year for that same post, a former candidate for the state House and numerous current members of the General Assembly.

Not one of the seven state House members or four state senators who represent Luzerne County made the top 25 list. In fact, according to records on the Department of State website and those provided by Pennsylvania Common Cause, campaigns for four of the seven House members did not receive one dime from the gas companies. The four are: Jim Wansacz, D-Old Forge; Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston; Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre; and Mike Carroll, D-Avoca.

Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, accepted $250 from Chesapeake Energy Corp. Fed PAC on Oct. 9, 2009. Boback said that money was accepted by mistake and returned two months later. She said it is her policy “not to solicit or accept contributions from oil or gas companies.”

Rep. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Twp., accepted $250 on April 10, 2008, from the PAC affiliated with Dominion Energy. Rep. Todd A. Eachus, D-Butler Township, accepted $500 from EQT Corp. PAC on July 2, 2009; $500 from EXCO Resources PAC on Oct. 20, 2008; and $250 from Equitable Resources, Inc. PAC on Sept. 30, 2008.

Of the four senators who represent a portion of Luzerne County, Bob Mellow, D-Peckville, took in the most at $3,000. That encompasses eight total donations, four from the Equitable Resources, Inc. Political Involvement Committee totaling $1,750 and four from the NFG PA PAC, affiliated with Seneca Resources, totaling $1,250. He declined comment through a spokeswoman, saying that he had not yet seen the report.

Sen. John Gordner, R-Berwick, accepted three donations of $500 from Dominion PAC. One came in 2004, another in 2006 and the third in 2008. His term does not expire for another two years.

Sen. Ray Musto, D-Pittston Township, accepted $500 from the Marathon Oil Co. Employees PAC on Oct. 20, 2008. Earlier this year, the veteran lawmaker announced he was retiring and not seeking another term in Harrisburg.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, accepted three donations at $500 apiece. One came from Cabot Oil and Gas on April 22, 2009; another was from EXCO Resources PAC on Nov. 19, 2008; and on April, 22, 2009, she accepted one from NFG PA PAC.

Browning said that as pressure from the public is placed on officials to tax the industry and approve more regulations, the elected officials at all levels of government, even those in non-leadership positions, will begin to see the money.

“I will predict that as there are more votes and as drilling expands, the money will come,” Browning said.

It will not head to Baker anymore.

The senator, who is seeking her second term in office this year, said, “Because of the sensitivity of the issues revolving around gas drilling, I am not asking for contributions from the gas drilling interests, nor am I accepting them.”

Barry Kauffman, executive director for Pennsylvania Common Cause, said the report illustrates the “power of political money in the governing process.” He said that as discussions about securing access to state forest land for drilling and severance taxes on natural gas production have popped up the past two years, lobbyist and campaign contribution spending have increased. The results have been no taxes have been approved and the state leased state land for drillers.

Baker said that she votes in response to her constituents, not her contributors.

“My legislative decision-making takes into account a variety of factors, but campaign contributions are never one of them. If anyone who contributes believes they are gaining special access or assuring a result, they will be sorely disappointed. That no-connection principle applies irrespective of the size of the contribution,” Baker said.

Andrew M. Seder, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 570-829-7269.

Coyright: Times Leader

State DEP chief talks about protecting water supplies in the Marcellus Shale areas.

By Steve Mocarskysmocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

HARRISBURG – State Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger laid down the law to representatives of oil and gas companies drilling in the Marcellus Shale at a meeting he called on Thursday.

More precisely, he laid out two sets of proposed regulations for natural gas drilling procedures and responding to reports of contamination of water supplies – proposed regulations that members of the oil and gas industry helped create.

“There were technical discussions on how to prevent gas migration from (natural gas) well sites to water wells and what to do if migration does occur and how to respond,” Hanger said in an interview from his cell phone as he was riding to Dimock after the meeting in Harrisburg.

Hanger was on his way to an interview with ABC News at the site of a natural gas well that Cabot Oil & Gas capped under DEP order after the regulatory agency determined it was one of three that leaked methane, contaminating the well water supplies of at least 14 households in the rural Susquehanna County village.

“I challenged the industry. … I made it clear that regulations would be enforced,” Hanger said, noting that DEP opened two new field offices in Northeastern Pennsylvania in response to Marcellus Shale development and is doubling its enforcement staff. “I also made it clear we were strengthening the rules,” he said.

DEP spokesman Tom Rathbun said in a separate interview that the new drilling regulations would require specific testing according to standards of the American National Standards Institute on steel casing used in all high-pressure oil and gas wells as well as the use of “oil-field grade” cement in well construction.

Rathbun said the oil and gas industry supports the implementation of those standards, and most companies already employ those practices under best-management practices. The goal is to have all companies comply, and Hanger asked the industry to voluntarily comply immediately, rather than wait until regulations receive all necessary approvals, which are expected in November.

Rathbun said the new regulations are “designed to prevent situations like the one in Dimock.” He said the issue there was incomplete casing – Cabot Oil & Gas didn’t use enough cement in the well construction.

DEP in April banned Cabot from drilling in Pennsylvania until it plugs the three wells determined to be leaking gas. Cabot has already paid a $240,000 fine and must pay $30,000 per month until the company meets its obligations.

Rathbun said one well is capped, and Cabot is currently working to cap a second.

He said most of the discussion at the meeting focused on responding to reports of gas migration into water sources.

Currently, the industry is required to report any suspected or confirmed occurrence of gas migration to DEP. The new regulations would require immediately reporting suspected or confirmed migration to DEP and to emergency responders for the affected municipality.

As chairman of the state Environmental Quality Board, Hanger on Monday will present those proposed regulations to the board for adoption. If approved, they will be sent to the House and the Senate Environmental Resources & Energy Committee.

Each legislative committee will have 30 days to review the proposed regulations before either recommending a vote or sending them to the Independent Regulatory Review Commission, which is composed of administrative law judges. A final approval is required from the state attorney general to ensure they are constitutional.

The whole process can take about six months.

Kathryn Klaber, president and executive director of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents the natural gas production industry, said in a written statement that the coalition is “fully committed” to continue working with government regulators to ensure that the potential of the Marcellus Shale in the state is realized in a safe and responsible way.

“Today’s meeting with DEP represents yet another honest and straightforward discussion about the best practices needed to fully achieve this vision. Positive progress on practices relating to the management of historic and naturally occurring shallow gas, as well as other initiatives related to transparency and well integrity, will help our industry continue to strengthen its safety and environmental record while continuing to create tens of thousands of jobs each year for residents of this state,” Klaber said.

Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.

Copyright: Times Leader

MARC LEVY Associated Press Writer

HARRISBURG — Gov. Ed Rendell says the cash-strapped state government is leasing more public forest land to a company that wants to drill for natural gas in the vast Marcellus Shale reserve.

As a result, Rendell said Tuesday he will support legislation to temporarily halt additional leasing of state forest land for gas drilling.

Rendell says Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has agreed to pay Pennsylvania $120 million for the right to drill on 33,000 acres in northcentral Pennsylvania.

The company owns the rights to surrounding tracts. The additional land is considered “disturbed” because it has been leased for shallow gas drilling in previous decades, although no drilling is actively occurring.

Still, a bill to halt new leasing of state forest land for drilling appears unlikely to pass the Senate.

Copyright: Times Leader