Posts Tagged ‘Harrisburg’

Pa. Senate committee hearing on gas drilling will be held June 29 in Harrisburg.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

The state Senate panel that oversees emergency preparedness in the state will hear testimony later this month on how ready responders are to handle catastrophes related to natural-gas drilling.

Sen. Lisa Baker, chairwoman of the Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee, said in a press release that community groups and environmental activists are questioning whether plans to deal with well blowouts, leaks and spills are in place and detailed enough to meet the challenges posed by the increased drilling activity in the Marcellus Shale.

Baker, R-Lehman Township, said those concerns warrant the attention of lawmakers.

“Community safety, public health and water quality are put at risk if there are any holes in emergency planning. With government budgets at every level under severe strain, it is a legitimate worry that preparation and training have not kept pace with the need,” Baker said.

In the wake of a recent natural gas well blowout in Clearfield County, Baker said there are local rumblings that the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency was “either not ready or not properly engaged.

“There is a responsibility to air the situation and find the facts,” Baker said.

Aaron Shenck, executive director of the committee, said he also believes state emergency officials were not notified until several hours after the well explosion, which took about 16 hours to contain.

Shenck said a representative of PEMA and the state fire commissioner will testify at the June 29 public hearing. Baker’s office also will invite representatives from the state Department of Environmental Protection and state police.

Baker said she is equally concerned about emergency preparedness at the local level.

“The heavy truck traffic resulting from equipment and fracking (hydraulic fracturing) material being shipped in raises the possibility of collisions, turnovers and spills. We are dealing mostly with rural areas and small communities. What is the state of readiness? Is there the necessary coordination and communication between levels of government before we are tested by crisis? Are the resources immediately available when the worst happens?” Baker said.

To present testimony from a more local perspective, representatives of the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania, the Keystone Emergency Management Association and the Lycoming County Task Force on Marcellus Shale also will be invited, Shenck said.

Lycoming is the only Pennsylvania county in which Marcellus Shale drilling is taking place that has a task force specifically designed to address drilling-related emergencies, Shenck said.

At least one representative of the natural gas industry also will be invited to testify, Shenck said.

Copyright: Times Leader

Legislators want adequate tax share for municipalities fiscally hit by gas drilling.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

Much legislation has been written recently to address concerns about natural gas drilling into Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, but little has been signed into law.

And one issue, it seems has been overshadowing and holding up action on all the others: a state severance tax on natural gas extraction.

Several bills addressing a severance tax have been put forward by state legislators, and Gov. Ed Rendell also has proposed implementing such a tax.

“The biggest concern for legislators is that an adequate portion of a severance tax would come back to local governments that are financially impacted by drilling activities,” said Adam Pankake, representing Sen. Gene Yaw, a Republican from Lycoming County and one of the few legislators to have a Marcellus-related bill he sponsored signed into law.

Senate Bill 325, sponsored by Rep. Anthony Melio, D-Levittown, didn’t muster much support in the House because it authorized an 8-percent severance tax, all of which would go to the state’s General Fund, Pankake said.

State Sen. Raphael Musto, D-Pittston Township, proposed a severance tax plan in Senate Bill 905 that mirrors Rendell’s plan, directing all proceeds of a 5-percent tax and a 4.7-cent charge on every 1,000 cubic feet of gas extracted into the General Fund.

A bill by state Rep. Bud George, chairman of the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, would send only 60 percent of a 5-percent tax to the General Fund.

The remainder would be divvied up, sending 15 percent to the Environmental Stewardship Fund; 9 percent split evenly between counties and municipalities in which wells are drilled; 5 percent to the Liquid Fuels Tax Fund; 4 percent split evenly between the Game and Fish and Boat commissions; 4 percent to the Hazardous Sites Cleanup Fund; and 3 percent to a program to help low-income residents with heating bills.

A bill sponsored by Sen. Andrew Dinniman, D-West Chester, would send half of a 5-percent severance tax to the General Fund. Another 44 percent would be split evenly between the Environmental Stewardship Fund and municipalities in which a well was drilled; the remaining 6 percent would be split between the Game and Fish and Boat commissions.

Legislators are also considering severance tax models used in other states, such as a phase-in approach used in Arkansas, Pankake said.

Marcellus-drilling industry advocates describe it as a fledgling industry that a severance tax could cripple because of the financial resources needed to build a pipeline infrastructure where none previously existed.

Matthew Maciorski, spokesman for state Rep. George, D-Clearfield County, said severance tax legislative proposals have been “coming in fast and furious. Everyone has their own take on how the revenue should be divided.”

Maciorski said Marcellus Shale issues are “very complicated and integral to the whole budget debate.”

Some legislators use some pieces of legislation as bargaining chips in negotiations with the gas industry. For example, the industry doesn’t support a severance tax, but the industry is pushing for a law authorizing forced pooling – compelling landowners who don’t wish to lease their mineral rights to be part of a drilling unit with others that do.

“Sometimes there are alliances that have to be built. &hellip Sometimes we rely on members to tell us when it’s time to strike. It gets complicated going between the House and the Senate. Members want to have all their ducks in a row to prevent there being (additional delays) in the process,” Maciorski said.

Bob Kassoway, director of the House Finance Committee for the Democratic Caucus, said any severance tax bill will likely be passed as part of the 2010-11 state budget, and it’s likely that little if any other Marcellus-related legislation will be passed until that happens.

Sen. Yaw was pleased that Act 15 was signed into law on March 22. Based on his Senate Bill 297, it repeals five-year confidentiality for gas production financial records and requires well operators to submit semi-annual reports to the state. It also requires the state Department of Environmental Protection to post well data online.

But while the debate continues over the severance tax, legislation on issues important to lease holders, to residents with environmental concerns and to members of the gas industry continue to languish in the House or Senate or their committees.

In addition to severance tax legislation, there are at least four Marcellus-related Senate bills and at least 17 House bills pending.

For example, legislators are holding off a vote on Rep. Bill DeWeese’s House Bill 10, which would enable counties to assess value to gas and oil for taxation purposes, likely because it hasn’t been decided what – if any – percentage of a severance tax will go to counties.

Introduced 16 months ago, House Bill 297 remains in the House Transportation Committee. Sponsored by Rep. Mark Longietti, D-Hermitage, it would require the state Department of Transportation to publish by the end of the year a revised schedule of bonding amounts for roads damaged by heavy truck traffic and to update the amount at least every three years.

PennDOT last revised the schedule in 1978, Longietti said, leaving officials in municipalities damaged by drilling trucks with insufficient guaranteed funding to repair their roads.

Rep. George’s House Bill 2213, which increases bonding amounts for wells, boosts the number of required well inspections by DEP and adds protections for water supplies, has gained much local support. But after an amendment in the House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee in May, it was re-committed to the House Appropriations Committee.

Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, announced in May she is working on a series of bills to provide additional protections to drinking water sources that could be harmed by drilling.

State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, issued a statement last week stating that she also was working to develop legislation to protect drinking water from gas drilling practices.

Painfully aware of the slow legislative pace in Harrisburg, Boback is urging the governor to issue an executive order implementing additional protective rules before more well-drilling permits can be issued.

Copyright: Times Leader

U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak holds a meeting at Misericordia University.

By Sherry Long slong@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

Published on June 13, 2010

DALLAS TWP. – Property owners concerned about the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on water reservoirs made their views clearly known Saturday afternoon during a packed town hall meeting at Misericordia University’s library.

They wanted a moratorium enacted immediately on all gas drilling throughout the state until more is known on how to safely drill natural gas wells without using dangerous chemicals in the hydrofracturing process. The process uses between 1 million to 1.5 million of gallons of water per well laced with chemicals and dirt under high pressure to force the ground open to release natural gas, geologist Patrick Considine said.

Considine and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak, whose campaign organized the town hall forum, said that during President George W. Bush’s administration, requirements on oil and gas companies were dramatically lifted. Considine, president of Considine Associates and forum panel member, explained that federal and state officials are not entitled to know what mixtures of chemicals each gas drilling company uses because it is considered a trade secret formula.

He warned that the federal and state governments need more officials to oversee the drilling processes, so the companies are not tempted to cut corners when disposing of the water after the fracking.

“Oil and gas companies need to be held to the same standards as other companies. We don’t need more regulations; we need to find ways to enforce the regulations we have,” Considine said.

People wanting the moratorium drowned out the drilling supporters, including business owner, economist and farmer Joe Grace of Morris in Lycoming County, who sees this industry being one of the biggest Pennsylvania has ever experienced by bringing 88,000 jobs to the state just this year and generating millions in revenue.

Worried about the environment and safety of area water systems, local podiatrist Dr. Thomas Jiunta adamantly disagreed with Grace, pointing to the recent gas well drilling incident in Clearfield County and a gas pipeline accident that killed one worker in Texas.

“This is not a safe activity as we know how to do it right now. We need to stop it first. We are putting the cart before the horse when you are talking about economic boom. You can’t drink gas,” said Jiunta of Dallas, a Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition founding member.

Jiunta added more focus should be put jobs that will support and grow green and renewable energy sources.

Sestak told people he sees gas drilling as an economic boon to the state, yet it needs to be done in a responsible way.

“I think this would be a good way to yes, exploit our resources, but not our communities. Business has to pause. Harrisburg has to stop until we get it right,” Sestak said, adding that he supports enacting a 5 percent severance tax on the drilling companies. He said is in favor of a moratorium

No representatives from the campaign of Sestak’s opponent, former U.S. rep. Pat Toomey, attended the forum.

A statement from the Republican candidate’s campaign staff said Sestak’s plan for taxing the drilling will backfire by pushing those companies to focus on other states.

“Marcellus Shale has the potential to provide Pennsylvania with over 200,000 new jobs and millions of dollars in added revenue, but Joe Sestak’s plan to tax natural gas extraction will chase these jobs out of Pennsylvania. A recent study warned that a tax on Marcellus natural gas output would very likely divert investment to other states like Colorado and Texas. This is further proof that Joe Sestak’s ‘more government, less jobs’ approach is bad for Pennsylvania,” Toomey’s Deputy Communications Director Kristin Anderson said.

State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, did not attend the forum, but issued a statement Friday stating she was working to develop legislation to protect drinking water from gas drilling practices. Knowing that will take time to become law, she is urging Gov. Ed Rendell to issue an executive order implementing four additional rules before permits can be issued.

Her opponent, Richard Shermanski, a Democrat, attended the meeting, telling people he would not support any form of drilling if he knows it will damage water reservoirs.

Many attending the forum reside in Luzerne County, but some people, including Leslie Avakian of Greenfield Township in northern Lackawanna County, drove an hour to voice their views.

She believes the state’s Department of Environmental Protection needs to be spilt up into two separate agencies because DEP currently issues the permits and regulates the gas companies.

Lynn Hesscease of Dallas told her story of how she became deathly sick after three years of oil leaking in her cellar from a rusted pipe.

She explained how she can’t use any type of products made from petroleum – polyester clothing, petroleum jelly or use plastic cups.

“We have to be very careful it is not near our drinking water and we are not exposed to the chemicals or fumes because if we are, people will get sick,” Hesscease said.

Sherry Long, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7159.

Copyright: The Times Leader

U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak holds a meeting at Misericordia University.

By Sherry Longslong@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

DALLAS TWP. – Property owners concerned about the effects of Marcellus Shale drilling on water reservoirs made their views clearly known Saturday afternoon during a packed town hall meeting at Misericordia University’s library.

They wanted a moratorium enacted immediately on all gas drilling throughout the state until more is known on how to safely drill natural gas wells without using dangerous chemicals in the hydrofracturing process. The process uses between 1 million to 1.5 million of gallons of water per well laced with chemicals and dirt under high pressure to force the ground open to release natural gas, geologist Patrick Considine said.

Considine and Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak, whose campaign organized the town hall forum, said that during President George W. Bush’s administration, requirements on oil and gas companies were dramatically lifted. Considine, president of Considine Associates and forum panel member, explained that federal and state officials are not entitled to know what mixtures of chemicals each gas drilling company uses because it is considered a trade secret formula.

He warned that the federal and state governments need more officials to oversee the drilling processes, so the companies are not tempted to cut corners when disposing of the water after the fracking.

“Oil and gas companies need to be held to the same standards as other companies. We don’t need more regulations; we need to find ways to enforce the regulations we have,” Considine said.

People wanting the moratorium drowned out the drilling supporters, including business owner, economist and farmer Joe Grace of Morris in Lycoming County, who sees this industry being one of the biggest Pennsylvania has ever experienced by bringing 88,000 jobs to the state just this year and generating millions in revenue.

Worried about the environment and safety of area water systems, local podiatrist Dr. Thomas Jiunta adamantly disagreed with Grace, pointing to the recent gas well drilling incident in Clearfield County and a gas pipeline accident that killed one worker in Texas.

“This is not a safe activity as we know how to do it right now. We need to stop it first. We are putting the cart before the horse when you are talking about economic boom. You can’t drink gas,” said Jiunta of Dallas, a Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition founding member.

Jiunta added more focus should be put jobs that will support and grow green and renewable energy sources.

Sestak told people he sees gas drilling as an economic boon to the state, yet it needs to be done in a responsible way.

“I think this would be a good way to yes, exploit our resources, but not our communities. Business has to pause. Harrisburg has to stop until we get it right,” Sestak said, adding that he supports enacting a 5 percent severance tax on the drilling companies. He said is in favor of a moratorium

No representatives from the campaign of Sestak’s opponent, former U.S. rep. Pat Toomey, attended the forum.

A statement from the Republican candidate’s campaign staff said Sestak’s plan for taxing the drilling will backfire by pushing those companies to focus on other states.

“Marcellus Shale has the potential to provide Pennsylvania with over 200,000 new jobs and millions of dollars in added revenue, but Joe Sestak’s plan to tax natural gas extraction will chase these jobs out of Pennsylvania. A recent study warned that a tax on Marcellus natural gas output would very likely divert investment to other states like Colorado and Texas. This is further proof that Joe Sestak’s ‘more government, less jobs’ approach is bad for Pennsylvania,” Toomey’s Deputy Communications Director Kristin Anderson said.

State Rep. Karen Boback, R-Harveys Lake, did not attend the forum, but issued a statement Friday stating she was working to develop legislation to protect drinking water from gas drilling practices. Knowing that will take time to become law, she is urging Gov. Ed Rendell to issue an executive order implementing four additional rules before permits can be issued.

Her opponent, Richard Shermanski, a Democrat, attended the meeting, telling people he would not support any form of drilling if he knows it will damage water reservoirs.

Many attending the forum reside in Luzerne County, but some people, including Leslie Avakian of Greenfield Township in northern Lackawanna County, drove an hour to voice their views.

She believes the state’s Department of Environmental Protection needs to be spilt up into two separate agencies because DEP currently issues the permits and regulates the gas companies.

Lynn Hesscease of Dallas told her story of how she became deathly sick after three years of oil leaking in her cellar from a rusted pipe.

She explained how she can’t use any type of products made from petroleum – polyester clothing, petroleum jelly or use plastic cups.

“We have to be very careful it is not near our drinking water and we are not exposed to the chemicals or fumes because if we are, people will get sick,” Hesscease said.

Sherry Long, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 829-7159.

Copyright: Times Leader

Citing crime rise, truck-damaged roads, Rendell eyes fee. Drillers argue economic benefits ignored.

STEVE MOCARSKY smocarsky@timesleader.com

Pennsylvania’s state police commissioner on Monday raised concerns about an increase in crime associated with the natural gas industry, including the failure of some sex offenders employed by drilling companies to properly register in the state.

 Gov. Ed Rendell’s office cited those crime problems as well as road damage caused by overweight and unsafe trucks serving the natural gas industry as just two reasons a state severance tax should be imposed on the industry.

In a press release from Rendell’s office in Harrisburg, state police Commissioner Frank Pawlowski reported more arrests and incidents involving drugs, assaults and illegal weapons in northern Pennsylvania, where much of the drilling into the Marcellus Shale is taking place in the state.

“More and more, it seems the police reports coming out of the northern tier include arrests because of drug use and trafficking, fights involving rig workers, DUIs and weapons being brought into the state and not registered properly,” Pawlowski said.

“We’ve even encountered situations where drilling company employees who have been convicted of a sexual assault in another state come here to work and do not register with our Megan’s Law website. Each of these issues is unacceptable and places an even greater burden on our law enforcement and local social programs meant to help those in need,” he said.

Another aspect providing additional challenges to troopers working in the northern tier are overweight and unsafe trucks, Pawlowski said.

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary Allen D. Biehler said hundreds of miles of secondary roads in the northern tier have been damaged or made impassable because of heavy truck traffic associated with drilling activities. And while drilling companies have committed to repairing roads they use, Biehler said, their efforts have not kept pace with the damage in a number of cases.

“In a few cases, such as in Bradford and Tioga counties, we’ve had to close roads and revoke a drilling company’s permit to use those roads because repairs were not made in a timely manner. The condition of some of these roads has made travel a safety concern,” Biehler said.

PennDOT has ordered drilling companies to post bonds for 1,711 miles of roads, and that number is expected to double this year. Drilling companies have posted $16.1 million in security for bonded roads.

Pawlowski attributed much of the road damage to overweight trucks serving the gas industry. He cited a Feb. 9 enforcement effort in Susquehanna County that found 56 percent of 194 trucks checked were found to be over the weight limit. Fifty percent of those trucks were also cited for safety violations.

“These trucks are large and heavy, so for the sake of those drivers sharing the road with them, it’s important that they follow the law,” Pawlowski said. “We’re monitoring these roads closely and targeting areas where we know drilling-related traffic is heaviest, but it’s still important that anyone witnessing unsafe behavior on the part of drilling companies or their drivers report it to the state police.”

Pawlowski and Biehler both said the state and local governments need additional resources to address the problems that have accompanied the arrival of drilling companies.

Rendell has proposed a severance tax, which he says will ensure that the industry “pays its fair share and helps support the programs and services the state, counties and municipalities must provide to accommodate their presence.”

Under Rendell’s plan, the state would take in about $1.8 billion during the next five years, with $180 million of that being shared directly with local governments in areas where there is drilling activity. Local governments could then use those funds to repair roads and other infrastructure, bolster local law enforcement efforts or provide programs to help those in need.

A representative of Energy in Depth – an organization representing natural gas and oil producers – says state officials are ignoring the economic benefits of the industry when considering the severance tax issue.

“There used to be a time, and it probably wasn’t too long ago, when states were thankful for industries that found a way to create tens of thousands of new jobs and billions in annual revenue – especially during a deep recession,” Chris Tucker, a spokesman for Energy In Depth, said in an e-mailed response.

“If this is the way that state administrators show their thanks for bringing enormous economic opportunities to the Commonwealth, they sure have a funny way of showing it,” Tucker said.

Tucker also believes Pawlowski is using too broad a brush to paint an unfair picture of natural gas industry workers.

“The explicit suggestion by the state police that all natural gas workers in the state are a bunch of common criminals is especially reproachable and should be retracted and apologized for immediately,” Tucker said.

Copyright The 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

HARRISBURG – As a bill calling for a moratorium on leasing state forest land for natural gas exploration languishes in the Senate, Gov. Ed Rendell announced today that the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources finalized a lease agreement with Anadarko Petroleum Corp. for 32,896 acres of forest land in Centre, Wyoming and Bradford counties.

In a press release, Rendell said the “responsible natural gas lease agreement” will allow Pennsylvania to meet its need for revenue while fulfilling its obligation to protect Pennsylvania’s natural resources.

Under the agreement, Anadarko has paid the commonwealth $120 million to access 32,896 acres that are surrounded by tracts of land for which drilling companies already hold lease agreements. Because these newly leased tracts can largely be accessed by gas operations on the adjacent tracts, the amount of new state forest surface area that must be disturbed is minimized, according to the press release.

Other than the agreement, the commonwealth will not have to make any additional state forest land available to reach its revenue goals for natural gas drilling in the 2010-11 fiscal year.

“This is a responsible approach that meets our revenue targets and limits the impact of additional natural gas exploration in our state forests,” Rendell said.

“We do not need to expand our drilling footprint in state forest lands to meet our revenue goals, because these parcels are already surrounded by other leased acres,” Governor Rendell said. “They also are within areas leased in the 1970s and 1980s by DCNR, but not all the acreage was drilled because technology wasn’t available to exploit Marcellus Shale deposits.

“In order to develop the acreage, DCNR and Anadarko have agreed to certain provisions to make certain there is minimal impact on the surface. Horizontal drilling technologies allow Anadarko access to most of this acreage from already disturbed areas on their adjoining leased lands.”

The newly leased acres cover 11 tracts in the Moshannon, Sproul and Tiadaghton state forests where Centre, Clinton and Lycoming counties meet.

For 27,185 acres on 10 tracts, Anadarko agreed to pay $4,000 per acre, consistent with the average price paid during DCNR’s January 2010 competitive lease sale. For the remaining 5,711 acres on one tract, the commonwealth will receive $2,000 per acre because the geology underneath is not as promising for gas production.

The lease of the 11 tracts totals about $120 million. DCNR’s January 2010 lease sale generated $128 million-$60 million of that went toward this year’s General Fund budget and the additional $68 million will be applied to a target of $180 million to help balance state budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, 2010.

“With this agreement negotiated and the money in the bank, we can safely be on board with the moratorium which passed the House and is now in the Senate. If the Senate passes the legislation and it comes to my desk, I will sign it,” Rendell said.

Read more in The Times Leader on Wednesday.

Copyright: Times Leader

The Associated Press

HARRISBURG — A bill to temporarily stop the leasing of state forest land for natural gas drilling has state House approval and is headed to the Senate.

The House of Representatives approved the bill 157-33 on Tuesday. It would immediately enact a three-year moratorium.

Proponents want a thorough environmental assessment of the impact of drilling on the land before more can be leased.

A spokesman for the Senate’s Republican majority says there’s no plan to act and the state already has strong regulatory authority.

The Rendell administration has leased more than 100,000 acres to companies hungry to explore the Marcellus Shale natural gas formation.

Copyright: Times Leader

The Associated Press

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania’s top environmental regulator is summoning oil and gas companies to Harrisburg to discuss their drilling operations in the Marcellus Shale.

Department of Environmental Secretary John Hanger said Tuesday that he plans to meet with companies that have permits to drill in the Marcellus, a sprawling rock formation that may develop into one of the nation’s most productive gas fields.

The meeting will be held May 13.

Hanger says he wants to avoid a repeat of the pollution in Dimock Township, Susquehanna County.

DEP alleges that Lafayette, La.-based Cabot Oil & Gas Inc. allowed methane gas to migrate into 14 residential water wells.

DEP has called for stricter regulations on the gas industry.

Copyright: Times Leader

Industry may pay to upgrade plants that handle waste water from process.

By Rory Sweeneyrsweeney@timesleader.com
Staff Writer

The state is contending with a multibillion-dollar water-treatment problem, and the growing gas-drilling industry might be part of the solution.

A roughly $7.2 billion deficit exists for repairing or upgrading waste-water treatment facilities in the state, according to a task force created by Gov. Ed Rendell to solve water-infrastructure issues. Gas companies might help defray that cost as more wells are drilled because the companies will need treatment facilities for waste water.

The process to drill gas and oil wells, called hydraulic fracturing or simply “fracing,” involves shooting sand and water down a well to fracture the rock containing the oil or gas.

The contaminated water is separated out and can be stored and reused, but must eventually be treated. The state Department of Environmental Protection categorizes it as industrial waste, agency spokesman Mark Carmon said.

In western Pennsylvania, where many shallow wells exist, privately operated treatment facilities handle such waste, but none has so far in the northeast area, said Stephen Rhoads, president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association.

Exploring the Marcellus Shale, which runs from upstate New York into Virginia, including the northern edge of Luzerne County, generally requires far more water than shallow wells because the wells can be 8,000 feet deep

Companies working in this region have reused the water in multiple wells and then shipped it to the facilities out west, Rhoads said, but “obviously, moving it across the state with the fuel prices the way they are, is not economically” viable. The water can also be injected deep into the ground, but no one has sought such a permit in this region, Carmon said.

That leaves sending the water to public facilities, but since many of them are already near or at capacity, the industry is considering paying to upgrade plants. About 30 of the largest regional treatment facilities have been notified by DEP that they might be approached with the idea and that they’d first need to modify their liquid discharge permits and receive approval from the agency, Carmon said.

The idea hasn’t escaped the gas companies.

“We’ve talked about that in various areas throughout the state,” said Rodney Waller, of Range Resources Corp. “We’re investigating that, but … there’s nothing on the horizon.”

Upcoming events

• 10:30 a.m. today the state Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, Susquehanna and Delaware river basin commissions, and county conservation districts are meeting in Harrisburg with industry members to discuss environmental regulations.

• 7 p.m. June 23 the Penn State Cooperative Extension is holding a gas-lease workshop for landowners at the Lake-Lehman High School.

Rory Sweeney, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7418.

Copyright: Times Leader