Energy Day took place last week in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The event was organized by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), the Associated Petroleum Industries of PA (American Petroleum Institute, API), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA). The event was attended by over 300 individuals and representatives of 13 different Chambers of Commerce. We will be highlighting information from the event in a series of posts.
We’ve been discussing last week’s Energy Day in Scranton this week, covering the state of the natural gas industry, natural gas usage, and will conclude tomorrow with pipelines. This post will focus on how to get involved in the supply chain. If you own a business and have been considering contracting with the Marcellus industry, read on to learn how to do so.
Energy Day took place last week in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The event was organized by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), the Associated Petroleum Industries of PA (American Petroleum Institute, API), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA). The event was attended by over 300 individuals and representatives of 13 different Chambers of Commerce. We will be highlighting information from the event in a series of posts.
Natural gas has helped Pennsylvania’s economy tremendously, as we demonstrated in our previous post highlighting the state of the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania. Natural gas usage has also been increasing dramatically throughout the region because its both clean and inexpensive. From consumers looking to heat their homes more efficiently to owners of motor vehicles and, especially, commercial truck fleets, the potential for increased usage is amazing. We’ve only begun to take advantage of the resource and one of the Energy Day panels on Natural Gas Usage focused on just this point.
Last week the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) held a public hearing for the proposed Mark West compressor station, slated for Smith Township in Washington County. The hearing filled with residents from neighboring communities – a large majority of whom supported the Mark West expansion.
The hearing brought out around 200 people from all over Washington County, with the majority of the attendees there to show support for the Mark West infrastructure expansion. It began at 6:30 p.m. with an introduction on the proposed expansion given by Mark West. Following, was an open house where attendees could ask Mark West employees more specific questions about the compressor station. The DEP then provided residents to opportunity give public comment on the project.
A new study by the Manhattan Institute shows upstate New Yorkers could gain $8 billion in income if Governor Cuomo approves hydraulic fracturing in the Empire State. Unfortunately for these struggling landowners poverty seems to be the “new normal” as the Governor has shown little desire to approve the process which bi-partisan leaders across the country have declared safe.
The Marcellus shale continues to bring good news to Pennsylvania: high-paying jobs, royalty payments for families, and an affordable feedstock for American manufacturers. Unfortunately, as these benefits are realized by Commonwealth towns and counties, neighboring New York has been left to watch, waiting for these same benefits – much like the natural gas underground — to be brought to the surface. And as a new report highlights, those potential benefits are enormous including nearly $8 billion in income for landowners in Upstate New York.
Energy Day took place last week in Scranton, Pennsylvania. The event was organized by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA), the Associated Petroleum Industries of PA (American Petroleum Institute, API), the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association (PIOGA). The event was attended by over 300 individuals and representatives of 13 different Chambers of Commerce. We will be highlighting information from the event in a series of posts.
Energy Day in NEPA was an incredibly successful and informative event which touched on all aspects of the natural gas industry and how to become involved with it as a local business. This panel offered information beneficial to those just learning about the industry through seasoned affiliates touching on processes, regulations, impacts and even the export potential.
Recent court decisions, which one hopes will soon be further appealed, strike another blow against both property rights and rational thinking in New York State, both of which have already been in very short supply.
Well, the New York State’s Third Judicial Department has upheld the Dryden and Middlefield decisions, and our friends on the other side are doing some early crowing. It’s a disappointing but hardly unexpected decision, as readers of this blog know from observers who commented here.
It’s not the end of the road, of course, but only a fool would think it’s good news. It’s exceedingly bad news for a state already ranked dead last in personal and economic freedom, according to researchers from George Mason University. And yet, one more property right may well be sacrificed at the altar of political correctness if this decision holds up on appeal to the state’s highest court.
Nonetheless, one gains hope from the sloppy, and clearly political, nature of the decisions. There are two indicators of this that tell us most of what we need to know.
Tom Shepstone, Campaign Director
Nicole Jacobs, Deputy Campaign Director
Local activists have created a new group called Energy In Denial, playing on the Energy In Depth name in a naive attempt to take their grassroots efforts to a national level. Ironically, “Energy In Denial” couldn’t be a more fitting name for its founders, although we suggest it be shortened to simply read “Denial.”
When an organization spoofs your name, you’re going to look into it. Even if that group has differing opinions from you, the fact creators feel the need to piggyback off of your name is a big deal. More than anything, it’s really just a huge compliment. Think about it: your organization has made an impact, is driving conversation and its name is popular enough to steal. So before we begin our in depth look at Energy In Denial–a more than fitting name for such an organization–we wanted to say, simply, “thank you.”
We also must preface our discussion with this observation from Michael Chrichton, the late author of The Andromeda Strain and Jurassic Park and creator of ER:
“The greatest challenge facing mankind is the challenge of distinguishing reality from fantasy, truth from propaganda. . . We must daily decide whether the threats we face are real, whether the solutions we are offered will do any good, whether the problems we’re told exist are in fact real problems, or non-problems.”
Crichton’s quote really gets at the heart of the discussion over natural gas. Whether it’s fear induced with partial or inaccurate information or fear instilled and ingeminated by the outright denial of scientific fact, fear is impacting our energy discussion today in very unhealthy ways. The only way to get over this fear is to start thinking rationally again. Fortunately, more and more of these outlandish activist claims used to convince legislators and local officials into pushing for delays, moratoriums and bans are being debunked with thorough scientific investigations. And yet, our friends on the other side remain in deep denial, and it’s going to take a lot more thinking, researching and education.
Inge Grafe-Kieklak
Sullivan County, New York, Landowner
One of the landowners denied entrance to the Gasland Part II premiere in trendy Tribeca several days ago describes her experience. Film festival security were determined to keep out ticket holders who might ask Josh Fox questions and challenge his distortions of the facts.
I have, as a landowner and supporter of natural gas development, been following the controversy in New York State now for several years. I have seen the documentaries, read the studies, and listened to the professional and expert opinions on natural gas. I saw Gasland and purchased a ticket for Gasland Part II.
Two weeks ago, I woke up bright and early and traveled to New York City for the screening, a city which will never see natural gas development regardless of how much they use on a daily basis. Having seen the aggressive behavior of anti-gas personalities on other occasions, I anticipated there could be controversy. Nonetheless, I was certainly shocked to be treated the way I was in a city which prides itself on tolerance and the openness of people.
What happened, you ask? Well, I wasn’t allowed into the screening. read more…
Nicole Jacobs, Deputy Campaign Director
John Krohn, Communications Director
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has released the results of its investigation of alleged methane migration in Franklin Township, Susquehanna County. DEP’s findings confirm what initial isotopic testing conducted by WPX Energy showed: nearby natural gas development is not responsible for methane in three private water wells in the township.
A statement from DEP released Monday clearly explains the determination (emphasis added):
“After a 16-month investigation, the Department of Environmental Protection has determined that high levels of methane found in three private water wells in Franklin Township, Susquehanna County, cannot be attributed to natural gas drilling activity in that geographical area. DEP’s extensive investigation started in December 2011 and included evaluation of the nearest natural gas wells, isotopic testing and analysis of historical water data to determine the origin of the methane.”
Richard Downey
Unatego Area Landowners Association
Upstate New York faces a choice between a future of growth and one of atrophy. Dick Downey reflects on how an unusually cold Spring yields frustration on top of frustration for landowners, residents and taxpayers — all of whom would benefit from responsible natural gas development.
Winter is over but Spring is breaking bad. It’s still cold. The Yankees are playing on Jeter’s legs. The Red Sox are … well, the Red Sox: sooner or later, they’ll break your heart. The Tax Man has come and gone with our money. And for our local schools, it’s Budget Time. Definitely breaking bad for the local schools.
At the Unatego School District, the final budget shortfall, after all the dust from Albany settled, was $625,000. The school board — cut to the bone — lucked out with a loosening of some state regulations, closed the gap, and pulled off another year without having to close Otego Elementary. But next year’s state budget brings next year’s problems.
Over the weekend, I went on another of those Vera Scroggins/Craig Stevens tours of Northeastern Pennsylvania — as an uninvited guest, of course. This tour was for the “benefit” of three New York State Senators from the New York City area, all of whom apparently knew little to nothing about their ghost-busting tour guides — and even less about natural gas. It was, predictably, a fiasco.
No doubt many of you have seen Ghostbusters, a silly (yet hilarious) film from three decades ago where Bill Murray and two out-of-work friends save New York City from a giant marshmallow and other ghostly apparitions. The three eccentric parapsychologists used a bunch of strange equipment and even weirder ideas to pursue imagined evil in the Big Apple. Although the movie was pure fiction, the parallels in the movie and what happened Saturday in Northeastern Pennsylvania are pretty amazing: Local anti-gas characters Craig Stevens and Vera Scroggins took three New York State Senators on a tour of Susquehanna County in a hunt for ghosts and other sinister beings among the hills and valleys of that beautiful area.
Senators David Carlucci, Cecilia Tkaczyk and Bill Perkins made the trip on Friday to the area, courtesy of a group called Citizens for Clean Water, according to this article. All three are from the lower Hudson Valley — a region, ironically, that is plagued by actual environmental problems. Some 200 miles of the Hudson River is classified as a Superfund site, after all. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has tested the water in Dimock, Pa., and concluded it was well within safe drinking quality standards.
Nevertheless, no one will be surprised to learn the three Senators decided there was more political value to attacking imagined environmental problems in Pennsylvania than real ones in their own districts (and own state). The trip was engineered by Scroggins, last seen screaming obscenities and xenophobic remarks at Phelim McAleer and trying to block a movie fire exit in Montrose.
The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York State (JLCNY) wants New York State to start permitting natural gas development. Frustratingly, that’s already supposed to be state policy.
The JLCNY thinks the State of New York has been toying with landowner property rights for five years too long. Dan Fitzsimmons, President of the group, has sent out a letter to his coalition members asking for financial support for an initiative to end the charade. From the letter:
Contributions for our lawsuit against New York have been coming in steadily but we still need additional funds before we can move forward with the litigation. We heard from some of you who held off on contributing, hoping that a final decision might come from the Governor by April 12, 2013. Instead, all we received were more excuses and further confirmation that our property rights have already been taken.
On February 8, 2013, the NYS Health Department Commissioner said he would be finished with his health review in a “few weeks” – that was over 2 months ago!
On April 22, 2013, Fred Dicker of the New York Post said: “Sources said Cuomo had also told associates that he’s decided to put off a final decision until the end of next year because he wants to get through his 2014 re-election campaign without being harassed by anti-hydrofracking protestors who have dogged him during several public appearances.”
On April 14, 2013, New York Magazine reported on an interview with Governor Cuomo. The Governor asked what if a “child falls into a well casing?” “I don’t want the liability, frankly, and I don’t have the knowledge.” So much for decisions based on science and facts. If the Governor had ever visited a well site, he would know that such an accident is impossible.
