Government Does Not Back Pennsylvania and New York Marcellus Shale Drilling Moratorium

Speaking on behalf of the Obama administration, Brig. Gen. Peter “Duke” DeLuca, the commander of the North Atlantic Division of the Army Corps of Engineers, declined to seek a temporary halt to Marcellus Shale drilling in Pennsylvania and New York.  Rep. Maurice Hinchey (D-N.Y.) wanted DeLuca to use his seat on the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to advocate for blocking drilling until after a “cumulative impact” study could be done.

Hinchey is seeking $1 million for the DRBC to study the cumulative effects of drilling in the basin, from which 5% of the country’s population gets their drinking water.  DeLuca is not willing to put drilling on hold while waiting for years that it could take to complete the report.

DeLuca said, “the citizens of the basin are counting on the commission to make smart choices that allow for environmental protection to proceed together with economic development.”  […]

Untold Dangers Of Hospital Bedrails

A hospice patient close to the end of his life was found dead in his bed at an assisted living facility on Christmas morning in 2004 – not totally shocking for this 75-year-old man in declining health.  What was shocking was the way he died.  His head was entrapped between his mattress and the bed rail.  The cause of death was asphyxiation.

The family has filed suit against the facility for negligence. The care facility claims it gave proper care to the patient.

Of the 17,000 nursing homes housing 1.5 million elderly and disabled Americans, 5,300 of them were cited for nursing home violations between January 1999 to January 2001.  Close to a third of the charges were “serious enough to cause actual harm to residents or to place the residents in immediate jeopardy of death or serious injury,” according to a congressional report.  […]

Pennsylvania to Vote on Regulation Establishing Cement Type for Marcellus Shale Wells

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) will vote on an important regulation that will require Marcellus Shale drillers to use a stronger type of cement inside the casing of the wellbores.  The regulation will be part of the well construction rule that currently regulates the time the cement must be allowed to settle as well as setting limits on how much pressure can be applied to a well.

According to Range Resources, one of the Marcellus Shale drilling companies, the process to fully isolate the wellbore involves inserting multiple heavy steel casings extending from the ground surface to deep into the ground, and fully cemented into the wellbore.  Once the initial wellbore cement has set, the wellbore setting is continued “from the bottom of the previously cemented steel casing to the next depth. This process is repeated using smaller diameter steel casings until the oil and gas bearing rock is reached. […]

DEP Makes Marcellus Shale Production Data Available to Public

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has made production data for Marcellus Shale natural gas wells in the state available on their website.  Under Act 15 of 2010, Marcellus operators are required to report their well production totals from July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.  This act overturned previous provisions in the Oil and Gas Act that required production data to be kept confidential for five years.

John Hanger, secretary of DEP, says that by making this information available to the public “a much-criticized layer of secrecy” is removed and the public and government now have “unprecedented access to this information.”

Even though the companies were required to submit the data to the state by August 15, 2010, 18 of the state’s 74 Marcellus Shale operators have not yet complied. Hanger said the department will pursue “whatever enforcement action is necessary to ensure compliance with the law.” […]

Some Pennsylvania Parks Could Become Marcellus Shale Drilling Sites

The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) manages and maintains close to 120 state parks.  However, Pennsylvania does not own the mineral rights to 80 percent of the land underlying the parks, opening it up to the possibility of the private owners entering into Marcellus Shale lease agreements with gas companies.

Oil and gas companies have already drilled a limited number of wells in some of the state park land in western Pennsylvania.  DCNR cannot impose surface-use agreements on the drilling companies to govern their impact on the surface of the parks, due to a 2009 ruling by the Supreme Court,  and some fear the increased interest in Marcellus Shale in the parks could result in damage to the landscape.

DCNR Secretary John Quigley says that while the threat to the parks is not immediate, “there are a dozen or fewer parks where drillers or seismic testing firms have expressed interest in accessing the surface to get to the Marcellus Shale.” […]