Gas Pipeline Safety Regulations

Here is an article from the Rocket Courier of Wyalusing about the enactment of legislation that would enhance the safety of gas pipelines in Pennsylvania.  House Bill 344 permits the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) to have regulatory oversight of natural gas lines.

“Currently, Pennsylvania is one of a very few states that produce natural gas that does not give the authority of gas lines to a state entity, and as a result, there is no designated agency to ensure compliance for a number of safety regulations,” Pickett said. “The influx of activity in the Marcellus Shale region and the increasing demand for this type of energy has necessitated action on this legislation, and I am pleased to see this bill finally moving to the governor.”

The legislation gives the PUC the power to inspect and investigate natural gas pipelines with the Commonwealth in coordination with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration.

The article's slant is toward protecting landowners, which is important, in and of itself.  But it will also protect gas workers.  There has been rash of gas pipeline explosions that has killed and injured dozens throughout the state.  Hopefully this legislation will cut down those types of injuries.  We will have to wait and see.

April Proves Tough Month for Gas Drillers

From the Wyalusing Rocket Courier:

Mounting Protests and Government Crackdowns Challenge Industry

April has perhaps been the most difficult stretch of time yet faced by companies related to the natural gas drilling industry, especially in Bradford County. The heated rancor of the public was already reaching a fever pitch when Chesapeake Energy’s Atgas 2H well in Leroy Township experienced a serious malfunction on April 19 that spewed thousands of gallons of toxic fracking water, much of which ran off into a tributary of Towanda Creek.

Earlier in the month, state environmental regulators asked the gas companies to voluntarily suspend the controversial practice of discharging extracted fracking water into rivers and streams. Meanwhile, local municipalities are refusing to allow the companies to construct wastewater treatment plants. Citizens in towns along both branches of the Susquehanna River are mounting objections to additional drafting of river water for fracking purposes.

The gas well blow-out and mounting public opposition to almost every aspect of gas drilling prompted Bradford County Commissioner Mark W. Smith to compose a stern letter to Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett.

“Issue after issue has arisen in Bradford County in relation to the development of natural gas,” Smith stated at the beginning of his letter. Smith went on to detail several key gas-related issues that have affected the residents of Bradford County in ways, he asserts, that are not being addressed at the state level.

Among his concerns are recent reports that the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) spends an average of 35 minutes deliberating the approval of new gas well permits. “This is an appalling statistic considering the significant impact of a natural gas drilling site and even more appalling considering that there have been nearly 2,000 gas wells permitted in Bradford County.”