Range Resources is building a shale gas well along a ridge a few hundred feet from the popular trail. A pipeline right-of-way, about 50 feet wide, has been cut through a wooded section that hikers will see as they pass by.
Permits for new and modified natural gas wells and compressor stations will require more leak detection for methane, a powerful greenhouse gas. DEP can also now penalize those companies that don't comply.
Spreading oil and gas wastewater has been a cheap way for municipalities to suppress dust on unpaved roads in parts of Pennsylvania for years. But the waste can contain high levels of radioactive materials and other pollutants that are bad for water quality and human health.
The group says the coal-fired power plant is allowing soot and coal ash to fall on the surrounding community, and isn’t operating its pollution control scrubbers as much as it could be.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection will spend the money on projects around the state that treat polluted mine water, stabilize unsafe mine lands, and put out underground mine fires.
The operator says it will take several months to study whether its system could withstand events like a pipeline shutdown, a cyber attack on a natural gas delivery system, or a prolonged cold snap.
Reid R. Frazier covers energy for The Allegheny Front. His work has taken him as far away as Texas and Louisiana to report on the petrochemical industry and as close to home as Greene County, Pennsylvania to cover the shale gas boom. His award-winning work has also aired on NPR, Marketplace and other outlets. Reid is currently contributing to StateImpact Pennsylvania, a collaboration among The Allegheny Front, WESA, WITF and WHYY covering the Commonwealth's energy economy.
