Stories from The Allegheny Front archived under
Energy
Mining Company Invests Big to Treat Acid Mine Drainage
Orange-colored streams have been commonplace for decades in Pennsylvania. But slowly, people are cleaning the water, making it healthy for fish, and other wildlife. One innovative project is bringing together watershed advocates, regulators, and a mining company.
Corbett’s Nominees for Pennsylvania’s Top Environmental Jobs Approved by Senate
Governor Corbett’s nominees for Pennsylvania’s two most important environmental jobs have been approved by a Senate committee. StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Marie Cusick has more on the candidates tapped to head of the Department of Environmental Protection and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.
Bill Encourages Drillers to Use Abandoned Mine Drainage to Frack
Thousands of miles of streams in Pennsylvania have been polluted by abandoned mine drainage, the toxic legacy of coal mining. Volunteers working to clean up those streams are protected by the state's Environmental Good Samaritan Law, but a bill making its way back into the legislature would make natural gas drillers good Samaritans, too.
Charging a Challenge for Electric Car Owners
Are electric vehicles cool enough to justify cleaning up the kiddy toys in the garage? Car owner’s resistance to parking and charging them at home might be the biggest obstacles to marketing these cars, according to new research from Carnegie Mellon University.
Coast Guard's Plan to Allow Transport of Fracking Waste
Natural gas drillers in Pennsylvania are producing so much waste water from fracking that they're asking the U.S. Coast Guard to allow it to be transported via barges. However, the Coast Guard won't approve it if it doesn't know what's in the waste water.
Corbett: Opponents of Shale are 'Economic Change Deniers'
At a shale gas conference in Pittsburgh, Gov. Tom Corbett defended his policies promoting drilling in the state, and defended his own math, too. Corbett, who is running for re-election, said drilling under his watch was responsible for a vast economic lift to the state.
Fracking News: Treatment Plant Lawsuit, New Well Inspections
Keeping polluted fracking wastewater out of the Allegheny River is one of the Marcellus Shale topics award-winning energy reporter Laura Legere's been keeping an eye on. She's also looking into new Pennsylvania shale gas well inspections. Legere spoke recently to The Allegheny Front about her work and the latest in shale news.
How One Woman Took on Shell to Save Her La. Town
The petrochemical plant Shell is considering building in Beaver County is similar to one that the company operates in Norco, Louisiana. The town was a battleground over how the chemical industry deals with its neighbors. A key figure in the fight was one very determined school teacher, whose only weapon was a plastic bag.
Corbett’s Reelection Bid Runs on Natural Gas, But Not the Campaign Bus
Governor Tom Corbett has kicked off a reelection tour that’s taking him across the Commonwealth from Pittsburgh to Philadelphia. But as Corbett touts the growth of the state’s Marcellus Shale industry under his administration’s watch, he won’t be using natural gas to get him from one stop to the next.
Economists Question Corbett’s Marcellus Shale Jobs Claims
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett is touting jobs created by Marcellus Shale in his just launched re-election bid, but economists are questioning the validity of the figures he uses.