State Impact / Energy. Environment. Economy

A pile of dirt has sparked controversy in the city of Sunbury, Northumberland County. Recently, an otherwise civil city council meeting devolved into a shouting match. Councilman Joe Bartello and Mayor David Persing sparred over the city’s stormwater management rules. “It’s already a law!” Bartello yelled. “Council doesn’t have to vote to get a stormwater plan!” “Just [...]

Despite a slowdown in natural gas drilling, Pennsylvania will only see a small drop in the amount of impact fees it’s collecting, according to new data released this week by the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC). A year-old law, known as Act 13, places an impact fee on every gas well in the Marcellus Shale formation. [...]

The head of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection, Michael Krancer, announced today he will be leaving the agency on April 15 to return to Blank Rome, an influential Philadelphia law firm where he worked during the 1990′s. Krancer will become chair of Blank Rome’s Energy, Petrochemical and Natural Resources Practice, where he will be, “enhancing [...]

In the Susquehanna River Basin, just one well can use an average of 4.4 million gallons of water during a frack job, which can last several days to a week. The majority of that water comes from Pennsylvania’s rivers and streams. Meanwhile, more than 4,000 miles of streams polluted by abandoned coalmine drainage flow through Pennsylvania’s forests, [...]

Here's five things about about Matt Damon and Gus van Sant's new film, "Promised Land," that do--and don't--coincide with the reality of natural drilling and the practice of hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking") in America today.

StateImpact Pennsylvania’s coverage of natural gas drilling has won the DuPont-Columbia Award. In its citation, the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism says the project, “showed the significant impact of natural gas drilling on Pennsylvania residents, and is an important model for reporting on local issues.” Columbia awards the DuPont to about a dozen broadcast [...]

When you drive north on route 29 in Susquehanna County, just before you hit the traffic light in downtown Montrose, sits a restaurant that’s easy to miss. The Summerhouse Grill welcomes diners from the back door. Inside, it’s a surprisingly bustling and busy room. Everyone here seems to know one another. After all, only about [...]

Pennsylvania’s abundance of Marcellus Shale gas has helped drive down the price of natural gas to all-time lows. That’s bad news for drillers, but good news for their customers. And one of the main consumers of natural gas in the U.S is the petrochemical industry. Shale gas has been a boon for the folks who [...]

The phrase “energy independence” has made its way back to America’s airwaves this election season. You’ve heard it on the campaign trail. You’ve heard it in the debates. But what does it mean and is it even a worthy goal? American voters have heard promises of energy independence since the Arab oil embargo of 1973. [...]

The line for electric generators stretched across the front of Cabela’s in Berks County Wednesday, and then doubled back. Employees stationed at the front of the line repeated their sales pitch over and over, pointing to an image of the generator on a laminated placard. “The generator we have is this one right in the middle. …You [...]