Tower for drilling horizontally into the Marcellus Shale Formation for natural gas, from Pennsylvania Route 118 in eastern Moreland Township, Lycoming County, Pennsylvania (Photo Courtesy of Rurhrfisch; licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license)
Copyright: American Association of Petroleum Geologists
The Marcellus Shale is a layer of shale rock between 4,000 and 8,000 feet primarily underneath Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, and Ohio (see map at left) and contains the largest natural gas deposit in North America and the second-largest in the world. Most experts agree that the Marcellus Shale contains 250 to 500 trillion cubic feet of extractable natural gas, an amount that could serve domestic needs for over 10 years at current levels of United States demand.
The Marcellus Shale Formation exists underneath 40 of Pennsylvania's 67 counties, including Allegheny County, covering most of the western and northeastern parts of the state. Here, you'll find links to relevant documents and some of the best reporting on how drilling in the Marcellus Shale is affecting life here in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
Have ideas for additional resources? Submit your idea or a link here.
Documents & Resources
Petition for Public Hearing on Marcellus Shale Drilling in the City of Pittsburgh - Introduced in Pittsburgh City Council on July 6, 2010.
Unintended Consequences: Proposed Natural Gas Industry Are a Bad Deal for Pennsylvanians - Report by Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center - June 24, 2010.
Proposed Drilling Ordinance for the City of Pittsburgh - Introduced in Pittsburgh City Council on June 22, 2010.
Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets: The Campaign Contributions & Lobbying Expenditures of the Natural Gas Industry in Pennsylvania - Report by Common Cause Pennsylvania - May 11, 2010.
House Bill 2443 - Natural Gas Severance Tax Act - Pennsylvania House of Representatives - Introduced on April 22, 2010.
Fractracker - A suite of tools and resources that allows anyone to quickly analyze various Marcellus Shale data sets.
ProPublica Coverage
A Fracking First in Pennsylvania: Cattle Quarantine - July 2, 2010
Broad Scope of EPA's Fracturing Study Raises Ire of Gas Industry - April 17, 2010
Cabot Oil & Gas's Marcellus Drilling to Slow After PA Environment Officials Order Wells Closed - April 16, 2010
Gas Drillers Plead Guilty to Felony Dumping Violations - February 22, 2010
Pennsylvania Tells Drilling Company to Clean Up Its Act - November 9, 2009
With Natural Gas Drilling Boom, Pennsylvania Faces an Onslaught of Wastewater - October 4, 2009
Pennsylvania Orders Cabot Oil and Gas to Stop Fracturing in Troubled County - September 25, 2009
DEP Issues Citation to Pennsylvania Driller as a Third Spill Occurs - September 23, 2009
Frack Fluid Spill in Dimock Contaminates Stream, Killing Fish - September 21, 2009
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Coverage
Cranberry Working on Ordinance to Control Marcellus Shale Drilling - July 1, 2010
Natural Gas Tax Foreseen by October - June 30, 2010
City Residents Request Marcellus Shale Hearing - June 30, 2010
Penn State Officials Address Marcellus Shale Issues in Murrysville - June 24, 2010
Allegheny Township officials delve into Marcellus Shale issues - June 24, 2010
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Coverage
Driller Range Resources spokesman to field questions about Marcellus shale - July 3, 2010
Pennsylvania misfires in bid to identify drilling chemicals - July 1, 2010
Pittsburgh residents want limits on drilling - June 30, 2010
Pipe makers' sales skyrocket along with area's gas boom - June 25, 2010
Marcellus shale drilling coming to an area near you - June 24, 2010
Blog Coverage
Marcellus Misfires - Null Space - July 2, 2010
Marcellus Watch and then some - Null Space - June 24, 2010
Pittsburgh blow-up masks real challenge in regulating gas industry - June 23, 2010
Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets - Our Philadelphia - May 11, 2010
