Source: Business Insurance, May 17, 2012 By: Judy Greenwald Vermont became the first state in the country to ban the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, which is widely known as fracking, when Gov. Peter Shumlin signed the ban into law Wednesday. Hydraulic fracturing is a process that uses high-pressure water, sand and chemicals to free […]

Source: Business Wire, May 15, 2012 Posted on: http://www.marketwatch.com U.S. Shale Boom Highlights the Intersection between Public Concern and Industry Efforts The U.S. oil and gas industry is booming under the vast potential of its shale reserves, but it also faces the increased scrutiny and responsibility that comes with drilling in the public’s backyard. An […]

Source: http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com, May 16, 2012 By: Thomas F. Segalla, Andrew J. Scholz and Matthew D. Cabral (Thomas F. Segalla is a founding partner of Goldberg Segalla LLP in Buffalo, N.Y. Andrew J. Scholz is special counsel in the firm’s White Plains, N.Y., office and Matthew D. Cabral, an associate in the firm’s Albany, N.Y., office)1 The […]

Source: Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, May 15, 2012 Posted on: http://envfpn.advisen.com Well water tests in the northeastern Pennsylvania town of Dimock have not found unsafe levels of contamination from Marcellus Shale gas drilling that warrant further action, according to federal environmental regulators. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency test findings released last week for 12 homes, found one with […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 9, 2012 By: Laura A. Foggan, Jeremiah Galus and Samuel B. Gedge, Wiley Rein LLP On April 20, 2012, the Supreme Court of Virginia, applying Virginia law, held that pollution exclusion endorsements in first-party property policies barred coverage for the insured’s product losses caused by contamination of infant formula resulting from a manufacturing […]

Source: Reuters, May 11, 2011 Posted on: http://news.yahoo.com By: Braden Reddall and Ben Berkowitz From water worries to well blowouts, the inherent risks of oil and gas extraction are often played down by those in the business. But another group of profit-seekers has every reason to keep a close eye on dangers for drillers: their […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, April 17, 2012 By: Stevi Raab, Sedgwick LLP In Travelers Prop. Cas. Co. of America v. Chubb Custom Ins. Co., 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44756 (E.D. Pa. Mar. 30, 2012), the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, applying Pennsylvania law, considered whether noxious odors emanating from a pig farm were […]

Source: The USGlass News Network, May 10, 2012 By: Penny Stacey The recovery is underway. This was the general consensus among experts participating in a recent webinar that focused on the economy and the construction market. “We have seen a steep decline in nonresidential construction,” said Kermit Baker, chief economist for the American Institute of Architects (AIA). […]

Source: Construction Executive, May 2012 By: Paul Breitner and Doron Weiss The feeling of accomplishment that accompanies the completion of a new condominium building can sour when buyers raise claims of construction defects after closing on their units. A dream project can quickly become a nightmare if flaws, either patent or latent, are discovered after the […]

Source: http://www.lexology.com, May 2, 2012 By: H. Victor Thomas Jr (Victor), King & Spalding LLP The development of natural gas wells using hydraulic fracturing technology—fracking—has grown exponentially and increased natural gas reserves to record levels. Hydraulic fracturing requires the discharge of significant volumes of hydraulic fracturing fluids into a geologic formation under extreme pressure in […]

Source: Huffington Post, San Francisco, CA, April 23, 2012 By: Aaron Sankin An internal memo recently handed over by PG&E to state regulators shows that the company had known about weld failures on the pipeline running underneath San Bruno for over twenty years before it exploded into a destructive fireball in 2010. In 1988, PG&E […]

Source: http://enr.construction.com, May 7, 2012 By: Jack Buehrer As an engineer who specializes in natural-gas pipeline safety, Richard Kuprewicz has never been more in demand. Amid unprecedented production of natural gas and crude oil in the United States alone, Kuprewicz is busy fielding questions from contractors, engineers, federal regulators and the media about the safety […]