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EARTHWORKS in the News
Oil spills not always the gushers you see on TV
Windsor Now | Sharon Dunn
May 11, 2013
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With a county as large as Weld, filled now with more than 20,000 wells all being operated by humans, there’s bound to be mishaps, screw ups and just plain mistakes — some that could even turn into a disaster — but most spills are cleaned up as quickly as the liquid falls.
Already this year, 59 spills and “releases” have been reported at well sites and oil and gas operations throughout the county, representing more than half of the spills statewide. Of course, 90 percent of the drilling throughout the state is occurring in Weld.
Tagged with: colorado, spills, oil
Mother’s Day gifts? It’s complicated.
Riverhead Local | Laurie Nigro
May 11, 2013
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What do you get a 'pain the arse' for Mother's Day, anyway? Our frugal naturalist admits she's not easy to please. Some free or low-cost ideas for making this Mother's Day special.
I don't like cut flowers. I'm not sure who came up with the idea of killing a beautiful, vibrant plant and presenting this bundle of death as a gift, but I find the whole idea a bit repulsive. When they are in my house, I become a little more depressed each day, watching these dead posies evolve into rotted and decayed flora. The only good part is when I put them in the compost bin so their death will not be in vain.
Acid mine drainage ‘enormous public liability’ in perpetuity
Mineweb | Dorothy Kosich
May 6, 2013
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A new study recently released by the Washington, D.C.-based environmental NGO Earthworks asserts an estimated 17 billion to 27 billion gallons of contaminated water will be generated by 40 U.S. hardrock mines annually in perpetuity. Forty-two percent of these mines are located on public lands.
“Another 13 mines are likely to generate water pollution in perpetuity, accounting for an additional 3.4 billion to 4 billion gallons of polluted water per year,” said report authors, Earthworks chief Bonnie Gestring and environmental research and science consultant, Lisa Sumi.
Tagged with: mining, water pollution, perpetual pollution
Guess What’s Polluting 27 Billion Gallons of Water Each Year?
Take Part | Jon Bowermaster
May 3, 2013
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A new and sobering report from Earthworks details just how hard mining is on the environment, especially on our dwindling supply of fresh water.
How bad are gold, copper and uranium—the so-called “hard rock”—mines? Try the despoiling of 17 to 27 billion gallons of fresh water per year in the U.S. alone.
Tagged with: mining, water pollution, perpetual pollution
The Downwinders: Fracking Ourselves to Death in Pennsylvania
Huffington Post | Ellen Cantarow
May 2, 2013
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More than 70 years ago, a chemical attack was launched against Washington State and Nevada. It poisoned people, animals, everything that grew, breathed air, and drank water. The Marshall Islands were also struck. This formerly pristine Pacific atoll was branded “the most contaminated place in the world.” As their cancers developed, the victims of atomic testing and nuclear weapons development got a name: downwinders. What marked their tragedy was the darkness in which they were kept about what was being done to them. Proof of harm fell to them, not to the U.S. government agencies responsible.
Now, a new generation of downwinders is getting sick as an emerging industry pushes the next wonder technology -- in this case, high-volume hydraulic fracturing. Whether they live in Texas, Colorado, or Pennsylvania, their symptoms are the same: rashes, nosebleeds, severe headaches, difficulty breathing, joint pain, intestinal illnesses, memory loss, and more. “In my opinion,” says Yuri Gorby of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, “what we see unfolding is a serious health crisis, one that is just beginning.”
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, health
Fracking Industry Disclosure Website is Flawed, Says Harvard Study
Earth Island Journal | Maureen Nandini Mitra
April 25, 2013
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Anti-fracking activists have long been saying that FracFocus — the voluntary chemical disclosure registry for oil and gas companies using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, technology — is seriously flawed. The very idea of Big Oil and Gas voluntarily ‘fessing up to the whole list of potentially toxic cocktail of chemicals they pump into the earth to extract fossil fuels, has always been kind of — I’ll be polite — improbable.
And now we have a no less than a heavy-duty Harvard study weighing in on the matter and saying that the industry-backed registry is unreliable and “not an acceptable regulatory compliance method for chemical disclosures.” The study says the registry fails to satisfy the public’s right to information and that state governments shouldn’t be relying on it as a regulatory tool.
Tagged with: fracking, disclosure
UN must challenge Canada’s complicity in mining’s human rights abuses
The Guardian | Meera Karunananthan
April 24, 2013
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Canada is scheduled for its universal periodic review (UPR) at the UN human rights council on 26 April. The UPR is an international mechanism established in 2006 to hold governments accountable for their human rights records. According to Ban Ki-moon, the review has the potential "to promote and protect human rights in the darkest corners of the world".
When Canada stands before the UN to have its "darkest corners" examined, the international community must not turn a blind eye to its complicity with a global mining industry whose corporations are among the worst human rights and environmental offenders in the world.
Tagged with: mining, water pollution, troubled waters
Colorado fracking database questioned by Harvard study
Denver Post | Mark Jaffe
April 23, 2013
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The online database that Colorado employs for disclosing the ingredients in fracking fluids used in drilling oil and gas wells is seriously flawed, according to a Harvard Law School study.
The analysis, done by the school's environmental policy initiative, found reporting errors and gaps in the independent database FracFocus. Colorado and 10 other states, including Pennsylvania, Louisiana and Oklahoma, require operators to post chemical disclosures on FracFocus.
Tagged with: fracking, disclosure, chemicals, fracfocus
Fracking for Natural Gas Fuels Health Worries
Women's E News | Molly Ginty
April 22, 2013
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Creeping over the darkened hills of Concord Township, Ohio, past oak and maple trees and through an open window, the intruder entered Kari Matsko's home without a sound.
"It was only when I woke the next morning that I realized something had changed," says Matsko. "I had unexplained muscle spasms and terrible neck pain. I saw three doctors, and spent four months recovering. Then a neighbor told me about the 3 a.m. hydrogen sulfide gas leak from a nearby fracking operation that sent her whole family to the emergency room with aches and pains the same day I got sick in 2006."
LEGE: Oil and gas operators could be forced to notify property owners
Odessa American | Emma Petty
April 18, 2013
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AUSTIN — Oil and gas operators could be required to notify property owners before they drill and provide security to clean up damages on property where wells are drilled, if proposed legislation passes this session.
The bill would require that oil and gas producers return the land to its original condition after drilling according to testimony hears in during a hearing with the House Committee on Energy Resources Wednesday evening.
Tagged with: fracking, drilling, property rights
Fracking trade secrets case headed to Wyoming Supreme Court
Star Tribune | Adam Voge
April 17, 2013
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A coalition of environmental and landowner groups on Wednesday appealed a Casper judge’s decision that individual ingredients used in hydraulic fracturing can be protected under Wyoming’s trade secrets law.
The group, which includes the Powder River Basin Resource Council and the Wyoming Outdoor Council, appealed the decision by Natrona County District Judge Catherine Wilking to the Wyoming Supreme Court.
Tagged with: fracking, wyoming, trade secret
California court ruling gives hope to foes of fracking
Virginia Gazette | Rory Carroll and Braden Reddall
April 9, 2013
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A court ruling that the U.S. government must consider the environmental impact of "fracking" on federal lands leased to oil companies offers opponents of the technique a useful weapon in the fierce public debate in California and other parts of the country.
In a regulatory setback for hydraulic fracturing on public lands, a federal magistrate judge in San Jose, California, on Monday ruled that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) failed to analyze its impact on 2,500 acres in Monterey County.
Tagged with: fracking, california
The Sour Side of Life in South Texas Eagle Ford Shale
San Antonio Current | Michael Barajas
March 27, 2013
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Off-duty San Antonio cops directed a thick swarm of traffic outside the Panna Maria community center in sleepy Karnes County one evening last December. Blue-shirted Marathon Oil representatives beamed, greeting more than 1,000 local landowners who gathered to talk oil, gas, and riches.
But from the moment they walked through the doors, Myra and Mike Cerny began to curse and mutter under their breath. They rolled their eyes at the Marathon freebies, like a water bottle emblazoned with the company logo, and leafed through handouts cheering the oil and gas development that now encircles their rural South Texas home.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, eagle ford shale, health
Concerns Mount as U.S. Plans Major Natural Gas Exports
IPS News | Carey L. Biron
March 26, 2013
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WASHINGTON, Mar 26 2013 (IPS) - Environmentalists and others here are reacting with concern to a surprise announcement on Monday of a major deal that would see U.S. natural gas exported to the United Kingdom, marking the first time that such sales have been permitted.
The agreement, between the UK energy company Centrica and the U.S.-based Cheniere Energy Partners, would see more than 1.7 million metric tonnes of liquefied natural gas (LNG) per year shipped to the United Kingdom, starting in 2018. The U.K.’s gas supply has been extremely tight this winter, and the new sales would satisfy requirements for around 1.8 million British homes.
Tagged with: natural gas, lng, exports
Could faster mining permitting help fuel future U.S. economic growth?
Mineweb | Dorothy Kosich
March 25, 2013
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The National Mining Association and its long-time loyal opposition, the environmental NGO Earthworks, recently sparred before a congressional subcommittee as whether the U.S. mining really needs HR 761, The Critical and Strategic Minerals Production Act of 2013.
Hal Quinn, CEO of the National Mining Association, told the House Subcommittee on Energy and Minerals Resources that the measure “addresses a key issue for the country’s future economic growth and manufacturing revival: the painfully slow permitting process for the miners that supply metals and minerals essential for our basic industries, our national defense and the consumer product we use.”
Tagged with: mining, congress, arizona, testimony
Bill requires fracking chemical disclosure to residents
Odessa American | Emma Petty
March 22, 2013
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A heated debate ensued Wednesday during a hearing on House Bill 448 requiring operators of oil or gas wells using hydraulic fracturing treatments to mail residents within 500 feet of the site a list of chemicals used in the fracturing process.
Filed by Rep. Dawnna Dukes (D-Austin), the bill was presented to the House Committee on Energy Resources by Rep. Lon Burnam (D-Fort Worth) Wednesday.
Tagged with: texas, disclosure, chemicals, property values
Tempers flare in hearing over new Resolution Copper land-swap bill
Cronkite News | Michelle Peirano
March 21, 2013
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WASHINGTON – A four-hour congressional hearing grew testy Thursday as House members considered a bill to swap thousands of acres of private and federal land to make way for a massive copper mine in Southeast Arizona.
The bill to trade land near Superior with Resolution Copper Mining, passed the House last year but stalled in the Senate, and is back now for an eighth year.
Tagged with: mining, arizona, resolution copper
County, energy company strike deal on safeguards for shale project in Colo.
http://www.eenews.net/energywire/2013/03/20/5
March 20, 2013
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DURANGO, Colo. -- A southern Colorado county within the energy-rich San Juan Basin yesterday approved an agreement with an oil and gas company aimed at lessening impacts from a proposed oil shale exploration project.
In a unanimous vote, the three La Plata County commissioners -- two Democrats and one Republican -- adopted the memorandum of understanding, which commits Houston-based Swift Energy Co. to take certain precautions when drilling a pair of proposed test wells in a rural area in the western part of the 1,700-square-mile county.
Tagged with: fracking, colorado
Dirty gold: The seamier side of mining
Nature | Brian Owens
March 14, 2013
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Gold mining can be a dirty business, both environmentally and ethically. Extracting gold from the mined ore creates a huge amount of waste — roughly 20 tonnes of mining waste to make a single 18-carat ring containing less than 10 grams of gold, according to an estimate from Earthworks, an environmental watchdog based in Washington, DC. What's more, many small-scale operations in the developing world make use of child labour, and can support civil wars or local warlords.
Ready and Waiting
Flathead Beacon
February 15, 2013
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LIBBY – More than 7,000 feet from the mine’s portal, Glenn Dobbs stands inside the dark tunnel and reflects on the last eight years – reflecting on a project, the Montanore Mine, that he says is ready to go.
But even with all the delays and frustration above ground, down here Dobbs only sees possibility.
“I can visualize 180 guys down here, busy like an ant farm,” Dobbs said last week. “It’s really exciting to imagine.”
Tagged with: mining, montana, montanore, montanore mine
Fracking opponent makes case to Common Council
Register-Star | Joe Gentile
February 13, 2013
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HUDSON — Common Council members recently received recognition from environmentalist Nadia Steinzor for facing hydraulic fracturing “head on and proactively.”
Invited by Common Council President Donald Moore, Steinzor approached Monday night’s meeting by giving the aldermen insight into the community-level work she does as the Eastern Program Coordinator for Earthworks, an environmental non-profit. Built upon the foundation of the former Mineral Policy Center, Earthworks has collaborated over the last 25 years with “federal, state and local leaders to evaluate the impact of mining and gas development on communities,” she said.
Tagged with: fracking, new york
Valentine’s Day Dark Side
Daily Sundial | Benjamin Andrews
February 13, 2013
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Each year, Feb. 14 brings joy into the hearts (and cash into the pockets) of jewelry store owners, flowers shops, greeting card companies, candy manufactures and restaurant owners. However, this day of love also comes with some severe consequences for our planet and fellow humans. Valentine’s Day’s global carbon footprint, alienating psychological effects and out-of-control demand for luxury products that exploits the third world, earn it a well deserved rebuke. Consider this an FU Sweetheart candy to one of my least favorite days.
Tagged with: mining, gold, valentines day
Tons of Californians arrested at White House climate change protest
San Francisco Chronicle | Joe Garofoli
February 13, 2013
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Shortly before 1 p.m. West Coast time Wednesday, 48 environmental activists — including a ton of Bay Area residents including San Franciscans like Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune and Adam Werbach, St. Mary’s College professor Brenda Hillman and her husband UC-Berkeley professor and former poet laureate Bob Haas — were arrested after chaining themselves to a fence outside the White House to protest the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline
We told you this invite-only civil disobedience demonstration was coming a couple of weeks ago. It’s news in that Obama’s liberal base is increasingly ticked off at him about his inaction on climate change. (And it was the first time in its history that the Sierra Club OK’d nonviolent civil disobedience as an organization.)
Tagged with: climate change, protest, nokxl
A Clash in Pennsylvania Over Fracking and Water Tests
NYT Green Blog | John Hurdle
February 4, 2013
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A war of words has broken out between environmentalists and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection over the cancellation of a meeting on the state’s testing of water from water wells near natural-gas drilling sites.
A meeting of 25 environmentally themed groups, the department’s oil and gas division and the state Department of Health’s Bureau of Laboratories had been set for Jan. 24 after the disclosure last November that department scientists had omitted data on some toxic metals found in water taken from a site in southwestern Pennsylvania.
Tagged with: fracking, water, pa dep
EPA Gets Access To Wells For Fracking Study
Knovel
January 30, 2013
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As much as the U.S. economy has enjoyed the benefits of the recent boom oil and gas exploration, plenty of questions have been raised about the engineering resources being used to tap into these new deposits.
Environmental activists have been fighting the spreading use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, insisting that the process could cause water contamination, a claim the energy industry has vehemently denied.
Focus On Fracking Diverts Attention From Horizontal Drilling
KQED | Jeff Brady
January 27, 2013
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Mention the recent surge in oil and natural gas production in the U.S. and one word comes to mind for a lot of people: "fracking." Hydraulic fracturing is a controversial technique that uses water, sand and potentially hazardous chemicals to break up rock deep underground to release oil and natural gas.
But there's another technology that is just as responsible for drilling booms happening across the country: horizontal drilling.
Tagged with: fracking, california
Putting an (Ethical) Ring on It
Etsy Blog | Lisa Butterworth
January 22, 2013
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When Beyoncé told dudes the world over that they should have put a ring on it, she didn’t specify what kind, but knowing Bey, I bet she’d suggest getting one that’s conflict-free and environmentally conscious. Whether you’re looking for a ring that will signify your betrothal, buying a fancy bauble for yourself, or simply dropping hints to a loved one about what you might want for V-day, feeling good about what a ring represents is just as important as the cut, the setting, and the size. From conflict-free diamonds to non-traditional stones and vintage pieces, there are a number of ways to score a high-end ring you can be proud to rock.
Tagged with: mining, gold, jewelry
Releases of Toxic Chemicals Increased By 8 Percent in 2011, EPA Data Show
BNA | Andrea Vittorio
January 18, 2013
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Total releases and transfers of toxic chemicals in the United States increased by 8 percent from 2010 to 2011 to 4.09 billion pounds, according to a data analysis by the Environmental Protection Agency released Jan. 16.
The rise in releases is mainly from increases in land disposal at metal mines, where small changes in the composition of the ore being mined can lead to big changes in the amount of toxic chemicals reported nationally, EPA said. Smaller increases in releases occurred in the hazardous waste management sector.
Tagged with: epa, tri, toxics release inventory
EPA’s Fracking Study May Dodge Water Contamination Frequency Issue
Huffington Post | Kevin Begos
January 6, 2013
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PITTSBURGH (AP) — An ongoing U.S. Environmental Protection Agency study on natural gas drilling and its potential for groundwater contamination has gotten tentative praise so far from both industry and environmental groups.
Glenn Paulson, the EPA's science adviser, describes the project as "one of the most aggressive public outreach programs in EPA history."
The final report won't come out until late 2014. But a 275-page progress report was released in December and, for all its details, shows that the EPA doesn't plan to address one contentious issue — how often drinking water contamination might occur.
Tagged with: fracking, epa, water contamination
Damon’s fracking hunt finds little good will
E&E News | Mike Soraghan
January 2, 2013
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"Promised Land," Matt Damon's movie tale about the shale boom in rural America, is posting "modest" box office results for its limited early release along with middling reviews.\
And, as expected, the movie some have dubbed "Good Will Fracking" has been praised by environmentalists and seen scorn from the natural gas industry and supporters.
"It's entertainment, and pretty silly entertainment," said former Pennsylvania environmental regulator John Hanger. "It doesn't pretend to deal with the real issues."
Tagged with: fracking, psyops, promised land
Draft of fracking regulations released
San Francisco Chronicle | David Baker
December 19, 2012
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California would require oil companies engaged in the controversial practice of fracking to pressure-test their wells first, notify the state in advance and make sure they aren't working too close to a fault line under regulations proposed Tuesday.
But the draft regulations, issued by the California agency that oversees oil drilling, would not force companies to obtain a special permit for fracking. Nor would the regulations give people living near oil wells much warning that fracking was about to begin.
Environmentalists immediately attacked the proposals as too weak.
Tagged with: fracking, regulation, california
Looking for Trouble: Will Lawmakers Beef Up Drilling Inspections?
NPR | Dave Fehling
December 18, 2012
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Chances may be better this time around that the Texas legislature might actually strengthen regulation of oil and gas drilling by the Texas Railroad Commission.
“I think there’s more and more consensus on what needs to happen at the Railroad Commission,” says Royce Poinsett. He’s a lawyer with Baker Botts and a lobbyist for the oil and gas industry.
Part of the reason is oil and gas drilling is getting far more public scrutiny. There’s even a Matt Damon movie now bringing attention to the hydraulic fracturing technique that’s behind a massive surge in oil and gas drilling.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, promised land
Regulators Under Fire for Keeping Fracking Pollution Test Results Under Wraps
Truthout | Mike Ludwig
December 11, 2012
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Residents living in the shadow of fracking rigs say they've suffered from headaches, nosebleeds and other health effects since drilling began in their communities. Meanwhile, state agencies refuse to release the results of air and water pollution tests.
Thirty years ago, Jenny and Tom Lisak moved into a historic farmhouse in Pennsylvania's rural Jefferson County. The couple raised three children there and established a certified organic farm they named LadyBug Farm.
"When living in the country, your time is marked by nature and each season comes with its own smells, sounds and colors," Jenny Lisak recently told environmental researchers. "But those colors have faded and our wellbeing, livelihood and dreams are now threatened."
Tagged with: fracking, regulations, inspections
Approval process for mine criticized
Arizona Daily Star | Tony Davis
December 9, 2012
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A new Washington, D.C.-based mining advocacy group is criticizing the U.S. Forest Service for its recent decision not to rule on the Rosemont Mine this month as previously planned.
The group, Mined in America, said in a news release that Arizona workers are "paying a heavy price for this unreasonable postponement."
"With so many Americans out of work and such a tremendous need for American natural resources so that we can revitalize manufacturing, it's time for regulators to stop delaying and allow this project to move forward," said Maurice Daniel, executive director of the group, in an interview.
Tagged with: mining, arizona, rosemont
Ohio’s next challenge might be finding enough inspectors to keep up with drilling activity
Crain's Cleveland | Dan Shingler
December 3, 2012
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No one knows exactly how many shale gas wells will be drilled in Ohio in 2013, but most experts agree on one thing: it will likely be more than the state can inspect with its current roster of inspectors.
That’s why the state is making a hard push to hire and train more inspectors to keep the expected rush of new drillings up to code.
The Ohio Department of Natural Resources is the state agency charged with regulating oil and gas drilling in the state, and within it the Oil and Gas division handles inspections. It had 41 inspectors going into the fourth quarter of this year, up from 30 at the end of 2011, said ODNR spokeswoman Heidi Hetzel-Evans.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement, inspections, ohio
Over Our Dead Salmon: Bristol Bay, DeBeers and Ethical Jewelry
CSR Newswire | Marc Choyt
November 27, 2012
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With the value of precious metals near all-time highs, hard rock mining will continue to threaten sensitive environmental areas.
We cannot expect much help from Congress. Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid is strongly supported by the mining lobby, and so long as he is in power, the 1872 mining act will remain the law of the land. One way forward with domestic mining reform may be through a concerted alliance between environmental organizations and a new coalition of ethical jewelers, particularly in the most prominent environmental mining battle at Bristol Bay, a pristine ecological national treasure located in Southwestern Alaska.
Tagged with: mining, gold, bristol bay, jewelry
Enviros vexed by what’s missing in water contamination reports
E&E News | Ellen Gilmer
November 20, 2012
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Pennsylvania's environmental protection chief is defending his agency's controversial system for testing water wells near Marcellus Shale operations by saying other states work the same way. But regulators in those states say that's not true.
The flap began in the Keystone State, where it recently came to light that the state Department of Environmental Protection routinely withholds water quality data it deems irrelevant to oil and gas contamination. Critics are pressuring regulators to overhaul that practice because they say the untold contaminants could make people sick.
Tagged with: fracking, public health, pennsylvania, toxics, water
REGULATION: N.M. is loosening drilling rules, bucking trends and riling ranchers
E&E News | Mike Soraghan
November 15, 2012
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TATUM, N.M. -- The bare patch is pale gray, gravelly and about the size of a baseball infield. It's been 60 years since an oil well was drilled here, the waste washed into a pit, then buried. Nothing has grown here since.
"That soil there is dead," growls Carl Johnson, a rancher who owns the land around here for miles, pointing over a box of bullets on the dash. "It'll still look like that in 60 years."
He spins the wheel of his mud-splattered Ford Super Cab pickup and crunches to a stop at another site that looks similar, except for a pile of dirt on the side, and his stern mood lifts a bit.
Tagged with: new mexico, pit rule
Towns Fight Back Against Fracking
Living Green Magazine | Sharon Guynup
November 8, 2012
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A growing boom in natural gas drilling near homes and schools prompted the city of Longmont, Colorado to vote last July to bar new oil and gas permits in residential neighborhoods.
The state quickly overturned the ordinance. Gov. John Hickenlooper said that letting it stand would “stir-up a hornet’s nest,” encouraging other Colorado towns to pass their own drilling rules. Longmont Mayor Dennis Coombs argued that communities have the right to restrict heavy industry in residential zones – including oil and gas drilling.
Tagged with: fracking, communities
Longmont frack ban may end up in court
Durango Herald | Joe Hanel
November 7, 2012
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DENVER – Longmont residents voted Tuesday to ban hydraulic fracturing inside their city limits, a stand that will intensify the battle between the state and the city on who gets to regulate natural-gas and oil production.
Gov. John Hickenlooper predicted that private oil companies will sue the northern Colorado city to overturn the ban.
Tagged with: fracking, ban, longmont
Local-State Clashes Grow During Oil And Gas Drilling Boom
Think Progress | Tom Kenworthy
November 1, 2012
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Many parts of the nation are experiencing a boom that is unlocking large new reserves of oil and gas from shale formations. While this means an increase in domestic fuel production, it is also fostering a gusher of increasingly bitter fights among local authorities, state governments, energy companies, and landowners about who has the right to regulate where and how drilling occurs.
Spurred in large part by concerns over the drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, citizens and local governments are mobilizing in support of bans or other restrictions on oil and gas drilling and, specifically, fracking.
Fracking—the high-pressure injection of water, chemicals, and sand to fracture underground rock formations and release trapped natural gas and oil—along with advances in horizontal drilling, has made it possible to develop extensive new fields of oil and gas around the United States. But the practice now used in an estimated 95 percent of U.S. oil and gas wells has elevated concerns about the health and safety of drilling, particularly in regard to those communities close to oil and gas developments.
Tagged with: fracking, regulation
Environmental Group Launches Cellphone Recycling Website
Paul Darin | Epoch Times
October 30, 2012
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Following the launch of the iPhone 5 in late September, Earthworks, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting communities and the environment formerly known as Mineral Policy Center, followed up with the launch of its “Recycle My Cell Phone” website, which helps mobile consumers and the environment by keeping cellphones out of landfills and helps to conserve precious minerals.
Throwing an old cellphone into the trash, the most likely end to any cellphone, over time leads to the leaching of hazardous chemicals like lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, and other rare earth elements into the soil and groundwater. In some areas that incinerate their trash, these toxins could quickly find their way into our atmosphere.
Tagged with: recycle my cell phone, recycling, iphone
Montana Supreme Court: Stricter permit needed for Rock Creek Mine
Rob Chaney | Missoulian
October 30, 2012
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The Rock Creek Mine can’t use a general water discharge permit to build its access roads because those roads would threaten a population of bull trout in the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness, according to the Montana Supreme Court.
A four-justice majority ruled this week that Revett Silver Co. needs a more site-specific permit with greater public review before it starts a five-year effort to develop its copper and silver mine north of Noxon.
Writing for the majority, Justice Michael Wheat said the state Department of Environmental Quality erred in granting a general permit if the “point source will be located in an area of unique ecological or recreational significance,” according to Montana law.
Tagged with: montana, rock creek mine, bull trout
Marcellus Gas Wells Likely Harming Public Health: Survey
Bloomberg | Jim Efstathiou Jr.
October 18, 2012
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People living near natural gas wells in Pennsylvania say drilling has triggered respiratory problems, fatigue, severe headaches and skin rashes, according to a study from Earthworks, a Washington-based environmental group.
The findings come from a survey released today of 108 residents in 14 Pennsylvania counties. Since 2009, more than 5,000 wells have been drilled in Pennsylvania’s portion of the Marcellus Shale using hydraulic fracturing. This process requires sending millions of gallons of chemically treated water and sand underground to break shale rock and free trapped gas.
There should be ‘‘no more permitting for drilling until the health impacts can be fully understood.’’
Tagged with: fracking, public health, pennslyvania
Fracking Pollution Sickens Pennsylvania Families, Environmental Group Says
Huffington Post | Lynne Peeples
October 18, 2012
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The McIntyres of Butler County, Pa., no longer drink the water piped into their home. They no longer brush their teeth with it, shower or do laundry with it.
"We use water for nothing other than flushing the commode," said Janet McIntyre, after describing her family's wide-ranging health problems -- from projectile vomiting to skin rashes -- that she attributed to the water.
Tagged with: fracking, public health
Suit says California hasn’t looked at fracking’s risks
Washington Times | Ben Wolfgang
October 16, 2012
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The heated fight over fracking has reached California. A coalition of environmental advocacy groups on Tuesday filed a lawsuit charging that the state’s Department of Conservation “has failed to consider or evaluate the risks of fracking” and therefore is in violation of state law, the latest state-level clash over the booming new technique for obtaining oil and natural gas.
“Right now, the people of California don’t know where or when the drillers are fracking, what chemicals they are using, what pollutants they’re releasing into the air and water and what other risks they are taking,” said George Torgun, an attorney with the non-profit environmental law firm Earthjustice, which filed the suit on behalf of the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity and other groups.
Tagged with: fracking, california, lawsuit
CA sued over environmental toll of fracking
San Francisco Chronicle | David Baker
October 16, 2012
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The suit, filed in Alameda County Superior Court by five environmental groups, would force the state office that oversees oil drilling to study the possible effects on groundwater and air quality before letting companies use hydraulic fracturing.
The state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources currently lets oil companies frack wells without an environmental impact report, according to the suit. Such reports are required for most major construction or infrastructure projects.
"It's time for our regulators and our oil and gas industry to stop denying the negative impacts of fracking and start working to prevent them," said Jennifer Krill, executive director of Earthworks.
Tagged with: fracking, california, lawsuit
Use Care in Disposing of Your Old Cell Phone
Consumer Affairs | Mark Huffman
October 16, 2012
Whether you are lining up to buy a new iPhone 5 or one of its many competitors, you then have the problem of what to do with your old cell phone. The last thing you should do is simply throw it away.
Not only are there toxic materials in these devices that should not go into a landfill, there is sensitive information that you should keep out of the hands of people who might misuse it.
Tagged with: mining, gold, rare earths, recycle my cell phone, recycling
Wyoming Water Tests in Line With EPA Finding on Fracking
Bloomberg | Mark Drajem
October 11, 2012
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Tests of drinking water near a natural-gas drilling site in Wyoming back up findings that established the first link by the federal government between hydraulic fracturing and tainted water, the Environmental Protection Agency said.
The EPA yesterday issued its follow-up analyses of two test wells it drilled in Pavillion and of five residents’ water wells, saying the pollutants it found were “consistent” with the results last year used to establish that connection to hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.
Water quality in Pavillion, Wyoming, has attracted national attention since the EPA’s draft report in December showed that fracking may have contaminated homeowners’ water.
Tagged with: fracking, epa, wyoming, usgs
More data shows groundwater pollution from fracking
Summit County Citizens Voice
October 9, 2012
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SUMMIT COUNTY — There’s more evidence suggesting that fracking in Wyoming is polluting groundwater near the town of Pavilion, as U.S. Geological Survey water quality sampling appears to show similar results as an earlier EPA study.
The 2011 EPA sampling was one of the first to document hydrocarbons consistent with fracking fluid chemicals in drinking water wells and monitoring wells located near natural gas wells.
The latest USGS study was conducted specifically to check EPA’s results, even as the the oil and gas industry continue to question the results. Environmental advocates accuse the industry of protecting their economic interests at the expense of public health and safety.
Tagged with: fracking, epa, wyoming, water, usgs
A tale of one shale helped guide another
Houston Chronicle | Jeannie Kever
October 7, 2012
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For decades, most urban Texans thought of oil and gas as a West Texas thing - pump jacks bobbing along the horizon, glimpsed from cars speeding on their way to somewhere else.
That changed in the 1990s with the bonanza of natural gas in the Barnett shale, as drilling became an up-close-and-personal experience for suburbanites in North Texas.
"Everybody was going to be wealthy," said Sharon Wilson, who lived in Wise County at the time. "I launched a campaign to get people to drill on my property."
Texas energy company fined $207,150
Durango Herald | Jordyn Dahl
October 4, 2012
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A Texas-based energy company has agreed to pay a $207,150 fine in a settlement agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for polluting air around Ignacio for more than 10 years.
Court documents show the Elm Ridge Exploration Co. violated the Clean Air Act by operating engines that are not in compliance with emission and operating limitations. The company also failed to get written approval from the EPA to install several high-pollutant engines.
Elm Ridge owns the Ignacio Gas Treating Plant on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation about eight miles west of Ignacio. The plant has been in operation since 1999 and accepts low-pressure raw and untreated natural gas from about 140 surrounding wells owned by the company, according to the court complaint filed by the EPA.
Tagged with: fracking, epa, natural gas, colorado, fines
Report: Enforcement of Texas Oil and Gas Laws Is Kind of a Joke
Dallas Observer | Brantley Hargrove
September 26, 2012
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Anybody who is at all familiar with the Texas Railroad Commission won't be surprised to learn that the almighty oil and gas regulator isn't exactly aggressive in its enforcement of the rules. The highly political commission's contradictory charges are to promote oil and gas development while holding the developers accountable. You can guess which charge usually wins out.
Earthworks, the nonprofit oil-and-gas accountability outfit, helpfully quantified the commission's lackadaisical approach to enforcement in a recent report.
It's helpful to understand the scale of oil and gas development in Texas. Between 1993 and 2011, the number of active wells increased by 24,000. Meanwhile, the number of inspectors decreased by 20. That means each inspector is responsible for inspecting, give or take, 2,700. That is, of course, not physically possible. Earthworks estimates some 300,000 oil and gas facilities weren't inspected in 2011.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, texas railroad commission
Wyoming tests still detect benzene
Albany Time Union | Mead Gruver
September 26, 2012
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CHEYENNE, Wyo. — New groundwater testing in Wyoming shows lower levels of the carcinogen benzene than what the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reported when it linked contaminants in two water wells to hydraulic fracturing, but only one well was tested this time.
Benzene is a hydrocarbon commonly associated with oil and gas development. Last year's testing by the EPA showed benzene at almost 50 times the recommended EPA limit. The new data released Wednesday by the U.S. Geological Survey show benzene at 3 percent of the recommended EPA limit.
Tagged with: fracking, epa, public health, wyoming
NY records show history of oil, gas well problems
Bloomberg | Mary Esch
September 26, 2012
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ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — State regulators claim a strong record of oil and gas drilling oversight, but their own reports reveal thousands of unplugged abandoned wells and other industrial problems that could pose a threat to groundwater, wetlands, air quality and public safety.
Annual reports and incident reports prepared by Department of Environmental Conservation staff and reviewed by The Associated Press run counter to the agency's long-stated assertion that the types of problems reported in other states have been prevented in New York by strong regulations.
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement
Report criticizes Pa. gas drilling enforcement
Wall Street Journal | Kevin Begos
September 26, 2012
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PITTSBURGH — Pennsylvania regulators aren't inspecting tens of thousands of oil and gas wells even once a year, a new report says. But state officials say they're inspecting most new wells in the Marcellus Shale region, which is the right place to focus.
The report issued Tuesday by Earthworks, a Washington D.C. nonprofit, found that more than 66,000 active wells weren't inspected by the Department of Environmental Protection last year, and that many companies cited for violations aren't punished.
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, enforcement
Group says many Texas wells aren’t inspected
Houston Chronicle | Jeannie Kever
September 25, 2012
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An environmental group Tuesday released a study contending that regulatory officials in Texas and five other states affected by the shale drilling boom have been overwhelmed by the rush of activity, leaving residents at risk of air and water problems caused by drilling.
The report, "Breaking All the Rules: The Crisis in Oil & Gas Regulatory Enforcement," contends that hundreds of thousands of oil and gas wells - including more than half of active wells in Texas - never are inspected to see whether they comply with state rules.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Fracking Regulations In States Leave Wells Without Inspection, Environmental Group Says
Huffington Post | Tom Zeller Jr.
September 25, 2012
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Hundreds of thousands of active oil and gas wells go without government inspection in any given year, and fines for regulatory violations are too small to change drilling company behavior, according to an energy watchdog group's review of regulation and enforcement activities in six states.
The 124-page report, released Tuesday by the Oil & Gas Accountability Project at Earthworks, an environmental and public health advocacy group based in Washington, examined well inspection data, violations, enforcement actions and penalties in Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Texas.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Watchdog group faults states’ inspections of oil, gas wells
LA Times | Neela Banerjee
September 25, 2012
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WASHINGTON -- State regulators inspect oil and gas wells sporadically, do not consistently record violations, and impose light penalties on companies that are found to break environmental, health or safety rules, according to a new research report issued by the environmental watchdog group Earthworks.
The report, “Breaking All the Rules,” comes out at a time when hydraulic fracturing -- known as "fracking" -- and horizontal drilling have touched off a nationwide boom in oil and gas production. While the growth in domestic energy production has nudged the United States closer to energy self-sufficiency and created jobs, it has also raised questions about the adequacy of environmental and health safeguards and elicited pushback from localities that contend that their states are not doing enough to protect them.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
States Fail to Oversee U.S. Fracking, Environmental Group Says
Bloomberg | Kasia Klimasinska
September 25, 2012
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U.S. states fail to adequately monitor hydraulic fracturing and use outdated fines that are inadequate to deter violations, an environmental group said as drillers back state rather federal oversight.
Pennsylvania and Ohio each didn’t inspect 91 percent of active oil and gas wells in 2010, Washington-based Earthworks said today in a report. In New Mexico, the top fine of $1,000 per day has been in place for more than 75 years.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
States Aren’t Enforcing Their Own Oil and Gas Rules
Mother Jones | Josh Harkinson
September 25, 2012
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The biggest domestic oil and gas boom in a generation is going unpoliced by regulators in many states, according to a report released today by the environmental group Earthworks. Since 2005, the United States has increased oil production by about 10 percent and gas production about 20 percent, largely due to technological advances in horizontal drilling and fracking. Meanwhile, enforcement actions in six major oil and gas states have not kept pace with all the new drilling.
The report, "Breaking All the Rules," examined oil and gas regulation in Colorado, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. It found that in recent years the number of oil-and-gas-related enforcement actions and total dollar amount in penalties in each state have either remained fairly constant or dropped. The only exception was in Colorado, where penalties increased because the state addressed a backlog of old cases.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Group challenges Ohio’s drilling rules
Canton Repository | Edd Pritchard
September 25, 2012
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A national environmental group working with several statewide organizations took shots at Ohio’s regulations governing oil and natural gas drilling in a report issued Tuesday.
Earthworks, which calls itself a national resource extraction watchdog, issued a 13-page report contending that several states fail to enforce oil and gas extractionregulations. A separate four-page report claimed the Ohio Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management provide inadequate enforcement, which means ongoing drilling in Ohio is irresponsible.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Report Claims That Oil Companies Are Breaking Rules, Not Being Regulated
CBS 7 | Felicia Bolton
September 25, 2012
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GARDENDALE, TX - In the document, exclusively obtained by CBS 7 earlier today, the Gardendale Accountability Project (GARDAP) and 11 other Texas environmental groups are demanding oil companies clean up their act to better protect the public.
In a 124 page report titled "Breaking All the Rules: The Crises In Oil and Gas Regulatory Enforcement", Earthworks, GARDAP and 11 other Texas groups claim that the Texas oil & gas regulations are not being enforced.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Report says states are too lax on oil, gas
Fort Worth Star-Telegram | Jim Fuquay
September 25, 2012
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States don't adequately regulate oil and gas production activities, says a new study by an environmental group, which urges them to establish firm rules for how often wells are inspected.
State regulators should require oil and gas producers to do their own monitoring of emissions and pollution, and should charge more for drilling permits to help cover the costs of boosting enforcement, says the study by the Washington-based Earthworks and its oil and gas accountability project.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Analysis finds faults in drilling oversight
Denton Record Chronicle | Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe
September 25, 2012
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States with the heaviest oil and gas development in the shale drilling boom are doing a poor job enforcing rules meant to protect public health and safety, according to a new analysis by Earthworks.
The 124-page analysis — “Breaking all the rules: the crises in oil and gas regulatory enforcement” — was partially paid for with a $25,000 grant from The Heinz Endowments. The foundation has given grants to a number of projects related to the shale boom recently, said Jennifer Krill, executive director of Earthworks.
Tagged with: fracking, enforcement
Gas drilling protests held in US, other countries
Wall Street Journal
September 22, 2012
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PHILADELPHIA — Demonstrators in the United States and other countries protested Saturday against the natural gas drilling process known as fracking that they say threatens public health and the environment.
Participants in the "Global Frackdown" campaign posted photos on social media websites showing mostly small groups.
But organizer Mark Schlosberg said Saturday afternoon he thought the protests were going well and he pointed to photos showing larger demonstrations in South Africa and France as well as higher turnouts in cities in California, Colorado and New York.
Tagged with: fracking, drilling, global frack down
SEC passes conflict minerals rule; impact unclear
National Jeweler
August 27, 2012
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Washington, D.C.--The Securities and Exchange Commission voted 3-2 on Wednesday morning to implement the “conflict” minerals provision of the Dodd-Frank Act. The provision requires publicly traded companies to determine and disclose if they use minerals, including gold and tungsten, that originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo or one of nine neighboring countries and financed or benefitted armed groups there.
The provision dictates that companies that use any of the designated minerals conduct a country of origin inquiry on their minerals or use minerals that are from scrap and recycled sources.
Tagged with: mining, conflict minerals, sec, 1502
Behind a mining monopoly
Al Jazeera English | The Stream
August 27, 2012
Canada is seen as a friendly nation but many indigenous communities say they have a dirty secret. Canada's mining industry, the largest in the world, controls a majority of Latin American mining. Activists say they pollute and violate human rights without accountability from the Canadian government. Mining companies argue they build schools, health centres, roads and provide jobs.
In this episode of The Stream, we speak to Meera Karunananthan (@meerakar) from the Council of Canadians and John McKay (@johnmckaylib), Canadian Member of Parliament. Members of The Stream community also join via Google+.
Tagged with: mining, canada, latin america
SEC Approves Conflict Mineral & Extraction Rules
Resource Investor | Philip Burgert
August 22, 2012
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The so-called “conflict mineral” requirement – aimed primarily at users of tantalum, tin, gold and tungsten – is intended to make companies accountable for buying minerals sold to fund fighting in the DRC as part of efforts to discourage human rights abuses in that war-torn country.
Tagged with: mining, conflict minerals, sec, 1502, 1504
Will Gov. Cuomo Listen to the Lobbyists and Gas Industry Consultants? Or the Citizens of New York?
Huffington Post Blog | Gabe Elsner
August 16, 2012
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Mounting evidence suggests that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is eschewing science and public concerns in an effort to curry favor with the gas industry. As rumors mount that Cuomo is considering a 2016 presidential run, he may be working to boost his ability to raise campaign funds from the fossil fuel industry.
Recently uncovered internal state documents and other evidence show an aggressive effort by gas industry lobbyists to influence Governor Cuomo and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to weaken regulation of fracking. Furthermore, a recent report by EarthWorks detailed inadequate DEC oversight of oil and gas drilling in New York. The gas industry's influence is also evident in an analysis of campaign contributions -- the industry spent more than $1.3 million dollars on the campaigns of state legislators and more than $150,000 on Governor Cuomo's electoral campaign. Finally, the gas industry is promoting flawed research, under the banner of academic research, from consultants who work for oil and gas companies to convince the public that fracking is safe.
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement, cuomo
The case against fracking
Austin Stateman | Sharon Wilson
August 11, 2012
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The coupling of two old technologies, horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, has fueled a national drilling boom. Nationwide, residents living near fracked gas wells have filed more than 1,000 complaints of tainted water, severe illnesses, livestock deaths, and fish kills. Complaints, sometimes involving hundreds of households, have risen in tandem with a veritable gold rush of natural gas wells — now numbering about 493,000 across 31 states. It is also fueling opposition — even in a state known for supporting the oil and gas industry — that grows in direct proportion to drilling expansion.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, forces millions of gallons of chemical-laden water and thousands of pounds of sand deep underground at extremely high pressure to crack dense shale and release oil and gas trapped below.
Tagged with: fracking, public health, texas
Draft watershed assessment goes to peer review
Cordoba Times | Margaret Bauman
August 10, 2012
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A panel of scientists was weighing in Aug. 7-9 on the merits of a draft Bristol Bay watershed assessment, as well as comments from several dozen people speaking passionately in support and opposition of the proposed Pebble mine.
The panel was directed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which produced the draft document, to listen to testimony from people pre-registered to address the meeting, hold an open discussion focused on the scientific merit of the document and then prepare written comments for EPA’s contractor, Versar.
Tagged with: epa, alaska, pebble, copper
Report highlights risks of Pebble to Bristol Bay
Cordoba Times
August 10, 2012
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A new report from a nonprofit group dedicated to protecting the environment from the impact of irresponsible mineral and energy development highlights the risks of proposed large-scale copper mining near the Bristol Bay watershed.
“Our research demonstrates that pipeline spills and uncontrolled mine seepage are a frequent problem at copper mines operating in the U.S. today,” said Bonnie Gestring of Earthworks, which released the document Aug. 6. “Pebble says they can prevent these problems through technology, but the record says otherwise.”
Tagged with: bristol bay, alaska, pebble, copper
Public Weighs In on Pebble Mine at EPA Hearing
KKTU | Dan Fiorucci
August 7, 2012
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The Environmental Protection Agency convened a three-day peer review hearing Tuesday concerning its watershed assessment of the proposed Pebble Mine, which is also the public's last chance to testify before an EPA scientific panel took up the document for review.
More than 100 people showed up, with the majority saying they were pleased that EPA had decided to intervene in the permitting process.
Tagged with: epa, bristol bay, alaska, pebble mine
Flores bill would call for study before implementing safety rules on fracking
Waco Tribune-Herald | Lowell Brown
August 3, 2012
A bill by U.S. Rep. Bill Flores would further delay proposed new environmental safety rules for hydraulic fracturing on federal land until the government studies their effect on jobs and energy production.
Flores , R-Bryan, a former energy executive, said regulations proposed by the federal Bureau of Land Management are burdensome and would hinder oil and gas production on energy-rich public land.
He also argues they are unnecessary because states already regulate the industry.
Naturally, it’s a gas, gas, gas
Durango Herald | Emery Cowan
July 31, 2012
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Grant Hammer has been converting cars to run on compressed natural gas for years. His work has always been a side job, but, in recent years, his vision of vehicles powered by natural gas is gaining a level of attention that is hard to ignore.
Grant Hammer said all three of his vehicles run on natural gas and gasoline. Several local initiatives are looking at the feasibility of running vehicles on natural gas and compressed natural gas.
Tagged with: natural gas, colorado
Denton group tackles ethics of gas drilling
Green Source DFW | Julie Thibodeaux
July 31, 2012
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As a philosophy professor at the University of North Texas, Dr. Adam Briggle is an expert at ethical debates. But last year, he found himself in the middle of real-world problem solving when he agreed to head up the Denton Stakeholder Advisory Group.
Tagged with: drilling, texas, barnett shale, ethics
Anti-Fracking Groups Prepare for National Organizing Convergence
Waging Nonviolence | Mike Sandmel
July 29, 2012
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Opponents of the natural gas-drilling practice known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, will take another major step in building their movement this weekend when they gather in Washington D.C. for a national convergence called Stop The Frack Attack. There will be two days of trainings and workshops, a day of citizen lobbying on Capital Hill and then a rally and march that will deliver toxic fracking waste water to the headquarters of the American Petroleum Institute and the American Natural Gas Alliance. Organizers are expecting upwards of 3,000 people to participate — an impressive number, considering that just a few years ago fracking was something few Americans knew about.
Tagged with: stop the frack attack
REGULATION: How many wells per inspector? In some states, answer is elusive
E&E | Ellen Gilmer
July 25, 2012
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Figuring out the number of wells each oil and gas inspector must handle in North Dakota is pretty simple. In Pennsylvania, easy. In Oklahoma? Not so much.
A recent overview of state shale gas regulations showcases major gaps in data available to compare, state by state, the force of oil and gas agencies. Oklahoma, for one, doesn't know how many producing wells it has.
Tagged with: natural gas, regulation, drilling, enforcement
EPA seeking comment on Pebble Mine
National Jeweler
July 20, 2012
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Washington--The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released an assessment on the potential impact of mining development on Bristol Bay, Alaska, the site of the proposed Pebble Mine. The assessment is available online and is open for public comment until July 23.
It is based on the scenario of developing an open-pit mine that would process 2 to 6.5 billion metric tons of ore and require construction of an 86-mile haul road. If developed, Pebble, a project of Anglo American plc and Northern Dynasty, would be the largest open-pit copper and gold mine in North America.
Tagged with: mining, bristol bay, jewelry, tiffanys
Environmentalists say before fracking is allowed, current oil and gas wells need closer inspections
Mid Hudson Radio
July 19, 2012
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ALBANY – Some 76 percent of the current gas and oil wells in New York go uninspected by the state annually and before Albany considers approving hydrofracking to harvest natural gas from shale formations, it should increase staff and conduct more inspections. That assessment came Tuesday from environmental organization Earthworks’ Oil and Gas Accountability Project.
The group released a report which said New York ranks lower in rate of inspections that Colorado, New Mexico and Texas and has less stringent recommended inspection guidelines than some other states. It said few violators are penalized. The number of inspectors in New York has dramatically gone down over recent years, Earthworks people said.
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement
Report Sees Lax Inspections of N.Y. Gas Wells
New York Times Blog | Mireya Navarro
July 19, 2012
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A major concern about the advent of a new type of natural gas drilling in New York is whether the state’s environmental regulators could keep up with a potential boom once this drilling process, known as fracking, is allowed.
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement
Hydraulic Fracturing: Can Environmental Regulators Handle a Fracking Boom?
The Village Voice Blog | Victoria Bekiempis
July 18, 2012
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Can New York's environmental regulators keep up with fracking?
This is the question raised in a report recently published by Earthworks, a group that monitors the petroleum and mining industries.
Earthworks' new accountability project charges that New York's Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and the Division of Mineral Resources (DMR) -- which creates regulations and issues permits for oil and gas drilling -- already "struggles to adequately govern its existing oil and gas wells."
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement
Fracking fuels energy debate
Science News for Kids | Erica Gies
July 18, 2012
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In the 2010 documentary Gasland, Colorado resident Mike Markham strikes a cigarette lighter next to his kitchen faucet. He turns on the tap and waits a beat. Whoosh! A fireball shoots from the flowing stream.
It’s a dramatic scene in a film about a technology being used to unleash huge new supplies of natural gas.
Josh Fox, the movie’s director and writer, argues that the tap water flames were likely fueled by methane, the energetic molecule that makes up most of the fuel known as natural gas. Fox suggested the methane had leaked into Markham’s water supply as energy companies were extracting the fuel from nearby underground deposits.
Tagged with: fracking, natural gas, kids
75% of New York’s Active Oil & Gas Wells Go Uninspected Every Year
Treehugger | Mat McDermott
July 18, 2012
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Some more stats on fracking in New York state that don't paint a pretty picture of the state's oversight of oil and gas drilling. Bet you didn't know that New York currently has about 10,000 active oil and gas wells already (I for one didn't have that stat on the tip of my tongue).
The pretty damning part, coming via a new report from Earthworks, is that more than 75% of these active wells aren't inspected on an annual basis, with the rate of inspections decreasingly markedly in about the past ten years.
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement
State well inspections ‘inadequate’
Times Union | Brian Nearing
July 17, 2012
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ALBANY — The state lags in inspecting oil and gas wells, and is not ready to handle what could be a deluge of wells if it allows natural gas hydraulic fracturing, according to a report issued Tuesday by group against fracking.
Earthworks Oil & Gas Accountability Project compared New York's inspection and enforcement history for petroleum wells to states where fracking is already in use — Pennsylvania, Texas, Ohio, New Mexico and Colorado.
Tagged with: fracking, new york, enforcement
Fractivism on the Hill
Fort Worth Weekly
July 11, 2012
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Talk about being green. The Hulk, or at least the actor who portrays the heroic beast in The Avengers, is heading to Washington, D.C., to battle the natural gas drilling industry — specifically, the practice of hydraulic fracturing that Fort Worthians have come to love so dearly. Mark Ruffalo leads the short list of celebrities making the trek (a very short list — the other “celebs” are Ed Begley Jr., an actor/environmentalist who never met a bad script, and Margot Kidder, who portrayed Lois Lane in the old Superman movies.)
Tagged with: fracking, texas, stop the frack attack
New Mexico’s “Fracking” Legacy
KUNM | Laura Pascus
July 11, 2012
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As the natural gas boom has spread to the eastern United States, the term “fracking” has become common in news reports coming out of Pennsylvania and New York. But fracking has been a part of New Mexico’s history for decades.
After all, fracking is not a new technology. Halliburton pioneered hydraulic fracturing, as it’s officially known, in the 1940s. And it has been used around New Mexico for decades.
Tagged with: fracking, new mexico
House bill would relax mining oversight
Bozeman Daily Chronicle | Laura Lundquist
July 11, 2012
A bill being debated on the U.S. House floor today would reduce the time and effort required to get a hardrock mine permit on federal land by bypassing some public comment and federal oversight.
The National Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act of 2012 would classify hardrock mining operations as “infrastructure” projects, which were granted abbreviated permitting and review processes by President Barack Obama in a March 22 executive order.
Tagged with: mining, congress, 4402
The Future of Fracking: New Rules Target Air Emissions for Cleaner Natural Gas Production
Environmental Health Perspectives | Bob Weinhold
July 2, 2012
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Natural gas is lauded as a cleaner-burning fuel than either coal or oil, but getting the fuel out of the ground can be a dirty process, especially given the widespread adoption of the technology known as hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). Concerns about toxic air emissions from previously unregulated fracking sites led to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announcement on 18 April 2012 of new and updated air pollution regulations for these facilities and certain other elements of oil and natural gas production and transmission.1 Compliance with the new regulations is expected to result in major reductions in emissions of methane and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly from new fracked natural gas wells.
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'Meet at the Center of the Earth' --- Miners Take On New Risks as They Drill Deeper for Copper; Rio Tinto's $5 Billion Lode in Utah
Wall Street Journal | John W. Miller
June 12, 2012
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BINGHAM CANYON, Utah -- Miners have drilled, blasted and dug 19 million tons of copper out of this valley -- enough for all the nickels, dimes and quarters ever minted -- in what is the world's deepest surface mine.
There is plenty more in an untapped region far below the mine, and owner Rio Tinto, the global mining behemoth, is investing $165 million to explore the area, which may hold some $5 billion worth of copper.
Tagged with: mining, bingham canyon, utah
Fracking Activist: “I’m Being Harassed” by Range Resources
FW Weekly | Forrest Wilder
May 24, 2012
North Texas blogger and activist Sharon Wilson spent today compiling hundreds of her private emails. From her perspective, it's another chapter in a hard-nosed fracking company's psy-ops effort against its critics.
She has until tomorrow to respond to a sweeping subpoena for her communications as part of a high-profile lawsuit between fracking company Range Resources and Steven and Shyla Lipsky, a North Texas couple who accuse Range of polluting their groundwater.
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We need to strengthen the Pit Rule, not do away with it
nmpolitics.net | Gwen Lachelt
May 22, 2012
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Last week, Governor Martinez’s Oil Conservation Commission considered whether to weaken or eliminate a safeguard that protects our drinking and groundwater from toxins. Called the Pit Rule, it was passed in 2008 in response to over 400 reports of groundwater contamination from the oil and gas drilling process. Passing this rule was no small task.
A rulemaking involves a thoughtful stakeholder process and public hearing – a thoughtful process to develop commonsense rules that prevent and minimize the social, environmental and economic impacts of oil and gas development. The Pit Rule was no exception – it was adopted in 2008 after an 18-month process that included diverse stakeholder input and 17 days of public hearings.
Tagged with: fracking, hydraulic fracturing, new mexico, pit rule
Gas Company Goes After Fire-Breathing-Hose Blogger
Mother Jones | Kate Sheppard
May 18, 2012
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Natural gas company Range Resources Corp. is suing a Texas landowner and environmental consultant for $3 million in damages, and may be coming after a blogger as well for damaging its reputation.
In 2010, Texas landowner Steven Lipsky made a video (see below) that showed a garden hose shooting out fire, which he blamed on nearby natural gas extraction. He sent the video to Texas blogger Sharon Wilson, who posted it online, and he hired environmental consultant Alisa Rich to come test the water and send the results to the EPA.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, range resources, lawsuit
Fracker Range Resouces Sues Over YouTube of Burning Well
Business Week | Mark Drajem and Mike Lee
May 18, 2012
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Steven Lipsky shot video of methane- fueled flames shooting from a hose hooked up to his well in Weatherford, Texas, and sent it to Sharon Wilson, a blogger who posted it on YouTube. And he hired Alisa Rich to test the water in his well and alert the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
For gas-driller Range Resources Corp. -- which Lipsky blames for contaminating his water from two wells near his home -- those actions amount to a conspiracy to harm its reputation, and it went to state court seeking $3 million in damages from Lipsky and Rich.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, range resources, lawsuit
Range Resources Sues Homeowner Over YouTube Video
Bloomberg | Mike Lee
May 18, 2012
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May 18 (Bloomberg) -- Sharon Wilson, who writes for the blog BlueDaze and works for the Earthworks' Oil & Gas Accountability Project, discusses the court order filed by gas driller Range Resources Corp. against Steven Lipsky and Alisa Rich. Lipsky, a homeowner in Weatherford, Texas, recorded methane-fueled flames shooting out of his well and holds Range responsible for the contamination. He hired Alisa Rich to test the water in his well and alert the Environmental Protection Agency. Wilson posted the video footage on YouTube. Range is seeking $3 million in damages from Rich and Lipsky, accusing them of harming the company's reputation.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, range resources, lawsuit, supeona
Group: NM lacks adequate oil and gas enforcement
CBS News | Susan Montoya Bryan
May 17, 2012
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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A watchdog group called into question Thursday whether New Mexico can continue developing oil and natural gas in a responsible way without more state inspectors and adequate enforcement.
Production of those materials has been part of the economic backbone of the state for the better part of a century and continues to grow.
Earthworks' Oil and Gas Accountability Project released a report that shows the number of inspections conducted by the state Oil Conservation Division increased in 2011 but more than half of producing wells went unchecked.
Tagged with: fracking, hydraulic fracturing, colorado, regulations, enforcement
Feds Punt on Leadership Over Fracking Rules, Experts Say
InsideClimate News | Lisa Song
May 15, 2012
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Nearly two years after Wyoming became the first state to regulate high-volume hydraulic fracturing, the federal government is finally taking similar steps to supervise oil and gas drilling on public lands.
Released earlier this month, the proposed rule is now open for public comment. While the regulations it contains are a significant step forward, they've disappointed environmentalists and watchdogs who hoped that the Obama administration would lead by example.
Tagged with: fracking, regulation, blm
Western legislatures grab for control of public lands
High Country News | Jodi Peterson
May 14, 2012
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In late April, Arizona's Legislature approved a bill demanding that Washington, D.C., give the state control over most of its federal land. Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a similar measure in March. These bills are, of course, highly unlikely to result in any actual transfer of land; most legal experts think they'll prove unconstitutional, and decades of Supreme Court decisions firmly support federal oversight of certain lands.
The rhetoric behind the measures is all about states' rights, but they would also boost corporate access to Western natural resources. "This push is driven by the fossil fuel industry," says Pete Maysmith, executive director of Colorado Conservation Voters, "and it's been fascinating to see ALEC and its agenda and funders more exposed."
Tagged with: fracking, epa, oil and gas, regulation
Prospectors ready to tap Haiti’s buried gold
Business Week | Martha Mendoza
May 11, 2012
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Its capital is blighted with earthquake rubble. Its countryside is shorn of trees, chopped down for fuel. And yet, Haiti's land may hold the key to relieving centuries of poverty, disaster and disease: There is gold hidden in its hills -- and silver and copper, too.
A flurry of exploratory drilling in the past year has found precious metals worth potentially $20 billion deep below the tropical ridges in the country's northeastern mountains. Now, a mining company is drilling around the clock to determine how to get those metals out.
Tagged with: mining, gold, no dirty gold, testing, haiti
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