Global Frac News

Need to get fracking facts right by Gareth Hughes, August 20, 2012, The Gizborne Herald In Taranaki we have seen groundwater contamination and consents being breached. In Southland we’ve seen waste fracking water dumped in the local river. In Waikato a fracking operation by Solid Energy was undertaken without consent. Now the industry has its sights ...

New York State to allow fracking by Jeff Glor, August 19, 2012, CBSNews CBS News has learned that New York is about to okay fracking, and will issue guidelines after Labor Day. … In Albany, New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation — responsible for writing the regulations – says if high-volume hydraulic fracturing moves forward in ...

Out of sight, out of mind: groundwater in peril August 19, 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald The director of the National Centre for Groundwater Research and Training, Craig Simmons, said much more was needed to ”waterproof the nation” despite hundreds of millions of dollars being spent on trying to protect the nation’s groundwater resources as part ...

Medical muzzling: Fracking-related gag order on doctors must be changed by Patriot-News Editorial Board, August 19, 2012, Patriot-News Even Gov. Tom Corbett was puzzled by the medical “gag order” in the Marcellus Shale law. “We got to take a look at that. I’m not sure how that got put in there. I don’t recall how that ...

Fracking floors energy giants, The US shale gas market is imploding as the price hits a 10-year low, badly hurting the major players by Tom Bawden, August 19, 2012, The Independent BHP Billiton is about to become the next victim of the latest asset bubble to burst – US shale gas, the rock-based hydrocarbon that is ...

Fouled Waters: Woodlands residents search for ways to survive without clean water by Julia Rendleman, August 19, 2012, Post-Gazette “This is America 2012. Look at what’s happening. We have all this technology but no water,” she said. Before Kim McEvoy watched her home value plummet and moved to one with public water, she went behind rhododendron ...

Coal gas stream blaze still alight west of Dalby by Kieran Rooney, August 19, 2012, The Courier-Mail AN ENVIRONMENTALIST says coal seam gas fires would soon become a common occurence on the Darling Downs, as one blaze continued to burn overnight. The blaze, which started a small bush fire yesterday morning, is under control but still ...

Fracking would affect dairy farms by Kathie Arnold, August 18, 2012, Times Union Recent research out of Penn State showed areas of Pennsylvania with 150 or more Marcellus Shale gas wells have seen an average decrease in milk production of 18.5 percent from 2007 to 2010, whereas the areas without active gas drilling increased milk production ...

Fracking Fallout in Ohio: ‘Throwing Up Until the Blood Vessels in My Eyes Burst’, Academy Award winning actress Melissa Leo brings life to the words of a fracking victim in the American Rust Belt by Jon Bowermaster, August 17, 2012, Take Part When Jamie Frederick bought her home outside Youngstown, Ohio, a little more than three ...

Diesel still used to frack wells FracFocus data show by Mike Soraghan, August 17, 2012, Energywire Diesel fuel has been used to “frack” at least 138 wells in the United States in the past year and a half, according to data filed by drillers with the FracFocus.org registry. But if the definition of diesel proposed by ...

Court Reaffirms that Gas Company Profits Do Not Trump the Constitutional Rights of Pennsylvania Residents by Delaware Riverkeeper, August 17, 2012, Ecowatch Jordan Yeager, Esq., representing Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Nockamixon Township and Yardley Borough said, “This ruling prevents the chaos that would have ensued if the Corbett administration and gas companies got their way. We are ...

Deadly explosion Encana’s latest woe by Jameson Berkow, Financial Post, August 17, 2012, Calgary Herald The rare and tragic incident, which occurred at a recently completed site northeast of Denver at approximately 1 p.m. MT on Wednesday, comes at a particularly bad time for Canada’s largest natural gas producer. Calgary-based Encana has been under fire since ...

Oil rig blow-out: Incident leaves 1 person dead; 400 barrels of oil sprayed out by Jenna Ebersole, August 17, 2012, Williston Herald One man was killed during the evacuation of a rig blow-out that shot a mist of roughly 400 barrels of oil and 400 barrels of salt water across fields southeast of Williston, officials said. Jason ...

3 Injured Following Gas Well Explosion in Harrison County by Jamie Stover, Barbour Doddridge, Randolph and Ritchie County Reporter, August 17, 2012, wboy.com Thomas J. Aluise, of the WV DEP Office of Oil and Gas released this statement Friday afternoon: “We will issue an order today telling Antero that all well work, other than procedures needed ...

3 injured in gas well fire during Marcellus shale drilling Front Page by Star Gazette, Aug. 17, 2012 Authorities say three people have been injured in a gas well fire at an Antero Resources operation in Harrison County. The flames are out and there’s no public danger. Sgt. Heather Mick of the Harrison County 911 Center says ...

Ohio Utica Shale, Strange tale of drilling leases in North Carolina by Bob Downing, August 17, 2012, Ohio.com “I don’t want anyone fracking under my house. And in the end, I was cheated out of it,” said Young, who lives in Chatham County in the Legend Oaks subdivision. The “mineral rights,” as they are called in property deeds, were ...

Shale gas producers must adhere to best practices: IEA head by Jim Magill, Edited by Jason Lindquist, August 17, 2012, Platts “Companies need to realize they need to be transparent about what they’re doing and they need to take people’s concerns seriously,” said Maria van der Hoeven, speaking at the Baker Institute Energy Forum at Rice ...

Energy leader wants transparency on hydraulic fracturing by Simone Sebastian, August 17, 2012, Houston Chronicle Environmental concerns about hydraulic fracturing are legitimate…the head of the International Energy Agency told a Rice Universityaudience Friday. The agency’s executive director, Maria van der Hoeven, called on natural gas producers to improve transparency around hydraulic fracturing and its impact on ...

Fracking can hurt growing yogurt industry say protesters by Jennifer Lorson, August 17, 2012, Legislative Gazette “People around the country are standing up to the oil and gas companies and organizing to defend their communities from fracking and the air and water pollution it brings. Governor Cuomo should stand with those communities, not with an industry ...

Duo step up protest by Joel Gould, August 17, 2012, Fraser Coast Chronicle RAISING awareness about the dangers of coal seam gas was the reason for Croftby residents Linda Weston and son Cameron Mitchell walking from the NSW border to Swanbank. The duo arrived at the Swanbank Power Station yesterday after a five-and-a-half day trek that ...

Resource ‘grab’ feared under proposed federal law by Jason Fekete, Postmedia News, August 17, 2012, Vancouver Sun Aboriginal leaders say they’re worried that expected legislation from the Harper government allowing native bands and their members to own and sell reserve lands is an attempt by Ottawa and corporations to cash in on first nations’ natural resources. ...

Accident at Encana well in Colorado kills 1, injuries 3 by The Canadian Press, August 16, 2012, City TV The accident marked the first fatality at Encana’s operations, said Hock.

Encana natural gas well burst kills one, injures three in Colorado by Jameson Berkow, August 16, 2012, Financial Post Between 2003 and 2010, the most recent year for which data were available, the U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics recorded a total of only three fatalities related to the process across the United States. … No Encana ...

Fracking Industry Paying Off Scientists For “Unbiased” Safety Studies by Farron Cousins, August 16, 2012, desmogblog BP arranged meetings with scientists and academics all along the Gulf Coast, offering them $250 an hour to report on the oil spill, as long as the reports weren’t negative. This also would have allowed the oil giant an advantage ...

Fired researcher paints pattern of pressure from oil and gas industry by Jefferson Dodge, August 16, 2012, Boulder Weekly A former researcher who says he left the Colorado School of Mines due to pressure from the oil and gas industry has now lost his university job in Wyoming after an industry association complained to his superiors ...

Cochrane reviews environmental and social policies on water use for hydraulic fracturing by Colette Derworiz, August 16, 2012, Calgary Herald Cochrane is reviewing the environmental and social policies around its bulk water supply after concerns were raised about it being used for fracking operations near the town. Earlier this month, residents raised concerns about water being sold ...

Investigation into deadly accident at Encana gas well in Colorado could take weeks, One dead, three hurt in Colorado by Amanda Stephenson, August 16, 2012, Calgary Herald CALGARY – Encana Corp. and the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating an accident at one of the Calgary-based company’s natural gas wells in Colorado that killed ...

Natural gas well burst kills one injures three in Colorado by Keith Coffman, August 16, 2012, Reuters A high-pressure burst of natural gas at a well operated by Canadian energy giant Encana Corporation in Colorado killed one man and injured three other workers on Wednesday, the company and local authorities said. The accident at the well ...

Accident at Encana well in Colorado kills one worker, injuries three by The Canadian Press, August 16, 2012, Calgary Herald DENVER – An accident at one of Encana Corp.’s natural gas wells in Colorado has killed one worker and injured three others. The “high-pressure gas release” took place as the four men were bringing the well ...

Dimock residents, Cabot settle, Residents had alleged that their drinking water was contaminated by gas driller by Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press, August 16, 2012, Times Leader Residents of Dimock Township in Susquehanna County who say their well water was poisoned by a gas driller are nearing a settlement of their long-running and highly contentious federal lawsuit. Court ...

Energy industry at risk from public censure, IEA head says by Dina O’Meara, August 16, 2012, Calgary Herald Canada must better represent its unconventional resources to a skeptical public or risk allowing critics to derail investment in its shale gas and oilsands projects, says the head of the International Energy Agency. Maria van der Hoeven, executive director ...

Australia: Large-scale reforms to the resources legislation aimed at streamlining and efficiency by Mark Geritz, Ben Cansdale and Kathryn Warner, August 16 2012, Clayton Utz Wide-ranging reforms to the resources legislation in Queensland have been proposed by a new Bill, designed to streamline and harmonise procedures for granting, and dealing with, various resource interests. The Mines Legislation ...

Toxic Wastewater Dumped in Streets and Rivers at Night: Gas Profiteers Getting Away With Shocking Environmental Crimes, Allan Shipman was found guilty of illegally dumping millions of gallons of natural gas drilling wastewater. But he’s part of a much bigger problem by Aaron Skirboll, August 15, 2012 , AlterNet The two-year investigation by the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office ...

Doctors demand access to all health data on oilsands and other natural resource extraction projects, including shale gas by Sharon Kirkey and James Wood, August 15, 2012, Postmedia News and Calgary Herald YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T. — Canada’s doctors called Wednesday for a full diagnosis of the health and environmental effects of natural resource development — particularly in Alberta’s ...

Chesapeake Irks Landowners As It Renegotiates Leases by Daniel Gilbert, August 15, 2012, Wall Street Journal Chesapeake Energy Corp. CHK -2.46% is pushing Ohio landowners to accept revised lease contracts that would help the cash-strapped driller save money while holding on to its prized oil and gas fields. The company’s actions, documented in scores of property ...

Doctors demand access to all health data on oilsands and other natural resource development by Sharon Kirkey, PostMedia News, August 15, 2012, Edmonton Journal YELLOWKNIFE, N.W.T. – The Canadian Medical Association is calling for public and timely access to all government and industry data on the potential human health effects of the oilsands and other natural ...

Environmental justice for Lake Ainslie by John Bennett and Cate May Burton, August 15, 201, The Chronicle Herald The judiciary process prevented MEA from bringing forward new evidence regarding the waterway in question because this issue arose at the appeal stage. Thanks to the MEA’s efforts in court, there is growing concern that the drilling licence ...

Pa.drilling town agrees to settlement in fracking federal lawsuit, Documents indicate that residents of Dimock Township, Pa., who claim their water was poisoned by fracking, have reached a confidential settlement in a lawsuit that has been ongoing since 2009 by Michael Rubinkam, Associated Press, August 15, 2012, Christian Science Monitor Residents of a northeastern Pennsylvania town ...

B.C. NDP favours a fracking pipeline by Carlito Pablo, August 15, 2012, Straight.com The project is a joint venture of Apache Canada Ltd., EOG Resources Canada Inc., and Encana Corporation. … “It’s been proven that when fracking occurs, there is a considerable amount of methane that is released into the atmosphere,”

Cabot, Dimock families near settlement on gas drilling contamination by Laura Legere, August 15, 2012, Times-Tribune A high-profile and often bitter lawsuit brought by three dozen Dimock Twp. families against Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. is nearing a settlement for several residents who allege natural gas drilling contamination harmed their health and property, according to court ...

Weis S.A. Steps Onboard to Integrate CHMR’s Non-Hydraulic Shale Oil Extraction System Press Release, August 14, 2012, BusinessWire Chimera Energy Corp (OTCBB: CHMR) proudly announce today that Oil and Gas stalwart Weis S.A. has come aboard to oversee the integration of CHMR’s new Non-Hydraulic Shale Oil Extraction system with PEMEX and other potential customers. … The ...

Louisiana sinkhole, bubbles, 1000s quakes link to oil, gas ENMOD by Deborah Dupre, August 14, 2012, Examiner “The sinkhole and bubbles may be caused by the same thing,” Dr. Horton told the Examiner Monday. Seismic activity is being detected from Louisiana’s giant sinkhole area, according to Horton, whose work at University of Memphis involves monitoring the ...

H&R Reports Solid Q2 Results and with Cenovus’s Occupancy of the Bow Announces Distribution Increases of 12.5% by H&R Real Estate Investment Trust, August 14, 2012, Sacramento Bee Development Highlights H&R REIT is currently developing the Bow in Calgary, AB. The Bow is a 2-million square foot head office complex, pre-leased on a triple net basis, ...

Canada Japan Energy and Natural Resources Financing for the Shale Gas Project, Operator and managing partner is Encana by Reshma98 Al Bawaba Ltd., August 14, 2012, equities.com The Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC; Governor: Hiroshi Okuda) signed today a loan agreement totaling up to 650 million Canadian dollars (JBIC portion) with Cutbank Dawson Gas Resources Ltd. ...

Fracking Catches the Attention of Insurers, With public attention focused on the practice, and lawsuits piling up, fracking is now a business concern too by Lawrence Karol, May 14, 2012, Take Part Not long ago, if you had asked someone what they thought about fracking—also known as induced hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique used to release ...

Few studies done on air safety, health effects near drilling sites by Bobby MaGill, August 13, 2012, The Coloradan John Toerge says he’s like many other people living close to oil and gas development in Colorado — the effects of drilling aren’t just felt in the local economy, they’re felt in his nose, lungs and ears, ...

Victory: A Working-Class Neighborhood Defends Itself Against a Dangerous Gas Project – And Wins, Residents fought back after a company wanted to store 8 billion cubic feet of natural gas beneath a densely-populated, urban community in southeast Sacramento, California by Amanda Werner, August 13, 2012, AlterNet Recently, the Greenlining Institute worked alongside a neighborhood association and its ...

New NWT oil prospect raising economic hopes and environmental concerns by Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press, August 13, 2012, The Calgary Herald But development of the shale oil find, known as the Canol, has also raised concern over the use of hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in a remote, ecologically fragile part of the central ...

People flee as chemical cloud hovers near New Columbia by Marcia Moore and John Finnerty, August 13, 2012, The Daily Item Amanda Friend and her family were forced from their home late Thursday after a toxic acid-spewing Halliburton truck hauling 4,000 gallons of hydrochloric acid pulled into a neighboring convenience store. “There was a huge plume ...

Water sold for fracking raises policy concerns in Cochrane, Town administration conducting water policy review by CBC News, August 13, 2012 The Bow River, which runs through Cochrane, serves as the town’s primary source of drinking water. The Town of Cochrane, located just west of Calgary, is looking at issues around the town’s bulk water supply. ...

Fracking Hazards Obscured In Failure To Disclose Wells by Benjamin Haas, Jim Polson, Phil Kuntz and Ben Elgin, August 13, 2012, Bloomberg Actually, Apache’s transparency was shot through with cracks. In Texas and Oklahoma, the company reported chemicals it used on only about half its fracked wells via FracFocus.org, a voluntary website that oil and gas ...

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING: Public disclosure database kept private by Mike Soraghan, August 13, 2012, E&E News The government agency that helps maintain the Fracfocus.org registry of hydraulic fracturing chemicals has refused to release the full database, keeping the government-mandated disclosure in private hands. The Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), based in Oklahoma City, is not ...

Calgary’s towering environmental statement by Carrie Tait, August 13, 2012, The Globe and Mail Cenovus Energy Inc. is taking its fight for environmental credibility to a new battleground: its kitchens inside The Bow. All 78 of them. The oil sands company talks about its space – floors three through 28 – in language similar to what ...

Bayou Corne residents still waiting for life to return to normal by WAFB, August 12, 2012 Sunday marked day 75 since the leak was discovered in Bayou Corne with the slurry following soon afterwards. A mandatory evacuation is still in effect while crews work to contain and clean up the area but for many residents, the only ...

Landfill poised to take fracking debris by Mary Perham, August 12, 2012, Bath Courier Bath, NY — Steuben County is ready to accept soil and rock from Marcellus Shale drillings at the county landfill. … The material will be brought in from drilling in shale deposits in Pennsylvania. … The recent decline in drilling in Pennsylvania ...

Sinkhole: H-Bomb explosion equivalent in Bayou Corne possible by Deborah Dupre, August 12, 2012, Examiner “The disaster is made all the more worrisome because the hole is believed to be close to a well containing 1.5 million barrels of liquid butane, a highly volatile liquid that turns into a highly flammable vapor upon release,” Earlier it ...

Fracking Earthquakes: Injection practice linked to scores of tremors by Inland News Today, August 12, 2012 Earthquakes triggered by fluids injected deep underground, such as during the controversial practice of fracking, may be more common than previously thought, a new study suggests. Fluid injections into Earth are not uncommon. For instance, in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, ...

Current science reveals the truth about fracking by Allen Schwartz, August 12, 2012 Science, it turns out is catching up to the industry’s hype, stripping the royal illusions one by one. First, the industry claimed that “frackwater,” a combination of tons of carcinogenic chemicals and millions of gallons of water, was drinkable. When the public saw ...

The case against fracking by Sharon Wilson, August 11, 2012, Special to the American Statesman Why are we letting fracking take the water we desperately need for farmers and ranchers? The Texas Water Development Board predicted that by 2010, 33 percent — 1 in every 3 gallons — of Parker County water would go to natural ...

Company to pad fund to aid residents near Assumption Parish sinkhole by The Associated Press, August 11, 2012, The Times-Picayune Mark Cartwright, president of United Brine Services, a subsidiary of Texas Brine Co., said Friday the company spent the last week “intensely focused” on an emergency response as they try to figure out the cause behind ...

New Groundwater Study Exposes Deep Folly of Fracking by Wenonah Hauter, August 10, 2012, Common Dreams Nothing shows the dangerous connection between drought and fracking more than the study released by the journal Nature this week, which shows groundwater demand is exceeding supply, particularly in agricultural zones. Not only is the oil and gas industry turning ...

Martens has gone from environmental activist to DEC chief, Former advocate for environment set to OK fracking by Jon Campbell, August 10, 2012 , Ithaca Journal Martens’ time with Catskill Mountainkeeper isn’t well-known in Albany. It isn’t included in his official DEC biography nor was it mentioned in a state announcement touting his appointment, which focused ...

Authority to seek answers in frack fluid spill by Amanda Dolasinski, August 10, 2012, Tribune-Review The seepage began because drillers nearby bored through a previously unknown spring in Bell Township, said officials at the state Department of Environmental Protection and the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County. … The substance was a grout that included the clay ...

Dome issues kept quiet, Ongoing defect preceded sinkhole by David Mitchell, August 10, 2012, River Parishes bureau Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Texas Brine Co. officials knew at least since January 2011 that one of the company’s salt dome caverns may have developed problems now suspected of possibly causing a large sinkhole and unexplained natural ...

Waterfloods: The Next Big Profit Phase of the Shale Oil Revolution by Keith Schaefer, August 10, 2012, Oil and Gas Investments Bulletin Waterflooding has been around for 70 years or more, but the Big Question over the last five years has been—can you do it effectively with tight oil? The answer is a Big Yes, and waterflood ...

Louisiana sinkhole expected to keep residents away at least a month, Massive sink hole keeps on growing by CNN, August 10, 2012 Louisiana officials have reached out to Texas Brine Company, urging it to provide affected residents with some type of assistance while it investigates whether a breach in its cavern might have caused the sinkhole ...

Analysis: Legal woes may spoil Chesapeake’s Michigan sale by Anna Driver and Joshua Schneyer, August 10, 2012, Reuters Chesapeake Energy’s (CHK.N) planned sale of its oil and gas properties in Michigan likely will bring in less cash for operations or even be stymied completely because of probes into how it got the properties in the first ...

Chesapeake Energy subject to U.S. antitrust investigation for possible collusion with Encana, Company subpoenaed to produce documents for grand jury in Michigan land sales probe by Brian Grow, August 10, 2012, Reuters The Justice Department is “moving criminally,” said Darren Bush, a former antitrust attorney for the Department of Justice and a professor of antitrust law ...

Mysterious environmental disaster unfolding in Louisiana bayou community atop gas storage caves by Bridge the Gulf, August 9, 2012, The Institute for Southern Studies Lake Peigneur, located above a salt dome 80 miles west of Bayou Corne, collapsed in 1980when a drilling rig punctured a protective layer in the salt mine wall, causing the entire lake, ...

Chevron Face Opposition Over Eastern Europe Fracking Plans by Pratap Chatterjee, August 9, 2012, CorpWatch But the company faces an uphill political battle to the technology that has been blamed for contaminating local water supplies and even causing earthquakes. Bulgaria banned fracking in January after a major protest against Chevron’s plans to drill in Dobrudja, the ...

Nova Scotia extends PetroWorth agreement by Bruce Erskine, August 9, 2012, The Chronicle Herald PetroWorth Resources Inc. of Toronto, which plans to drill a controversial $1.6-million exploration oil well near Lake Ainslie, has been granted a one-year exploration agreement extension by the Energy Department. The extension approval followed a recent Nova Scotia Supreme Court decision that ...

Bayou Sinkhole: Radioactive dome issues covered up over a year by Deborah Dupre, August 9, 2012, examiner As officials were telling Louisiana bayou people pleading answers to not worry and little more, Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and Texas Brine Co. officials have known for over a year that the company’s salt dome cavern had radioactive materials ...

DEQ: No detectable levels of radioactive material in sink hole by WAFB, August 09, 2012 Scientists took samples from the giant sink hole in Assumption Parish Thursday to test them for naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). The Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) said because the slurry in Bayou Corne is near areas used for oil ...

Another Bad Week for Fracking by Tina Casey, August 9, 2012, cleantechnica It’s been another bad week for fracking. On top of previous studies, a new report has linked this controversial natural gas drilling method to earthquakes in Texas, and another new study has exposed water pollution risks in New York. Nevertheless, a group of federal ...

Fracking isn’t all it’s cracked up to be by Mary Boland, August 9, 2012, Glenwood Springs Post Independent Damning evidence about the environmental consequences of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) of shale gas continues to pile up. … But much worse is the evidence of truly life-destroying chemical contamination of the air, water and soil. Farmers complain of ...

Like Fracker, Like Son by Buck Quigley, August 9, 2012, Art Voice Some of you may have noticed that the debate over high-volume horizontal fracking gets a bit shill—I mean shrill—sometimes. For example, I wrote a few blog posts…and one story for the print edition of Artvoice that talked a bit about Dennis Holbrook of Norse ...

Explosion monitor in Bayou Corne sinkhole area ‘goes off’ by Deborah Dupre, AUGUST 9, 2012, Examiner It was revealed Thursday that Department of Natural Resource and industry authorities have been hiding documents and data for over a year that shows Texas Brine’s storage cavern near the sinkhole has had failure problems for a year and is ...

Open Letter to Governor Cuomo: Signed by Ingraffea; Steingraber; Howarth; Barth & many others Susan Arbetter’s Blog, August 9, 2012 We—the undersigned scientists, medical professionals, elected officials, business persons, and economists – protest the exclusion of qualified, independent experts from the decision-making process to permit or prohibit unconventional development of natural gas from shale formations in ...

Worldwide Demand for Water Outstrips Supply Study by Common Dreams, August 9, 2012 Almost one-quarter of the world’s population lives in regions where groundwater is being used up faster than it can be replenished, concludes a comprehensive global analysis of groundwater depletion, published this week in Nature. The world’s oldest and largest acquifers, according to the ...

TEXAS: Drilling safety questions remain despite new disclosure law by E & E News, August 9, 2012 (Subscription required) Industry maintains that drilling and its complementary extraction process — fracturing, or fracking — are safe. But advocates of tighter drilling regulations say too many risks remain. Speaking on behalf of people in the latter camp, attorney ...

Cavern tied to Sinkhole, Dome may be too close to area by David Mitchell, August 8, 2012, The Advocate An underground salt cavern viewed as a possible cause of a large slurry area in northern Assumption Parish may be closer to the outer edge of the Napoleonville Dome than its owners originally thought when the cavern ...

Louisiana sinkhole roils local natural gas network by Jeanine Prezioso, Reuters, August 8, 2012, Chicago Tribune NEW YORK (Reuters) – A sinkhole the size of a football field in southern Louisiana has forced energy companies to halt nearby natural gas pipeline activity and draw down fuel from a local storage cavern. Chevron Corp’s subsidiary Bridgeline Holdings ...

Petroworth hopes to drill this fall by Cape Breton Post, August 8, 2012 “We are hoping to receive the extension shortly. If we do then we will proceed to try to get this well drilled, certainly before year-end and hopefully sometime in the fall after Labour Day.”

Town should take steps to fix water management policy by Judy Stewart, August 8, 2012, Cochrane Eagle Pathway 2 of the Cochrane Sustainability Plan states: “We treat water as a precious resource.” … Our regional water management system is out of balance in epic proportions with respect to promoting the economic interests of a few entrepreneurs ...

Water Disposal Most Severe Fracking Environmental Threat, Says Report by Environmental Management, Energy & Sustainability News, August 7, 2012 The disposal of contaminated wastewater from hydraulic fracturing wells producing natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region presents risks from salts and radioactive materials that are “several orders of magnitude larger” than for other potential water pollution ...

Sources of water for fracking troubles some in community by Derek Clouthier, August 8, 2012, Cochrane Eagle The reason behind McBride’s trepidation is because Cochrane’s present policy states that water is a precious resource, one that is supposed to be treated in a responsible and sustainable manner, and that the town is obligated to act as ...

More fracking, more wastewater, more spills by Philip Bump, August 8, 2012, Grist Maybe you should start filling random bottles around the house with water? From FuelFix: Hydraulic fracturing…could be polluting nearby surface water sources through five different ways, according to a Stony Brook University study. The study found water could be contaminated by transportation spills, well ...

Cape Breton citizens group loses oil-drilling appeal by Bruce Erskine, August 8, 2012, The Chronical Herald The Margaree Environmental Association has lost its bid to have the Nova Scotia Supreme Court overturn a decision by Environment Minister Sterling Belliveau allowing an oil well to be drilled near Lake Ainslie. In a written decision released Wednesday dismissing ...

Fracking poses risk to water systems, research suggests: U.S. study by Teresa Smith, August 7, 2012, The Calgary Herald The paper, which appears in the August 2012 issue of the international journal Risk Analysis, says “even in a best case scenario, an individual well would potentially release at least 200 m3 of contaminated fluids.” Doctoral student ...

Sinkhole methane bubbles now ‘more prolific’ by Deborah Dupre, August 7, 2012, Examiner Monday, Parish officials disclosed that analysis by researchers shows the sinkhole is filled mainly with saltwater with traces of diesel and oil at the surface, both of which nearby Texas Brine Company’s unused cavern had in it. … “We just want answers. That’s ...

Frack Attack in Pennsylvania by Iris Deroeux, August 7, 2012, MediaPart United States, Pennsylvania, it seems nothing can stop the rush to shale gas, whatever the human and environmental costs of such exploitation. … Pennsylvania offers a completed version of a failed democracy, where the system of collusion between big business and politicians and their campaign-finance-works ...

DECs fracking review grows to 4,000 pages by Jon Campbell, August 7, 2012, lohud The state Department of Environmental Conservation has already compiled “a couple thousand” pages of responses to issues raised during a pair of public-comment periods on draft reports, Commissioner Joe Martens told Gannett’s Albany Bureau on today.

SBU Study Fracking: Presents High Water Pollution Risk, Study concludes that more regulation of hydraulic fracturing is necessary to prevent widespread water pollution problems by Christine Sampson, August 7, 2012, Three Village Patch Scientists at Stony Brook University have published a study that found a significant risk of water pollution could result from hydraulic fracturing, commonly ...

First Penobsquis, now Stoney Creek — what’s next? Water woes contradict government line on gas regulations by Jim Emberger, August 7, 2012, Daily Gleaner It is clear that the arguments for safely developing shale gas are being contradicted. Government statements that New Brunswick has experienced no problems during its drilling history are disputed by the recent news that ...

Near Injection Wells, Many Quakes Go Unfelt by Joanna M. Foster, August 7, 2012, The New York Times In the paper, published online on Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Science, Cliff Frohlich, associate director and senior research scientist at the Institute for Geophysics at the University of Texas at Austin, found that ...

Green groups call for halt to fracking by Frank McDonald, Environment Editor, August 7, 2012, The Irish Times A COALITION of 27 environmental groups has called on the Government to “put a stop to all fracking activity” in Ireland because its “known impacts are so serious”. … It says fracking also runs counter to the EU’s ...

Blackpool rocked: how fracking triggers quakes by Ben Cubby, August 7, 2012, The Sydney Morning Herald But the new study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found at least 59 minor quakes in the Barnett shale region in Texas, ranging from 1.4 to 2.5 in magnitude, that had not been reported to ...

Fracking — Is it making drinking water unsafe for drinking? by Mindy Allan, Aug 7, 2012, Digital Journal Fracking is generating billions of dollars, polluting water systems, making people sick and some towns now have water that is undrinkable. The quality of life in the world is starting to deteriorate near and around fracking wells as ...

Piping Crude? ‘There Is No Leak Proof System’, Alberta’s atrocious record of pipeline leaks a strong warning to British Columbia by Bill Tieleman, August 7, 2012, TheTyee.ca Alberta Premier Alison Redford says oil pipelines are environmentally safe, with any spills an easily dealt with unusual occurrence. … Between 1990 and 2010 there were 6,416 Alberta pipeline ...

Gas driller fined for unpermitted waste transfer stations in Pa. by The Corning Leader, August 7, 2012 The Department of Environmental Protection has fined EXCO Resources (PA) LLC of Warrendale, Allegheny County, $47,500 for operating unpermitted residual waste transfer stations in Lycoming and Sullivan counties in 2011 and earlier this year, which violated the state’s Solid ...