Global Frac News

Erie trustees vote to draft emergency fracking moratorium by John Aguilar, Times Call, February 28, 2012 Mayor Pro Tem Cheryl Hauger brought the motion to the table late in the evening, saying that a study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that came to light last week showing that levels of propane — a pollutant associated with ...

Oil, gas drilling could come at a price by Dave Mabell, February 28, 2012, Lethbridge Herald The well, already approved by the province’s Energy Resources Conservation Board, would also be a few hundred metres away from a strip mall, a jail – and a city water reservoir. Board officials, responding to public outcry, say they’re reviewing the matter…. In ...

Fractured land, A first-hand account of resistance to fracking on Blood land by ELLE-MÁIJÁ TAILFEATHERS, February, 28 2012, Briar Patch The proprietary nature of fracking chemicals keeps them largely hidden from the public; however, it is known that chemicals such as benzene, lead, boric acid, and toluene are often used in the process. It is estimated ...

Reader questions Hutchinson drilling by Carolin Koebisch, February 28, 2012, The Cochrane Eagle I am appalled by the idea that the Nature Conservancy of Canada has allowed the recent drilling activity on the donated Hutchinson lands just north of Big Hill Springs Park. I guess in Alberta oil drilling/fracking must qualify as “ranching use”. Besides the obvious ...

Thirty Year Old Study States Contaminated Well Water Is Irreversible by Jack Swint, February 27, 2012, opednews.com The EPA warned Congress back in 1987 of its findings in tests conducted on the well water of James and Ruth Parsons of Ripley WV that led them (EPA) to declare that high levels of pollutants and contaminates were associated with ...

Jessica Ernst at the Teachers Club in Dublin Republic of Ireland February 25, 2012

Pa. woman: Chemicals in my water in drilling area by Kevin Begos, Associated Press, February 24, 2012 McIntyre’s water showed detectable levels of t-Butyl alcohol, acetone, chloromethane, toluene and 1, 3, 5-trimethylbenzene.…Another Woodlands resident who complained about dramatic changes in her water over the last year said DEP staff suggested the bad smell was simply from garden slugs ...

Energy board opens up about chemicals used in fracking process by Trish Audette, Edmonton Journal, February 24, 2012 Currently, companies who inject mixes of water, sand, friction reducers and other chemicals into well sites as part of the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, process of breaking up rock to free gas and oil have to report those chemicals to ...

Jessica Ernst at Glenfarne Republic of Ireland, Ballroom of Romance February 24, 2012

Alberta Plays Catch-up on Frack Front by Andrew Nikiforuk, February 23,  2012, TheTyee.ca Regulator acknowledges water risks, says hydraulic fluids disclosure will be required. … Cal Hill, executive manager of the Regulatory Development Branch of the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) said his agency is now actively investigating four (the ERCB later corrected that figure to five) well ...

Public fears repercussions of fracking by Barbara Duckworth, February 23, 2012, The Western Producer “If the construction of the well is done properly, and there is a lot of experience in the industry doing this, then the only possibility for the contamination will be actually if the fracture grows vertically and reaches the ground water,” he said.

National Farmer’s Union Demands Moratorium on frac’ing Press Release (Rimbey, Alberta, February 23, 2012) “We are in the heart of Alberta’s oil and gas country where our ability to produce good, wholesome food is at risk of being compromised by the widespread, virtually unregulated use of this dangerous process.” … “Not many of these stories get made ...

Moratorium sought until safety proven The Western Producer, February 23, 2012 “We trusted when we never should have trusted.”…the technique alarms rancher Nielle Hawkwood, who lives in the district. “It is entirely different from the kind of fracking that has been going on in the province for 50 years. It is much more intensive, much more high ...

Jessica Ernst at Carrick on Shannon Republic of Ireland February 23, 2012 Interview between the presentation and questions and answers:  RTÉ (Ireland) Prime Time on Frac’ing: Katie Hannon reports on fracking and the battle for hearts and minds over one of the most contentious subjects at the moment. 15:47 min. February 23, 2012

Federal Scientists Warn NY of Fracking Risks by Dusty Horwitt, February 22, 2012, EWG The U.S. Geological Survey has warned New York state regulators that their plan to allow drilling and hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale could endanger private water wells, municipal aquifers and New York City’s drinking water supply…. The stakes for New ...

More Public Disclosure for Fracking by Bill Kaufmann, February 22, 2012, Calgary Sun During a press briefing meant to minimize growing public concerns about the fracking of oil and gas, Cal Hill of the Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) said Alberta will likely demand producers notify the public about fracking activities — and the kinds of chemicals they ...

Fracking regulations stringent, misconceptions abound by Barbara Duckworth, The Western Producer, February 23, 2012 Bob Curran of the ERCB said ground water protection, drilling and hydraulic fracturing are highly regulated. “Some of the complaints are based on what is happening in other jurisdictions. Their regulations are not the same as ours,” he said. “We have very clear and stringent ...

Million-dollar Nexen donation backs leading scholars at Mount Royal University, Largest gift to Scholars Program benefits future journalists, educators, youth workers and more News release by Mount Royal University, Feb. 21, 2012 Mount Royal University is proud to announce that Nexen Inc. has invested $1 million, over five years, to the newly named Nexen Scholars Program ...

Warning issued over fracking by Charlie Taylor, February 20, 2012, Irish Times “Communities need to look at what they stand to lose rather than at what companies are promising,” she said. Ms Ernst highlighted her own experienced of being ‘fracked,’ saying that as a result of water pollution, she had been unable to take showers due to her ...

Backgrounder: Shale gas and fracking by Roberto Aguilera, Maurice B. Dusseault, John Molson, David Layzell, John Clague and additional anonymous scientist, February 16, 2012, Science Media Centre of Canada Depending on the geology of the area, methane can naturally occur in groundwater. Methane is a colourless, odourless gas that is considered non-toxic when ingested, however it ...

Agency rebuts claims bad testing led to fracking link in Pavillion water testing by Jeremy Fugleberg, February 13, 2012, Star-Tribune “We have to make sure that we don’t let the fact that I had concerns about the testing or EPA doing what they did change the relationship. We need to work cooperatively with one another and then move ...

Fracking Industry Colludes With Pennsylvania Legislature to Create Dangerous New Law by Maura Stephens, February 12, 2012, Maura Stephens’ Blog | News Analysis The fracking industry has written a bill that gives itself legal permission to poison Pennsylvanians-and keeps doctors who treat them once they’re poisoned from telling anyone else what poisoned them. The bill also essentially permits ...

TINY PERCENTAGE OR BIG PROBLEM? Fracturing natural gas wells requires hundreds of tons of chemical liquids Each site requires hundreds of tons of liquid additives by Bob Downing, February 12, 2012, Beacon Journal The chemical additives are used as iron-control agents, corrosion inhibitors, clay stabilizers, breakers, gelling agents, friction reducers, bactericides, scale inhibitors, pH adjusting agents, cross-linking agents, ...

Oil/gas industry miseducates Licking County on fracking by Allen Schwartz, February 12, 2012, The Newark Advocate During the past 10 years, the oil and gas industry has spent $747 million persuading lawmakers to resist regulation of shale gas drilling. Recently, the industry is spending more to conduct “educational forums” persuading us that high-pressure horizontal fracturing — “fracking” — is ...

Wyoming town fears fracking poisoned their water by Jim Douglas, February 9, 2012, WFAA-TV, Inc. The driver stacks up pyramids of five-gallon bottles at 19 stops. Encana Corporation, an energy company, provides the water. It’s the only way disabled veteran Louis Meeks can stay on the land he bought back in the 1970′s, when his water wells pumped ...

In drilling country, water rights stir fracking questions by Tasha Eichenseher, special to E&E Land Letter, February 9, 2012 When a large tanker truck pulls up to a fire hydrant in Greeley, Colo. — a midsize town on the semiarid Eastern Slope of the Rocky Mountains — and starts siphoning water from the city’s supply, passersby start looking ...

Calls for CSG moratorium after ‘toxic spill’ by AAP, February 9, 2012, World News Australia Environmentalists are calling for a moratorium on coal seam gas mining in the NSW, after toxic chemicals were detected in the Pilliga state forest six months after a toxic spill…. The samples showed lead at five times the acceptable drinking water standard, arsenic ...

Fracking’s Toll on Pets, Livestock Chills Farmers by Mike Di Paola, February 8, 2012, Bloomberg Something awful is happening over the Marcellus Shale, the vast geological formation in eastern North America where energy companies are looking for natural gas…. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a process for extracting gas by injecting high volumes of water and chemicals into deep ...

From Gung-Ho to Uh-Oh: Charting the Government’s Moves on Fracking by Lena Groeger, February 7, 2012, ProPublica While there has been mounting evidence of water contamination, few regulations have been implemented.

New fracking practices reach for ‘low hanging fruit’  by Victoria Paterson, February 7, 2012, Mountainview Gazette Nationwide operating practices for shale hydraulic fracking operations introduced by the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) for its members on Jan. 30 failed to impress the Alberta NDP’s environment critic. MLA Rachel Notley (Edmonton-Strathcona) said many of the new requirements ...

LISTEN: It’s not fracking’s fault by Radio Netherlands Worldwide, February 3, 2012 David Pryce, the vice-president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, tells Marnie that the practice of fracking is safe, and that the water going bad has to do with the drilling, or other things, and not the chemicals or gas involved in the process. [Emphasis ...

LISTEN: Fracking: between a rock and a hard place by Radio Netherlands Worldwide, February 3, 2012 Jessica Ernst lives near a fracking operation. She used to work as an environmental consultant for Encana, the gas company that’s doing the fracking, and she tells host Marnie Chesterton the story of how her life, water, and land has changed since fracking ...

Discovering Shale Gas: An Investor Guide to Hydraulic Fracturing by Susan Williams, February 2012, IRRC Institute Contamination has occurred primarily through methane migration, poor wastewater management and chemical spills. Yet practices and processes to significantly reduce these risks are widely known and generally practiced in the industry. Poor implementation of these practices and processes generally has been the ...

CAPP’s new guidelines for Canadian shale gas producers: A review of key requirements by Paula Barrios, Senior Research Analyst, February 2012, Shareholder Association for Research & Education Another potential difficulty with the CAPP Operating Practice is that it relies significantly on regulatory compliance, on the assumption that “hydraulic fracturing processes are strictly regulated by various provincial government agencies.” ...

Jessica Ernst discusses fracked life at fundraiser by Angela Saleva, Tatamagouche Light

Group calls for moratorium on fracking by Victoria Paterson, January 31, 2012, Mountainview Gazette is calling for a moratorium on hydraulic fracking after an incident that took place near Innisfail in mid-January. “Let’s put a stop to it and do the research,” said Don Bester

CAPP announces new fracking guidelines to boost environmental performance by The Canadian Press, January 30, 2012 CAPP’s operating practices include: — Publicly disclosing chemical ingredients used in fracking fluid. — Better identifying and managing the risks…. — Developing domestic water-well sampling programs and participating in regional groundwater monitoring programs. — Designing and installing wellbores in a manner that maintains integrity before fracking ...

Tainted-Well Lawsuits Mount Against Gas Frackers Led By Cabot by Jim Snyder, January 30, 2012 State regulators later blamed natural gas drilling by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. for elevating methane levels in Dimock wells. Fiorentino and her neighbors sued, alleging Cabot’s activities caused contamination and, in Fiorentino’s case, an explosion that cracked a concrete cap ...

Jessica Ernst at St Peter’s Abbey Muenster Saskatchewan January 28, 2012

Don’t Drink the Water, Drillers are furious about reports backing up claims of poisoned groundwater by Peter Gorman, January 25, 2012, Fort Worth Weekly

Communication uncertainty plagues fracturing debate by Stephen Ewart, January 25, 2012, Calgary Herald The ERCB is reviewing its regulations for all unconventional resources but has no time frame for its completion. As spokeswoman Cara Tobin said in an e-mail, the review is “a complex undertaking and the implications on Alberta’s regulatory system are significant…the ERCB will continue to ...

Fracking a lesser-known, but significant environmental insurance risk by CanadianUnderwriter.ca January 24, 2011 “There is much debate and concern surrounding fracking due to the chemicals utilized-for example acids to dissolve minerals and create cracks and surfactants to make fluids more slippery-and the massive amounts of wastewater generated,” Anthony Wagar writes for WillisWire. “Not to mention the fear of radioactive ...

ERCB Appendix A: Interwellbore Communication During Fracturing Operation Events January 23, 2012 Surface distance between wells: 1.2 kilometres Subsurface distance between wells: Under investigation… Surface distance between wells: Approximately 1,500 metres Subsurface distance between wells: 110 metres… Surface distance between wells: Approximately 530 metres Subsurface distance between wells: 475 metres… Surface distance between wells: Approximately 1,600 metres

ERCB (now AER) Bulletin 2012 02 Hydraulic Fracturing: Interwellbore Communication between Energy Wells no longer available at the regulator’s website (for obvious reasons). Uploaded here: https://ernstversusencana.ca/wp-content/uploads/2012-01-23-ERCB-Bulletin-2012-02-Hydraulic-Fracturing-Inerwellbore-Communication-ERCB-warning-but-8-yrs-earlier-did-not-warn-about-Encana-fracing-drinking-water-aquifers.pdf ERCB Bulletin 2012-02: Hydraulic Fracturing: Interwellbore Communication between Energy Wells by Robin King, Executive Manager, January 23, 2012 The Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) is aware that communication between a wellbore being stimulated ...

Call For A Moratorium on Hydro Fracking by Don Bester, Alberta Surface Rights Group, January 20, 2012 The potential to cause cross communication from the fracking zone to zones that contain active fresh water aquifers is one of the many concerns, Alberta Surface Rights Group has identified to both the Department of Environment and the E.R.C.B. The ...

Three years after drilling, feds say natural gas in Medina County well water is potentially explosive by Bob Downing, January 17, 2012, Beacon Journal A federal health agency says potentially explosive levels of natural gas at two houses in eastern Medina County are a public health threat. The problems in the two drinking water wells appear ...

Regulators say hydraulic fracturing may have caused oil spill on farm near Innisfail by Dina O’Meara, January 17, 2012, Calgary Herald CALGARY – Hydraulic fracturing of an oil well in southern Alberta could have caused an oil well blowout a kilometre away, according to provincial regulators. Friday afternoon, a landowner in the Garrington area west of ...

Cenovus Donates to the Drumheller Library in exchange for naming rights on the Children’s Corner, Youth Area and Community Programs Room by Drumheller Online, January 17, 2012 Cenovus Operations Superintendent, Grant Bergos presents a cheque to Jeff Hall and Mayor Terry Yemen. Slide from Ernst presentations. The Badlands Community Facility announced today a $250,000 donation from Cenovus ...

Shale gas in Poland by G.C., The Economist, January 15, 2012 He says the new corruption investigation may be just the tip of an iceberg. Increasingly active environmental campaigners agree. … The concurrent corruption investigation could have a sobering effect on a country caught up in flighty dreams of riches.

Solving the oil patch waste problem by Lauren Donovan, January 14, 2012, Bismarck Tribune North Dakota’s oil patch pumps out nearly 510,000 barrels of oil every day and in the range of 500,000 gallons of sewage wastewater from rigs, man camps and worker housing in the same 24 hours. The first crude product is very valuable ...

Coldharbour oil drilling plans set for public inquiry by Guy Martin, January 11, 2012, getsurrey.co.uk Peter Tindall, chairman of the group, said this week: “LHAG is as committed as ever to fight Europa’s appeal. “Our grounds for objection remain as relevant as ever. We believe the Bury Hill Wood site suits Europa for purely commercial reasons ...

DEP: Cabot drilling caused methane in Lenox water wells by Laura Legere, January 9, 2012, The Times-Tribune Methane in three private water wells in Lenox Twp. seeped there from a flawed natural gas well drilled by Cabot Oil & Gas Corp., state environmental regulators have found. … Video from inside one of Cabot’s gas wells showed that a ...

Fracking Moratorium Urged By U.S. Doctors Until Health Studies Conducted by Alex Wayne, January 9, 2012, Bloomberg Gas producers should set up a foundation to finance studies on fracking and independent research is also needed, said Jerome Paulson, a pediatrician at George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington. Top independent producers include Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) and ...

Finding answers for Pavillion residents by Jim Martin, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 8, January 22, 2012, Trib.com Finally, the Star-Tribune’s Dec. 27 article titled “Pavillion water samples improperly tested” reports the claims of state representatives that EPA failed to follow good scientific procedures. We did not respond to these charges immediately because we wanted to consider them carefully. ...

Damning New Letter from NY State Insider: ‘Hydraulic Fracturing as It’s Practiced Today Will Contaminate Our Aquifers’ by Karen McVeigh, January 6, 2012, The Guardian “I’m familiar with the fate and transport of contaminants in fractured media, and let me be clear: hydraulic fracturing as it’s practised today will contaminate our aquifers. Not might contaminate our aquifers. Hydraulic ...

Fear of fracking by Kristina Calhoun, Leader Yukon Green Party, January 6, 2012, Yukon News I would like to applaud MLA Jim Tredger, for his efforts at seeking a moratorium on fracking in the Yukon. The public should be afraid of fracking. In Nadine Sander-Green’s article (Whitehorse Star) she stated that the process involves injecting a ...

Well Design and Well Integrity by Runar Nygaard, January 4, 2012, Energy and Environmental Systems Group, University of Calgary Several recent studies have investigated the integrity of wells around the world. They have identified that out of 316,000 wells analyzed in Alberta—4.6% have leaks. Gas migration occurred in 0.6% of the wells and surface casing vent ...

WATCH: Bimblebox Produced and Directed by Michael C. O’Connell, 2012, Haw River Films A documentary from the front lines of Australia’s battle against coal and gas expansion. At this critical time, when so much coal and coal seam gas expansion is planned in Australia, this film aims to win the hearts and minds of the people, exposing the ...

Natural gas and water by the Government of New Brunswick. 2012 Many of the flaming tap footage seen on TV and in films have been attributed to biogenic methane. Other cases have been attributed to natural gas contamination via faulty casing and/or inadequately constructed/grouted gas wells. Methane has been found to occur naturally in groundwater in parts ...

Encana addresses claims made by Jessica Ernst January 2012 by EnCana We have partnered with various communities and organizations in rural Alberta on a range of projects including libraries, soccer fields, arenas, theaters and the arts, and local sports teams.

Impacts of Gas Drilling on Human and Animal Health by Michelle Bamberger and Robert E. Oswald, Baywood Publishing Co., Inc., January 2012, In Press NEW SOLUTIONS, Vol. 22(1) 51-77, 2012, Scientific Solutions ABSTRACT Environmental concerns surrounding drilling for gas are intense due to expansion of shale gas drilling operations. Controversy surrounding the impact of drilling on air ...

EPA: Dimock water supplies ‘merit further investigation’ by Laura Legere, December 31, 2011, The Times-Tribune Cabot test results of the residents’ water supplies that had been marked confidential in litigation between the company and 11 of the affected families were released publicly in early December, after the EPA performed its preliminary review. Those tests, taken in August and ...

Hunt for Gas Hits Fragile Soil, and South Africans Fear Risks by Ian Urbina, December 30, 2011, New York Times “If our government lets these companies touch even a drop of our water, we’re ruined.”

Fracking fears spur review of oilpatch regulations: Provinces commited to registry to disclose use of chemicals by Rebecca Penty, December 30, 2011, Calgary Herald The New West Partnership, Alberta’s economic relationship with Saskatchewan and British Columbia that includes the streamlining of unconventional gas development rules…. Among other ideas, Morton favours mandating baseline testing of aquifers and water wells ...

Contaminated water: Minister Arcand takes it “very seriously” Unofficial translation of article by Charles Côté December 29, 2011 in La Presse The Minister of Sustainable Development, of the Environment and Parks (MDDEP), Pierre Arcand, says he takes very seriously the first clues that there is groundwater contamination in a shale gas well. Though he says that the case ...

Canada’s Fracking Struggles by Nicholas Kusnetz, December 28, 2011, Huffingtonpost.com

If it means polluting our water, don’t drill by Tim O’Hara, December 27, 2011, Press Connects

A Tough 2011 for Encana by Aimee Duffy, December 27, 2011, The Motley Fool, Daily Finance Encana was forced to finish out the year defending itself against an Environmental Protection Agency report linking hydraulic fracturing to ground water pollution in Wyoming, specifically in a region where Encana fracked many wells.

Couple claims energy exploration contaminates their water by Lana Michelin, December 26, 2011, Red Deer Advocate If methane gases from different depth levels mixed together in the water, then the combination might not be traceable to a particular source, Ronalie suggested. “I don’t care what energy well it is, at this point. We know it’s from an energy ...

Groundwater contaminated with shale gas found in Quebec Unofficial translation of article by Charles Côté December 24, 2011 in La Presse Leaks, a common problem… Mr Muehlenbachs said he believes that the leak problems will continue to plague the shale gas industry. … “There is an obvious correlation with age.” he says. “The leaks increase as the wells ...

Group seeks legal precedent in C.B. drilling case by Michael MacDonald, December 22, 2011, The Canadian Press, Herald News

Hydraulic ‘fracking’ protesters back in court December 21, 2011, Global News The accused say they feel betrayed by their chief and council after council members leased half of the Blood Tribe land to Murphy Oil for a controversial practice called hydraulic fracking.

Environmental group heading to court over Lake Ainslie drilling by Brett Bundale, December 20, 2011, Herald News Province rejects appeal of Petroworth project that some worry will ruin water

Natural gas giant to submit own findings to U.S. environmental agency by Dina O’Meara, December 20, 2011, Calgary Herald Nature, not hydraulic fracturing, is to blame for smelly water in Pavilion, Wyoming, said Encana Corp. on Tuesday.…On Tuesday afternoon the Washington, D.C. based environmental agency defended its findings, reiterating the chemicals found were common to hydraulic fracturing, were ...

ERCB Bulletin 2011-35: Surface Casing Vent Requirements for Wells December 20, 2011. ERCB The new testing requirements will further reduce the risk to public safety and the environment by ensuring that companies and the ERCB can take appropriate action as required in ID 2003-01.

Fracking Contamination ‘Will Get Worse’: Alberta Expert by Andrew Nikiforuk, December 19, 2011, TheTyee.ca Earlier this month the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found that EnCana, the continent’s second largest shale gas producer, had contaminated groundwater in Pavillion, Wyoming. Those findings, which contradict industry assurances, didn’t surprise Muehlenbachs, who has studied leaking wells in Alberta’s heavy oil fields for ...

What Wyoming can teach us about water quality by David Swann, December 18, 2011, Calgary Herald The Environmental Protection Agency’s three year investigation into water quality problems in Wyoming created a stir in Alberta recently. Some industry people and journalists have dismissed the findings, but the conclusions are very credible and disturbing, according to water geo-chemistry expert Karlis ...

Trican Donates $5 million for cancer research by Faculty of Medicine, University of Calgary, December 14, 2011 (From left to right) President & CEO, Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation, Saifa Koonar; Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation Board Chair, Jim Truesdale; President, University of Calgary, Elizabeth Cannon; President & COO, Trican Well Service, Donald R. Luft; Oncology Patient, 8-year-old Ethan ...

Trican Donates $5 Million to Fight Childhood Cancer by Trican Well Service Ltd., December 14, 2011, Canada News Wire The Alberta Children’s Hospital Foundation received a generous gift of $5 milliontoday from Trican Well Service Ltd. in support of childhood cancer care at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, as well as research at the Alberta Children’s Hospital Research ...

Fresh fracking furore by Donwald Pressly, December 14 2011, IOL Business Report Jonathan Deal of the Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG), said the finding – after a three-year study – that fracking was the likely source of contamination of groundwater near the town of Pavillion in Wyoming – should send “shock waves” through the oil and gas ...

Poisoning link threatens future of fracking, US study casts doubt on controversial shale gas extraction process by Tom Bawden, December 14, 2011, The Independent A study by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) into hydraulic fracturing reported finding a host of chemicals in the groundwater around shale gas wells in Wyoming state. These included petroleum hydrocarbons such as ...

Ewart: EPA fracking report raises sticky issues by Stephen Ewart, December 14, 2011, Calgary Herald When Encana responded with a multi-point rebuttal that “strongly” disagreed with the EPA report – it stopped just short of calling the agency incompetent… If the EPA’s draft findings prove accurate, it will be a critical point in the fracking debate; the implications ...

Investors press natural-gas drillers to cut risks from fracking by Bloomberg in Legal issues, December 13, 2011, fuelfix.com Natural-gas producers must do more to reduce environmental harm from hydraulic fracturing and disclose U.S. drilling risks, according to groups representing investors with more than $130 billion in assets. “There have been numerous incidents of poorly constructed wells, equipment failures, degraded local ...

Hydrofracking sure to contaminate water by Paul Hetzler, environmental engineering technician with NYSDEC, December 13, 2011, Watertown Daily Times There’s no such thing as a perfect well seal. Occasionally sooner, often later, well seals can and do fail, period. No confining layer is completely competent; all geologic strata leak to some extent. The fact that a less-transmissive layer ...

Hydrofracking sure to contaminate water by Paul Hetzler, environmental engineering technician with NYSDEC, December 13, 2011, Watertown Daily Times There’s no such thing as a perfect well seal. Occasionally sooner, often later, well seals can and do fail, period. No confining layer is completely competent; all geologic strata leak to some extent. The fact that a less-transmissive layer ...

Black, Foamy Water Worries Fracking Neighbors by Rosanne Skirble, December 12, 2011, VOA News Initial tests of McIntyre’s well water showed unsafe levels of toluene, a volatile and toxic petrochemical that causes nausea and headaches. McEvoy’s well water had arsenic. … “I want my water back. … They took it from me and I want it back.”

Alberta woman tells tale of fracking woes by Shannon MacLeod, December 12, 2011. Times and Transcript “I believe this is so important that if a community asks for help, I go to give help and information. It’s to brainstorm and gather information that the communities need.”…The Canadian Council of Minister of the Environment held an important workshop in ...

Encana slams EPA water contamination report by Nathan Vanderklippe and Carrie Tait, December 12, 2011, The Globe and Mail Encana said Monday it “strongly disagrees” with the EPA findings, accusing the agency of basing its conclusions on “conjecture” that “only serve to trigger undue alarm.”

Federal panel calls for greater environmental concern in gas drilling December 12, 2011, Penn Energy

Fracking: a modern method to extract oil and gas – may be contaminating drinking supplies in Wyoming by Timothy Gardner, December 11, 2011, Christian Science Monitor EnCana Corp of Canada, which owns the natural gas field in Pavillion, Wyoming, slammed the report. “The synthetic chemicals could just as easily have come from contamination when the EPA did their ...

Everyone’s frothing about fracking by Michael MacDonald, December 11, 2011, The Chronicle Herald The newer process, they say, has a much bigger impact on the environment, especially when things go wrong. … Kevin Heffernan, vice-president of the Calgary-based Canadian Society for Unconventional Resources, says the energy industry is responding to public concerns. “That’s one of the things that ...

Everyone’s frothing about fracking by Michael MacDonald, December 11, 2011, The Chronicle Herald Industry says process is safe but the dangers are galvanizing communities.… While there have been news reports of contaminated wells, accidents and safety infractions in the United States, industry representatives say the relatively small number of high-profile cases are getting undue attention. The industry also ...

Fracking: a modern method to extract oil and gas – may be contaminating drinking supplies in Wyoming by Timothy Gardner, December 11, 2011, Christian Science Monitor The EPA said Wyoming was much more vulnerable than other areas to water contamination from fracking chemicals because drilling there often takes place much closer to the surface than in other states.

Fracking test results likely won’t change energy game, There’s too much at stake despite EPA report on water pollution by Gary Lamphier, December 10, 2011, Edmonton Journal

2011 Jessica Ernst at Memramcook with Florian Levesque New Brunswick December 10, 2011

Group Says: Fracking is not Healthy for Humans and Other Living Things December 9, 2011, Public News Service

US Study Casts Pall over BC’s Shale Gas Biz: Despite industry safety assurances, EPA finds hydraulic fracturing fluids in drinking water by Andrew Nikiforuk, December 9, 2011, TheTyee.ca After finding elevated levels of methane and diesel fuel in domestic Pavillion water wells in 2010, the EPA installed two deep groundwater monitoring wells to determine if the contamination was ...

How the EPA linked “fracking” to contaminated well water by Scott K. Johnson, December 9, 2011, Ars technica More importantly, several synthetic and unusual compounds were detected, including 2-butoxyethanol, isopropanol, and a few glycols—all of which are known to be used in fracking fluids. Another compound, tert-butyl alcohol (TBA), is a breakdown component of a couple different potential ...

WATCH:  NB Newsmaker December 9, 2011, CBC News Rachel Cave talks with Jessica the natural gas industry damaged her quality of life

Scientist in N.B. to tell hydro-fracking story December 9, 2011, CBC News “If they cannot get EnCana to heed the regulations and the laws in place to protect ground water in Alberta, you’re not going to have a chance of getting the companies to do that here,” Ernst said.