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Mar 10, 2017 The environment: Fracking ban a small step in right direction The Age Letter: Dr. Liz Bashford Congratulations to the Victorian Parliament for finally passing the legislation to ban fracking in the state. Fracking is bad for our health, and an increasing number of reports from the United States show that there are adverse impacts on the health of nearby residents. Importantly, the burning of fossil fuels causes climate change. The increasing frequency of heatwaves, bushfires, floods and severe storms are costing Australians dearly in terms of health and social disruption. [Full Story] Mar 9, 2017 Tim Winton speaks on gas fracking, WA’s ‘digging and dealing’ economy WA Today Emma Young Beloved West Australian author Tim Winton has broken a long silence to condemn WA gas fracking and illuminate deep public mistrust, both of the mining industry and its government regulators. [Full Story] Mar 9, 2017 Scientists link fracking and water well explosion in Palo Pinto County WFAA 8 ABC Brett Shipp New information has surfaced in the water well explosion in the summer of 2014 injuring three members of a Palo Pinto County family. According to new scientific studies commissioned by the family, and included in newly filed court papers, the explosion was the direct result of fracking operations a quarter mile away. [Full Story] Mar 9, 2017 Adventures Afield: Augusta County leads local charge against fracking Daily Progress Rural Virginian Matthew Reilly In late February, the Augusta County Board of Supervisors voted to ban hydraulic fracturing by way of a zoning ordinance, making it the first county in the Old Dominion to totally prohibit the invasive natural gas drilling practice. The move has been praised by sportsmen and conservation groups, as it effectively protects clean water and wildlife in the county, which includes 193,000 acres of the George Washington National Forest and countless headwater streams. [Full Story] Mar 9, 2017 Geologist: America’s Next Fracking Boom May Be In Alaska Photo of Andrew Follett Daily Caller Andrew Follett The geologist who helped oil companies tap into shale formations in the lower 48 thinks Alaska will be the center of the next hydraulic fracturing boom. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Josh Fox, Pipeline Protestors To Outline Opposition To Trump’s FERC Appointments PR Newswire Press Release WASHINGTON, March 6, 2017 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Josh Fox, the activist and director of the Oscar-nominated 2010 documentary Gasland, and anti-pipeline activists nationwide will spotlight the growing national opposition to new Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) appointments by the Trump Administration. Currently, only two out of five Commissioner positions are filled at FERC, which means the Administration would greatly impact FERC’s direction with new appointments. Activists will outline the push against any new FERC commissioners and highlight the concerns with FERC’s regulatory oversight. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Proposed bill would allow FPL to charge customers for fracking ventures Palm Beach Post Susan Salisbury Last May in a win for Florida Power & Light customers, the Florida Supreme Court reversed a Florida Public Service Commission decision allowing FPL to charge ratepayers for an oil and gas exploration and drilling venture in Oklahoma. Now two bills introduced in the Florida House and Senate on Tuesday would change the law to allow FPL to charge customers for what the court called a speculative venture that lacked legislative authority. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Landowners, Energy Co. Spar Over Gas Drilling in Residential Zone Legal Intelligencer Max Mitchell Fracking, constitutional rights and the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s sweeping decision in Robinson Township v. Commonwealth were all part of the arguments several property owners raised before the high court Wednesday in their attempt to block a natural gas well from coming into their town. But for at least one justice the issue might come down to a big case of NIMBY, or “Not in My Back Yard,” concerns. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Liberty trustee raises concern about horizontal drilling in township Vindy.com Sarah Lehr Trustee Jodi Stoyak has raised welfare concerns about a company planning to drill horizontally within the township. The company also is seeking to hydraulically fracture, or “frack,” at the site, said Steve Irwin, a spokesman with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Carroll Township residents raise concerns about drilling site Observer-Reporter Beth Hope-Cushey Deafening noise, excessive dust, road congestion and sleepless nights were some of the concerns raised Tuesday to Carroll Township supervisors about an EQT gas drilling operation off Van Voorhis Lane. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Fracking ban moves forward in Maryland House, fate in Senate unclear Baltimore Sun Pamela Wood & Erin Cox The House of Delegates is poised to approve a bill to ban fracking for natural gas, but the measure won’t move forward in the state Senate unless supporters can get a veto-proof majority, a key senator said Wednesday. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 As Lafayette fracking ban measure moves forward, proponents wary of its strength In 4-3 vote, climate bill stripped of its controversial direct action clause Daily Camera Anthony Hahn An ordinance approved by Lafayette’s City Council aimed at banning fracking operations within it the city’s borders has left many with a bad taste in their mouth — including its most ardent proponents. The ordinance, which passed 4-3 on first reading, would ban fracking operations in the city even though Boulder County is facing a lawsuit over its current oil and gas moratorium. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Fracking Ban Passes First Test In Senate WUWF Jim Ash The Senate is moving ahead with a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing, despite industry threats of a blizzard of lawsuits. But as Jim Ash reports, the House remains a big question mark. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Fracking debate still going strong in Annapolis, with only final vote left House rejects amendments to ban fracking; bill officially on its third reader Your 4 State Brittany Marshall ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The fracking debate is still going strong in the Maryland General Assembly as lawmakers debate on a bill to ban it. Today, the House rejected amendments to change the bill to ban fracking, and, now, it is officially on its third reader. [Full Story] Mar 8, 2017 Westmoreland Debates Fracking Restrictions NPR Mark Huffman Next week, the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors takes up zoning proposals that would place heavy restrictions on fracking. But there’s no clear sign which way the vote will go. On one hand, supervisors may be swayed by land owners who have sold mineral rights to oil companies. [Full Story] Mar 7, 2017 Senate committee advances fracking ban News-Press Arek Sarkissian TALLAHASSEE – A bill that would ban fracking in Florida advanced in the Senate on Tuesday, but House members appear less receptive to the idea. [Full Story] Mar 7, 2017 Vic bans fracking as legislation passes News.co.au Australian Associated Press The laws passed state parliament’s upper house on Tuesday afternoon and will see all onshore unconventional gas exploration and development, including hydraulic fracturing (commonly known as fracking) and coal seam gas, banned. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Lafayette’s anti-fracking proposal to return for vote amid increased strain Denver Post An ordinance aimed at forestalling the state’s authority in oil and gas development will return to Lafayette’s City Council for a vote Tuesday, a decision that will weigh heavier on the minds of city leaders amid heightened scrutiny from state officials. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Family injured in Palo Pinto well explosion still seeking answers Star-Telegram More than 2 1/2 years have passed since Cody and Ashley Murray’s water well exploded, transforming their Palo Pinto County ranch into an emergency scene. With their burns healed and gone to scars, the couple and their two young children have since returned to their 160 acres outside of Perrin, about 60 miles northwest of Fort Worth. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 The True Cost of the Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline EcoWatch A report prepared by Key-Log Economics for the Sierra Club and Appalachian Mountain Advocates was released Monday, detailing what it calls the true costs of the Atlantic Sunrise pipeline. The proposed fracked gas pipeline was approved by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) on its former chair’s final day—just before the commission lost its quorum. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Marylanders Pushing for Fracking Ban Public News Service BALTIMORE – One of this year’s most contentious debates in Maryland centers around whether to ban hydraulic fracking. A moratorium on fracking is set to expire in October. Thirty-seven groups have signed a letter to Gov. Larry Hogan supporting legislation (SB740 and HB1325) to ban fracking in the state. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Proposed fracking insurance faces controversy during legislative hearing Daily Nebraskan Sitting atop the largest aquifer in the United States, Nebraskans are heavily dependent on the water stored below their land. Ensuring the Ogallala Aquifer’s water remains safe and free of contamination is essential to the good life in Nebraska, which is why Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha introduced LB 533. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Fracking Debate Getting Heated WCBC The fracking debate heated up in Annapolis last week as a senate committee held a hearing on a bill calling for a permanent ban. Maryland currently prohibits hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping water, sand and chemicals deep underground to break up rock and release natural gas. A state moratorium on issuing permits ends Oct. 1, 2017. Supporters of a ban cite concerns about groundwater contamination, air pollution and earthquakes. Others say fracking should be allowed, because it would create jobs in western Maryland. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 New Study Unearths More Fracking Concerns Health News Florida Jim Ash Environmentalists say the latest peer-reviewed study by the group Science for Nature and People Partnership, underscores the need in Florida for a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Pawnee Sue Frackers in Tribal Court Over Earthquakes Courthouse News David Lee PAWNEE, Okla. (CN) — The Pawnee Nation sued two oil drillers in tribal court Friday, claiming their fracking caused earthquakes that damaged historic tribal buildings. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 Fracking inquiry begins in the Northern Territory ABC News Katrina Beavan The first day of an inquiry into fracking in Alice Springs has heard there is no evidence of damage caused by hydraulic fracturing in the United States, amid calls for more regulation into the practice. [Full Story] Mar 6, 2017 USGS Finds Elevated Levels of Arsenic, Radon, Methane in Some Private Wells in Lycoming County, Pennsylvania USGS Press Release Tests of 75 private drinking water wells in Lycoming County, in north-central Pennsylvania, found water from most of the sampled wells contained concentrations of radon that exceeded a proposed, nonbinding health standard for drinking water. Smaller percentages of the wells contained concentrations of arsenic or methane that exceed existing drinking water standards. [Full Story] Mar 5, 2017 Viewpoint: Ban fracking in Florida Pensacola News Journal Jonathan Webber Opinion Fracking will be banned in Florida. It’s just a matter of when. And this year our state lawmakers have the opportunity to determine if it happens before or after a disaster. [Full Story] Mar 5, 2017 Lafayette anti-fracking proposal to return for vote amid increased strain Controversial bill to be heard in city’s library to accommodate crowd Daily Camera Anthony Hahn An ordinance aimed at forestalling the state’s authority in oil and gas development will return to Lafayette’s City Council for a vote Tuesday, a decision that will weigh heavier on the minds of city leaders amid heightened scrutiny from state officials. [Full Story] Mar 5, 2017 Pipeline owner reaches milestone in Iowa: 28 spills since 2000 USA Today Kevin Hardy DES MOINES — The company whose pipeline dumped more than 46,000 gallons of diesel on northern Iowa farmland in January has had more spills than any other pipeline operator in the state over the past 16 years, according to a Des Moines Register analysis. [Full Story] Mar 4, 2017 STUDY FINDS FRACKING CAUSED 6,600 OIL SPILLS IN ONLY FOUR STATES Lady Freethinker Harmony Spencer Blog Fracking is causing more toxic, chemical-laden water to spill into our earth than previously estimated by the EPA, a new study found. The study, which was conducted from 2004-2015 by researchers from Duke University, looked at the frequency and size of oil and gas spills in four states—Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania—and found that fracking caused 6,647 spills in 10 years. The researchers created an interactive map to plot the spills. North Dakota had the most spills (4,453 incidents), followed by Pennsylvania (1,293 incidents), Colorado (475 incidents), and New Mexico (426 incidents). [Full Story] Mar 3, 2017 New Study Unearths More Fracking Concerns WFSU Jim Ash Environmentalists say the latest peer-reviewed study by the group Science for Nature and People Partnership, underscores the need in Florida for a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing. [Full Story] Mar 3, 2017 Next Steps to Ban Fracking in Maryland People power will win this fight, but we’re not done yet. Food and Water Watch Yesterday was an amazing sight to see: over 1,000 people from all across Maryland marched through the streets of Annapolis to demand a ban on fracking in our state. We stretched on for blocks and blocks as chants of “Don’t Frack Maryland, Ban Fracking Now!” rang through the air. The massive march culminated with an overflow rally outside of the State House, where incredible speakers from across the progressive movement laid out our vision for a safe, healthy, and frack-free Maryland. [Full Story] Mar 3, 2017 EPA No Longer Requires Methane Emissions Information from Oil and Natural Gas Companies The agency started requiring the information in May 2016 as a step towards decreasing greenhouse gases. Colorlines Yessenia Funes The EPA has, effective yesterday (March 2), ended the requirement for oil and natural gas companies to provide the public information regarding methane emissions on its operation sites. [Full Story] Mar 2, 2017 Another View: Gas industry’s dollars deep in pockets of pols Daily Times Gre Vitali Opinion There are 203 lobbyists registered as working for the natural gas industry in Pennsylvania – coincidentally one for each state House member. The gas industry spent more than $7 million last year and more than $60 million since 2007 on lobbying in Pennsylvania. Despite this spending not a single Pennsylvania legislator was listed on any natural gas industry lobbing expense report as being the recipient of a gift, hospitality, transportation or lodging in 2016. [Full Story] Mar 1, 2017 Commentary: Marcellus money and the Pa. legislature Philly.com Greg Vitali: Opinion In addition to the large sums of money spent on lobbying, the natural-gas industry also made significant political contributions to the General Assembly. In 2016, the industry gave about $900,000 in campaign contributions to legislators. Most went to House and Senate Republican leadership, who control the flow of legislation in Harrisburg, [Full Story] Mar 1, 2017 Power sector may be losing appetite for natural gas Solar and wind competition, along with likely federal support for coal, altering the equation Houston Chronicle James Osborne WASHINGTON – The seemingly insatiable appetite for natural gas at the nation’s power plants could be on the verge of an abrupt hiatus. [Full Story] Mar 1, 2017 Earthquake rate falls in Oklahoma The Oklahoman Adam Wilmoth The overall rate of earthquakes in Oklahoma has fallen over the past two years, but the state still bears a risk of larger tremors, researchers say. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Supporters of Banning Fracking in Maryland Rally Us News AP ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — People who want to ban hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in Maryland rallied in the state capital Tuesday ahead of a hearing on legislation that would forbid fracking statewide. Advocates of banning fracking cite health and environmental risks, while opponents of the ban cite economic benefits drilling could bring. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Bel Air commissioners support ban on fracking in Maryland Baltimore Sun Erika Butler Elected leaders of the Town of Bel Air have taken a stand against fracking in Maryland, even though it’s not likely the practice ever will happen in Harford County. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Md. legislators consider permanent ban on fracking Fox News John Rydell ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WBFF) — Maryland legislators are debating a bill which would permanently ban hydraulic fracking in the state. A moratorium on the high-tech method of extracting natural gas from shale in Western Maryland expires this fall. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Fracking’s horror stories Baltimore Post Examiner Len Shindel All movements need stories. Exposures of violence against black people, from lynching to lack of service at lunch counters, propelled the Civil Rights Movement. The struggle for unions was galvanized by confrontations on the shop floor and the picket lines. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Are fracking and earthquakes really connected? Journalist’s Resource Which American state has the most earthquakes? If you guessed Alaska or California, you might have been right — years ago. These days, the title goes to Oklahoma, where research links the oil and gas industry to the quakes. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Southwestern Energy Reaches Utica Shale in West Virginia The Inteligencer Casey Junkins WHEELING –Despite reporting more than $2 billion in losses for 2016, Southwestern Energy Co. is so active that company officials sometimes hire off-duty West Virginia State Police troopers to navigate the rugged Northern Panhandle terrain when moving rigs between drilling sites. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Protest against hydrocarbon project in Pudukottai village News Today Net Chennai: Neduvasal, a remote village near Pudukottai, has all of a sudden come into the limelight because of the on-going protest asking the Central government to give up the hydrocarbon project planned to be taken up there. [Full Story] Feb 28, 2017 Behind Trump’s Push for “American Steel” in Pipelines, Another Russian Company with Putin Ties Stands to Benefit DeSmog Blog Steve Horn In his speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last week, President Donald Trump commemorated the one-month anniversary of his executive orders calling for the approval of the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, as well as one calling for U.S. pipelines to get their line pipe steel from U.S. facilities. [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 Health industry makes plea to gas drilling lobby to embrace methane controls Pittsbugh Post=Gazette Don Hopes A group representing thousands of Pennsylvania doctors, nurses and other health care professionals has sent a letter to the Marcellus Shale Coalition, requesting that it stop legal challenges and lobbying against regulations aimed at controlling drilling air emissions and safeguarding public health. [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 Israel’s Leviathan Natural Gas Project Ready to Drill Media Line Michael Friedson An investment of $3.75 billion that has been agreed upon by the partners developing the Leviathan natural gas field off the coast of Israel clears the way for the nation’s largest infrastructure project to move ahead toward a target date of late 2019 for gas to reach the market. [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 India: Why Neduvasal Residents Protest Against Gas Exploration Project ? Sri Lanka Guardian N. S. Venkataraman The writer had the opportunity to interact with the local people living in and around Neduvasal in Pudukottai district in Tamil Nadu , who are protesting against the proposal to take up natural gas exploration projects in the region. The interaction took place during a two hour session with the concerned people in a programme organized by a leading Tamil TV channel (News 18 Tamil), when cross section of people in different age groups , education level and income level, both men and women , from the region and local MLA participated and were encouraged to express their views . The writer was asked to respond to their observations , provide the necessary clarifications and suggest appropriate future course of action. [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 To Frack Or Not To Frack? Will Maryland Legislators Place Constituents’ Health At Risk? Forbes Judy Stone Worried about health problems and the environmental impact from fracking, Kim recounted her long walk. “In October, my friend and I took to the road, the trail, the river side; 320 miles across the state of Maryland in a walking performance to educate, celebrate and protect our watershed and the communities it supports, from the far ranging impacts of natural gas development.” [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 Pipeline to move fracked gas across Pennsylvania as critics cry foul RT A subsidiary of the company responsible for the Dakota Access Pipeline has begun construction on a pipeline that will move as much as 700,000 barrels of liquid natural gas across Pennsylvania. Local groups are concerned about the project’s safety. [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 Tim Winton speaks out on ‘cancer on landscape’ for Frack Free Future Weekly Times Victoria Laurie AWARD-winning West Australian novelist Tim Winton has weighed into the state election campaign, with a warning that the gas fracking industry is “like a cancer on the landscape, destroying families and gutting communities”. [Full Story] Feb 27, 2017 Anti-Frackers Launch Protest After Site Gets Green Light Morning Star Peter Lazenby ENVIRONMENTAL protesters gathered at a proposed fracking site in Lancashire over the weekend for a demonstration condemning the controversial plans. A rural area off Preston New Road near Blackpool is being prepared for fracking — drilling deep underground to pump in a toxic mixture of chemicals, sand and water to “fracture” shale to release gas — by firm Cuadrilla. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 In rural Western Maryland, fracking divisions run deep Washington Post Josh Hicks Here, amid farms, faded industrial sites and a growing number of wineries and tourist attractions, the debate over whether to allow hydraulic fracturing seems far more immediate than in the State House in Annapolis, 170 miles to the southeast. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 Virginia agency says it will not exempt information on fracking fluid from disclosure Richmond Times-Dispatch Robert Zullo Legislation that would have shielded specific concentrations of chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing from public disclosure was rejected in a Senate committee this month, a vote that drew cheers from environmental groups. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 Photogallery – Fracking responsible for 12 toxic spills every year in the U.S. Blasting News An increasing number of environmental studies have shown the risks of #fracking include earthquakes, which are responsible for more toxic spills. These spills severely impact the environment with irreversible damage from oil and natural gas spills, including methane. Duke University reports that 16 percent of these toxic spills send out hydrocarbons and pollutants every year. These results are a direct correlation to the process of fracking. The #Environmental Protection Agency released a study suggesting that 457 have taken place across 8 hydraulic fracking states. Unfortunately, the newer study finds that the spill rates are actually 8 to 9 times higher than the EPA originally thought. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 Fracking causes several earthquakes in northwestern Pennsylvania, but no cause for alarm in Lancaster County Lancaster Online Tom Knapp Fracking — a method of extracting underground pockets of natural gas — caused several earthquakes in northwestern Pennsylvania last year, scientists have confirmed. That’s reason for concern, two local science professors said this week — although it’s doubtful that fracking will cause the ground to shake in Lancaster County. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 Earthquakes Have to Do with One Very Specific Part of Fracking Big Think Robby Berman There aren’t supposed to be earthquakes swarms in Oklahoma, and they were happening all the time. In 2016, there were 632 magnitude 3+ or higher temblors. In 2015, there were 903, 579 in 2014, and 109 in 2013. To say this got the attention of scientists is putting it mildly. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 EEOC Sues Fracking Company for Race-Based Harassment and Retaliation JD Supra US EEOC Press Release HOUSTON – A manufacturer of equipment used in hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) violated federal law when it retaliated against an employee for reporting that he had been harassed by his white coworkers because of his race, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit filed today. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy Pushes Natural Gas as Climate Solution at Contentious Town Hall Meetings DeSmog Blog Julie Dermansky Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy’s constituents packed emotionally charged town hall meetings across the state during Congress’ February break, a trend seen in other meetings with lawmakers around the country. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 Pa. owed ‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’ in royalties from forest drilling State Impact PA Marie Cusick The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is owed “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in royalties from natural gas drilling on public forest land, according to an official with the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. [Full Story] Feb 26, 2017 DEP invites comments on natural gas methane reduction Allied News HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has opened a 45-day public comment period to accept input on two permits and an inspection protocol for reducing methane at well sites and compressor stations associated with natural gas drilling and transport. [Full Story] Feb 25, 2017 Pa.’s natural gas industry could be poised for rebound TribLive Kevin Zwick Jobs in the energy sector have steadily declined since early 2015 as an oversupply of natural gas and a lack of pipeline infrastructure drove down the price of natural gas and halted new development. Pennsylvania’s mining and logging sector, which includes natural gas production, lost about 15,000 jobs since January 2015, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. [Full Story] Feb 25, 2017 ‘It’s all about the water’: Speaker’s presentation in DL focuses on harmful effect of tar sands oil DL Online Vicki Gerdes Fossil fuels, tar sands, fracking, pipelines, oil production, oil spills… these are terms that have been part of the lexicon of U.S. and Canadian culture for decades now. But it is only within the past decade that they have been featured prominently in regional news headlines — thanks in no small part to Enbridge’s catastrophic, 1-million-gallon oil spill on the Kalamazoo River in 2010, and recent protests over construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline (DAPL). [Full Story] Feb 25, 2017 ‘About 250’ protesters at Lancashire anti-fracking demo BBC News About 250 people have attended a rally near the UK’s first horizontal fracking site, police said. Organisers said they wanted to “show support” for the campaign against drilling for shale gas in Lancashire. [Full Story] Feb 24, 2017 New Rutgers University study shows microorganisms were impacted at Fayette County injection site Register-Herald Sarah Plummer A tributary of the New River in Fayette County has again become ground zero for a national study on how hydraulic fracturing wastewater impacts stream water and sediments downstream from disposal sites. [Full Story] Feb 24, 2017 Here’s the case for a fracking ban Delmarva Now Paul Roberts & Mike Tidwell On Feb. 28, the Health, Education and Environmental Affairs Committee in the Maryland Senate will take up legislation dealing with shale-gas drilling (fracking). For public safety, economic and environmental reasons, we believe the technology should not be allowed in Maryland. [Full Story] Feb 24, 2017 Fracking fluid is leaking more often than we thought Popular Science Kendra Pierre-Louis Hydraulic fracture oil and gas wells spill pretty often, according to a recent study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. That study, along with a companion paper which appeared in the journal Science of the Total Environment, analyzed spill data and behavior across four states—Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota and Pennsylvania—with the goal of identifying common causes of spills to help industries improve. [Full Story] Feb 24, 2017 As area localities consider fracking regulations, another county bans the process Fredericksburg.com Cathy Dyson None of the counties in the Fredericksburg region, where a Texas company has leased land for possible oil or natural gas drilling, will become the first locality in Virginia to ban fracking. [Full Story] Feb 24, 2017 Brooklyn to consider ordinance banning fracking waste The Norwich Bulletin Francesca Kefala BROOKLYN — The Brooklyn Conservation Commission wants to make sure the town does not unknowingly become a storage or treatment location for the waste products of fracking. [Full Story] Feb 24, 2017 Why Fracking and Cracking Create Risks to Human Life and so Much More Green Optimistic Nicholas Say The fracking boom in the USA has received a lot of well founded criticism; it pollutes in just about every conceivable way, and has given rise to dangerous earthquakes in many areas. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Microbes differ downstream from fracking wastewater Futurity The study, published in Science of the Total Environment, shows that wastewater releases, including briny water that contained petroleum and other pollutants, altered the diversity, numbers, and functions of microbes. The shifts in the microbial community indicated changes in their respiration and nutrient cycling, along with signs of stress. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Study Identifies More Than 6,600 Fracking Spills Over 10-Year Period There have been more than 4,400 spills in North Dakota alone. Huffington Post Hayley Miller A controversial method of oil and natural gas extraction known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has resulted in thousands of spills in four states over a 10-year period, a new study finds. Researchers at Duke University identified 6,648 fracking-related spills in Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and North Dakota between 2005 and 2014. Fracking uses a high-pressure stream of water, chemicals and sand to tap into rock formations and extract oil and gas deposits. Many of the spills in the researchers’ tally include fracking fluids, wastewater and hydrocarbons ? all of which can contain chemicals hazardous to drinking water resources. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Georgia House passes fracking bill Atlanta Business Chronicle Dave Williams The Georgia House of Representatives approved legislation Thursday that would establish state regulations governing fracking, a process that extracts oil or natural gas from underground rocks by injecting liquid at high pressure. The bill, which passed 162-1 and now moves to the state Senate, was requested by local officials in eight counties in Northwest Georgia, the only part of the state suitable for fracking. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Fracking regulation bill passes Georgia House AJC Aaron Gould Sheinin Legislation approved in the state House on Thursday would create the first new fracking regulations in a generation. The House voted 162-1 to approve House Bill 205, sponsored by House Rules Committee Chairman John Meadows, R-Calhoun. Meadows said there is one, eight-county, region in northwest Georgia that is ripe for fracking. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Augusta first county in Va. to ban fracking News Leader Gabe Cavallaro VERONA – The Augusta County Board of Supervisors voted Wednesday night to prohibit fracking in the county in a move to keep clean water flowing in the area. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 City sues frac sand company for a $150K Marshfield News-Herald Karen Madden MARSHFIELD – City officials have filed a $153,384 civil suit against a Texas-based company that processes sand used in oil drilling at its Marshfield plant. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 University of Maryland SGA wants the state to extend its fracking moratorium DBK News Carly Taylor The SGA voted unanimously Wednesday night to support the extension of a hydraulic fracturing moratorium in Maryland. A two-year state moratorium on fracking passed in 2015 is set to expire Oct. 1. The Maryland General Assembly is considering a bill that would extend the moratorium for an additional two years and instruct each county to hold a referendum in 2018 in support or disapproval of fracking. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 The divisive New Market Pipeline project is awaiting approval on several variances before construction can begin Ithaa Journal Matt Weinstein Dominion Transmission Inc.’s divisive New Market Pipeline project is awaiting approval on several variances before construction can begin, and a state legislator from Ithaca is hoping to urge the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to deny those requests. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Fracking Is Dangerous To Your Health — Here’s Why Forbes Judy Stone Fracking, or drilling for gas by hydraulic fracturing, has been associated with a growing number of health risks. Last week, I began this series looking at some of the hazardous chemicals injected into the wells to make drilling easier and cheaper, and the growing risks to our health by the GOP rushing through the approval of Scott Pruitt to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Study Finds Connection Between Living Near Oil and Gas Development and Childhood Leukemia DeSmog Blog Mike Gaworecki With the rise of new technologies like fracking and horizontal drilling, oil and gas development in the United States has exploded over the past 15 years. As development expands, it’s also pushing ever closer into areas where people live. It’s been estimated that today more than 15 million Americans live within one mile of oil and gas development. [Full Story] Feb 23, 2017 Hilcorp and earthquakes: Pa. officials find correlation Farm & Dairy MEADVILLE, Pa. — Seismic events that occurred in western Lawrence County on April 25, 2016, were likely correlated to natural gas hydraulic fracturing by Hilcorp Energy Co., according to a report by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 Underwater Pipeline Leak Dumping Over 200,000 Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas Into Cook Inlet Underwater Pipeline Leak Dumping Over 200,000 Cubic Feet Of Natural Gas Into Cook Inlet Fox 13 Brandon Smith Since February 7th, there has been an underwater pipeline leak off of the Cook Inlet. The leak is in a pipeline that supplies processed natural gas to four separate drilling platforms. The pipe is about four miles from shore in eighty feet of water. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 In the past decade, fracking caused nearly 2 spills a day in just these 4 states Researchers call for better reporting by oil and gas companies. ThinkProgress Samantha Page Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, and North Dakota saw more than 6,600 spills from fracking wells?—?or more than one spill for every five wells?—?from 2005 to 2014, according to a study released Wednesday by the Nicholas Institute for Environmental Policy Solutions. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 Nevada considers fracking ban USA Today Benjamin Spillman RENO, Nev. — Nevada could become the third state in the nation to ban drilling companies from using hydraulic fracturing to get oil and natural gas from the ground. Known as fracking, it’s the practice of extracting oil and gas from the ground by using high pressure to inject fluid deep underground. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 With permits in hand, Sunoco confirms plans to build two new pipelines, not one Phlly.com Andrew Maykuth Sunoco Logistics Partners confirmed Wednesday that it will build two pipelines across Pennsylvania as part of its Mariner East 2 project. The Newtown Square company said the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s recent approval of permits for its pipeline has emboldened more producers to commit to the project, signaling greater interest in building an additional pipeline adjoining the one now under construction. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 Bill to protect gas and oil production killed by Colorado Dems Durango Herald Luke Perkins DENVER – The House Democrats’ “kill committee” lived up to its name again Wednesday when a bill that would protect oil and gas development and mineral rights died on a 6-3 party-line vote. House Bill 1124, which would have required local governments that prohibit fracking or place moratoriums on oil and gas production to pay out the value of the mineral interest impacted, was an attempt to protect Coloradans’ property rights, said Rep. Perry Buck, R-Windsor, and sponsor of the bill. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 Pennsylvania Confirms First Fracking-Related Earthquakes WESA Reid Frazier Pennsylvania officials say they’ve confirmed the state’s first fracking-related earthquakes took place last year in Lawrence County, northwest of Pittsburgh. As a result, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is stepping up its requirements for drilling in that part of the state, which is known for seismic activity. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 A&M; Corpus Christi professor discusses fracking concerns KRIS TV CORPUS CHRISTI – It appears the sale of two oil and gas leases in the Choke Canyon reservoir will move forward. As we first reported Monday, the Bureau of Land Management wants to sell the leases to oil and gas companies that would use fracking. Those 16-hundred acres are submerged land at the bottom of Choke Canyon Lake. Word of the pending sale prompted the city to fire off a letter of protest. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 Fracking led to more than 6,000 spills in 10 years, study finds Christina Science Monitor Ellen Powell In a study published Tuesday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, a team of researchers identified 6,648 spills in Colorado, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Pennsylvania between 2005 and 2014. The researchers calculated that between 2 and 16 percent of wells will spill contaminated water, hydraulic fracturing fluids, or other substances every year, with the majority of incidents occurring in the first three years after a well becomes operational. [Full Story] Feb 22, 2017 Trump Eyes Easing Obama Rules for Sprawling Pipeline Network Bloomberg Catherine Traywick & Laura Blewitt The hints of a pipeline spill are subtle: the hiss of rushing fluid, a streak of rainbow sheen. Tucked far below ground, a ruptured line can escape notice for days or even weeks, especially in the backcountry, where inspectors rarely venture. Regulators in the waning hours of the Obama era wrote rules aimed at changing that, and the industry is looking forward to the new administration rolling them back. [Full Story] Feb 21, 2017 Fracking bill crosses hurdle Dalton Daily Citizen Jill Nolin ATLANTA — A proposal to regulate a sometimes controversial form of drilling cleared a key hurdle Tuesday. Rep. John Meadows, R-Calhoun, says his bill seeks to put in place protections for the state’s water resources — before the oil and gas industry starts using hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Fracking uses a mixture of water, sand and chemicals to break up rock and free natural gas or oil underground, [Full Story] Feb 21, 2017 Fracking debate nears crossroads in Maryland Lawmakers eye prohibition, or leaving it to voters to decide locality by locality Bay Journal Maryland’s “fracking” debate begins in earnest this week in Annapolis. With a two-year moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for natural gas scheduled to end Oct. 1, lawmakers are under increasing pressure to decide whether to ban the practice permanently, punt it to the voters or let drilling proceed under disputed regulations that have yet to be finalized. Emotions are running high, and legislators appear nearly evenly split. [Full Story] Feb 21, 2017 Josh Fox Rallies Hundreds Demanding a Fracking Ban in the Heart of Gas-Drilling Country Demonstrators protest an executive order that could leave local communities vulnerable to contamination. Alternet Alexandra Rosenmann The anti-Trump resistance isn’t just about marching on Capitol Hill; it’s about organizing and showing up for your community, every day. “If you want to figure out what democracy is, if you want to figure out what America, it’s this in a room like this,” documentary filmmaker Josh Fox explained from the Delaware River Basin Commission Public Hearing in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. “Two hundred and fifty people at a hearing in the middle of the day, took off from work, and they decided that [they’re] going to stand up and fight against the oil industry.” [Full Story] Feb 21, 2017 Josh Fox Rallies Hundreds Demanding a Fracking Ban in the Heart of Gas-Drilling Country Demonstrators protest an executive order that could leave local communities vulnerable to contamination. Alternet Alexandra Rosenmann The anti-Trump resistance isn’t just about marching on Capitol Hill; it’s about organizing and showing up for your community, every day. “If you want to figure out what democracy is, if you want to figure out what America, it’s this in a room like this,” documentary filmmaker Josh Fox explained from the Delaware River Basin Commission Public Hearing in Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania. “Two hundred and fifty people at a hearing in the middle of the day, took off from work, and they decided that [they’re] going to stand up and fight against the oil industry.” [Full Story] Feb 19, 2017 COLORADO FRACKING SUIT PITS STATE VS. COMMUNITY Newsweek David Sirota In the latest salvo in an intensifying national battle over climate change policy and fossil fuel extraction, Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman filed a lawsuit aimed at preventing local communities from restricting hydraulic fracturing. The Republican’s lawsuit on behalf of the powerful oil and gas industry comes only a few years after fossil fuel industry campaign cash boosted her campaign for public office. [Full Story] Feb 19, 2017 Pa. links natural gas fracking with series of tiny quakes Fox 29 Associated Press (AP) – Pennsylvania environmental regulators have found a likely correlation between a natural gas company’s fracking operation and a series of tiny earthquakes in western Pennsylvania last year. [Full Story] Feb 19, 2017 Ashley Manicaros: Fracking ban affects indigenous self-determination NT News Ashley Manicaros Opinion THIS week Territorians had two paths laid bare for them to consider. One path involves economic development which would create jobs; boost the Territory economy and generate for the government revenue it desperately needs. The other involved cutting jobs to free the money they need to deliver the programs to stimulate the economy. [Full Story] Feb 19, 2017 Pruitt Ignored Cries to Regulate Fracking in Oklahoma. Now Residents Face Big Oil on Their Own Truth-Out Adam Lynch Valerie Branyan is thankful that she and her husband were together with their two children when the 5.3 magnitude earthquake struck the city of Cushing, Oklahoma, early in November. The couple clutched their kids, eyed the ceiling, and waited. While there were no injuries and only minor damage to their home, properties they own near downtown didn’t fare so well. The brickwork of one building toppled to the street, while a third building housing their family business suffered more than $100,000 in ruined walls and structural damage. [Full Story] Feb 18, 2017 Protest targets bank’s role in Dakota Access pipeline Marshall Independent Karin Elton MARSHALL — About 20 to 25 protesters lined an area in front of Wells Fargo Bank on Main Street in Marshall Friday morning. [Full Story] Feb 18, 2017 Even if Maryland fracking ban fails, Garrett County doesn’t foresee a drilling boom Baltimore Sun Scott Dance decade ago, Bill Janoske’s father and uncle signed a deal. The energy company Chesapeake Appalachia LLC would pay them $5 a year for each of the 660 acres on the family’s former dairy farm, a stone’s throw from West Virginia in three directions. [Full Story] Feb 18, 2017 Protesters show their love for Sherwood Forest at fracking demo Notthingham Post Laura Hammond More than 100 protesters took part in the demonstration on Saturday, February 18 – the second to have taken place since Friends of the Earth said a Freedom of Information request showed the land surveyors for chemicals company Ineos have been in contact with the Forestry Commission since August regarding accessing its land. [Full Story] Feb 18, 2017 Lawmakers Deny AG Office’s Budget Request Following Fracking Lawsuit CBS Denver BOULDER, Colo. (CBS4) – Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman has filed a lawsuit against the City of Boulder to lift its moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, and now state lawmakers are not allowing more funding for her office. [Full Story] Feb 17, 2017 Trump policy hits New Mexico Indigenous site Liberation News Marcus Nells The Dakota Access Pipeline has received a great deal of coverage in the news, but the struggle against environmental degradation isn’t isolated to the Dakotas. In the Southwest, Chaco Canyon is an important archaeological site and Indigenous historical relic of a lost culture. [Full Story] Feb 17, 2017 “Towns Driving State Policy:” New London Aims to Ban Fracking Waste College Voice Maia Hibbett One by one, Connecticut municipalities are sending a message to state and federal legislators: no to local fracking waste disposal. Following the lead of municipalities across four counties beginning with Washington and most recently including Middletown, New London aims to become the next city to ban fracking waste. [Full Story] Feb 17, 2017 Trump Completes Pipeline Trifecta, Rubber Stamps Enbridge-Spectra Merger EcoWatch Wenonah Hauter The White House completed its pipeline trifecta Thursday by rubber stamping the Enbridge-Spectra merger after approving the Dakota Access Pipeline and reversing the blocked Keystone XL pipeline. [Full Story] Feb 17, 2017 Pennsylvania correlates fracking with earthquakes MICHAEL Pittsburgh Star-Gazette Michael Rubinkam Pennsylvania environmental regulators have found a likely correlation between a natural gas company’s fracking operation and a series of tiny earthquakes in western Pennsylvania last year. [Full Story] Feb 15, 2017 Fracking Rule Text Disappears From Interior Department Website EcoWatch Alleen Brown In Donald Trump’s first week as president, text describing two rules regulating the oil and gas industry was removed from an Interior Department website. The rules, limiting hydraulic fracturing and natural gas flaring on public lands, are in the crosshairs of the Trump administration. [Full Story] Feb 15, 2017 Cook Inlet Gas Pipeline Leak Shows Risks of Offshore Drilling Hilcorp Alaska Has Been Fined for Disregarding Regulations, Seeks to Build Massive Liberty Project in Beaufort Sea Center for Biological Diversity Press Release ANCHORAGE, Alaska— Hilcorp Alaska LLC, the operator of the leaking natural gas pipeline in Cook Inlet, has been warned by federal regulators to improve maintenance of its gas pipelines. State regulators have also repeatedly fined the company and said “disregard for regulatory compliance is endemic to Hilcorp’s approach to its Alaska operations.” [Full Story] Feb 14, 2017 COUNTY COUNCIL URGES STATE OF MARYLAND TO BAN FRACKING MyMcmedia The Montgomery County Council has approved a resolution, introduced by Councilmember Marc Elrich, urging the Maryland General Assembly and Governor Larry Hogan to enact a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing and other types of “Unconventional Gas Development and Production.” [Full Story] Feb 14, 2017 Federal Government Shrugs Off Threat to Climate, Groundwater, Wildlife Habitat in Wayne National Forest Center for Biological Diversity ATHENS, Ohio—(ENEWSPF)–February 14, 2017. Conservation groups this week filed an administrative protest challenging a Bureau of Land Management oil and gas lease auction slated for Ohio’s Wayne National Forest. The protest takes aim at the Bureau’s refusal to adequately analyze the impacts of fracking on climate change, water quality and endangered species. [Full Story] Feb 14, 2017 Richmond councilman proposes ban on fracking in city limits Richmond Times-Dispatch Ned Oliver Richmond Councilman Parker C. Agelasto isn’t aware of anyone currently mining natural gas from oil shale within the city limits. But he said he wants to keep it that way. [Full Story] Feb 14, 2017 Colorado AG Warns Boulder County Over ‘Continuous’ Fracking Moratorium Bloomberg Tripp Baltz Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman (R) warned Boulder County the state will take legal action if the county fails to rescind its “continuous” moratorium on hydraulic fracturing and other oil and gas development. [Full Story] Feb 14, 2017 Chemical Plant Boom Spurred by Fracking Will Bring Smog, Plastic Glut, and Risks to Workers’ Health, New Report Warns DeSmog Blog Sharon Kelly On the heels of the shale gas rush that’s swept the U.S. for the past decade, another wave of fossil fuel-based projects is coming — a plastic and petrochemical manufacturing rush that environmentalists warn could make smog worse in communities already breathing air pollution from fracking, sicken workers, and expand the plastic trash gyres in the world’s oceans. [Full Story] Feb 14, 2017 Two Fracking Bills Introduced In Annapolis WCBC Dueling bills- one calling for a total ban on fracking, the other allowing for an extension of the current moratorium- have been introduced in Annapolis and the debate is continuing. Under a bill co-sponsored by State Senator George Edwards- the current October 1st end to the moratorium would be expanded two years- giving residents of Allegany and Garrett counties a say on fracking by way of a referendum vote in 2018. State Senator Robert Zirkin, D-Baltimore County, has introduced legislation to ban fracking altogether. Although Allegany and Garrett counties are the only Maryland counties with potential for hydraulic fracturing, Zirkin says he supports a ban because the potential for water contamination could have statewide ramifications…. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Flores: Anything Short Of Fracking Ban DOA In Senate WFSU Jim Ash Senator Anitere Flores has spoken out against hydraulic fracturing in Florida, voted against it and written guest editorials. But the Miami Republican is sending her strongest message yet… This year, Flores is Senate Pro Temp – No. 2 in the political pecking order — and she’s co-sponsoring a statewide ban. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Lawmaker wants to outlaw fracking in Nevada Las Vegas Review-Journal Sean Whaley CARSON CITY — The practice of hydraulic fracturing or “fracking” would be prohibited in Nevada under a bill introduced Monday by a Las Vegas lawmaker. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Council urges Fifers to fight against fracking The Courier Leeza Clark Depute leader Lesley Laird is urging them to air their views on whether the controversial unconventional oil and gas (UOG) extraction, including fracking, should be allowed in the country. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Energy Dept.: Fracked Oil to Account for 60 Percent of U.S. Crude Output Over Next 23 Years District Sentinel Sam Knight The majority of crude oil produced in the US over the next few decades will come from fracked wells, according to a research arm of the Energy Department. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Questions Raised Over City’s Water Supply In Regards To Fracking WCBC During last week’s meeting of the Cumberland City Council which was dominated by a large group of citizens pushing for a statewide ban of fracking- one man raised questions about the city’s water supply, which originates in Bedford County, Pennsylvania, where fracking is legal. Basically at issue is what protections the city has over its water supply. Jeff Rhodes, city administrator, briefly commented noting that since the water supply sits in Pennsylvania the city of Cumberland obviously has no regulatory authority there. He added that the city is looking at mineral rights to make sure someone couldn’t frack under a portion that the city owns… [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Inside the anti-frackers’ protest camp The Gazette The controversy over fracking on the Fylde looks set to continue throughout the coming year. Pro-fracking groups have pointed the finger at campaigners from outside the county who they claim are “professional” protesters using new tactics of “harassment” and “intimidation”. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 E-mails Suggest a Very Cozy Relationship Between California’s Oil Industry and the State’s Regulators The Nation Michael J. Mishak s California regulators oversaw an oil boom, industry representatives lobbied to ease drilling rules and shape new regulations. Four years of e-mails obtained by the Center for Public Integrity suggest a comfortable—at times, chummy —relationship between Governor Jerry Brown’s appointees and the industry. Exchanging hundreds of notes, state officials at the California Department of Conservation and the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) forwarded internal memos to trade groups, alerted oil companies of legislative inquires, and coordinated media responses with industry. [Full Story] Feb 13, 2017 Morrow County Democrat women energize with environmental concerns Morrow County Sentinel Kathy Winters reported on her experience visiting several injection wells in Morrow County with a Columbus group that has concerns about fracking waste getting into the Columbus water supply. “You can smell the oil as you drive up to the wells,” commented Winters. Winters said there are 14 injection wells in Morrow County and 13 are actively receiving fracking waste. There are 245 injection wells in the state of Ohio. [Full Story] Feb 12, 2017 Drilling in Colorado basin picking up after years of decline Charlotte Observer Associated Press GRAND JUNCTION, COLO. After years of sliding downhill, energy producers have increased plans for drilling in a major basin in northwest Colorado. As many as eight rigs could be operating this spring in the Piceance Basin, said industry officials who spoke to The Daily Sentinel . Industry officials, however, also note that drilling activity is tightly tied to the price of natural gas. While they might have made drilling plans for a period of years, they now are making them on tighter schedules that are more tuned to costs and the prices that natural gas can fetch, the officials said. [Full Story] Feb 12, 2017 Bill Would Make Fracking a Crime in Maryland Corporate Crime Reporter A bill (HB 1387) introduced into the Maryland legislature last week would make it a crime to engage in hydraulic fracturing — fracking — in the state. [Full Story] Feb 12, 2017 Quakers call for ban on fracking Independent Catholic News Anne van Staveren Quakers are calling for a ban on new and intensive forms of fossil fuel extraction, including fracking for shale gas and oil, and underground coal gasification. [Full Story] Feb 12, 2017 Study finds methane pollution grows even after drilling stops Weirton Daily Times Casey Junkins WHEELING — Long after the drilling rigs and frack trucks are gone, methane pollution from natural gas extraction continues to grow, according to researchers at Philadelphia’s Drexel University. [Full Story] Feb 11, 2017 Study Finds Rise in Methane in Pennsylvania Gas Country Readings showed a rise in the potent greenhouse gas from 2012 to 2015, and the region’s boom in natural gas production is likely to blame. Inside Climate News Zahra Hirji New research shows a recent three-year surge in methane levels in northeastern Pennsylvania, a hub of the state’s natural gas production. After sampling the region’s air in 2012 and again in 2015, researchers found that methane levels had increased from 1,960 parts per billion in 2012 up to 2,060 in 2015, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Elementa: Science of the Anthropocene. [Full Story] Feb 9, 2017 Data shows fracking caused earthquakes near Fox Creek: U of A researcher Global News Cassandra Jodoin A University of Alberta’s Department of Physics researcher says new data shows hydraulic fracturing in northwestern Alberta’s Fox Creek area was the cause of multiple earthquakes in the region. [Full Story] Feb 9, 2017 More frequent, stronger earthquakes linked to fracking, Alberta study finds CBC News Zoe Todd Alberta’s strongest fracking-related tremor was a magnitude 4.93 earthquake near Fox Creek in 2016. Earthquakes caused by hydraulic fracturing in Western Canada are becoming stronger and more frequent, according to a study from the University of Alberta. [Full Story] Feb 9, 2017 In Depth: Drilling down into prospect of fracking on Sheffield’s doorstep Sheffield Telegraph Richard Blackledge Mr Kesteven, head gardener at Renishaw Hall in North Derbyshire, is one of a growing number of campaigners opposing chemical firm Ineos’s bid to carry out exploratory work at Marsh Lane, near Eckington. [Full Story] Feb 9, 2017 Opponents Of Fracking Take Fight To Annapolis WCBC Opponents of fracking have taken their fight to Annapolis to try to get a ban before a moratorium ends later this year. Demonstrators have rallied in front of the Maryland State House on several occasions during this session of the General Assembly- and most recently as Maryland Governor. Larry Hogan issued his State of the State address. Locally citizens groups from Friendsville to Frostburg to Cumberland have been urging town and municipal officials to support a permanent ban. Friendsville already has instituted a ban and so has Frostburg. While the anti-Fracking groups are grabbing headlines, Delegate Jason Buckel points to what he thinks is a silent majority of western Marylanders who support the concept… [Full Story] Feb 9, 2017 Area lawmakers cautious on proposed budget Sun-Gazette Anne Reiner While local lawmakers are optimistic about Gov. Tom Wolf’s proposed 2017-18 budget, a lack of funding for agriculture and changes to natural gas drilling impact fees have some worried. [Full Story] Feb 9, 2017 US Congress May Allow More Oil, Gas Drilling in National Parks Sputnik News The US House of Representatives is considering a bill that will ease drilling regulations in America’s national parks, making it easier for companies to gain permission to extract oil and natural gas. The bill, proposed by Republican Paul Gosar of Arizona, is strenuously opposed by environmentalist groups. [Full Story] Feb 8, 2017 Fracking rules would tighten limits on drilling Dalton Daily Citizen Jill Nolin ATLANTA — Plans to regulate fracking in Georgia have been met with unease from lawmakers wary of expanding the state’s role in regulating a new industry. “I’m certainly leery of EPA, and I’m just about as leery of EPD,” Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, said during a legislative meeting Wednesday, referring to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Environmental Protection Division. [Full Story] Feb 8, 2017 First LNG Produced at Well Site Big Sky Business Journal GTUIT, LLC, a Billings-based company, announced that the firm has been participating, since December 2015, in what is thought to be the world’s first well site production of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from captured flare gas. [Full Story] Feb 8, 2017 Federal regulators approve Appalachian pipelines before quorum dissolves Post-Gazette Anya Litvak Preparing for a lack of a quorum for the foreseeable future, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission made a series of rulings last week that might speed up the development of natural gas pipelines and the drilling of wells that will supply them in Appalachia. [Full Story] Feb 8, 2017 New drilling regs may be coming to Delaware Basin River Reporter David Hulse NARROWSBURG, NY — Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) Executive Director Steve Tambini was on hand at the meeting of the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) on February 2, and he was questioned following his report. Hancock’s Fred Peckham, citing a “special meeting” involving the New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and DRBC, asked if a long-awaited revision of the 2011 natural gas drilling regulations was in fact underway. [Full Story] Feb 8, 2017 Gov. Tom Wolf’s state budget plan: 7 takeaways Reading Eagle Ron Southwick Saying he aims to support schools and cut government waste, Gov. Tom Wolf is proposing a $32.3 billion budget for the 2017-18 fiscal year that calls for no broad-based tax increases. Wolf’s budget would keep the state sales tax and the personal income tax flat. In his previous two budget addresses, Wolf had sought higher sales and income taxes to support schools and finance property tax reductions. Republican lawmakers, who control the General Assembly, strongly opposed increasing the sales and income taxes and made it clear they didn’t want a broad-based tax increase in this spending plan either. [Full Story] Feb 8, 2017 Suit Filed for Release of Fracking Chemical Information Big Sky Business Journal A coalition of Montana property owners and environmental groups filed suit to gain access to what is claimed to be proprietary information about the chemicals companies use for hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” The suit against the Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation was announced in a press release from The Natural Resources Defense Council. [Full Story] Feb 7, 2017 The contradictions at the heart of the fight over methane rules Why does industry oppose federal restrictions on emissions but aid states’ efforts? High Country News Cally Carswell In 2014, Colorado became the first state to regulate methane emissions from oil and gas drilling, with the goal of shrinking its carbon footprint and improving local air quality. While a few industry trade groups fought the rules, some producers, including Encana, Noble Energy and Anadarko, supported the measures. They even helped write the rules with the state and the Environmental Defense Fund. A couple years in, even the trade groups agree that the rules are reasonable and effective. This is about as close as the environmental regulatory world ever gets to kumbaya. [Full Story] Feb 7, 2017 Fracking ban to be introduced in Victoria after Coalition backs Government legislation ABC News Frances Bell Victoria will become the first state in Australia to permanently ban fracking, after the Opposition party room agreed to support legislation introduced by the Andrews Government. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Fight over fracking puts the squeeze on Broomfield school The Gazette Joey Bunch The Prospect Ridge Academy board in Broomfield returned a badly needed donation and turned down a sponsorship offer for its annual fundraising gala from the fracking company Extraction Oil and Gas. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Industry to push 2 natural gas access proposals during session MetroNews CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Lobbyists for West Virginia’s gas industry will not be making another run at forced pooling legislation during the upcoming legislative session, according to the executive director of the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association. Instead, Anne Blankenship said they’re focused on two other proposals designed to open up the Marcellus and Utica shales in the Mountain State to more horizontal drilling: (1) joint development and (2) co-tenancy. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 NYSEG proposes alternative fix to gas needs in Lansing Ithaca Journal Matt Weinstein With a proposed $17.8 million natural gas pipeline in development to boost service to existing customers in the Lansing area, officials at NYSEG have agreed to consider an alternative option. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Virginia bill to exclude fracking chemicals moving forward Language would deem the chemicals trade secrets WCYB Associated Press The House gave preliminary approval Monday to Del. Roxann Robinson’s bill that would exempt information about chemicals deemed a trade secret from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 House advances bill to hide fracking chemicals from public Auusta Free Press The House of Delegates today advanced a bill that would exempt information about chemicals used in fracking from public disclosure – even in the event of an emergency. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Maryland Senate Introduces Bill To Ban Fracking Independent Women’s Forum Jillian Kay Melchior As Maryland’s moratorium on fracking nears expiration, state senators introduced legislation that would ban the practice outright. The debate over that fracking ban “is expected to become one of the most heavily contested environmental battles of the 2017 General Assembly session,” reports the Baltimore Sun. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Response to fracking protest was an ‘overreaction’ says Labour leader Scunthorpe Telegraph Calvin Robinson The leader of North Lincolnshire Council’s Labour group has said that the authority’s response to anti-fracking protesters was an ‘overreaction’. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Nature Abounds Releases Statement on the U.S. House Voting to Rollback Methane Emissions Rules Gant News DUBOIS – Nature Abounds, a national environmental non-profit, has released the following statement from President Melinda Hughes, on the U.S. House voting to rollback methane emissions rules. “… The U.S. House gave the oil and gas industry an early Valentine’s Day present, voting to permanently block the Methane and Waste Prevention Rule that reduces dangerous methane pollution released by the oil and gas industry on our public lands. [Full Story] Feb 6, 2017 Industry-Backed Congress Members Want to Roll Back Protections Against Dangerous Methane Pollution It’s time to put our health before polluter profits. Alternet Kathy Attar Industry-backed members of Congress have introduced legislation to roll back protections against harmful methane pollution from shale gas drilling (fracking) on public lands. [Full Story] Feb 5, 2017 Resident will protest Westmoreland’s approach to fracking Fredericksburg.com Cathy Dyson This month and next, the Westmoreland Board of Supervisors will seek public opinion on proposed ordinances that would severely limit gas and oil drilling in the county known for its rivers, streams and tributaries. But in one woman’s mind, the board’s proposal—which would put strict limits on where hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, can take place—doesn’t go far enough. Holly Harman, a Montross merchant and member of the county’s Wetlands Board, believes Westmoreland should have included an option to ban fracking because “that is overwhelmingly what the people wanted.” [Full Story] Feb 5, 2017 New London to consider ban on fracking waste The Day Judy Benson New London — The city has been asked to become the 11th municipality in the state to ban the disposal of waste from hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking, by a group of five residents concerned about harmful effects on the environment and public health that could result if the material is dumped on city roads or in the municipal wastewater treatment plant. [Full Story] Feb 5, 2017 DRILLER KILLER US President Donald Trump holds the key to the revival of Scotland’s North Sea oil industry Scottish Sun Chris Musson SCOTLAND’S oil industry may never recover from a price slump triggered by the US fracking boom, a top academic warns today. Professor Alex Kemp said the chances of the North Sea fields fulfilling their remaining potential are hanging in the balance — with Donald Trump playing a pivotal role. [Full Story] Feb 5, 2017 Former mayor sells drilling rights he owns under Clairton for $2.7 million Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Don Hopes Lloyd H. Fuge, mayor of Clairton from 1973 to 1977, purchased the oil and gas drilling rights under 506 acres in that Mon Valley mill town and seven surrounding municipalities 2½ years ago, for $1. The retired attorney bought the rights from the St. Clair Improvement Co., a transaction signed off on by the company’s president, Lloyd H. Fuge. Then, 4½ months ago, Mr. Fuge, who is 87 and in poor health, sold those same mineral rights underlying 2,360 homes, businesses and vacant lots — which include the rights to drill in the Marcellus and Utica natural gas shales — to EQT, a Pittsburgh-based natural gas drilling and development company, for $2.784 million. [Full Story] Feb 5, 2017 Pipeline project to move ahead, but not without some opposition Sun-Gazette Mike Reuther Expansion of the Williams Transco pipeline that will transport natural gas from the Marcellus Shale region to markets in the U.S. is expected to continue this year. [Full Story] Feb 4, 2017 Local group hopes to keep fracking away from Columbus area NBC 4 Ben Gelber COLUMBUS (WCMH)— Local organization Columbus Community Bill of Rights is hoping to garner enough signatures for a ballot initiative in time for the November 2017 election that would prevent the effects of fracking from ever reaching the Columbus area. [Full Story] Feb 4, 2017 Texas fracking has included diesel fuel, according to report Statesman Asher Price A new report by the nonprofit environmental group Environmental Integrity Project found 351 unpermitted oil-and-gas wells fracked with diesel fuels between 2010 and July 2014 by 33 different companies across 12 states, including Texas. [Full Story] Feb 4, 2017 G.O.P. Hurries to Slash Oil and Gas Rules, Ending Industries’ 8-Year Wait New York Times Eric Lipton & Coral Davenport WASHINGTON — The document carried the title “A Roadmap to Repeal,” a concise list of Obama administration environmental regulations that a Koch brothers-backed group was pressing President Trump and Congress to quickly reverse after Inauguration Day. [Full Story] Feb 3, 2017 Pipeline projects in limbo as energy commissioner departs AP News Matthew Daly WASHINGTON (AP) — Major natural gas pipeline projects along the East Coast and Midwest face uncertainty as the federal agency that oversees the work loses a commissioner and will be unable to decide on projects indefinitely under President Donald Trump. [Full Story] Feb 3, 2017 Fracking ban bill introduced in Maryland Senate Baltimore Sun Michael Dresser Opponents of the natural gas extraction method known as fracking introduced a bill in the Maryland Senate Friday to ban the practice. [Full Story] Feb 3, 2017 House votes to roll back Obama fracking rules Washington Examiner John Siciliano The House voted Friday to repeal an Obama administration regulation aimed at reducing methane emissions from fracking. [Full Story] Feb 3, 2017 Viewpoint: Any form of fracking is unsafe Pensacola News Journal Jim Tatum Opinion Recent opinion pieces in newspapers around Florida have given a very skewed and misleading overview of the fracking issue in Florida. Indeed, the oil industry has been in Florida since 1943, but fracking has only occurred once in 2013, and that resulted in a fine by the Florida DEP. [Full Story] Feb 3, 2017 Murrysville fracking ordinance may include 750-foot setback TribLive Patrick Varine Murrysville council will advertise an updated fracking ordinance that places setbacks at 750 feet between a well pad and a residence after a second lengthy debate this week that saw emotions flare on both sides. [Full Story] Feb 3, 2017 Statewide Poll Shows Support for Ban on Fracking WCBC With the clock winding down on Maryland’s two-year moratorium on fracking, a statewide poll of Maryland voters released recently shows broad public support for permanently banning what some maintain is a “risky” drilling practice. In Garrett County, a prime target area for the oil and gas industry, voters oppose fracking by an even stronger margin. The poll, conducted by the nonpartisan firm OpinionWorks, found that Maryland voters support a ban on fracking by a 2-to-1 margin, with a 56% majority supporting the ban and only 28% opposed. [Full Story] Feb 2, 2017 Oil train foes plan new lawsuit over Port of Albany operation Politico New York Marie J. French ALBANY — Opponents of an oil train-to-barge terminal at the Port of Albany are planning a second federal lawsuit as the facility’s operator, Global Partners, challenges a state crackdown. [Full Story] Feb 2, 2017 Another state legislature just introduced a ban on fracking Maryland’s moratorium on fracking has nearly expired, but lawmakers are seeking to make it permanent. Think Progress Samantha Page No one is fracking in Maryland right now?—?and lawmakers there just introduced a bill to ensure the practice is permanently banned. With 23 co-sponsors, the fracking ban introduced this week already has the support of nearly half of the state senate. An assembly version of the bill is expected to be introduced next week. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 This lawmaker wants to ease rules on drilling in national parks, and conservationists aren’t happy. Washington Post Darryl Fears It’s safe to say that Rep. Paul A. Gosar (R-Ariz.) is no friend of environmentalists. He boycotted Pope Francis’s speech to Congress in 2015 because the pontiff addressed climate change. He received a score of 3 percent that year from the League of Conservation Voters, significantly below the House average of 41 percent. But his latest move came as a surprise to many. Gosar submitted a resolution Monday that threatens to repeal the National Park Service’s authority to manage private drilling for oil, gas and minerals at 40 national parks, according to the National Parks Conservation Association. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 Protesters Rally in Front of State House to Oppose Fracking CBS Baltimore Jack Chavez ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — With a state moratorium on hydraulic fracturing — or “fracking” — set to expire in eight months, Maryland legislators and activists are throwing their support behind a permanent ban. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 This Republican Florida Lawmaker Wants to Ban Fracking as This U.S. Rep. Wants to Abolish the EPA EcoWatch Lorraine Chow Under President Donald Trump, a GOP-controlled legislature and a potentially conservative judicial branch, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the federal government will put environmental regulations and the fight against climate change on the wayside. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 Fracking dispute pits Colorado attorney general vs. Boulder County Agri-Pulse Jodi Delapaz WASHINGTON, Feb. 1, 2017 – Colorado’s Republican attorney general sent a letter last week to the Democrats who control the Boulder County Board of Commissioners, calling their moratorium on new oil and gas development in the county “illegal.” [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 Congress attacks national parks by targeting oil and gas drilling safeguards Wilderness Society A new congressional resolution seeks to make it easier to drill in national parks Arizona Representative Paul Gosar introduced a resolution in the House that intends to make it easier to drill for oil and natural gas in some of our most treasured national parks – repealing carefully considered improvement to decades-old rules. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 Using the CRA on BLM rule would increase government waste The Hill Ryan Alexander Over the next week the House will consider overturning a laundry list of regulations adopted by the last administration using the Congressional Review Act or CRA. If successful, this would mark only the second time Congress has overturned a rule using the CRA, and for good reason. The CRA is a sledgehammer approach to ending government regulation – it prevents adoption of any similar rule, ever, unless Congress explicitly passes legislation to allow it. In at least the case of the new methane rule, Congress should not swing the sledgehammer. Doing so will only lead to an increase in government waste. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 This Republican Florida Lawmaker Wants to Ban Fracking as This U.S. Rep. Wants to Abolish the EPA EcoWatch Lorraine Chow Under President Donald Trump, a GOP-controlled legislature and a potentially conservative judicial branch, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the federal government will put environmental regulations and the fight against climate change on the wayside. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 New analysis suggests ways for landowners to limit fracking and mineral extraction without regulations An analysis by experts in Earth science and environmental law at Stanford and other institutions proposes creating underground easements to allow private landowners to restrict hydraulic fracturing and mining. Stanford Devon Ryan Private landowners concerned about the risks of fracking may be able to prevent mining for oil and natural gas on their land – in perpetuity – without government regulation, according to a new analysis by Rob Jackson, professor of Earth system science at Stanford University, and his colleagues. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 University of Maryland students want state lawmakers to permanently ban fracking DBK Natalie Schwartz With the state of Maryland’s fracking ban almost expired, University of Maryland MaryPIRG members are building a coalition of partners to garner support to propose legislation that would permanently ban fracking in this state. Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, involves injecting high-pressure water, sand and chemicals deep into an underground well to crack shale rock, which releases the natural gas stored inside. In May 2015, the Maryland General Assembly passed a bill that created a two-and-a-half year moratorium on fracking in the state — a bill that is set to expire in October. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 Here’s What’s at Stake If Congress Kills the Methane Rules Republicans are moving to undo Obama’s fracking regulations. Mother Jones Jonathan Thompson Now, the oil and gas industry and its allies in Washington, DC, are echoing the miners of old as they try to do away with the Interior Department’s Methane and Waste Prevention Rule, which was finalized in November of last year. The industry’s arguments today are just as flawed as the miners’ were a century ago. [Full Story] Feb 1, 2017 Drilling wastewater facility gets airing Wyoming County Press Examiner Reggie Sheffield Laceyville residents living near the site of a proposed waste water treatment facility watched and listened closely last Tuesday (Jan. 24) as company officials from FAST Recycling laid out their plans to turn the former Laceyville Elementary School into a 24-hour recycling center for the oil and gas industry. [Full Story] Jan 31, 2017 Virginia House Votes to Keep Fracking Chemical Cocktails a Secret EcoWatch Lorraine Chow Virginia’s House of Delegates voted 59-37 on Monday in favor of a bill that would allow fracking companies to keep their chemical cocktails a secret. HB 1678 states that “chemical ingredient names, the chemical abstracts number for a chemical ingredient, or the amount or concentration of chemicals or ingredients used to stimulate a well” are exempt from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. [Full Story] Jan 31, 2017 Griswold fracking panel starts its work Bhe Bulletin Mary Biekert GRISWOLD – A committee committed to addressing fracking waste concerns got started with its work Monday night. The Fracking Ad-hoc Committee held its first official meeting at Town Hall to appoint positions and discuss its mission statement and goals. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 Fracking chemical recipes could be kept secret in Virginia under bill passed by House Roanoke Times Graham Moomaw RICHMOND — Chemical recipes used in fracking, the controversial method of extracting natural gas and oil by high-pressure ground injections, could be kept secret under legislation that passed the Virginia House of Delegates on Monday. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 Baseline results in for injection well water study Athens News David DeWitt Baseline water-quality testing conducted by Ohio University employees on behalf of Athens County near fracking waste injection wells showed some chemicals at several sites exceeding secondary maximum contamination levels, as well as Ohio Department of Health advisory levels. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 Senate Environmental Committee Reports Out Bills On Natural Gas Royalty Reform PA Environment Digest The Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee Tuesday reported out two bills introduced by Majority Chair Sen. Gene Yaw (R-Lycoming) to reform the way oil and natural gas royalties consider post-production costs. The bills include– — Senate Bill 138 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) further providing for the calculation of proceeds paid to interest owners (sponsor summary); and — Senate Bill 139 (Yaw-R-Lycoming) establishes the Natural Gas Lease Anti-Retaliation Act (sponsor summary). [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 Senate Bill Would Make State Methane Limits No More Stringent Than Feds PA Environment Digest Sen. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Allegheny) this week introduced Senate Bill 175 which would prohibit DEP from adopting methane emission regulations for the oil and gas industry or any source that are more stringent than federal standards. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 Sen. Baker Tries Again To Add Natural Gas Gathering Lines To One Call Safety Program PA Environment Digest Sen. Lisa Baker (R-Luzerne) Thursday introduced legislation– Senate Bill 242– to add natural gas gathering lines to the PA One Call utility construction safety program so they can be identified and mapped for emergency services. A similar effort failed last year when the House stripped the provision from Senate Bill 1235, also sponsored by Sen. Baker, after stiff opposition from conventional oil and gas drillers. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 Natural Gas Impact Fee Revenue Shrinks Another $13.1 Million For 2016 PA Environment Digest The Independent Fiscal Office Monday said the Act 13 drilling impact fee will being in $13.1 million less than last year for a total of $174.6 million. That’s down $61.2 million from its high in 2013 of $225.7 million– a 27 percent reduction. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 In reply to critics, agency proposes more transparency for well-fracking requests ADN Alex DeMarban In an apparent bow to critics and to increase transparency in state government decisions, the state’s oil-well regulator on Wednesday proposed notifying the public and accepting comments on applications for hydraulic fracturing operations. The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission currently does not issue public notices or hold hearings when an operator applies for a permit to drill a well and frack it to increase oil and gas production. Fracking is controversial in the Lower 48, where critics have charged it has led to contamination of well water, but officials in Alaska say it has been done here safely for years. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 9,442 Citizen-Reported Fracking Complaints Reveal 12-Years of Suppressed Data EcoWatch Laurel Peltier Guess what was found in Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) filing cabinets after gas operators drilled 10,027 fracking wells over the last 12 years? Only 9,442 citizen-reported fracking complaints. And 44 percent of those are drinking water-related. Pennsylvania’s DEP finally released the complaints to Public Herald, an investigative journalism nonprofit. There’s much to learn from Pennsylvania’s now-public 9,442 fracking complaints as legislators decide to frack or not to frack in Western Maryland. [Full Story] Jan 30, 2017 9,442 Citizen-Reported Fracking Complaints Reveal 12-Years of Suppressed Data EcoWatch Laurel Peltier Guess what was found in Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection’s (DEP) filing cabinets after gas operators drilled 10,027 fracking wells over the last 12 years? Only 9,442 citizen-reported fracking complaints. And 44 percent of those are drinking water-related. Pennsylvania’s DEP finally released the complaints to Public Herald, an investigative journalism nonprofit. There’s much to learn from Pennsylvania’s now-public 9,442 fracking complaints as legislators decide to frack or not to frack in Western Maryland. [Full Story] Jan 29, 2017 Bill to ban fracking in state important legislation News-Press Rob Moher For the past three years, the controversy of fracking-like oil drilling practices in Florida have been hotly contested, and rightfully so. These enhanced forms of oil extraction have been linked to surface oil spills, illegal disposal of toxic wastewater and the potential risk of contamination of our drinking water supply. [Full Story] Jan 28, 2017 Andrew J. O’Connor: In defense of civil disobedience on fracking Daily Camera Andrew J. O’Connor Opinion In defense of civil disobedience in Lafayette and North Dakota, it is important to look at the facts about fracking. Fracking does not exist to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. It exists to make maximum amount of profits for oil and gas companies. Economists and geologists agree that any petroleum that companies get from here on will require drilling wells deeper and fracking. [Full Story] Jan 28, 2017 DEBATE OVER ALASKA FRACKING RULES Webcenter11 A commission overseeing oil and gas drilling in Alaska is proposing a 10-day public comment period on applications for hydraulic fracturing projects. [Full Story] Jan 27, 2017 Lawmakers push for fracking ban in Florida Washington County News Jim Saunders TALLAHASSEE – Trying to end a debate about the possibility of fracking in Florida, a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday backed a proposed ban on the controversial method of drilling for oil and natural gas. [Full Story] Jan 27, 2017 GOP lines up resolutions to undo coal, methane rules The Hill Devin Henry House Republicans are preparing to vote next week on two resolutions undoing pollution rules issued in the closing months of the Obama administration. [Full Story] Jan 27, 2017 ChangeFest Speakers Rally for Driscoll’s Boycott, Against Domestic Violence & for Fracking Ban San Diego Free Press Dan Bacher Speakers and musicians covered a range of issues, ranging from violence against women, to the Driscoll’s boycott in support of indigenous farmworkers in Mexico, to successful campaigns to ban fracking in San Benito and Monterey Counties, to the No DAPL struggle at Standing Rock, to the successful struggle by the City of Vallejo to stop oil trains from running through the city. [Full Story] Jan 27, 2017 Increased Fracking and Pipeline Operations in Ohio Threaten Many Animal Species CleveScene Eric Sandy According to a filing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the NEXUS and Rover pipeline projects (and the dozens of other energy infrastructure projects laying claim to Ohio) will “impact habitat for at least 16 federally listed threatened and endangered species” (on top of 56 state-listed threatened or endangered species, according to additional filings). FERC has approved the environmental impact of both named pipeline projects without comment on the matter of endangered species in Ohio. [Full Story] Jan 27, 2017 Anti-fracking activists say Niles residents need evacuation plan Vindy.com Ed Runyan A handful of members of the environmental group Frackfree Mahoning Valley left fliers at homes on the city’s south side urging residents to investigate the need for an evacuation plan for their neighborhood. [Full Story] Jan 27, 2017 FRANCE’S NATIONAL ASSEMBLY BANS SHALE GAS DEVELOPMENTS (AGAIN) Natural Gas World The lower chamber of the French parliament passed January 25 a long-anticipated reform of the mining code which includes a complete ban of any shale gas developments reviving a highly sensitive debate. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Fearing Protests, Pipeline Execs Show Muted Reaction to Trump’s Dakota Access, Keystone Orders DeSmog Blog Sharon Kelly If President Donald Trump expected to hear roars of approval from the pipeline industry after this week’s executive orders pushing the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline (DAPL) forward, he might have been hugely disappointed. Reaction at the Marcellus-Utica Midstream Conference and Exhibition in Pittsburgh on Wednesday was remarkably muted. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Despite Senate Inquiry into Potential Conflicts of Interest, FERC Approves Spectra Energy’s Atlantic Bridge Project DeSmog Blog Itai Vardi The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has approved the construction of a new gas pipeline project, despite an ongoing inquiry by two U.S. senators into a possible conflict of interest in its environmental review. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Colo. Attorney General Threatens Lawsuit Over Boulder County Oil, Gas Moratorium KUNC Jackie Fortier Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman sent a letter to Boulder County Commissioners Jan. 26 threatening legal action if they don’t begin permitting new oil and gas development including fracking, on unincorporated areas within the county by Feb. 10. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Florida State Senator Wants to Outlaw Fracking in the State’s Fragile Environment Ring of Fire Network A Florida State Senator is sponsoring a bill which, if passed, would ban all fracking in the state, citing Florida’s fragile foundation as reason for the ban. Republican State Senator Dana Young of Tampa proposed SB 442 which would ban all forms of fracking in the state in order to preserve Florida’s fragile limestone foundation. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Murrysville weighs 700-foot buffer as fracking ordinance takes shape TribLive Patrick Varine After nearly four hours of debate over how to determine setbacks in their fracking ordinance, members of Murrysville council ended up about 100 feet from where they began. Council next month will look at maps showing a 700-foot setback between any protected structures and the edge of a drilling well pad. Within that setback will be a 400-foot “sterile zone” where no construction or other activity can take place. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Opponents want pipeline-related DEC permits rescinded North Country Public Radio Karen DeWitt Jan 26, 2017 — President Donald Trump revived the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipeline with a highly publicized executive order this week. In New York state, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration has quietly acted to further energy pipelines across the state. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 TransCanada Submits New Application To Build Keystone XL Pipeline NPR Jeff Brady The company that wants to build the controversial Keystone XL oil pipeline says it has submitted a new permit application to the U.S. State Department. The TransCanada announcement came just two days after President Trump took executive actions to speed the approval process for both the Keystone XL and Dakota Access Pipelines. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 FRACKING BAN IN THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE WMFE 90.76 Monivette Cordeiro Florida Sen. Dana Young, a Tampa Republican, introduced a measure this week to ban all types of fracking, including hydraulic fracturing, a controversial process of extracting gas and oil from underground by injecting water, sand and chemicals into rock formations. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Panel amends and OKs bills on chemicals used in fracking LocalKicks Tyler Hammel RICHMOND – Two bills that would let gas-drilling companies keep their chemicals secret from the public during hydraulic fracturing were approved Wednesday by a Senate subcommittee. Senate Bills 1291 and 1292, by Sen. Ben Chafin, R-Lebanon, are intended to protect trade secrets of companies that use hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground to break open rock formations containing natural gas and oil. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Doomsday Clock Now Two and a Half Minutes to Midnight, Thanks to Trump EcoWatch Diedre Fulton The symbolic Doomsday Clock inched closer to midnight on Thursday and we have President Donald Trump largely to thank for the ominous development. At the National Press Club in Washington, DC on Thursday morning, the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists’ Science and Security Board moved the hands of the iconic clock 30 seconds closer to “midnight” or the end of the world. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Two Major Pipeline Spills Reported Same Week Trump Advances KXL, DAPL EcoWatch Lorraine Chow Two major pipeline spills were reported the same week that President Donald Trump signed orders to move the Keystone XL (KXL) and Dakota Access (DAPL) pipelines forward. The recent breaches highlight the dangers of unreliable fossil fuel infrastructure in North America. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Government Scientists at Climate Conference Terrified to Speak With the Press EcoWatch Sharon Lerner While Donald Trump was reviving both the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, muzzling federal employees, freezing EPA contracts and first telling the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to remove mentions of climate change from its website—and then reversing course—many of the scientists who work on climate change in federal agencies were meeting just a few miles from the White House to present and discuss their work. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Aspirations for Constitution Pipeline revived amid federal policy shift Albany Business Review Robin K. Cooper Construction workers believe they have a new ally in their three-year-long quest to build a 124-mile natural gas line between northeastern Pennsylvania and Schoharie County, New York. Backers of the proposed $875 million Constitution Pipeline say a shift in federal environmental policy gives them new support, if not leverage, as they advocate for 1,300 jobs building a pipeline to carry gas from the Marcellus Shale to customers in the Northeast. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Besieged by climate controversy, ExxonMobil puts a climate scientist on its board Washington Post Steven Mufson Besieged by court battles over its past positions on climate change, ExxonMobil has added a climate scientist to its board of directors. Some environmental groups see that as a positive thing; others call it too little, too late to make amends for contributing to global warming. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Iowa spill is largest of diesel fuel in US since 2010 Washington Post David Pitt DES MOINES, Iowa — Workers were expected to complete cleaning up Thursday about 140,000 gallons of diesel fuel that spewed from a broken pipeline onto an Iowa farm, the largest U.S. diesel spill since 2010, federal authorities said. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 . Strangling a Huge Climate Policy Machine Won’t Be Easy for Trump Inside Climate News JOHN H. CUSHMAN JR., LISA SONG, ZAHRA HIRJI ZAHRA HIRJI In the early days of what appears to be a clampdown on federal agencies who do climate work, it’s been a bumpy ride for the Trump transition team [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 CDC’s canceled climate change conference is back on — thanks to Al Gore The Washington Post Brady Dennis It turns out there will be a conference in Atlanta next month about climate change and its effects on public health. It just won’t have the federal government behind it. The reason? Former vice president Al Gore. “He called me and we talked about it and we said, ‘There’s still a void and still a need.’ We said, ‘Let’s make this thing happen,’ ” said Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association. “It was a no-brainer.” [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Official: Trump wants to slash EPA workforce, budget AP News MICHAEL BIESECKER WASHINGTON (AP) — The former head of President Donald Trump’ transition team at the Environmental Protection Agency says he expects the new administration to seek significant budget and staff cuts. Myron Ebell left the transition team last week. Ebell says in an interview with The Associated Press that his specific proposals to the White House remain confidential. But asked what he personally would like to see, Ebell replied that slashing the agency workforce by half would be a good start. Ebell predicts the president may seek to cut about $1 billion from the EPA’s $8 billion annual budget. He also says Trump likely will seek significant reductions to the agency’s workforce of about 15,000 employees. The transition staff at EPA has mandated a temporary media blackout and a freeze on contracts and grants. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 FERC Bay to step down, leaving commission hamstrung E & E Newswire Hannah Northey Norman Bay announced his resignation from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission today, hours after President Trump named Cheryl LaFleur as acting chairwoman. Bay in a letter to Trump said he would leave his post Feb. 3, meaning the commission will now have only two members and will be unable to make high-profile decisions like rulemakings until a new commissioner is named and confirmed. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Lawsuit Launched Over Fracking in Wayne National Forest Feds Fail to Address Danger to Wildlife Habitat, Streams Center for Biological Diversity Press Release ATHENS, Ohio— Conservation groups today filed a notice of intent to sue the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over invalid and outdated Endangered Species Act approvals of oil and gas leasing plans for the Wayne National Forest. The Center for Biological Diversity, Ohio Environmental Council, Heartwood and Sierra Club are challenging the approvals for failing to consider the effects of fracking, white-nose syndrome and climate change on the endangered Indiana bat and other protected species threatened with extinction. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Conservation groups threaten lawsuit to end auctions, ban fracking in Wayne National Forest Cleveland.com James F. McCarty CLEVELAND, Ohio – Four conservation groups on Thursday said they will sue the U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in an attempt to ban fracking at the Wayne National Forest in Southeast Ohio. In December, the BLM auctioned 719 acres of Ohio’s only national forest for $1.7 million to 22 oil and gas companies. The BLM has scheduled a second auction for March 23 to auction an additional 1,186 acres of forest land in Monroe County, which contains what is believed to be the state’s richest concentration of fossil fuels. [Full Story] Jan 26, 2017 Why Environmental Groups Are Targeting Natural Gas in the Age of President Trump TIME Magazine Justin Worland More than 200 sites of pending natural gas power plants and thousands of miles of pipelines represent the next frontier in environmental activism focused on halting fossil fuel development, according to a new report. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 PORTER RANCH RESIDENTS CLAIM NEW GAS SMELL FROM STORAGE FIELD CAUSING ILLNESS, RASHES ABC News Jory Rand PORTER RANCH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — Residents in Porter Ranch, the site of the worst natural gas leak in U.S. history last winter, said they can smell gas again and are getting sick. The Dormani family had to leave the community for seven months during the leak and only returned after spending thousands of dollars ripping out all their old carpeting and upholstery. “(My son) had a nose bleed last night. We smelled gas Sunday night,” Sharon Dormani said. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Trump officials suspend plan to delete EPA climate web pages Science Magazine obin Bravender & Hannah Hess Originally published by E&E; News Trump administration officials appear to have walked back plans to scrub climate change references from U.S. EPA’s website. “We’ve been told to stand down,” an EPA employee told E&E; News today. That new directive comes after staff were told yesterday to remove the agency’s climate change page from its website, worrying climate change activists and sending data specialists scrambling to download files. The backlash that erupted after reports surfaced last night that the climate page would be eliminated may have prompted administration officials to change course. News of the plans was first reported last night by Reuters. EPA’s press office did not respond to requests for comment today. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Governor Cuomo Announces Approval of Largest Offshore Wind Project in the Nation New York State Press Release 90 Megawatt Offshore Wind Farm 30 Miles Off the Coast of Long Island Will Create Jobs and Power 50,000 Long Island Homes with Clean, Resilient and Affordable Energy Project is Part of Governor Cuomo’s Clean Energy Standard to Secure 50 Percent of the State’s Electricity Supply from Renewable Sources by 2030 [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Trump’s moves against EPA cast uncertainty over local environmental programs Politico DAVID GIAMBUSSO and MARIE J. FRENCH Less than a week into his presidency, Donald Trump is already making good on his promise to overhaul the Environmental Protection Agency, and the early moves by his administration have sent officials and advocates into panic mode. Trump has ordered a freeze on new contracts and grants, including task orders and work assignments, until they can be reviewed. The same was ordered for all regulations in the pipeline. The EPA’s climate page is being edited and scientists at the agency are facing an internal review by the administration before their findings can be released. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Trump’s Reported FERC Chair Pick Could Signal a More Utility-Friendly Stance Green Tech Media Jeff St. John Democrat Cheryl LaFleur is a former utility exec who has expressed concern over FERC’s previous orders opening up market competition. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 State Agency Considers Public Notice On Fracking Applications KBBI Elizabeth Haarball The state agency that oversees oil and gas drilling is proposing a ten-day comment period for applications to use hydraulic fracturing on an oil or gas well. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Human-Induced Earthquakes on the Rise EcoWatch Gillian Foulger, Jo Gluyas & Miles Wilson Today, earthquakes caused by humans occur on a much greater scale. Events over the last century have shown mining is just one of many industrial activities that can induce earthquakes large enough to cause significant damage and death. Filling of water reservoirs behind dams, extraction of oil and gas and geothermal energy production are just a few of the modern industrial activities shown to induce earthquakes. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 SoCalGas stops withdrawing natural gas from Aliso Canyon field Los Angeles Daily News Wes Woods A day after withdrawing natural gas from Aliso Canyon storage facility in the northwest San Fernando Valley on Tuesday and early Wednesday – for the first time in a year – the Southern California Gas Co. has canceled the removal. Recent cold weather had increased demand on natural gas across Southern California, gas company officials said. But at 9 a.m. Wednesday, officials stopped withdrawing. “This morning, as a result of the cold weather, hourly customer demand on our system significantly exceeded gas supplies being delivered through interstate pipelines and our other storage facilities,” company officials explained. “Withdrawals from Aliso Canyon played a critical role in helping us meet that peak demand. Over the last hour, demand on our system dropped and we were able to suspend withdrawals from Aliso Canyon.” [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 French Lawmakers Back Shale Gas Ban E&P; Reuters Lawmakers in France’s lower house of Parliament gave preliminary backing on Jan. 25 for a total ban on shale gas exploration and extraction. However, it is not certain that the ban will go to the Senate and return to the lower house for a final vote before parliamentary work is suspended in February so lawmakers can campaign for a legislative election in June. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 GOP Fracking Ban Enters The Political Pipeline Health News Florida Jim Ash Republican Senator Dana Young of Tampa is making good on her campaign promise to file a statewide fracking ban. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Fracking bills draw concern from environmentalists, McAuliffe Daily Press Travis Fain The names of chemicals used to frack natural gas in Virginia would be public information under legislation backed by the oil and gas industry and moving forward at the statehouse. [Full Story] Jan 25, 2017 Panel amends and OKs bills on hiding fracking chemicals Daily Progress Tyler Hammel RICHMOND — Two bills that would let gas-drilling companies keep their hydraulic fracturing chemicals secret from the public were approved Wednesday by a Senate subcommittee. Senate Bills 1291 and 1292, by Sen. Ben Chafin, R-Lebanon, are intended to protect trade secrets of companies that use fracking, which involves pumping water and chemicals into the ground to break open rock formations containing natural gas and oil. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Key Trump Donor Stands to Profit from Order to Approve Keystone XL, Dakota Access Pipelines Desmog Blog Steve Horn On January 24, President Donald Trump signed two executive orders calling for the approval of the Dakota Access and Keystone XL pipelines, owned by Energy Transfer Partners and TransCanada, respectively. He also signed an order calling for expedited environmental reviews of domestic infrastructure projects, such as pipelines. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Alberta research shows fracking fluids have ‘detrimental’ effects on fish The Globe and Mail Bob Weber Research has found that liquids released from fracked oil and gas wells can harm fish even at low concentrations. “When we put these frack fluids in, the fluids themselves generate chemicals that have detrimental biological effects,” said University of Alberta biologist Greg Goss. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Pope spurs Republicans to shift climate views EurekAlert Cornell University After Pope Francis framed climate change as a moral issue in his second encyclical, conservative Republicans shifted and began to see environmental dilemmas in the same way, according to a new study led by Cornell University communication researchers. “When Pope Francis issued his encyclical paper in June 2015, he emerged as a strong advocate for climate action,” said Jonathon P. Schuldt, assistant professor of communication. “He is in many ways uniquely positioned as a global moral authority – a religious authority – and his position is very visible.” Schuldt, along with Adam R. Pearson of Pomona College and Rainer Romero-Canyas and Dylan Larson-Konar, both of the Environmental Defense Fund, sought to understand a mechanism for changing public opinion about climate change. Their research, “Brief Exposure to Pope Francis Heightens Moral Beliefs About Climate Change,” was published online in the journal Climatic Change, Dec. 30. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Reports: Trump to name LaFleur to head FERC UtilityDive Robert Walton Dive Brief: President Donald Trump is expected to nominate Commissioner Cheryl LaFleur to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, according to media reports, replacing current Chairman Norman Bay. While all current FERC members are Democrats, Bloomberg reports LaFleur is seen as more sympathetic to the industry. She previously served as executive vice president and acting CEO of National Grid USA. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Trump Signs Executive Orders On Keystone XL, Dakota Access Pipelines Huffington Post Alexander C. Kaufman President Donald Trump signed executive orders on Tuesday to push forward the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines, opening new fronts in his looming war with environmentalists. Keystone was rejected in 2015 by former President Barack Obama after a seven-year review. Trump’s orders clear the way to continue building Energy Transfer Partners’ 1,172-mile Dakota Access project, which has been stalled since the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers halted construction in December amid massive protests led by the Standing Rock Sioux. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Trump: Environmental regulations are ‘out of control’ Politico NOLAN D. MCCASKILL Environmental regulations are “out of control,” President Donald Trump said Tuesday. Speaking at a roundtable with automobile industry leaders, Trump announced “a very big push” from his administration to have companies produce products in the U.S. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Trump advances Keystone, Dakota Access pipelines The Hill Timothy Cama President Trump on Tuesday signed orders to advance construction of the controversial Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines. The orders do not grant the final permits needed for the oil pipelines but will move both projects toward approval, a person familiar with the action said. The Trump administration began to inform lawmakers starting late Monday that the orders were coming. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Testing the waters Assessing impact of hydraulic fracturing on aquatic animals EurekAlert UNIVERSITY OF ALBERTA Researchers at the University of Alberta have conducted the first-ever study to use hydraulic fracturing fluids to examine effects on aquatic animals, such as rainbow trout. Horizontal drilling with high-volume hydraulic fracturing is a practice used globally for extracting oil and gas from tight reservoirs. Hydraulic fracturing uses large quantities of water and poses many environmental hazards in water, from contamination to spills. A recent study examines the impact of the fluids produced by hydraulic fracturing on freshwater rainbow trout. Conducted in collaboration with industry partner Encana, the study was led by Daniel Alessi and Greg Goss in the Faculty of Science and Jon Martin in the Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 UNDERSTANDING DONALD TRUMP’S PLANS FOR OIL DRILLING, FEDERAL LANDS, AND CLEAN ENERGY Newsweek Elizabeth Shogren Open the Whitehouse.gov website since President Donald Trump took over and the first item under top issues is his America First Energy Plan. While short on details, the new president’s blueprint is chock full of contradictions and outdated assertions about the status of America’s energy supply. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Lawmakers push for fracking ban in Florida My Panhandle Brady Calhoun Trying to end a debate about the possibility of fracking in Florida, a bipartisan group of lawmakers Tuesday backed a proposed ban on the controversial method of drilling for oil and natural gas. “This bill is concise and straightforward: It bans fracking of all types in Florida,” said Sen. Dana Young, a Tampa Republican who filed the proposal (SB 442) on Tuesday. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 Dana Young files bill to ban fracking ‘fulfilling my contract with voters’ Tampa Bay Times Mary Ellen Kias A Republican state senator who faced a competitive election in which opponents accused her of being pro-fracking has filed legislation to ban the controversial practice in Florida. [Full Story] Jan 24, 2017 EPA Freezes Grants, Tells Employees Not To Talk About It, Sources Say Huffington Post Kate Sheppard WASHINGTON ? The Environmental Protection Agency has frozen its grant programs, according to sources there. EPA staff has been instructed to freeze all its grants ? an extensive program that includes funding for research, redevelopment of former industrial sites, air quality monitoring and education, among other things ? and told not to discuss this order with anyone outside the agency, according to a Hill source with knowledge of the situation. An EPA staffer provided the information to the congressional office anonymously, fearing retaliation. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 How Rick Perry as Energy Secretary Could Mean More Fracking Food & Water Watch A few years ago, the former Texas governor wanted to eliminate the Department of Energy. Weeks ago, he was confused about what it does. He might be running it soon– and that could mean more fracking. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Trump Administration Imposes Freeze On EPA Grants and Contracts ProPublica Andrew Revkin and Jesse Eisinger The Trump administration has imposed a freeze on grants and contracts by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a move that could affect a significant part of the agency’s budget allocations and even threaten to disrupt core operations ranging from toxic cleanups to water quality testing, according to records and interviews. In one email exchange obtained by ProPublica on Monday, an EPA contracting officer concluded a note to a storm water management employee this way: [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Making sense of President Trump’s energy plan High Country News Elizabeth Shogren Experts say his plan to bring back coal and increase oil and gas defies reason. Open the Whitehouse.gov website since President Donald Trump took over and the first item under top issues is his America First Energy Plan. While short on details, the new president’s blueprint is chock full of contradictions and outdated assertions about the status of America’s energy supply. The President’s plan is brief and vague and doesn’t include citations to research backing up his assertions. Usually presidents and even candidates would accompany their policy blueprints with background materials. Such details may yet be forthcoming from the Trump administration. Without them, it’s difficult to thoroughly analyze the new president’s vision. Still, now that he’s president, Trump’s pronouncements – even if vague – warrant vetting. Academic energy experts say even the broad outlines of the president’s plan reveal inconsistencies and basic misunderstandings of the state of the nation’s energy economy. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Arnold Takes On Trump: Schwarzenegger Rips EPA Pick Scott Pruitt Over Auto Emissions Huffington Post Ed Mazza Former California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is ripping into President Donald Trump’s EPA pick, Scott Pruitt, for suggesting the Golden State may no longer be allowed to set its own stricter emission rules for cars and trucks. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 FERC Trump to ask LaFleur to serve as acting chair — source E & E Newswire Hannah Northey President Trump is likely to ask Democrat Cheryl LaFleur to lead the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission until Republican members are confirmed, according to a source close to the transition effort. Trump advisers recommended LaFleur, a former utility executive now in her second commission term, because Norman Bay, FERC’s current Democratic chairman, “is not aligned with the president’s agenda,” the source said. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 President Obama’s climate change legacy is clouded by his support of fracking Vice News The economic recovery that President Obama oversaw came with some costs to the environment, most notably in the increase in oil and gas extraction on American land. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Trump’s energy policy to focus on boosting fracking, reviving coal sector Mining.com Cecilia Jamasmie Following US President Donald Trump’s inauguration last week, his administration has confirmed its intentions to reverse Barack Obama’s climate change policies, boost fracking for oil and gas, and lift current restrictions affecting the coal mining sector. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Russia may like Trump but it hates fracking even more Athens News Dennis E. Powell Opinion Did you read the report a couple weeks ago about Russian interference in American politics? By this, I mean the one issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, “Assessing Russian Activities and Intentions in Recent US Elections.” It was released Jan. 6. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Villagers reveal concern over gas processing plant after fracking go-ahead Energy Voice Concern has been raised by residents in a village plans could be revived for a gas processing plant if a number of fracking licences get the go-ahead. [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Mining, fracking and construction are increasingly triggering EARTHQUAKES, researchers warn Daily Mail Gillian Foulger, Jon Gluyas & Miles Wilson Researchers reviewed the activities that cause human-induced earthquakes Most of these earthquakes were caused by mining and reservoirs behind dams The only evidence-based way to limit the size of potential earthquakes may be to limit the scale of the projects themselves [Full Story] Jan 23, 2017 Virginians call for solar, rejection of fossil fuels at Ditch Dirty Fuels Rally Augusta Free Press Virginians from across the Commonwealth converged on the state capitol today to call for state leaders to embrace clean energy solutions and to move away from dirty fuels. [Full Story] Jan 22, 2017 Hidden Data Suggests Fracking Created Widespread, Systemic Impact in Pennsylvania Public Herald Melissa A Troutman, Sierra Shamer & Joshua B. Pribanic After a three-year investigation in Pennsylvania, Public Herald has uncovered evidence of widespread and systemic impacts related to “fracking,” a controversial oil and gas technology. [Full Story] Jan 22, 2017 Economic cost of fracking Daily Item Opinion The oil and gas industries want us to think that drilling and fracking for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale is good for the economy. They want us to think that it will benefit all Pennsylvanians. But the facts don’t bear this out! All of the drilling and fracking benefits one group, and only one group — the oil and gas companies — not the rest of us. [Full Story] Jan 22, 2017 Study seeks water-well owners for injection-well study Athens News David DeWitt Ohio University is continuing to recruit residents with property near or adjacent to fracking waste injection wells in the Torch and Coolville areas to participate in a water-quality study. The study is being conducted by OU’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs, Torch CAN DO, the Buckeye Forest Council and the Athens County Fracking Action Network (ACFAN). The Sugar Bush Foundation, a supporting organization of the Ohio University Foundation, is funding the project. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 King George supervisors lobby for disclosure of fracking chemicals Fredericksburg.com Cathy Dyson Members of the King George County Board of Supervisors have added their voices to concerns about a proposed General Assembly bill that hides from the public record what chemicals are used in hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 Young To Unveil Fracking Ban Next Week WFSU Jim Ash A prominent Tampa Republican is making good on her promise to seek a ban on hydraulic fracturing in Florida. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 Murrysville fracking ordinance under review Trib Live Patrick Varine While critics of Murrysville’s current fracking ordinance may not yet know how much space will be required between gas wells and protected structures, one of their longtime suggestions — that the distance be measured from a well’s borehole — resonated with council. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 Fractured fracking facts: Rewriting energy history Trib Live Editorial Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz at best exaggerates wildly by claiming credit for the benefits of America’s fracking boom in his department’s exit memo. That’s quite something from an administration that, as The Daily Caller notes, “has pushed regulations to curb drilling” and “has repeatedly taken legal action against fracking.” [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 Day One Agenda for Trump Administration: Energy Deregulation EcoWatch Climate Nexus As Barack Obama moves out of the White House to thunderous applause from the scientific community, what’s on the energy and environment docket for Day One of the Trump Administration? Trump aides have promised swift and aggressive action on a long list of various campaign priorities, but remain opaque about the process and order of possible immediate changes. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 Trump Aides Prepare List of First Days’ Changes on Energy, Sources Say Bloomberg Jennifer A Dlouhy Donald Trump’s advisers have prepared a short list of energy and environmental policy changes he can take within hours of being sworn in Friday, including steps to limit the role that climate change plays in government decisions. The list includes nullifying President Barack Obama’s guidelines that federal agencies weigh climate change when approving pipelines, deciding what areas to open for drilling or taking other major actions, two people familiar with Trump’s transition planning say. Trump also is being counseled to suspend the government’s use of a metric known as the social cost of carbon until it can be reviewed and recalculated, and to rescind a 49-year-old executive order that put the State Department in charge of permitting border-crossing oil pipelines. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 As Trump prepares to enter the White House, Americans’ concern over climate change hits record levels James Murray Business Green As green businesses and environmental campaigner wait to see if Donald Trump’s inaugural address provides any indication as to his latest thinking on US and international climate policy, fresh evidence emerged this week to suggest any attempt by the new administration to curtail climate action could face significant public opposition. Trump has pledged to ‘cancel’ the Paris Agreement, tear up a raft of Obama era climate policies, and appoint a series of high profile climate sceptics to his cabinet. [Full Story] Jan 20, 2017 Point/Counterpoint: Dissecting Trump’s Fracking Policy Paste Tom Burson President Donald Trump, along with nearly the entirety of the Republican Party hopes to expand the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing, known as fracking. Fracking for natural gas is the process of breaking up shale rock formations underneath the Earth’s surface to extract the natural gas. Basically, a series of holes are drilled into the ground and then pumped with a water/chemical mixture to drive the natural gas out of the fissures in the shale. [Full Story] Jan 19, 2017 Did Senators Rush Through Rick Perry’s Energy Dept Hearing to Attend Corporate-Sponsored Inaugural Lunch? DeSmogBlog Steve Horn Compared to many other Senate confirmation hearings for potential Cabinet members, the hearing for U.S. Energy Secretary proved much faster and less rocky for nominee and former Texas Republican Governor Rick Perry. Perry’s hearing lasted about three and a half hours and included only two rounds of questioning. That was far shorter than either Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt’s nearly six hour hearing for Environmental Protection Agency head, in which he faced four rounds of questions, or the eight and a half hour hearing for Secretary of State nominee and retired ExxonMobil CEO, Rex Tillerson. Before this hearing, Perry was on the record as an enthusiastic climate change denier who previously failed to come up with either the name or the functions of the agency he could soon run. [Full Story] Jan 19, 2017 Under Tillerson, Exxon Maintained Ties with Saudi Arabia, Despite Dismal Human Rights Record DeSmogBlog Steve Horn During his Secretary of State confirmation hearing, recently retired ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson came under questioning by Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) about his stance on Saudi Arabia’s awful human rights record, a country which contains the biggest oil reserves on the planet and is a long-time ally of the U.S. While Tillerson offered mild criticism of Saudi Arabia’s treatment of women, LGBQT people, and others, several Senators found his response far from full-throated and said as much. A DeSmog investigation shows that Exxon has long been involved in Saudi Arabia’s oil and gas industry. Not only did the company, through its predecessor Standard Oil, help launch the industry there and co-owned the country’s first major export pipeline, but to this day it maintains deep business ties with Saudi Arabia and the industry in a variety of sectors, both there and in the U.S. [Full Story] Jan 19, 2017 Jack Latvala says he’ll support legislation banning fracking again in 2017 Session Saint Peters Blog Mitch Perry State Sen. Jack Latvala opposed a bill to regulate the use of fracking in the 2016 Session, and in the upcoming Session, he’ll support legislation that would do so again. [Full Story] Jan 19, 2017 Professor gets grant for well tests near fracking sites Duquesne Duke Brandon Added Residents of southwest Pennsylvania can learn if their well water has been contaminated by fracking operations for free — all thanks to a Duquesne professor and his students. [Full Story] Jan 19, 2017 Advocates say feds downplaying climate impacts of pipelines Southeast Energy News Elizabeth Ouzts The Atlantic Coast Pipeline wouldn’t cause more fracking or more gas-fired power production, federal regulators argued in a recent environmental review. Largely for that reason, the proposed 600-mile pipeline from West Virginia to North Carolina “will not contribute to [greenhouse gas] cumulative impacts or to climate change,” officials wrote. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 League of Women Voters of Virginia member presents fracking study in Lynchburg News & Advance Rachel Mahoney A League of Women Voters of Virginia committee member from Williamsburg informed area residents on Tuesday of the basic, need-to-know information on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, and proposed bills that would affect the procedure in Virginia. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 New Marcellus development boom will triple greenhouse gas emissions from PA’s natural gas Report forecasts thousands of new natural gas wells EurekaAlert PSE Healthy Energy Press Release Bristol, PA – Natural gas production on Pennsylvania’s vast black shale deposit known as the Marcellus Shale will nearly double by 2030 to meet growing demand, tripling Pennsylvania’s greenhouse gas emissions from the natural gas sector relative to 2012 levels, according to a report published today by Delaware Riverkeeper Network. The increase in greenhouse gas emissions will remain steady through 2045 with continued shale gas development, projects the report, “Lifecycle Greenhouse Gas Emissions Associated with Projected Future Marcellus Development.” [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Judge lets federal flaring rules take effect during lawsuit Gillette News Record Associated Press CHEYENNE — New nationwide rules to curtail the practice of burning off excess natural gas from oil and gas wells on federal land took effect as scheduled Tuesday after a judge said he saw no urgent reason to block them while a lawsuit moves ahead. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Firm proposes to drill 35 wells over three years 12 miles north of Paonia Daily Sentinel Dennis Webb Gunnison Energy is proposing drilling up to 35 Mancos shale wells over the next three years about 12 miles north of Paonia, and adjacent to where SG Interests wants to drill 146 wells. The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service are accepting public comment on what’s being called the North Fork Mancos master development plan proposal. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 After endless postponement, Obama administration’s fracking regulations likely to disappear HPPR Jonathan Baker In response to the fracking boom, the Obama administration set forth regulations to limit fracking on public and tribal lands. The rules marked the administrations most concerted efforts to control the controversial method of extracting oil and gas. But those regulations have been challenged by oil-friendly states, and have been stalled in federal court for years. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Trump’s EPA pick took hands-off approach to environmental crisis that shook Oklahoma CNN Politics Maeve Reston CNN)Oklahoma is one of the more unlikely places in the United States to experience earthquakes. But in the six years that Scott Pruitt has served as the state’s attorney general, Oklahoma has been rattled by hundreds of quakes with a magnitude of 3.0 and greater, with some areas facing the same level of risk as high-hazard parts of California. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Fight on fracking continues Westmoreland News After almost two years of work by the Westmoreland Planning Commission to restrict gas and oil drilling in Westmoreland County, the proposed new regulations have come before the Board of Supervisors. The board will review the proposed regulations and hold public hearings before voting on the matter. Throughout the last two years Westmoreland Planning Commission, in response to resident concerns over fracking, has worked to create regulations to restrict drilling for oil and gas. The restrictions apply to all drilling but focus on restricting practices unique to fracking as well. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Over 100 protest BLM plans to lease land near Chaco Canyon for fracking Santa Fe New Mexican Rebecca Moss The U.S. Bureau of Land Management is ignoring the pleas of Navajos and others in its planned lease of 843 acres near Chaco Canyon National Historic Park in northwest New Mexico for oil and gas drilling, protesters said Tuesday during a demonstration by more than 100 people at BLM’s office in Santa Fe. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Church of England weighs in on shale Church leaders say they were called on by their congregation to address the issue. UPI Daniel J. Graeber Church leaders in 2015 issued a declaration calling for greater emphasis on a low-carbon British economy as the country gets in line behind international actions on climate change. The briefing paper from the Church of England said distinctions, however, should be made between hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in and of itself and the need to transition to a clean economy. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Fracking disclosure rule challenged in Montana court NBC Montana Associated Press BILLINGS, Mont. – Attorneys for a group of Montana landowners, health advocates and conservationists have filed a lawsuit seeking to force energy companies to divulge more about the chemicals they use in energy production. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Bill Would Exempt Fracking Chemicals from FOIA Local Kicks Tyler Hammel RICHMOND – Open government advocates are alarmed at a legislative subcommittee’s approval of a bill that would hide from the public record the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. Megan Rhyne, executive director of the Virginia Coalition for Open Government, said House Bill 1678 would violate the public’s right to know about possible environmental and health hazards posed by fracking, in which liquids are injected into the ground to extract oil or gas. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Rick Perry misunderstood Energy Secretary job: report The Hill MALLORY SHELBOURNE Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) misunderstood the administration post that President-elect Donald Trump nominated him for, The New York Times reported Wednesday. In a report getting attention on social media, the Times said that Perry accepted the nomination to be Energy secretary “believing he was taking on a role as a global ambassador for the American oil and gas industry that he had long championed in his home state.” “In the days after, Mr. Perry, the former Texas governor, discovered that he would be no such thing — that in fact, if confirmed by the Senate, he would become the steward of a vast national security complex he knew almost nothing about, caring for the most fearsome weapons on the planet, the United States’ nuclear arsenal” the Times continued. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 EPA Nominee Scott Pruitt Gets Grilled on Fossil Fuel Ties at Confirmation Hearing DeSmogBlog Ben Jervey and Steve Horn Oklahoma Attorney General Scott Pruitt sat down before the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee for his confirmation hearing as a nominee to run the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Senator John Barrasso, the Wyoming Republican who newly chairs the committee, opened the hearing with a number of compliments for Pruitt. Just after, the ranking Democrat, Tom Carper of Delaware, used his introductory remarks to say that he’s never opposed an EPA nominee before, from either party, and strongly indicated that Pruitt wouldn’t get his vote. The rest of the more than three hour morning session proceeded in turn, with Republican members complimenting the attorney general and lobbing him softball questions, and the Democrats grilling him on his stance on climate science, his ties to the fossil fuel industry, and his perspective on what role the EPA has in actually, well, protecting the environment. [Full Story] Jan 18, 2017 Reject Scott Pruitt for the E.P.A. The New York Times ERIC SCHAEFFER The president-elect’s pick to run the Environmental Protection Agency is the antithesis of what the nation should expect in the next administrator of the agency responsible for protecting human health and the environment. Attorney General Scott Pruitt of Oklahoma has built his career suing the agency he would oversee to roll back its protection of the nation’s air and water, and challenging the very idea of federal action to control pollution. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 EPA UNDER SCOTT PRUITT COULD COST THE U.S. BILLIONS IN ADDITIONAL HEALTH CARE COSTS The Intercept Sharon Lerner Supporters of Scott Pruitt’s nomination to head the Environmental Protection Agency clearly believe the Oklahoma attorney general would be good for business. A climate denier and avowed foe of the agency he’s poised to head, Pruitt appeals to conservatives because he understands “that regulations affect our property rights, our ability to compete, and our livelihoods,” according Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery, III, who joined Pruitt in suing the EPA over air pollution limits. Among the 23 ultra-right groups that signed a statement supporting Pruitt posted by the Competitive Enterprise Institute are the Exxon-funded Frontiers of Freedom and several groups tied to the Koch brothers, including the Independent Women’s Voice, and the Taxpayers Protection Alliance. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Fracking Blamed For Early Closure Of NY Nuclear Plant Forbes Jared Anderson In an ironic twist, fracking has been cited as a prime reason for shutting down New York’s Indian Point nuclear power plant, as cheap natural gas eroded the economics of generating nuclear power in the region. New York’s Governor Cuomo is a fracking critic who supported banning the practice, a step taken by the state in 2015. But Cuomo has also opposed Indian Point – located about 30 miles north of New York City – on safety grounds for years. Last week’s announcement that the plant would close 14 years early is being touted by the governor as a major victory, but his unlikely ally in that win is natural gas produced from the Marcellus and Utica shale resources located in nearby Pennsylvania, Ohio and West Virginia. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Grafton selectmen rescind approval for gas pipeline drilling Telegram Craig S. Lemon GRAFTON – The Board of Selectmen Tuesday rescinded the surveying and drilling permission they granted nine months earlier for a proposed natural gas pipeline. The “West Boylston Lateral” proposal calls for a 27-mile, 16-inch, high-pressure pipeline buried at least 3 feet deep through West Boylston, Boylston, Shrewsbury, Sutton, Millbury, Grafton, Upton, Milford and Medway. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Judge lets flaring rules take effect during lawsuit Farmington Daily Times Mead Gruver CHEYENNE, Wyo. — New nationwide rules to curtail the practice of burning off excess natural gas from oil and gas wells on federal land took effect as scheduled today after a judge said he saw no urgent reason to block them while a lawsuit moves ahead. U.S. District Judge Scott Skavdahl in Casper said Monday that he couldn’t immediately conclude the Interior Department had overstepped its authority with the rules, which seek to reduce air pollution and waste by requiring gas to be captured and sold rather than flared. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Fracking ban Victoria: Shell crack at plan Weekly Times Now Kath Sullivan OIL and gas giant Shell has weighed in on Victoria’s plan to ban fracking and stop conventional onshore gas exploration and extraction until 2020. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Rex Tillerson’s Exxon Mobil Frequently Sought State Department Assistance, New Documents Show The Intercept Lee Fang, Steve Horn EXXON MOBIL UNDER ITS CEO Rex Tillerson frequently pressed the U.S. State Department for help in negotiating complex business deals and overcoming foreign opposition to its drilling projects, according to documents reviewed by The Intercept. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Scott Pruitt unsuitable to head EPA Knoxville News Sentinel Mike Brune Opinion At best, Donald Trump’s decision to nominate Scott Pruitt to lead the Environmental Protection Agency could be considered provocative, given the Oklahoma attorney general’s well-established hostility toward the very agency he would be running. But whether an opponent of the EPA should be leading the agency isn’t the only issue that will be under consideration as the Senate considers Pruitt’s nomination this week. Also at stake is whether the United States will continue to be a country that accepts the reality of basic science, that is prepared to take action to protect clean air and water, and that is willing to join the global battle against climate change. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Longmont residents speak up about fracking to City Council Times-Call John Bear The open forum at the Longmont City Council meeting on Tuesday offered residents the chance to spout off about anything they wanted, and they did on everything from retail marijuana to inconsiderate motorists. But one topic came up far more than others — fracking. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Bill Would Exempt Fracking Chemicals from FOIA NBC12 Tyler Hammel RICHMOND – Open government advocates are alarmed at a legislative subcommittee’s approval of a bill that would hide from the public record the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Risk of fracking, pipelines makes renewables better bet USA TODAY TIM ROWLAND If the cosmos likes to joke around, it could hardly have demonstrated a better sense of timing and location than it did in the first week of December, when a pipeline leak spilled 176,000 gallons of crude oil into the Ash Coulee Creek in North Dakota, just 150 miles from the spot where protesters have voiced opposition to the Dakota Access pipeline. And while the Dakota Access line has dominated the news, it’s not the only pipeline in the works. One hundred miles upstream of Washington, D.C., gas-transmission companies are planning to drill a pipeline beneath the C&O; Canal National Park and the Potomac River for a project that would send gas from fracking wells in Pennsylvania across a thin strip of Maryland and into West Virginia’s eastern panhandle. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 Dakota Access company seeks to block pipeline study Washington Post Blake Nicholson BISMARCK, N.D. — The company building the Dakota Access oil pipeline wants a federal judge to block the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from launching a full environmental study of the $3.8 billion pipeline’s disputed crossing of a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota. [Full Story] Jan 17, 2017 ‘It’s blindsided everybody’: New U.S. border tax could shut out Canadian oil Financial Post Claudia Cattaneo Canadian oil and gas producers happy to see the end of the Obama era are quickly coming to the realization that the imminent Trump presidency could be even more challenging if he moves forward with the adoption of a border adjustment tax. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 Lafayette to vote on anti-fracking ordinance that would legalize non-violent protests Skeptics of the ordinance have pointed to its far-reaching implications and defiance of the state’s rule over oil and gas development Denver Post Anthony Hahn Lafayette city leaders will vote Tuesday on an anti-fracking ordinance aimed at hobbling oil and gas development within the town by sanctioning acts of civil disobedience and non-violent protest. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 Judge allows fracking rules to move ahead Washington Examiner JOHN SICILIANO A federal court on Monday refused to halt the Obama administration’s fracking regulations that go into effect Tuesday. The rules restrict the venting and flaring of natural gas and methane from oil and gas wells as part of the Obama administration’s broad climate agenda. Methane is a short-lived but potent greenhouse gas that many climate scientists blame for driving manmade climate change. Despite the unfavorable ruling, the oil and gas industry thinks it can win on the merits of its arguments. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 The Home Front: Will a Colorado town legalize civil disobedience against fracking? The Colorado Independent Corey Hutchins The Home Front: Will a Colorado town legalize civil disobedience against fracking? Your daily digest of stories from the front pages of newspapers across Colorado Corey Hutchins January 16, 2017 Just In No Comments FacebookTwitterEmail The Home Front: Will a Colorado town legalize civil disobedience against fracking? “An anti-fracking ordinance aimed at hobbling oil and gas development within Lafayette through sanctioning acts of civil disobedience and non-violent protest will go in front of city leaders Tuesday,” The Longmont Times-Call reports. “The vote comes just two years after a Boulder District Court judge tossed out the town’s voter-approved fracking ban and marks a return to form for the truculent community.” The ordinance would “legalize non-violent direct action protests — such acts can include sit-ins, strikes, workplace occupations or blockades — [and] would target drilling activity and allow protesters unprecedented immunity from arrest or detainment,” The Boulder Daily Camera previously reported. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 Trump’s energy team to get grilled Washington Examiner John Siciliano The heavy hitters that President-elect Trump has lined up to lead his energy and environment team are set to go before Congress this week to address major issues from climate change to protecting the chicken-like sage grouse in the West. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 ‘Drill, baby, drill’ returns to the new Congress Washington Examiner John Siciliano A long-standing Republican plan to drill for oil in Alaska’s federal wildlife refuge is being resurrected in the Senate as President-elect Trump takes office, although its return may not bode well for energy legislation in the new Congress. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 Wisconsin Tribe Votes to Evict Oil Pipeline From Its Reservation Inside Climate News Phil McKenna The Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians in northern Wisconsin voted not to renew an easement for a major oil and gas pipeline that passes through its reservation. In the wake of the successful protest against the Dakota Access pipeline in North Dakota, this decision is the latest example of Native American tribes using sovereignty rights to oppose fossil fuel projects. The Bad River tribal council voted unanimously in early January to revoke rights-of-way that pass through the roughly 200-square-mile reservation and the decision could prove difficult to overturn. Pipeline companies often take ownership of private land through the use of eminent domain. But using Native American land typically requires tribal consent and easements are negotiated for a fixed period. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 The Home Front: Will a Colorado town legalize civil disobedience against fracking? Colorado Independent Corey Hutchins “An anti-fracking ordinance aimed at hobbling oil and gas development within Lafayette through sanctioning acts of civil disobedience and non-violent protest will go in front of city leaders Tuesday,” The Longmont Times-Call reports. “The vote comes just two years after a Boulder District Court judge tossed out the town’s voter-approved fracking ban and marks a return to form for the truculent community.” [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 Fracking Remains Hot Button Issue Among Legislators WCBC Environmental issues are at the front and center as the 2017 session of the Maryland General Assembly begins its first full week. Fracking remains a hot button issue with legislators are expected to take a new look at whether to extend the moratorium or even ban fracking altogether. The idea of a ban or extending the moratorium is unanimously opposed by the District One Delegation which is on record as supporting fracking. [Full Story] Jan 16, 2017 Acclaimed Canadian author lays out dirty back story of fossil fuel industry and government National Observer Warren Bell Opinion The harmful effects of fracking process, and the wealthy industry that shamelessly and aggressively employs it, were not judged. So despite a temporary reprieve arising out of the the Court’s decision, they are inching closer to the critical challenge the deserve. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 Knopf: While America watched Trump, big money bought Colorado election (column) Summit Daily Jonathan & Susan Knopf Opinion Everyone is so preoccupied with President-elect Trump’s tweets, and whether his cabinet will make it through congressional review, you may have missed the fact that Coloradans gave our state away to corporate America on Election Day. Big Tobacco, Big Oil and Big Pharma are among the big winners. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 Russians Target Fracking, Too Intelligencer Mike Myer Among some liberals, two contentions have become virtual articles of faith: 1. The Russians elected Donald Trump president. 2. Hydraulic fracturing science is settled, and the practice is bad for human beings and our environment. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 Ahead of Lafayette’s climate bill vote, backers affirm resistance to fracking Councilor Mazza: ‘The only way to change the law is to disobey it’ Lafayette News Anthony Hahn An anti-fracking ordinance aimed at hobbling oil and gas development within Lafayette through sanctioning acts of civil disobedience and non-violent protest will go in front of city leaders Tuesday. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 Why Pa. needs to increase taxes: Fracking and neglect Newsitem Walter Brasch The primary reason for the highest gas price is because of fracking. The Tom Corbett administration and Republican Legislature had welcomed gas drillers to the state and gave them benefits to drill into the Marcellus Shale using a technology that sacrificed health and the environment for what has proved to be short-term benefits. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 Antifracking movement alarmed at Trump’s focus on fossil fuels Business Mirror Inter Press Service LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas—Earl Hatley, a descendant of the Cherokee/Delaware tribe, has witnessed the consequences of using hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” on his native land to produce shale gas. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 In Davos, Bracing for a Shifting U.S. Stance on Climate Change The New York Times Stanley Reed LONDON — However slowly and tentatively, nations around the globe appear to be taking some steps to confront the growing threat of climate change. But on Friday, Donald J. Trump, a self-described climate change doubter, will assume the presidency of the United States. And the same week, half a world away at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, climate experts will be pondering what his ascent means for their efforts to make progress on the issue. After all, Mr. Trump has threatened to scupper the Paris deal on climate change and questioned the science of global warming, and he may try to roll back regulations devised to curb greenhouse gas emissions. [Full Story] Jan 15, 2017 Brian O’Neill: Put methane in its place, not the atmosphere Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Bill O’Neill Opinion It’s not often we see legislation that eases the way for the emission of methane and other volatile organic compounds we’d be better off not breathing, but America’s Largest Full-Time State Legislature is considering just that. The idea is to make federal Environmental Protection Agency regulations the maximum, not the minimum, to protect oxygen-breathing life forms in Pennsylvania, a group you and your children are likely among. [Full Story] Jan 14, 2017 Shale drilling fees debated amid hints of rebound Trib Live Kevin Zwick An anticipated uptick, however slight, in shale gas production in 2017 is on the horizon, but it’s unclear how that might impact policy discussions in Harrisburg, analysts say. Gov. Tom Wolf again plans to call for a severance tax on natural-gas drilling when he presents his budget Feb. 7. [Full Story] Jan 14, 2017 Jessica Ernst Loses Landmark Supreme Court Case Against Alberta Fracking Regulator in 5-4 Ruling DeSmog Canada Andrew Nikiforuk The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled Jessica Ernst can’t sue the powerful and controversial Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) over alleged violations of her Charter rights. [Full Story] Jan 14, 2017 Citizens have a right to know about fracking chemicals Richmond Times-Dispatch Ruby Brabo Opinion Virginians have a right to know what chemicals are being pumped into our communities. Just as important, first responders need this information to ensure public safety. [Full Story] Jan 14, 2017 Scott Pruitt, Trump’s E.P.A. Pick, Backed Industry Donors Over Regulators New York Times Eric Lipton & Coral Davenport WASHINGTON — A legal fight to clean up tons of chicken manure fouling the waters of Oklahoma’s bucolic northeastern corner — much of it from neighboring Arkansas — was in full swing six years ago when the conservative lawyer Scott Pruitt took office as Oklahoma’s attorney general. [Full Story] Jan 14, 2017 The Long Reach of the Aliso Canyon Gas Leak New York Times Diane Cardwell When a geyser of gas began spewing from the ground in October 2015, it was just the beginning of an energy and environmental crisis in Southern California with far-reaching repercussions. In nearby communities, like Porter Ranch, the disaster upended lives: Schools relocated. Thousands of people moved to motels and temporary housing. The leak at an Aliso Canyon gas storage facility not only sent vast amounts of methane — a heat-trapping greenhouse gas — into the atmosphere, it also ended up spraying other chemicals, including some that were being used in the effort to plug the leak. [Full Story] Jan 14, 2017 Erin Brockovich Meets With Oklahoma Residents Impacted by Human-Induced Earthquakes EcoWatch Lorraine Chow As Pawnee, Oklahoma still picks up the pieces from September’s record-breaking earthquake, environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich and lawyers from Weitz & Luxenberg have traveled to the Sooner State to speak with residents about the alarming number of induced earthquakes affecting the area. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Supreme Court shuts down Alberta landowner’s fracking suit CKNW Simon Little An Alberta landowner has lost her bid to sue the province’s energy regulator over allegedly fracking-contaminated water, and she says B.C. should take notice. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Bill could exempt some fracking chemicals from FOIA requests CBS19 Associated Press RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A bill advancing in the Virginia Legislature would exempt certain chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing from disclosure in response to a public records request. Del. Roxann Robinson’s bill would exempt information about chemicals deemed a trade secret from the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Walking the walk Floridan Deborah Buchhalter A Rhode Island man is quite literally “walking the walk” when it comes to his beliefs about the dangers of fracturing the earth’s core to extract natural gas and the risks that the gas delivery pipelines pose to America’s drinking water. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Erin Brockovich Meets With Oklahoma Residents Impacted by Human-Induced Earthquakes EcoWatch Lorraine Chow As Pawnee, Oklahoma still picks up the pieces from September’s record-breaking earthquake, environmental and consumer advocate Erin Brockovich and lawyers from Weitz & Luxenberg have traveled to the Sooner State to speak with residents about the alarming number of induced earthquakes affecting the area. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Court Rejects Ongoing Penalties for Continuous Pollution Legal Intelligencer Zack Needles Pennsylvania’s Clean Streams Law does not authorize the state Department of Environmental Protection to issue ongoing penalties against companies for the continued presence of pollutants in state waters, the Commonwealth Court has ruled. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Activists at Little Fish Brewery pushing back on fracking in Wayne National Forest The Post Nora Jaara The Bureau of Land Management auctioned off land in Ohio’s only national forest in December for oil and gas purposes, despite protest from environmental activists. With 719 acres of land sold, the auction netted more than $1 million, according to a previous Post report. “We didn’t win that fight, but the fight is not over,” Sean White, co-owner and head brewer at Little Fish, said. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Fracking debate reignites as state moratorium expires OC Today Greg Ellison (Jan. 13, 2017) The debate over the oil-extraction method known as fracking will take center stage during the General Assembly’s 2017 legislative session, and Sen. Jim Mathias said he intends to play a part in that discussion. “Maryland’s temporary moratorium on fracking is set to expire this year,” he said. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Supreme Court rules fracking critic doesn’t have charter right to sue Alberta woman challenged provision that grants energy regulator immunity from lawsuits CBC News Kathleen Harris Canada’s top court has ruled that an Alberta landowner does not have the right to sue the province’s energy regulator for infringing her constitutional rights. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Bill passes Va. House of Delegates subcomittee to protect fracking chemicals WRIC Jacob Wilson RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A bill has passed a subcommittee in the Virginia House of Delegates that would exempt certain chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing from disclosure in response to a public records request, also called a FOIA request. [Full Story] Jan 13, 2017 Newtown meeting probes potential dangers of proposed fracking amendment The Intelligencer Tyler Miles More than 50 residents packed the Newtown Friends Meetinghouse in Newtown Borough on Thursday night for a presentation by the Delaware Riverkeeper Network on the proposed gas and oil drilling amendment to those three Bucks County municipalities’ joint zoning ordinance. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Broomfield Backpedals on Fracking Moratorium, Postpones Vote Westword Alan Prendergast A decision this week by the Broomfield City Council to postpone action on a proposed five-month moratorium on new oil and gas development — despite strong turnout by citizens urging the temporary ban — highlights the legal and political uncertainties that local government officials are facing as they try to figure out what authority they might have to control the spread of fracking operations in their communities. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 (WATCH) Patrick Moore, The Sensible Environmentalist: The Truth about Fracking, Natural Gas and Vinyl The Rebel Greenpeace co-founder Patrick Moore, the Sensible Environmentalist, is back to set the record straight about fracking, natural gas and vinyl — all safe, sustainable and even essential things that eco-activists are trying to ban. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Robin Hood rises to oppose fracking in Sherwood Forest Wild Hunt Claire Dixon Today, the figure of Robin Hood is again being invoked as his very heartland of Sherwood Forest, and the great ancient oak, fabled to be his hideout, are now facing a very contemporary threat. Anti-fracking campaigners in the UK recently learned that chemical multinational INEOS has been in discussions with the UK’s Forestry Commission to carry out seismic surveys in Sherwood. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Maryland delegate: fracking regulations ‘wholly inadequate’ Baltimore Sun Dan K. Morhaim Opinion Last month, the Joint Committee on Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review, which reviews state regulations, held a hearing to consider proposed regulations on hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”). As a committee member, I reviewed the document submitted by the Maryland Department of Environment (MDE) and listened to the testimony presented. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Bill exempts some fracking chemicals from records requests Washington Times RICHMOND, Va. (AP) – Certain chemicals pumped underground during hydraulic fracturing would be exempt from public records requests under a bill advancing in the Virginia Legislature. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Too little, too late, too bad Boulder Weekly Joel Dyer The timing of the EPA’s long-awaited fracking/drinking water study speaks volumes to the oil and gas industry’s control over our political system. On Dec. 19, 2016, a mere 30 days before President Barack Obama will leave office, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finally released its long-awaited report on fracking’s impact on drinking water. The report, titled Hydraulic Fracturing for Oil and Gas: Impacts from the Hydraulic Fracturing Water Cycle on Drinking Water Resources in the United States, was originally scheduled to be completed in five years and released in 2014, but the release was delayed for an additional two years. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Exxon Ordered to Fork Over 40 Years of Climate Research EcoWatch Lorraine Chow ExxonMobil was dealt a major blow on Wednesday after a Massachusetts judge ordered the company to hand in more than 40 years of climate research. On Wednesday, Suffolk Superior Court Judge Heidi E. Brieger denied the oil giant a protective order that would have blocked Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey’s subpoenas for Exxon’s internal research on climate change. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Gas storage opponents denied HIDE CAPTION Protesters block the entrance to Stagecoach Gas Services in the Town of Reading in July 2016. PHOTO PROVIDED Steuben Courier Stephen Borgnq READING – For the second time, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has denied opponents of the Seneca Lake natural gas storage expansion project a request for a rehearing asking it to reject the plan under its current proposal. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Climate Investigation of Exxon Can Proceed in Massachusetts, State Judge Rules Inside Climate News David Hasemyer Exxon had fought state Attorney General Maura Healey’s demand for documents about potential climate fraud, but a Mass. judge backs Healey’s right to the probe. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 Tillerson Hedges on Climate Science but Supports Paris Agreement Inside Climate News David Hasemyer In his Senate confirmation hearing for secretary of state, Exxon’s former chief differs with Donald Trump on keeping the country in the international accord. [Full Story] Jan 12, 2017 EFFECTS OF FRACKING COULD BE FAR-REACHING The Post Alex Meyer Felicia Mettler never saw herself taking a stand for an environmental cause. But when injection well activity began in Torch, a few miles from her Coolville home, she weighed the impact on her family and the land around her. “As a mother, it’s my job to protect my kids, and I don’t want to move,” Mettler, 45, a stay-at-home mother of three, said. “I’m on land that is family land. My mother, I could throw a rock at her house. My brother lives right next door.” Injection wells are used to dispose of the chemical waste that can result from fracking. Mettler and other local residents are concerned whether the three injection wells in Torch — a 30-minute drive from Athens — will affect the environment and people’s health. [Full Story] Jan 11, 2017 Controversial Broomfield fracking moratorium vote postponed Colorado Independent Kelsey Ray After a lengthy and occasionally emotional meeting that drew more than 500 people, a divided Broomfield City Council decided Tuesday night to wait until late February to vote on a five-month moratorium on new oil and gas development in the city and county. [Full Story] Jan 11, 2017 Noise pollution from fracking may harm human health Berkeley News Brett Israel Fracking creates noise at levels high enough to harm the health of people living nearby, according to the first peer-reviewed study to analyze the potential public health impacts of ambient noise related to fracking. [Full Story] Jan 11, 2017 Another Climate Change Push Comes From Exxon Shareholders Inside Climate News David Hasemyer Once again this year, dissident ExxonMobil stockholders have filed several resolutions with the company asking it to be more forthright in addressing the climate crisis. Submitted months before Exxon’s annual meeting in May, by a twist of fate it also helps set the stage for Wednesday, when Rex Tillerson, Exxon’s former chief executive and Donald Trump’s pick to become secretary of state, appears at a Senate confirmation hearing. [Full Story] Jan 10, 2017 Fracking Fans Use Intelligence Report to Revive Baseless Claim Russia Funds U.S. Anti-Fracking Movement DeSmogBlog Steve Horn Proponents of hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) have seized upon a paragraph found within the recent national intelligence report examining Russia’s attempts to influence the 2016 U.S. elections to push a long-promoted but unfounded claim: that Russia and President Vladimir Putin fund the U.S. anti-fracking movement. The multi-agency intelligence report centered around the conclusion that “Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency” and that “the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump.” After outlining some ways Russia has worked to influence the U.S. political terrain and its recent email hacking activities, the brief report then devotes seven pages to explaining the phenomenon of the Russian government-funded TV network RT (formerly known as Russia Today). [Full Story] Jan 10, 2017 Devon Energy sued in class-action suit, accused of underpaying royalties Ft Worth Star-Telegram Max B. Baker Fort Worth–Devon Energy is being sued for allegedly using sham transactions to underpay thousands of property owners in North Texas millions of dollars in royalties from natural gas processed through a Bridgeport plant. The Devon case echoes accusations brought against Chesapeake Energy in Texas courts that it sold natural gas from its Barnett Shale wells to an affiliate and pocketed the profits when it was sold on the open market. Chesapeake eventually agreed to a $51 million settlement last year. [Full Story] Jan 10, 2017 Pipeline protesters have message for Cuomo Niagara Gazette Mia Summerson AMHERST — Locals who have been vocally opposed to the construction of a natural gas pipeline and related structures in Niagara Country attempted to get their message to Gov. Andrew Cuomo during his State of the State address on Monday. [Full Story] Jan 10, 2017 Putin’s Other American Propaganda Effort: Anti-Fracking News Russia is no longer the world’s largest gas producer and isn’t happy about it. Bloomberg Eric Roston RT, a media organization that the U.S. intelligence community calls “the Kremlin’s principal international propaganda outlet,” published an article on Jan. 2 under the unlikely headline: “Robin Hood’s Sherwood Forest hideout under threat from frackers.” The article, which carries no byline and cites the work of environmental activists, laments plans of a unit of Ineos Group, a Switzerland-based chemical company, to conduct seismic testing for natural gas near Major Oak, the millennium-old tree that served in legend as headquarters to Robin Hood and his merry fellows. (Ineos Shale and Friends of the Earth have been involved in a public dispute over the environmental group’s depiction of fracking, with the U.K.’s Advertising Standards Board weighing in.) [Full Story] Jan 10, 2017 Newtown Township considers fracking ordinance Lower Buck Times Timothy Reilly As a new year dawns on Newtown, fresh challenges await the township’s Board of Supervisors. One such test is the potential introduction of the fracking industry into the region. In January, the Newtown Township Board of Supervisors will consider a preemptive ordinance to allow limited oil and gas exploration. The ordinance was proposed in response to the potential end of two moratoriums that have prevented fracking in Bucks County. One, issued by the state of Pennsylvania, is set to expire in January 2018. The other, imposed by the Delaware River Basin Commission, is indefinite. A successful court challenge to the DRBC ban or political changes within the organization could remove the final roadblock to fracking in Bucks County. [Full Story] Jan 9, 2017 API: Drilling downturn could end soon OE Digital The American Petroleum Institute (API) reported the total wells drilled and completed in Q4 2016 decreased 8.8% when compared to Q3 2016. This decrease shows a drastic improvement from the same period in 2015 which saw a 21% decrease in total wells drilled and completed. [Full Story] Jan 9, 2017 NEW FEDERAL PROTECTION FOR DELAWARE RIVER BASIN BUT FUNDING UNCLEAR NJ Spotlight Jon Hurdle A new federal law provides extra environmental protection for the Delaware River Basin, but its effectiveness may not match its promise if Congress doesn’t appropriate the funds needed for conservation projects, advocates said. [Full Story] Jan 9, 2017 Methane may not last long in the atmosphere — but it drives sea level rise for centuries Washington Post Chelsea Harvey It seems like just about every week, there’s more news on the rapid melting of glaciers in Greenland, Antarctica and elsewhere — and scientists’ growing concern about their potentially dramatic contributions to global sea level rise. But there’s another major element affecting global sea levels, and research suggests that it could be a factor for centuries to come. The process is called “thermal expansion,” and the science behind it is relatively simple: When greenhouse gases go into the atmosphere, they cause air temperatures to rise. Some of the heat ends up being absorbed into the oceans, causing the water to expand in volume. [Full Story] Jan 9, 2017 ‘Nail in the Coffin’: Oil, Gas Industry Slams Obama-Backed Atlantic Survey Ban Sputnik News The Obama administration has rejected requests by energy companies to conduct seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean to map drilling sites for oil and natural gas, affirming the block on Atlantic drilling passed by Obama in December 2016 — although there are some indications Donald Trump will overturn the ban when he ascends to the Oval Office. [Full Story] Jan 9, 2017 Fracking News 2017: FOIA Law In Virginia Would Limit Access To Information About Chemicals Used In Hydraulic Fracturing IBTimes Lydia O’Neal A bill adding an amendment to the Virginia Freedom of Information Act, offered to the state’s House floor for a vote Monday, would keep descriptions of chemical ingredients involved in hydraulic fracturing in the state out of the public eye. [Full Story] Jan 9, 2017 A preview of issues likely to come before the General Assembly this year Capital Gazette Amanda Yeager •Fracking and the environment. Environmental issues will be front and center at the start of this session, as Democratic lawmakers decide whether to override Hogan’s veto of a bill that sought to increase the state’s renewable energy use by requiring Maryland electricity suppliers to obtain a quarter of their energy from renewable sources. Hogan rejected the legislation over concerns about increasing costs to ratepayers, which were estimated between 77 cents and $3.06 a month in 2020, though the amount was projected to decrease after that. As the end of a state moratorium on fracking, a natural gas extraction method, approaches this year, legislators are also expected to take a new look at whether to extend the moratorium or even ban fracking altogether. The idea has support from four members of the County Council, who this fall wrote a letter to the General Assembly arguing the county, which sits atop a natural gas reserve, would be vulnerable if fracking is allowed to move forward. [Full Story] > Read more news articles in our Newsroom Archive. |
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