Posts Tagged ‘ hydraulic fracturing ’
Fracking Racking up Lawsuits (#Fracking #NIMBY)
May 23rd, 2011. By AbiK
This time we leave the Marcellus Shale region and set our sights a bit southwest, to Clinton—er, former Clinton—territory: Little Rock, AR. Seems folks there aren’t convinced that fracking’s the way to go to drill for natural gas—at least not in their backyard. Also seems like fracking’s become the NIMBY hot-button issue of the day, reminiscent of the tenor that swept the nation when the Three Mile Island core meltdown was hot and heavy in the news. NIMBY indeed.
The backyard in question here, however, happens to be government-owned land—namely the Ozark National Forest, and also Greers Ferry Lake. The plaintiffs, which are a collective of environmental groups and concerned citizens, are calling for three US government agencies (US Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Forest Service and the US Army Corps of Engineers) to stop drilling operations from going forward until proper studies are done that show that fracking is not harmful to the environment.
Hydraulic fracturing (aka “fracking”) has been getting a fair amount of attention in the press lately—thanks in large part to the work that Public Citizenand other consumer advocacy groups have been doing. The issue with fracking is that the drilling process calls for massive amounts of water combined with chemicals—chemicals that have not fully been disclosed yet to the public by the oil companies—to be forced into the ground in order to facilitate (ie, by helping to “fracture” the underground) the release of the natural gas below.
Environmental groups, farmers and homeowners alike who live in areas where fracking is going on are concerned for the safety of their drinking water, their land—their very health. The EPA is conducting a study to assess the overall impact on water quality and human health—but those results are not available yet, and of course, there are plenty of oil-industry-backed or -initiated studies proclaiming the merits and safety of fracking. So bottom line, until the EPA study is available, anecdotal information—such as that of flammable tap water—doesn’t have too many folks grabbing a glass of their local water well’s finest with much confidence.
It’s that lack of information and lack of confidence that forms the backdrop to the current charges of the lawsuit. The plaintiffs’ allegations state that the number of wells in which drilling is already going on in the region surpasses the number that were estimated in 2005 by the BLM—and its the agencies listed as defendants in the lawsuit that are responsible for leasing the gas and issuing drilling licenses on land owned by the government. (thesuntimes.com)
What is Fracking? Catchy Video Explains the Fracking Fuss
May 17th, 2011. By AbiK
If you haven’t seen the My Water’s on Fire Tonight (The Fracking Song) video, here’s a chance to check it out. It’s quick, but it delivers its message—and there’s something about the bobbing oil towers and retro “What the Frack is Going on…” sound that’s making me have some sort of Soul Train flashback moment.
Credit must be given to ProPublica and the students at NYU Studio 20 who set out to create a video to explain what hydraulic fracking is all about—or at least what the primary concern of anti-fracking groups is. You can also read more about hydraulic fracturing (nickname: fracking) on the following pages here at LawyersandSettlements.com…
Topic Page: Hydraulic Fracturing Water Contamination
Fracking and Flammable Tap Water? NY Says Hell No…for now
BP Spill, San Bruno Fire, Fracking…Time to Stop Blind Faith in Gas
On Shaky Ground? Fracking Lawsuits, Earthquakes and Bad Water (oh my)
With Focus on BP, Don’t Lose Sight of Fracking Issues
BP Experience Should Have us Catching a Fracking Clue
Pennsylvania Fracking Upcoming Events and Public Meetings
March 14th, 2011. By AbiK
Just passing along three upcoming events regarding hydraulic fracking in the Marcellus Shale region that I came across over at the Marcellus Shale Protest website. So if you’re in Pennsylvania, or can be, you may want to attend.
We do try to keep it balanced here, but given the recent lawsuit and the growing groundswell around questions about the safety of fracking near our water supplies, it’s important to stay abreast of local public meetings and for folks to participate and stay informed.
Everything you want to know about Marcellus Shale Drilling
(From MarcellusProtest.org: Everything you want to know about Marcellus Shale drilling—and what you can do: A Citizen’s Guide; Free workshop to learn more about the natural gas exploration process, how it is regulated, and what must be done to ensure our land, water and communities are protected.)
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 15th, 6:30 p.m.
Location:
Blossburg Memorial Library
307 Main Street
Blossburg, PA 16912
Phone: 717-214-7920
Marcellus Co-op Meeting in Canonsburg
(From MarcellusProtest.org: Marcellus Co-op meeting at Canon McMillan High School Organized by Jesse White The plan is for neighboring municipalities to share resources and possibly hire an enforcement officer for regulations at drilling and compressor sites.)
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 15th, 10:30 p.m.
Location:
Canon-McMillon High School
314 Elm St.Canonsburg, PA
15317
Marcellus Shale Gas Environmental Summit
(Note: this is an industry summit so only industry insiders (and vendors) can attend; however, there are folks who are planning to meet outside the summit to share their concern over fracking in the Shale region; as of press time here, the Facebook event listing for Protest the Gas Industry Marcellus Shale Summit shows 77 attending, 26 maybe attending, and 1,287 still needing to respond.)
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 29th, 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Location:
Renaissance Pittsburgh Hotel
107 6th Street
Pittsburgh, PA
On Shaky Ground? Fracking Lawsuits, Earthquakes and Bad Water (oh my)
March 7th, 2011. By AbiK
Maybe oil (ok, natural gas) and water (and the earth) don’t mix after all…
So there’s a post over at the Forbes blog today by Dr. Michael Economides defending hydraulic fracking. There’s also a post over at The Motley Fool that shares hydraulic fracturing’s new “problem”: earthquakes. (Actually it isn’t “new”—the notion of fracking contributing to earthquakes has been just below the mainstream media’s lens for a while now).
I had just watched (a bit overdue) the documentary “Flow” last night (clip above), about the threats to our global water supply—worth watching for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet—but it’s actually a good place to begin to understand at a quick glance the reasoning behind the fracking-earthquake connection. Keep in mind, of course, with the creation of water wells and the removal of groundwater, the impact on earth’s subsurface is akin to creating a void—like pulling the rug out from under your feet; with hydraulic fracturing, the issue is more about the injection of pressurized water into the earth and the subsequent collection and disposal of that water into wastewater wells. Note also, we’re not talking straight and pure H20 here—the fracking wastewater also contains any of an assortment of chemicals possibly including methane gas, benzene, tuolene, ethylbenzene and xylenes, hexavalent chromium and hydrochloric acid.
So without being an engineer or scientist, this fracking-earthquake connection sort of makes sense—as you keep undermining or comprising the integrity of the earth’s subsurface, maybe Mother Nature starts to reach her breaking point. Consider—particularly if you’ve seen “Flow— Read the rest of this entry »
Fracking and Flammable Tap Water? NY Says Hell No…for now
December 16th, 2010. By LucyC
New York Governor David Paterson no doubt made New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg a very happy man recently, when he signed an executive order halting the controversial natural gas drilling process called hydraulic fracturing—or fracking—in the state until July 1, 2011.
The fracking process is controversial to say the least because it may be associated with harmful effects on the environment, specifically underground drinking water. Folks in the eastern states of New York, Pennsylvania and West Virginia are particularly concerned because they sit on shale formations such as the Marcellus Formation, which are estimated to contain trillions of cubic feet of natural gas.
The governor signed the order to stop horizontal fracking in New York state on Saturday. The ban will remain in place until the state Department of Environmental Conservation completes a comprehensive review to determine what, if any dangers are associated with this process.
But the folks who live in areas where hydraulic fracking is taking place—areas such as the Delaware River Basin in Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, claim they are Read the rest of this entry »
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