Posts Tagged ‘ Hydrofracking ’

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)

Tags: Arkansas, environment, fracking, gas drilling, Greers Ferry Lake, hydraulic fracturing, Hydrofracking, Marcellus Shale, natural gas, Ozark National Forest, US Army Corps of Engineers, US Bureau of Land Management, US Forest Service
Posted in Complaints/Comments, Environment, lawsuits | No Comments »

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

Tags: Gas Fracking, hydraulic fracking, hydraulic fracturing, Hydrofracking, Marcellus Shale, Pennsylvania
Posted in Environment | No Comments »