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Interior Department Bows to Pressure from Oil and Gas Industry, Weakens Fracking Rules
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 16th, 2013
EcoWatch: The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM) proposed an updated set of rules governing hydraulic fracturing, on public lands today. The controversial oil and gas development technique--in which drillers blast millions of gallons of chemically treated water into the earth to force oil and gas from underground deposits--has been linked to air and water pollution and public health problems.
“Comparing today’s rule governing fracking on public lands with the one proposed...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Interior Department Bows to Pressure from Oil and Gas Industry, Weakens Fracking RulesWill the Colorado River Get Fracked?
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 16th, 2013
EcoWatch: Two months ago a story started ‘leaking’ out of Western Colorado about a fracked-gas pipeline break--loaded with cancer-causing benzene--with fluids heading toward and eventually into Parachute Creek which is a tributary to the Colorado River. As water wells close to the Creek started testing positive for benzene, and then as the Creek itself tested positive for benzene above drinking water standards, the news media started telling a story of how the Colorado River--a drinking water source for 35...
Frac-Sand Mining’s Promise of Economic Prosperity Fails to Materialize
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 15th, 2013
EcoWatch: The true economic impact of frac-sand mining on rural Wisconsin communities may fall short of industry claims promising sustained prosperity and economic opportunity, says a first-of-its-kind expert report, released today. By using currently available economic data, The Economic Benefits and Costs of Frac-Sand Mining in West Central Wisconsin offers a full, unbiased analysis of costs and benefits for communities affected by frac-sand mining. The report concludes by offering a list of questions to...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Frac-Sand Mining’s Promise of Economic Prosperity Fails to MaterializeFracking Divide: Simulating Gas Development in Colorado’s Wild Wild West
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 3rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Recently, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced they would temporarily suspend 25 oil and gas leases in the Thompson Divide, a wild swath of backcountry covering 221,500 acres of public land in western Colorado. Because the lease holders did not diligently develop these leases and are running out of time on their ten-year lease terms, they asked BLM for an extension. While this decision paused the clock on drilling for natural gas in this rugged portion of the White River National Forest,...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Fracking Divide: Simulating Gas Development in Colorado’s Wild Wild WestNew Yorkers Win Frack Fight at Local Level
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 3rd, 2013
EcoWatch: Local residents and elected leaders in Dryden, N.Y. are celebrating victory in a closely watched case over local fracking bans. A state appeals court ruled in favor of the towns of Dryden and Middlefield, affirming lower court decisions upholding the towns’ right to ban oil and gas development activities--including the controversial technique of fracking--within town limits. The legal battle first began in 2011 and industry is widely expected to seek review of the ruling by New York’s high court...
Hydraulic Fracturing Faces Growing Competition for Water Supplies in Water-Stressed Regions
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 2nd, 2013
EcoWatch: A new Ceres research paper on water use in hydraulic fracturing operations shows that a significant portion of this activity is happening in water stressed regions of the U.S., most prominently Texas and Colorado, which are both in the midst of prolonged drought conditions. It concludes that industry efforts underway, such as expanded use of recycled water and non-freshwater resources, need to be scaled up along with better water management planning if shale energy production is to grow as projected....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Hydraulic Fracturing Faces Growing Competition for Water Supplies in Water-Stressed RegionsIllinois Ranks As Worst Rogue Coal State
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: Whether she runs for governor or not, Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan would need nine lives to bring the state`s notoriously broken regulatory system into compliance with the nation`s most reckless coal industry.
With state coal production soaring against national trends, Illinois cemented its reputation as the worst rogue state for coal operations last Friday, when the rubber-stamping operations of the state`s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a pollutant discharge permit to...
Sandra Steingraber Shines a Spotlight on the Problems of Fracking
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: After serving 10 days of her 15-day sentence for trespassing during a protest against fracking, activist Sandra Steingraber was released from the Schuyler County jail last week in Watkins Glen, N.Y. The day before she was imprisoned, she talked with Moyers about her fight to stop fracking and the release of toxins contaminating our air, water and food.
Steingraber had been arrested along with nine other protesters on March 18 for blocking the entrance to the Inergy natural gas facility to protest...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Sandra Steingraber Shines a Spotlight on the Problems of FrackingOhio Legislation Introduced to Ban Fracking Waste Injection Wells
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: This week, State Sen. Mike Skindell (D-Lakewood), State Rep. Denise Driehaus (D-Cincinnati) and State Rep. Robert Hagan (D-Youngstown) introduced legislation to ban Class II fracking waste injection wells in Ohio. The bill would prevent waste from being discharged into Ohio’s waterways after treatment, and would make it illegal for municipalities to use the liquid waste from oil and gas operations for dust and ice control on roadways.
Today, grassroots leaders from around the state applauded the...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Ohio Legislation Introduced to Ban Fracking Waste Injection WellsThree Fracking Moratorium Bills Win Key Vote in California Legislature
Posted by EcoWatch: None Given on May 1st, 2013
EcoWatch: Three bills that would halt fracking in California won key votes Monday night, passing the Assembly Natural Resources Committee despite intense pressure from the oil industry. Richard Bloom’s A.B. 1301, Holly Mitchell’s A.B. 1323 and Adrin Nazarian’s A.B. 649 would place a moratorium on fracking while threats posed by the controversial practice to California’s environment and public health are studied.
Concerned residents rally outside a California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Three Fracking Moratorium Bills Win Key Vote in California Legislature