News Round-Up: February 14, 2012

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Today’s Essential Reads

FRACKING:

Pennsylvania Fines Natural Gas Producer for Fracking Violation

Natural gas production company Chesapeake Appalachia LLC has been fined a total of $565,000 in civil penalties and reimbursement costs by the state of Pennsylvania for an April 2011 fracking well control incident, for erosion and sediment control violations and for wetland encroachment violations.

Seismic Research Linked to Fracking

As concerns mount in several states that fracking may be linked to earthquakes, UNC-Chapel Hill geologists plan to conduct seismic tests in Lee and Chatham counties to document naturally occurring earth movements in the region.

Bulgaria Becomes Second State to Impose Ban On Shale-Gas Exploration

“To begin with everyone was really enthusiastic,” says Hussein. “We thought we’d get rich overnight. But when I realised the hazards this technology entails I was very concerned. I’ve worked hard for the past 10 years to build up the farm. If they start drilling for shale gas I’ll lose everything.”

Obama’s Frack Study to Look Past Water

The $45 million multi-agency study of hydraulic fracturing proposed by the Obama administration in its 2013 budget blueprint represents an effort to broaden the examination of shale gas drilling from just water to air quality and other environmental concerns.

BP OIL SPILL:

The dolphin named “Chance,” the “first dolphin found alive in Alabama” since the April 20, 2010 Gulf of Mexico oilrig explosion, holds so many secrets about health and the federal government’s criminal case involving the world’s greatest manmade environmental and human catastrophe before Fukushima, federal authorities are preventing the accused “Dolphin Pimptrafficker, Dr. Moby Solangi from divulging what the black box dolphin is saying.

BP Loses Bid to Dismiss Investor Claims Spurred By Spill

BP Plc lost a court bid to dismiss fraud claims by investors who said the company lied before and after the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill about its accident response capability.

Gov. Phil Bryant on RESTORE Act: ‘Common Sense and Decency’ Will Prevail

Gov. Phil Bryant told reporters Monday that he’s hopeful Congress will pass an oil spill fine bill designed to help the Gulf Coast recover from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon catastrophe.

Judge Tosses Spill Claims Against BP Contractor

A judge has dismissed all of the federal court claims against a BP PLC contractor sued over the deadly rig explosion and massive oil spill it spawned in the Gulf of Mexico.

RADIATION:

Fukushima At Increased Earthquake Risk

Seismic risk at the Fukushima nuclear plant increased after the magnitude 9 earthquake that hit Japan last March, scientists report. The new study, which uses data from over 6,000 earthquakes, shows the 11 March tremor caused a seismic fault close to the nuclear plant to reactivate. The results are now published in Solid Earth, an open-access journal of the European Geosciences Union (EGU).

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Stuart H. Smith is an attorney based in New Orleans fighting major oil companies and other polluters.
Cooper Law Firm

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