Environmental Must-Reads – May 15, 2013

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Poll Shows Support for a Drilling Moratorium in Pennsylvania

A new poll out Tuesday shows strong support for a moratorium on natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania, despite showing general support for gas extraction.

The Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy at the University of Michigan, in conjunction with the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, surveyed both Pennsylvania and Michigan residents on fracking. The survey shows general support for gas extraction in Pennsylvania. Forty-nine percent of respondents approve, and 40 percent oppose.

Wrong Way Forward: Growth in Fracking, Tar Sands Sending ‘Shockwaves’

New report from International Energy Agency shows surging oil production from shale oil in the U.S. and Canadian tar sands

State Checking Air Quality In Gas Drilling Areas

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is testing air quality this week in Susquehanna County in the area with the most natural gas activity.

DEP says with so much drilling and fracking and so many compressor stations being built to help transport the gas, some have questioned if the air is being polluted.

Huge Boost In U.S. Oil Output Set To Transform Global Market

U.S. oil production is rising sharply and increased output from shale will be a “game changer” in global energy markets in the coming years, according to a out Tuesday by the International Energy Agency.

How Our National Parks Are Threatened by Fracking

A booming and unregulated energy industry is quietly but quickly encroaching on some of our most cherished national parks with gas and oil drilling fields.

Agencies evaluate barging of frack waste

GreenHunter Water wants to ship natural gas frack wastewater via barges from its proposed Warwood site, but several federal agencies must first sign off on the plan.

“No organization has authorized this material to be transported by barge,” said Carlos Diaz, spokesman for the U.S. Coast Guard, the agency tasked with overseeing shipments on inland waterways such as the Ohio River.

The Shale Gas Review: Frack Chemicals and Water Contamination

The gas industry claims that drilling is not a public health threat, and that fracking fluid is harmless. In support of these claims it cites lack of evidence tying operations to pollution and illness. What’s missing is full disclosure. The industry operates on private property without the level of regulatory oversight that other industries face. (It is exempt from both federal Safe Drinking Water Act and hazardous waste laws that require disclosure of what goes into and what comes out of the ground.)

When something goes wrong, it is often a matter between the company and the homeowner to resolve. When legal pressure necessitates, the industry can make the problem go away with settlements that contain non-disclosure clauses.

DeWitt adopts ban on hydrofracking

The DeWitt Town Board has voted unanimously to adopt a law prohibiting hydrofracking within the town.

The board voted Monday night after a public hearing which attracted about 40 people. Six people spoke in favor of the ban.

Town Board Gives Residents Cold Shoulder Over Anti-Fracking Petition

On Monday night at the town board meeting, Concerned Citizens of Covert released the results of a six month town-wide petition campaign for a ban on fracking. The group knocked on every door in Covert—a town in Seneca County, northwest of Ithaca, New York—garnering signatures for a ban on fracking from 68 percent of contacted residents. Signatories crossed party lines—50 percent of Republicans signed—age, sex and geographic area. Residents delivered the 840 petition signatures and gave an abbreviated summary of the results after being denied the requested opportunity to make a formal presentation.

Will Ohio’s Landfills Become a Dumping Ground for Radioactive Fracking Waste?

Don’t turn Ohio’s landfills into a dumping ground for radioactive waste from the oil and gas industry.

That’s the message environmental groups hope will resonate with state lawmakers as they consider whether to approve a controversial proposal by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) to allow the disposal in Ohio landfills of radioactive-laced drill cuttings from deep-shale oil and gas drilling in Ohio and nearby states.

Food, Farms, Forests, and Fracking: Connecting the Dots

If ever there was a time for activist networks and the body politic to cooperate and unite forces, it’s now. Global warming, driven in large part by the reckless business-as-usual practices of multi-billion-dollar fossil fuel and agribusiness corporations, has brought us to the brink of a global calamity.

Town Board Gives Residents Cold Shoulder Over Anti-Fracking Petition

On Monday night at the town board meeting, Concerned Citizens of Covert released the results of a six month town-wide petition campaign for a ban on fracking. The group knocked on every door in Covert—a town in Seneca County, northwest of Ithaca, New York—garnering signatures for a ban on fracking from 68 percent of contacted residents. Signatories crossed party lines—50 percent of Republicans signed—age, sex and geographic area. Residents delivered the 840 petition signatures and gave an abbreviated summary of the results after being denied the requested opportunity to make a formal presentation.

Morning Feature: Frac Sand, Part I: Issues and Unknowns

Mining the sand used in fracking wells involves environmental, health, and economic issues. While scientists are studying these effects, the work continues despite the unknowns.

Radioactive Fracking Debris Triggers Worries At Dump Sites

When a garbage truck from a shale gas well set off radiation detectors at a South Huntingdon landfill on April 19, it drew attention from township officials.

But they aren’t the only ones watching what’s become a growing issue all over Pennsylvania. The number of garbage trucks setting off radiation monitors had a fivefold increase between 2009 and 2012, drawing renewed attention from state officials who hadn’t believed radiation would be a big problem from the state’s drilling industry.

Top Chef Gets $375,000 From NOLA and Louisiana (Using BP Oil Spill Recovery Funds)

Here’s more news on Top Chef’s decision to head to New Orleans for its eleventh season. The Times-Picayune reports that Louisiana and the city of New Orleans tourism offices are giving Bravo $375,000 to sponsor the recently announced Top Chef: New Orleans. The Louisiana Office of Tourism will contribute $200,000 while the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation will contribute $175,000.

More surprising than the amount of money the government is spending to get Tom, Padma, and the cheftestapants in town is how the government got it in the first place. Instead of taxpayer funds, Louisiana’s $200,000 sponsorship will be drawn from a recovery fund that oil giant BP set up after 2010’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It’s unclear at this time how Top Chef is a part of “state and local response costs and claims, and natural resource damages and related costs.”

Alabama groups seek transparency in BP oil-spill projects

At Friday’s meeting of the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council, a number of leaders from area environmental groups asked that a citizens committee be appointed to ensure transparency and fairness in the selection of projects to be funded by RESTORE Act BP oil-spill fines.

Ex-BP Engineer Claims U.S. Withheld Evidence in Oil-Spill Case

A former BP Plc (BP/) engineer charged in the first criminal case arising from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill will ask a judge today to sanction U.S. prosecutors for withholding evidence that he says might clear him.

Gulf Oil Spill-Indictment

A former BP engineer charged with deleting text messages about the company’s response to its 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico claims that Justice Department prosecutors withheld evidence and should be sanctioned.

U.S. District Judge Stanwood Duval Jr. didn’t immediately rule Tuesday on whether sanctions are warranted after one of Kurt Mix’s lawyers asked him to order prosecutors to turn over any evidence that could be favorable to his defense.

ExxonMobil Arkansas oil spill poses health risks for locals

After 210,000 gallons of heavy crude spilled into an Arkansas community, ExxonMobil assured residents that toxic chemicals have remained at safe levels. But locals say they are suffering from deteriorating health conditions and trouble breathing.

Pegasus Pipeline Spill: Mayflower Residents Find Conflicting Advice from Arkansas Agencies

It’s been over five weeks since ExxonMobil’s Pegasus pipeline burst beneath a Mayflower, Arkansas subdivision, spilling diluted bitumen born of tar sands throughout the neighborhood. Five weeks later, and still the air carries noxious fumes. Residents complain of headaches, nausea, and worse.

Hugo Chavez plays role in oil spill legislation that fails in House

The name of the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez crept into Louisiana House debate Tuesday on whether all of the state’s refineries should contribute to oil spill cleanups.

Currently, only refineries that receive crude oil by ship or barge pay a minimum 2 cent-per-barrel fee. The state sets aside the money to mop up oil spills.

All 5 holes in Assumption sinkhole’s containment berm now plugged

Texas Brine Co. contractors plugged the final two breaches in a containment berm around the Assumption Parish sinkhole by early Tuesday after heavy rain and high water punched through the incomplete earthen barrier late last week, authorities said.

Bayou Corne bill progresses

A proposal that would allow the state to levy higher fines and penalties for certain violations involving salt mine operations received the backing Tuesday of the Louisiana House Natural Resources and Environment Committee.

State Sen. Rick Ward, D-Port Allen, filed Senate Bill 139 in response to an on-going environmental incident in Bayou Corne that has resulted in an evacuation order for 150 homes.

Protests Continue At Keystone Pipeline Construction Site

Protests continue at the construction site of the Keystone Pipeline. On Tuesday, for the second time in two days, police were called in to take care of the situation.

Now, a spokesperson for Keystone says these protests are happening so often they are going to court to have it stopped.

Aboriginal groups call for Arctic oil-drilling moratorium

Aboriginal groups from every Arctic country have signed a statement that calls for an end to offshore drilling and a pause in northern energy projects unless local aboriginals consent. The statement was released Monday in Kiruna, Sweden, two days before leaders from the eight circumpolar nations meet and hand over chairmanship of the Arctic Council to Canada.

Arctic melting spurs changes in U.S. oil and gas strategy

Amid news that Earth’s atmosphere has reached a milestone in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations never before seen in the history of mankind, the United States has announced an aggressive policy that calls for the speedy exploitation of its Arctic oil and gas resources.

IRN is launching the inaugural Arctic Oil & Gas 2013 Summit

The global summits organiser, IRN, is pleased to announce the launch of its inaugural Arctic Oil & Gas 2013 Summit that will take place on 18th-19th June, in Oslo, Norway.

The summit will create a platform that will facilitate discussions amongst the major key players of the Arctic circle all the way through Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, bringing together senior level representatives from the international oil companies that are already involved and those that are looking to invest in the future developments.

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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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