Last week began a planned series of blockades against Texas-based Crestwood’s gas storage facility under Seneca Lake, which many residents, local governments, and business owners feel is incompatible with the rural nature of this community, known for farming, tourism, and wine. I was there on the first day. This is a video record.  A very powerful 9 minute video.   More info: http://WeAreSenecaLake.com  

12 People Blockade Entrance to Compressor Station Protesting Methane Gas Storage Project A dozen people put their bodies on the line today in a last-resort protest to stop a major gas storage expansion project that has been authorized to begin construction tomorrow on the shore of Seneca Lake , the largest of New York ’s Finger Lakes . The protesters formed a human blockade in front of the Texas-based Crestwood Midstream company gate, shutting down the Finger Lakes facility from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Thursday. A larger rally and the continuation of the human blockade and protest will take place Friday, Oct. 24, starting at 10 a.m. at the gates of the Crestwood compressor station site on Seneca Lake . The “WE ARE SENECA LAKE” actions are taking place to protest the methane gas storage expansion project that will store highly […]

  Protestors urge gubernatorial candidates to find alternatives to fracking Before the gubernatorial candidates started volleying debate points, citizens were volleying protest slogans.  Outside of the WBFO-WNED studios, shouts for second amendment rights – mostly aimed at Governor Cuomo – were just as loud as chants against fracking for natural gas. One of the voices behind those chants was that of John Washington. He’s a community organizer for People United for Sustainable Housing, better known as PUSH Buffalo .  It’s a group that builds houses heated with geothermal energy.  Washington says there’s no need to frack for natural gas when geothermal heat is far more effective and less detrimental to the environment.  He sees it as a new way forward… “You’re really going to be able to set a trend […]

http://www.desmogblog.com/2014/10/16/court-files-robert-murray-lease-aubrey-mcclendon-new-fracking-company DeSmogBlog has obtained a copy of a sample hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”)lease distributed to Ohio landowners byembattled former CEO and founder ofChesapeake Energy, Aubrey McClendon, now CEO of American Energy Partners. Elisabeth Radow, a New York-based attorney who examined a copy of the lease, told DeSmogBlog she believes the lease “has the effect of granting American Energy Partners the right to use the surface and subsurface to such a great extent that it takes away substantially all of the rights attributable to homeownership.” The American Energy Partners fracking lease was shaken loose as part of the discovery dispute process in an ongoing court case pitting coal industry executive Robert E. Murray — controversial CEO of Murray Energy Corporationand American Energy Corporation — against McClendon in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division. Murray brought the suit against McClendon back in August 2013, alleging McClendon committed trademark and […]

  Fracking Triggers More Ohio Earthquakes, Study Finds Another rare case of fracking-caused earthquakes has jolted Ohio . A new study connects some 400 micro-earthquakes near the town of Canton , in Harrison County , to hydraulic fracturing wells. The three wells operated from September through October 2013 in the Utica Shale. Ten of the quakes registered between magnitude 1.7 and magnitude 2.2, but the tremors were too deep to cause damage or to be easily felt by people, according to the study, published Tuesday in the journal Seismological Research Letters. The new study is the second report this year of fracking-linked earthquakes from drilling in the Utica Shale. In March, scientists with Ohio ‘s Department of Natural Resources shut down drilling at seven Utica Shale gas wells in Poland […]

Poll shows more New Yorkers oppose fracking A poll organized by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), a non-profit environmental advocacy group, has shown that 56 percent of New York citizens oppose fracking. The survey was conducted by third-party researchers in September and documented the opinions of 802 New Yorkers. A similar survey conducted in August by Quinnipiac University found 48 percent of voters polled were opposed to fracking.The study also reported that 79 percent of New Yorkers are in favor of the current fracking moratorium, which was ordered in 2008 so state agencies could evaluate potential risks of the drilling method. Activists continue to rally against fracking and are following Gov. Cuomo on the campaign trail with hopes that he will form an opinion on the issue. To date, […]

Cuomo: ‘I don’t know’ why state edited fracking study http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/10/8554207/cuomo-i-dont-know-why-state-edited-fracking-study   Protest over fracking, offshore gas terminal in Long Beach http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/in-long-beach-protest-over-fracking-offshore-gas-terminal-1.9492603   Anti-fracking event held in Red Hook as part of third annual Global Frackdown http://brooklyn.news12.com/news/anti-fracking-event-held-in-red-hook-as-part-of-third-annual-global-frackdown-1.9492992   NY State to first responders: Stay back from burning oil trains http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/10/8554321/state-first-responders-stay-back-burning-oil-trains   Exxon, Chevron meet with White House over fracking regs http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/220382-exxon-chevron-meet-with-white-house-over-fracking-regs   CA: With New Fracking Rules Coming, State Regulators Struggle With Enforcement http://ww2.kqed.org/news/2014/10/10/california-struggles-to-regulate-injection-wells/   Report Confirms Fracking is Poisoning California’s Dwindling Aquifers http://www.politicususa.com/2014/10/11/report-confirms-fracking-poisoning-californias-dwindling-aquifers.html   In Texas, Traffic Deaths Climb Amid Fracking Boom http://wmra.org/post/texas-traffic-deaths-climb-amid-fracking-boom   Here’s why shale oil stocks are tanking http://www.cnbc.com/id/102078976   Remote sensing of fugitive methane emissions from oil and gas production in North American tight geologic formations http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014EF000265/full  

  Our view: State meddles in fracking report http://auburnpub.com/news/opinion/editorial/our-view-state-meddles-in-fracking-report/article_870a0af1-83d0-56b6-80c4-e73c410b7db9.html   Will Andrew Cuomo oppose fracking after getting a scare from Zephyr Teachout? http://grist.org/climate-energy/will-andrew-cuomo-oppose-fracking-after-getting-a-scare-from-zephyr-teachout/   Dutchess County considers banning fracking brine on local roads http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-10-08-89490.113122-Dutchess-County-considers-banning-fracking-brine-on-local-roads.html http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/10/eldridge-ads-highlight-opposition-to-hydrofracking/   Pinkwashing: Fracking Company Teams Up With Susan G. Komen to ‘End Breast Cancer Forever’ http://ecowatch.com/2014/10/08/pinkwashing-susan-korman-baker-hughes     PA: State police documents show intelligence-sharing network between law enforcement and Marcellus Shale drillers http://www.pghcitypaper.com/pittsburgh/state-police-documents-show-intelligence-sharing-network-between-law-enforcement-and-marcellus-shale-drillers/   In Texas , a Fight Over Fracking http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/09/business/in-texas-a-fight-over-fracking.html   Fracking Study Shows Consequences Are Uncertain http://wuis.org/post/fracking-study-shows-consequences-are-uncertain   Ohio: Group pushes for more chemical disclosure at fracking sites http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2014/10/08/group-pushes-for_fracking-disclosure.html   EPA Increases Public Access to Chemical Data http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20141008/epa-increases-public-access-chemical-data  

Our Opinion: Exporting America’s Gas Reserves to Brazil Makes No Sense Times Union, Wilkes-Barre PA So much for working toward America’s “energy independence.” Natural gas pulled from below Pennsylvania’s state forests and privately owned lands might soon get siphoned to a Maryland port, then shipped – not to markets in the nation’s heartland, but instead – overseas. Initial recipients are said to include Japan and India, but in this multibillion-dollar industry, it’s not difficult to imagine the Keystone State’s resources going to the highest bidder, no matter where. Presumably, to whichever government has the most yen for it. The international exporting of coveted fuel from places such as Susquehanna County could begin by 2017. On Monday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission gave its preliminary blessing to Dominion Energy’s planned liquefied […]

UAlbany professor finds elevated benzene near Albany rail yard http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-10-06-89442.113122-UAlbany-professor-finds-elevated-benzene-near-Albany-rail-yard.html State agencies submit comments to feds on improving oil train safety http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-c-2014-10-06-89443.113122-State-agencies-submit-comments-to-feds-on-improving-oil-train-safety.html Global Frackdown: October 11 http://fwwat.ch/1rFORSB The 10 Worst Energy-Related Disasters Of Modern Times http://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/The-10-Worst-Energy-Related-Disasters-In-History.html Reducing Methane Pollution from Fossil-Fuel Production on America’s Public Lands http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/green/report/2014/10/06/98326/reducing-methane-pollution-from-fossil-fuel-production-on-americas-public-lands/ Report fuels fracking cynicism http://www.dailygazette.com/weblogs/foss/2014/oct/06/1006_foss/ CO: City council works to reinstate fracking ban in Fort Collins http://www.collegian.com/2014/10/city-council-works-reinstate-fracking-ban-fort-collins/93136/ FL: Documents reveal Halliburton fracking proposal at Collier-Hogan oil well, shed new light on drilling http://www.naplesnews.com/on-todays-1a/documents-reveal-halliburton-fracking-proposal-at-collier-hogan-oil-well-shed-new-light-on-drilling_91248691 ExxonMobil Comes Clean On Fracking Risks — Not http://cleantechnica.com/2014/10/06/exxonmobil-comes-clean-fracking-risks/ LA: The Most Ambitious Environmental Lawsuit Ever http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/10/02/magazine/mag-oil-lawsuit.html

Oil-field health studies continue but answers are still lacking http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_26664947/oil-field-health-studies-continue-but-answers-are Colorado’s biggest drillers try new techniques to cut oil, gas impact http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_26660219/colorados-biggest-drillers-try-new-techniques-cut-oil McCommon: Will natural gas save our way of life? http://www.roanoke.com/opinion/mccommon-will-natural-gas-save-our-way-of-life/article_c2ec6904-5181-5fd8-9b8c-7af1933fbade.html Testimony: Obsolete tests tainted shale analysis http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/10/06/Testimony-Obsolete-tests-tainted-shale-analysis/stories/201410060075 Cuomo administration edited and delayed key fracking study http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/10/8553530/cuomo-administration-edited-and-delayed-key-fracking-study Rob Astorino to tour gas fields amid fracking debate http://nypost.com/2014/10/06/rob-astorino-to-tour-gas-fields-amid-fracking-debate/  Taste of the Catskills to honor 2 anti-fracking activists http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/10/05/jimmy-buff-green-living/16590891/ Allegany Towns Seek To Ban Hydrofracking http://www.houghtonstar.com/2014/10/05/2435/ Proposed oil pipeline could pass through Rockland http://www.lohud.com/story/news/local/rockland/2014/10/03/new-oil-pipeline-rockland/16603419/ Albany: Lower city speed limit sought http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/McCoy-Sheehan-seek-federal-emergency-order-on-5791079.php Crude booms, safety lags http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/crude-booms-safety-lags/30861/ Pennsylvania told to release info on oil trains http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/pennsylvania-told-to-release-info-on-oil-trains/article_4f6a5175-bbe7-5ebc-be29-f8874b749e01.html More oil trains heading to N.J. http://www.northjersey.com/news/more-oil-trains-heading-to-n-j-1.1103039 Companies in Bakken Shale Fight Limits on Oil Trains http://online.wsj.com/articles/companies-in-bakken-shale-fight-limits-on-oil-trains-141151435 Bakken oil’s path revealed: Crude on freight trains passes through […]

My grandmother was a McKaskle, whose ancestors were from the Isle of Skye in the Hebrides. The McKaskles, or more properly MacAskill, are a sub clan or sept of the McLeods. They lived in the Cuillin Hills at one end of the island where the other Skye clans – the MacDonalds, MacKenzies and Nicholsons, pretty much left them alone.  “Mac” of course means “son of.” Askill is translated as a “ceremonial chalice” – which is euphemistic, because “askill” is literally “a skull.” The MacAskills were descendants of Norse raiders (ie. Vikings) who celebrated a victory by lopping off the heads of the defeated and having a victory swig of mead out of their hollowed-out skulls. A custom we outgrew – when Scotch whisky and drinking glasses were invented. In some of the […]

Well Water Contamination Possible After Drilling Mishap http://wvpublic.org/post/well-water-contamination-possible-after-drilling-mishap Oil, gas industry boom leads to expansion of laws in Pennsylvania http://triblive.com/business/headlines/6893442-74/state-gas-oil#axzz3ExFYW78r Study: More gas wells in area leads to more hospitalizations http://citizensvoice.com/news/study-more-gas-wells-in-area-leads-to-more-hospitalizations-1.1763826 Open Pits Offer Cheap Disposal for Fracking Sludge, but Health Worries Mount http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141002/open-pits-offer-cheap-disposal-fracking-sludge-health-worries-mount Fracking in wintry areas linked to high ozone pollution http://www.edmontonjournal.com/Fracking+wintry+areas+linked+high+ozone+pollution/10253739/story.html Baker Hughes starts disclosing frac chemicals http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/eagle-ford-energy/article/Baker-Hughes-starts-disclosing-frac-chemicals-5795068.php In FREC’s Approval of Gas Exports, Climate Effects Get Glossed Over  http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20141001/fercs-approval-gas-exports-climate-effects-get-glossed-over Koch Brothers’ Political Activism Protects Their 50-Year Stake in Canadian Heavy Oils http://insideclimatenews.org/news/20120510/koch-industries-brothers-tar-sands-bitumen-heavy-oil-flint-pipelines-refinery-alberta-canada Ohio fracking waste issues go beyond chemical disclosure http://www.midwestenergynews.com/2014/10/02/ohio-fracking-and-shale-waste-worries-critics/ Oil and gas emissions can create ‘extreme’ ozone pollution, study finds http://o.canada.com/news/national/oil-and-gas-emissions-can-create-extreme-ozone-pollution-study-finds Pennsylvania man faces sentencing for falsifying abandoned oil well plugging reports http://greatlakesecho.org/2014/10/02/pennsylvania-man-faces-sentencing-for-falsifying-abandoned-oil-well-plugging-reports/ Cracks seen in fracking-disclosure report process http://www.sfgate.com/business/article/Cracks-seen-in-fracking-data-reportsFracking-5795048.php

NY bills to curb fracking waste suggested http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2014/09/29/fracking-waste-legislation/16458827/ Catskills Bureau Confidential: Mamakating fracking ban applies to byproducts, too http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20140930/NEWS/409300319 Hawkins sees gubernatorial run propelling Green Party http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/elections/hawkins-sees-gubernatorial-run-propelling-green-party-20140929 Fracking opponents to Cuomo: Come to Pennsylvania ! http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2014/09/29/fracking-opponents-to-cuomo-come-to-pennsylvania/16434745/  Polarization in New York state over fracking http://phys.org/news/2014-09-polarization-york-state-fracking.html NY 23: Martha Robertson meets with editorial board Hydraulic Fracturing: http://www.fltimes.com/news/article_5bbfbdc2-46bf-11e4-aa60-3f7ab119b7cb.html Chemical Makers, Energy Companies Tell EPA Not to Mandate Fracking Fluid Disclosure http://www.bna.com/chemical-makers-energy-n17179895509/ A U-Turn for a Terminal Built in Texas to Import Natural Gas http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/30/business/energy-environment/a-u-turn-for-a-terminal-built-in-texas-to-import-natural-gas.html The Natural Gas Boom Could Accelerate Climate Change http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-natural-gas-boom-could-accelerate-climate-change/ ‘Illegal’ Enbridge Tar Sands Pipeline Plan Alarms Minnesota http://ens-newswire.com/2014/09/24/ameriscan-september-24-2014 Questions Mount About the Safety of Shipping North Dakota Crude Oil http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140926/questions-mount-about-safety-shipping-north-dakota-crude-oil U.S. river freight system near breaking point as huge harvest looms http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/26/us-usa-grains-barges-idUSKCN0HL1L120140926 DE: Students Unite to Stop Natural Gas […]

Polarization in New York state over fracking http://phys.org/news/2014-09-polarization-york-state-fracking.html Dark side of the boom http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/national/2014/09/28/dark-side-of-the-boom/ Fracking in the US: The story of one man’s oil well http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/2014/0928/Fracking-in-the-US-The-story-of-one-man-s-oil-well Pennyslvania DEP admits drilling probe error http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/09/29/DEP-admits-drilling-probe-error/stories/201409280221 Investigations raise questions about oil workers’ pay http://www.houmatoday.com/article/20140927/WIRE/140929638?Title=Investigations-raise-questions-about-oil-workers-pay “The roads were cracking, the crime rate was rising”: What happens when fracking takes over your town http://www.salon.com/2014/09/27/the_roads_were_cracking_the_crime_rate_was_rising_what_happens_when_fracking_takes_over_your_town/ National Grid In Partnership With NYC Department Of Environmental Protection Begins Design And Construction Of The Newtown Creek Renewable Natural Gas Project http://www.pollutiononline.com/doc/national-grid-in-partnership-construction-of-the-newtown-renewable-natural-project-0001  How Rising Interest Rates Could Spell the End of the U.S. Energy Boom http://oilprice.com/Energy/Oil-Prices/How-Rising-Interest-Rates-Could-Spell-the-End-of-the-U.S.-Energy-Boom.html

Oil terminal comment period extended again http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/221313/oil-terminal-comment-period-extended-again/ PA: Three anti-fracking demonstrators plead guilty to blocking road to gas wells http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2014/09/three_anti-fracking_demonstrat.html   Pennsylvania Releases Official File Detailing 250 Water Supplies Directly Polluted by Fracking http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/26089-pennsylvania-releases-official-file-detailing-250-water-supplies-directly-polluted-by-fracking   Texas: Fracking Campaign Ads Hit Denton Neighborhoods http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/Fracking-Campaign-Ads-Hit-Denton-Neighborhoods-277285531.html   Colorado Fracking Task Force Opens With Anti-Industry Tone http://dailycaller.com/2014/09/26/colorado-fracking-task-force-opens-with-anti-industry-tone/   West Virginia opens bids on fracking under river http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/energy/article/Is-fracking-under-Ohio-River-W-Va-s-money-maker-5783100.php   Why Fracking Ireland Is Different http://www.huffingtonpost.com/maureen-seaberg/why-fracking-ireland-is-d_b_5883998.html   Britain: Fracking trespass law changes move forward despite huge public opposition http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/26/fracking-trespass-law-changes-move-forward-despite-huge-public-opposition   UK Government Says Never Mind What People Want, Let’s Frack http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/26/uk-fracking/?utm_source=EcoWatch+List&utm_campaign=922b61cdf3-Top_News_9_27_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_49c7d43dc9-922b61cdf3-85390997

  Propane storage urged in caverns http://www.timesunion.com/business/article/Propane-storage-urged-in-caverns-5778852.php   CSX launches mobile application for emergency responders http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140926/NEWS03/140929069   Richardson: Shale industry needs to adapt world view http://www.observer-reporter.com/article/20140925/NEWS01/140929594#.VCUAm-fjLog   Living Death: The Real Costs of Fracking http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/26414-living-death-the-real-costs-of-fracking   Worker Dies at Wyoming Natural Gas Facility http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140925/worker-dies-wyoming-natural-gas-facility   Hydraulic Fracturing Rules Delayed in Illinois http://www.natlawreview.com/article/hydraulic-fracturing-rules-delayed-illinois   Treated Fracking Wastewater is Still Potentially Harmful http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2014/09/treated-fracking-wastewater-still-potentially-harmful   Ohio is cited in GAO report for fracking waste disposal http://www.ohio.com/blogs/drilling/ohio-utica-shale-1.291290/ohio-is-cited-in-gao-report-for-fracking-waste-disposal-1.525761   WVA: Couple claims fracking is destroying their land http://wvrecord.com/news/269604-couple-claims-fracking-is-destroying-their-land   Colorado oil and gas task force IDs legal, health issues as priorities http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_26607408/colorado-oil-and-gas-task-force-ids-legal   Mining for sand for fracking holds risks for communities, study says http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-fracking-sand-mining-20140925-story.html   Energy Cos. Face Fracking Regulation Patchwork, GAO Says https://www.law360.com/energy/articles/581148/energy-cos-face-fracking-regulation-patchwork-gao-says   Scottish devolution: Extra powers ‘must cover fracking’ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-29374335

Finger Lakes residents ask Schumer and Gillibrand to intervene in propane storage plan http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-09-24-89336.113122-Finger-Lakes-residents-ask-Schumer-and-Gillibrand-to-intervene-in-propane-storage-plan.html   If Democrats take majority, Senate would take up fracking bills http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/09/8553302/if-democrats-take-majority-senate-would-take-fracking-bills   Colorado fracking panel meeting for first time http://www.miamiherald.com/news/business/article2239895.html   NC:  Tribe bans fracking http://www.smokymountainnews.com/news/item/14290-tribe-bans-fracking   Ohio: ‘Crippling penalties’ urged for drillers hiding fracking chemical lists http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/blog/ohio-energy-inc/2014/09/crippling-penalties-urged-for-drillers-hiding.html   Buckeye Partners Opening Port of Albany Terminal to Canadian Oil Sands Shipments http://fuelfix.com/blog/2014/09/23/buckeye-partners-opening-port-of-albany-terminal-to-canadian-oil-sands-shipments/   California Farmers File Suit Alleging Oil Companies’ Faulty Wastewater Injection Caused Crop Loss http://www.alternet.org/fracking/farmers-file-suit-alleging-oil-companies-wastewater-caused-crop-loss   Fracking Wastewater Could Encourage Formation Of Toxic Compounds During Drinking Water Disinfection http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/web/2014/09/Fracking-Wastewater-Encourage-Formation-Toxic.html     Look out below: Danger lurks underground from aging gas pipes http://www.usatoday.com/longform/news/nation/2014/09/23/gas-pipes-cast-iron-deaths-explosions-investigation/15783697/   MN: Lawsuit threatens ‘ban’ on fracking http://www.petoskeynews.com/gaylord/news/lawsuit-threatens-ban-on-fracking/article_f9131cf2-61e0-58b6-8d77-c17cfa6db213.html   MN: Why so much oil from the fracking boom is moving by […]

400,000 people, 4 miles, going by a mile a minute . . . see anybody you know ? Look fast.  Bill Huston shot 4 hours of video from Columbus Circle and condensed it into a streaming montage of climate marchers. Bravo Bill

Low Oil Prices: Sign of a Debt Bubble Collapse, Leading to the End of Oil Supply? http://ourfiniteworld.com/2014/09/21/low-oil-prices-sign-of-a-debt-bubble-collapse-leading-to-the-end-of-oil-supply/ NJ: Princeton votes to ban fracking throughout town http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2014/09/live_coverage_princeton_votes_to_ban_fracking_throughout_town.html  Pennsylvania inspectors key to Marcellus regulation http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/09/23/State-inspectors-a-key-to-Marcellus-regulation/stories/201409230013 A day in the life of a longtime DEP inspector http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/09/23/Inspectors-are-key-to-Marcellus-regulation/stories/201409230014 Public hearings are over, so now what for fracking in NC? http://www.carolinapublicpress.org/20535/public-hearings-are-over-so-now-what-for-fracking-in-nc EPA Administrator outlines plan for hydraulic fracturing study http://www.lexology.com/library/detail.aspx?g=c4405eed-c439-4a14-8732-7e1badc0c3c8 MacArthur Delves Deeper into Climate and Fracking http://www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/2014/9/22/macarthur-delves-deeper-into-climate-and-fracking.html Fossil Fuels Get Huge Master Limited Partnership Tax Breaks – “Green” Energy Shut Out http://www.dcbureau.org/201409229967/natural-resources-news-service/multi-billion-dollar-tax-rules-favor-fossil-fuels-hurt-green-energy-competitors.html Texas oil field work proving deadly for employees http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/eagle-ford-energy/article/Texas-oil-field-work-proving-deadly-for-employees-5774386.php LA: DNR grants rare public hearing on fracking permit http://www.wwltv.com/story/news/local/northshore/2014/09/22/dnr-grants-rare-public-hearing-on-fracking-permit-application/16073595/ Australia: Victorian government bans fracking chemical http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2014/09/22/4092151.htm  

Drill down on hydrofracking http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/09/22/drill-hydrofracking/15996745/ Fracking’s environmental impacts scrutinized http://phys.org/news/2014-09-fracking-environmental-impacts-scrutinised.html LETTER: ‘Shracking’ bid http://www.chichester.co.uk/news/letters/letter-shracking-bid-1-6306177 Learning from the Marcellus to drill the Utica http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2014/09/15/Learning-from-the-Marcellus-to-drill-the-Utica/stories/201409150170 Balancing gas pipeline expansion, environmental unease a problem in Pennsylvania http://triblive.com/business/headlines/6757563-74/gas-pipeline-companies Trial and error approach leaves Marcellus Shale wounds ; Drilling regulations come after damages http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/policy-powersource/2014/09/22/Trial-and-error-approach-leaves-Marcellus-Shale-wounds/stories/201409220013 Negative publicity does more damage to Marcellus Shale drilling companies than fines: Shale drillers try to keep problems under the radar http://www.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/09/22/Negative-publicity-does-more-damage-than-fines/stories/201409220014 Worried About Climate Change? Ban Fracking on Federal Lands http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/26322-worried-about-climate-change-ban-fracking-on-federal-lands Scotland: Here’s a taste of rewards for No – mass fracking https://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/mel-kelly/here%27s-taste-of-rewards-for-no-mass-fracking Top Pittsburgh emergency response official talks about risks of crude oil trains http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2014/09/21/top-pittsburgh-emergency-response-official-talks-about-risks-of-crude-oil-trains/

Comes from Washington County, Pa via my pal Bob Doonan, aka The Bob: “I got a text Friday night from a friend extremely concerned about a major spill not very far from everyone’s favorite county park: MINGO.       The Ebenezer Covered Bridge in Mingo Creek County Park   Ironically perhaps, one of the spill sites was close to Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church, a famous hub for those who fought the federal government over taxes during the Whiskey Rebellion. A brief history lesson:     The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791, during the presidency of George Washington. The rebellion was provoked by the imposition of an excise tax on distilled spirits. Although the tax applied to all distilled […]

Is the Shale Revolution a ‘Ponzi Scheme’ or the End of Peak Oil? http://peakoil.com/production/is-the-shale-revolution-a-ponzi-scheme-or-the-end-of-peak-oil Business Love for Cuomo Ends with Fracking: The Governor’s Position in the Middle Has Satisfied No One http://online.wsj.com/articles/business-love-for-new-york-gov-andrew-cuomo-ends-with-fracking-1411176839 Cuomo foes pounce on fracking indecision http://www.pressconnects.com/story/news/local/new-york/2014/09/19/cuomo-fracking-new-york/15902073/ Obama Urged to Plug Methane Leaks to Meet Climate Goal http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-09-18/obama-urged-to-plug-methane-leaks-to-meet-climate-goal.html Chevron meets new, voluntary shale drilling rules http://bigstory.ap.org/article/4e3a6ae0e7fe420c8c277d3a21fd0a9d/apnewsbreak-chevron-meets-shale-drilling-rules Fracking’s woes told at forums http://news.fredericksburg.com/newsdesk/2014/09/19/frackings-woes-told-at-forums/ The curious case of the smallmouth bass http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/09/16/the-curious-case-of-the-smallmouth-bass/ Marcellus shale conference moves from Philly to Pittsburgh http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2014/09/18/marcellus-shale-conference-moves-from-philly-to-pittsburgh/ PRESSURE BUILDING http://www.dentonrc.com/local-news/local-news-headlines/20140919-pressure-building.ece With 38% of Global Shale Gas Located in Regions of Water Stress, More Oversight of Fracking is Urgently Needed http://www.resilience.org/stories/2014-09-19/with-38-of-global-shale-gas-located-in-regions-of-water-stress-more-oversight-of-fracking-is-urgently-needed

Cuomo: I Won’t Decide on Fracking Before the Election http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/966399-cuomo-i-wont-decide-on-fracking-before-the-election/ Anti-fracking protesters demonstrate outside Cuomo fundraiser http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/2014/09/17/anti-fracking-protestors-protest-outside-cuomo-fundraiser/15806863/ Astorino pitches (and chides) Business Council http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/09/8552918/astorino-pitches-and-chides-business-council Brooklyn panel to focus on effects of fracking http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2014/9/18/brooklyn-panel-focus-effects-fracking Auburn reinstates ban on accepting gas drilling wastewater http://auburnpub.com/news/local/auburn-reinstates-ban-on-accepting-gas-drilling-wastewater/article_32b7c87a-c19e-501c-be06-1361f35fbff4.html H-word by Collins has expats groaning http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/washington-politics/h-word-by-collins-has-expats-groaning-20140918 Alex Beauchamp: How fracking contributes to climate change http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/how-fracking-contributes-to-climate-change-alex-beauchamp-1.9347598 Al Gore: Fracking Won’t Solve Our Climate Crisis http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2014/09/al-gore-climate-obama-clinton Alec Baldwin, passionate about green energy, speaks out against fracking http://www.syracuse.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2014/09/alec_baldwin_green_energy_fracking_renewables.html Ohio: Lawmaker action with hydraulic fracturing http://www.vindy.com/news/2014/sep/17/lawmaker-updates-on-hydraulic-fracturing/ PA families struggle with gas drilling pollution http://www.abc27.com/story/26566266/pa-families-struggle-with-gas-drilling-pollution NM: Fighting the Fracking Barons http://readersupportednews.org/news-section2/312-16/25910-fighting-the-fracking-barons Senate Bill Would Speed Permits for Pipelines Like Keystone XL http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140917/senate-bill-would-speed-permits-pipelines-keystone-xl BP Ask Texas Supreme Court for Ruling That Would Cut Spill Costs http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140917/bp-ask-texas-supreme-court-ruling-would-cut-spill-costs Companies Warn Investors Climate Change Threatens Their […]

For trashing water in Pennsylvania. Which is their specialty in Texas. . . DEP Fines Range Resources $4.15 Million for Violating Environmental Regulations Consent order and agreement will close five Washington County impoundments PITTSBURGH — The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) today announced it has signed a wide-ranging consent order and agreement with Range Resources for violations at six of its Washington County impoundments. The consent order requires the company to pay a $4.15 million fine, the largest against an oil and gas operator in the state’s shale drilling era, close five impoundments and upgrade two other impoundments to meet heightened “next generation” standards currently under development at DEP. “This action reaffirms the administration’s unwavering commitment to protecting Pennsylvania’s soil and water resources,” DEP Secretary E. Christopher Abruzzo said. “This […]

 Future of Fracking Will Influence November Election for Governor http://wxxinews.org/post/future-fracking-will-influence-november-election-governor Who will monitor the environmental fallout from fracking? http://mg.co.za/article/2014-09-17-who-will-monitor-the-environmental-fallout-from-fracking Town enacts moratorium on fracking-related activities http://poststar.com/news/local/town-enacts-moratorium-on-fracking-related-activities/article_ab88f784-3d31-11e4-94ad-fff6f4c947f9.html Mark Ruffalo calls on Obama to ban fracking ahead of UN climate summit http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/sep/16/mark-ruffalo-obama-ban-fracking-shale-gas-un-summit Experts Call on Obama to Ban Fracking in Lead Up to People’s Climate March http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/16/obama-ban-fracking-climate-change ‘This Changes Everything’ Including the Anti-Fracking Movement http://ecowatch.com/2014/09/15/naomi-klein-this-changes-everything-fracking 5 common worries when fracking comes to town http://www.futurity.org/fracking-public-health-765362/   NJ: Fair Lawn to consider 3-year moratorium on fracking http://www.northjersey.com/news/fair-lawn-to-consider-3-year-moratorium-on-fracking-1.1089322   Scientists Find ‘Direct Link’ Between Earthquakes And Process Used For Oil And Gas Drilling http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2014/09/16/3568090/direct-link-between-earthquakes-and-fracking-process/ Gas Production Blamed for Rise in Colorado , New Mexico Earthquakes http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140916/gas-production-blamed-rise-colorado-new-mexico-earthquakes  Keystone XL Operator Seeks South Dakota Approval http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140916/keystone-xl-operator-seeks-south-dakota-approval Meet the Frackers: Right-Wing Billionaire Brothers’ Biblical Ambitions http://www.alternet.org/meet-frackers-right-wing-billionaire-brothers-biblical-ambitions How First Nations in […]

  Friends, if you want a series of booklets to give to legislators or anyone to help them understand the reason and necessity for a ban, Our criteria are that these sources should be Compelling stories, good science, good journalism Peer reviewed (if appropriate) and sourced/footnoted, mainstream sources Any one of these could stand-alone as the ONE source you could give someone. Extra credit for beautiful presentation. Available free online in PDF form. I recommend the following as the BEST of the Best! Some can be purchased as color, bound editions. 1: Food and Water Watch’s: The URGENT case for a ban on fracking: Summary of all the reasons why fracking is inherently toxic, cannot be regulated, and therefore must be banned. Extra credit for beautiful presentation. http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/the-urgent-case-for-a-ban-on-fracking/ 2: PACWA’s […]

Thursday’s rally outside one of Governor Cuomo’s events in Manhattan . WHAT: Rally to Ban Fracking outside the “Women for Cuomo” fundraising event WHERE: The Plaza Hotel, 768 Fifth Avenue , Manhattan DATE: Thursday, September 18 TIME: 11:30 am – 1:00 pm   North country residents sound off on oil train traffic http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-09-15-89199.113122-North-country-residents-sound-off-on-oil-train-traffic.html   DEC still taking comments on Albany oil train project http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-09-15-89197.113122-DEC-still-taking-comments-on-Albany-oil-train-project.html   Talk in Beacon will look at fracking http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/tech/science/environment/2014/09/15/tom-wilber-fracking-talk/15694073/   Tell the EPA: Require Disclosure of Dangerous Fracking Chemicals http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/mmcfeeley/tell_the_epa_require_disclosur.html   PA: Election 2014 Natural Gas Drilling http://wesa.fm/post/election-2014-natural-gas-drilling   CO: Frustration Over Fracking Could Play Role In November Elections http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2014/09/15/fracking-november-elections    Texas: Traffic deaths in the booming Permian Basin rose 50 percent http://bakken.com/news/id/221248/traffic-deaths-booming-permian-basin-rose-50-percent/   Could EPA’s Power Plant Proposal Fast-Track Natural Gas Pipeline Projects? http://insideclimatenews.org/todaysnews/20140915/could-epas-power-plant-proposal-fast-track-natural-gas-pipeline-projects   […]

New anti-fracking committee meets Tuesday in Penn Yan http://www.fairport-erpost.com/article/20140915/NEWS/140919784 Texas drinking water tainted by natural gas operations, scientists find http://www.dallasnews.com/business/energy/20140915-texas-drinking-water-tainted-by-natural-gas-operations-scientists-find.ece Drillers, But Not Fracking, Tied to Tainted Water, Study Shows http://keranews.org/post/drillers-not-fracking-tied-tainted-water-study-shows Fracking or Drinking Water? That May Become the Choice http://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/fracking-or-drinking-water-may-become-choice-n202231 President Obama has a huge gas problem http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/9/12/obama-climate-methane.html Lawmakers Say State Needs More Disposal Well Field Inspectors http://www.newson6.com/story/26529395/lawmakers-say-state-needs-more-disposal-well-field-inspectors Shaking from injection-induced earthquakes http://www.japantoday.com/category/opinions/view/shaking-from-injection-induced-earthquakes Bad news for fracked gas in Vermont http://vtdigger.org/2014/09/14/paul-burns-bad-news-fracked-gas-vermont/ Accident shuts down natural-gas pipeline off Louisiana coast http://theadvocate.com/news/10277515-123/accident-shuts-down-natural-gas-pipeline Royalty Owners Haul Exxon Subsidiary XTO to Court Over Royalties http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/100778/royalty-owners-haul-exxon-subsidiary-xto-to-court-over-royalties Solar in Oil Drilling: Beat Them or Join Them? http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-09-14/solar-oil-drilling-beat-them-or-join-them

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/september/fracking-costs-benefits-091214.html Stanford Report, September 12, 2014 Stanford Study Assesses Environmental Costs of Fracking Rising supplies of natural gas could benefit the environment by replacing coal as a fuel for electricity, but hydraulic fracturing poses dangers for people living near the wells, a new analysis finds. We can do better, the authors say. By Mark Golden Robert Jackson Fracking operations at a well pad near a farm over the Marcellus shale formation in Pennsylvania. A strange thing happened on the way to dealing with climate change: Advances in hydraulic fracturing put trillions of dollars’ worth of previously unreachable oil and natural gas within humanity’s grasp. The environmental costs – and benefits – from “fracking,” which requires blasting huge amounts of water, sand and chemicals deep into underground rock formations, are the […]

Cuomo: No ‘emotional’ fracking decisions ALBANY —Moments after casting his primary ballot this morning, Governor Andrew Cuomo said he will not make an “emotional decision” on fracking. “You can have academics and scientists with research stand up and argue passionately pro, and you have them arguing passionately against, so it is a complex issue,” he told reporters. “But I want to do it on the science and not the politics.” Cuomo’s primary opponent, Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout, has said she would ban fracking on her first day as governor. Cuomo has put off making a decision on the state’s moratorium on fracking, which is now six years old, citing ongoing studies of the health impacts of fracking. Cuomo said anti-fracking protesters were the most prevalent protest group in […]

A loud insurrection on his left complicates N.Y. … He legalized same-sex marriage, signed some of the nation’s toughest gun-control laws and funded universal pre-kindergarten education. As Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo campaigns for reelection here, his record bears many hallmarks of a true progressive. But his opponent in Tuesday’s Democratic primary questions whether Cuomo belongs in the Democratic Party at all. She says the governor is more attuned to the wants of his millionaire Wall Street and real-estate-tycoon campaign donors than to the problems of inequality. Suffolk Closeup: Teachout speaks out … Zephyr Teachout’s Facebook page) Zephyr Teachout is challenging incumbent Andrew Cuomo in a primary this coming Tuesday to decide who will be the Democratic nominee for governor. She is an… The obscene Corbett communications you should car… … […]

Is of course Corbett of Pennsylvania. But Cuomo is not far behind, as The Bruce points out  . . . June 2012 Cuomo floats the idea of permitting fracking in several Southern Tier counties July 2012 The governor suggests home rule bans and moratoria can be overturned if they interfere with fracking: “You could override local government, or you could say ‘Well we’re going to respect home rule if it coincident with the obvious and necessary ramp up period anyway.’” February 2013 The DEC fails to promulgate fracking regulations in time to meet a statutory deadline. October 2013 The DEC issues the industry’s draft regulations that would permit the construction of unspecified LNG facilities in NYS. January 2014 NSERDA issues a draft state Energy Plan that relies heavily on fracked […]

Fracking views separate candidates for governor. Democratic candidate for governor Zephyr Teachout said Wednesday she would ban gas drilling because it threatens the environment. Republican Rob Astorino would promote it to boost jobs. Democratic Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, after three years of consideration, hasn’t made up his mind. New York Newsday, New York. 4 September 2014. Zephyr Teachout, Tim Wu slam de Blasio for endors… REUTERS’ – Avengers’ actor Mark Ruffalo (left) endorses New York State democratic governor candidate Zephyr Teachout (center) and lieutenant governor hopeful Tim Wu (right) during a… Residents beat gas company in Lycoming County zon… Some Lycoming County residents prevailed in a zoning fight with a gas company, one of the first such battles since the Supreme Court overthrew portions of the state’s oil and gas […]

Shell Finds Stretch Utica Shale Boundary Many Mil… Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA)’s natural gas discoveries near the Pennsylvania-New York border indicate that the Utica shale formation extends hundreds of miles farther east than originally… Judge bars natural gas well in residential area HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) – A judge in northern Pennsylvania is throwing out a municipality’s decision to allow a natural gas well to be drilled in a residentially zoned area. The environmental group PennFuture said Wednesday the ruling was a test of a state Supreme Court decision that struck down a 2012 law restricting municipalities’ ability to control where companies may drill. PennFuture had sued on behalf of a nearby landowner. The Marcellus Shale well pad was to be as large as 300 feet by 350 feet, and located within […]

Critics say oil trains are polluting air http://wivb.com/2014/08/29/critics-say-oil-trains-are-polluting-air/ Locals express concern about oil trains http://www.pressrepublican.com/news/local_news/article_30e9bc93-866b-5fb6-905e-6c09f917974f.html Oil train regulation passes in California http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/30/us-usa-california-oil-train-idUSKBN0GU03I20140830 VA: Oil train wrecks prompt scrutiny http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/state-regional/oil-train-wrecks-prompt-scrutiny/article_db3126ad-1e05-5204-8087-69790753f5ca.html Democrats Magee, Hennessey square off for the 121st State Assembly nod http://www.oneidadispatch.com/general-news/20140901/democrats-magee-hennessey-square-off-for-the-121st-state-assembly-nod Huge Reversal on Fracking In Pennsylvania http://cleantechnica.com/2014/08/30/huge-reversal-on-fracking-in-pennsylvania/ Just What the Gulf of Mexico Needs: Deepwater Fracking Slated to Expand http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/271-38/25638-just-what-the-gulf-of-mexico-needs-deepwater-fracking-slated-to-expand Drinking or fracking? Report finds top shale plays globally are in places with scarce water http://fortune.com/2014/09/02/fracking-drinking-water/ Environmentalists counter gas, oil industry fracking campaign in NC http://www.newsobserver.com/2014/08/29/4106384/environmentalists-counter-gas.html  St. Tammany Parish sues to prevent fracking; Cites concerns over aquifer http://setexasrecord.com/news/298362-st-tammany-parish-sues-prevent-fracking-cites-concerns-aquifer White House reviews federal-land fracking rules http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/216249-white-house-reviews-federal-land-fracking-rules WVa: Fracking Truck Hits Reno Home http://www.thenewscenter.tv/home/headlines/Authorities-Responding-to-Fracking-Truck-Accident-in-Washington-County-273456431.html   Study to look at financial impact of gas boom ODNR investigating quake centered at Weathersfiel… Anti-fracking charter amendment to […]

The history of the frack ban movement has yet to be written – until now. (How’s that for a pretentious opening ?) The first New York frack ban ordinance was written by a retired Virginia judge. The first four New York frack bans were inspired by a white paper written by a Florida real estate developer. The first regional conference on frack bans was co-sponsored by a Belgium beer company (not Gazprom) The first petition for a town ban was written by a New Jersey real estate developer.  Here’s how the municipal frack ban movement really got started in New York, and by inspiration, nationwide. History is written by the winners, but history is made by the doers. The municipal frack ban movement started in New York, as told by the doers, […]

Money. On the one hand, lots of it, and on the other, just a relatively few fat envelopes from a relatively few donors to the right gatekeepers who become enriched by the donations.  Government for the rich by the rich. Legalized graft. On a grand scale.  A small percentage of large donors basically pull the strings in any state capital as well as the nation’s capital. Campaigns for the United States Congress are privately funded in America. Eighty- five percent of that funding comes from large contributions. Candidates and political parties target the especially large contributors in their fundraising efforts. But the number of such contributors is tiny: No more than .05% of the American population gives even the maximum amount to one candidate for Congress. The number giving $10,000 or […]

Illinois Fracking Fiasco in the Works May 27, 2014 Michael Berndtson From United States Geological Survey – Illinois Basin Yesterday, Memorial Day, in commemoration of our nation’s fallen and Chinese manufactured United States flag salesmen, and Illinois House panel voted 7 to 4 to work around the regulator process to get fracking on the New Albany shale. A more tempered write up can be found here. Our nations oil and gas lobbyist, mouth breathing downstater politicians, and petroleum engineers from Oklahoma didn’t even pay for the subsurface investigation to find the sweet spot for fracking the New Albany shale. Our federal tax dollars seemed to have paid for a US Geological Survey (USGS) to do that. The wonderfully written geological ramblings can be found in this report, New Albany Shale. I’m guessing oil […]

From The Rachel – a compendium of articles and reports on radioactivity in shale gas and shale gas drilling waste.  The most radioactive waste material are the drill cuttings from the horizontal (shale) section of a well. Since the shale is the most radioactive sedimentary layer, the horizontal section basically mines radioactive material. Disposing of radioactive drill cuttings can be particularly problematic. At a conventional well – where the cuttings are not from radioactive shale – drill cuttings are often buried at the drill site. Radioactive drill cuttings can be mixed with flowback and injected down an EPA Class II disposal well. Or the drill cuttings can be mixed with soil in “land farming” – the dilution solution. Probably the worst option would be to put radioactive drill cuttings in ordinary […]

BP, Antero,  EQT, Halcon are all pulling out of the Ohio Utica shale. Which Deborah Rogers predicted two years ago. What’s Ohio to do now for frackquakes and toxic frack dumping ? Here’s a summary of how Ohio was teed up by the frackers for a good fracking – first they paid the state off to eliminate Home Rule protections for towns, then they sent in the landmen to dupe the landowners.  If that sounds familiar, the frackers pulled the same stunt in Fracksylvania (worked) and tried it in New York (not so much). Yet. BP Pulls Out of Ohio’s Utica Shale One of the World’s Largest Oil Companies is Calling it Quits in Ohio’s Utica shale. BP announced today that it is pulling out of the region after disappointing results from test wells in Trumbull […]

Here’s a strange one. On April 7th, the last day to file a comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the so-called “Constitution Pipeline”, the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) filed this comment: http://elibrary.ferc.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20140407-5245 The USACE is a party to this proceeding because they have jurisdiction for any pipeline which impacts “waters of the United States”. Don’t try to read it the document above… it’s status was quickly changed to “Privileged”. Meaning: SECRET. But not before we saved a copy! Read it here: http://www.scribd.com/doc/216940906/US-Army-Corps-of-Engineers-comments-on-DEIS-Constitution-Pipeline-CP13-499 A day later, they filed this comment: http://elibrary.FERC.gov/idmws/file_list.asp?accession_num=20140408-5149 So if you compare both letters, line by line, you will see they are identical. Except for one paragraph at the end: In addition, the New York, Baltimore, and Buffalo District Corps of Engineers (Districts) are […]

In Pennsylvania, opponents of gas drilling say regulators are slow and unprepared in responding to air quality complaints. by Naveena Sadasivam, ProPublica There are more than 6,000 active gas wells in Pennsylvania. And every week, those drilling sites generate scores of complaints from the state’s residents, including many about terrible odors and contaminated water. (Photo: William Avery Hudson/cc/flickr)How the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection handles those complaints has worsened the already raw and angry divide between fearful residents and the state regulators charged with overseeing the burgeoning gas drilling industry. For instance, the agency’s own manual for dealing with complaints is explicit about what to do if someone reports concerns about a noxious odor, but is not at that very moment experiencing the smell: “DO NOT REGISTER THE COMPLAINT.” When a resident […]

Debbie Dogskin is dead. She was found in her Fort Yates, North Dakota, mobile home frozen to death with an empty propane tank. [1] [2] What was the cause of the propane shortage which caused prices to rise and supplies to dwindle in the northern midwest and the northeast this winter? Short answer: It was an engineered gamble by industry seeking to maximize profits. There were really four factors which contributed to the shortage this winter. 2: Abnormally wet corn harvest required extra propane to dry 3: Abnormally cold winter increased demand 4: Lack of local storage in the places with the greatest demand. But what was the number 1 reason? The Enterprise TEPPCO line (which ships refined liquids, NGLs, mostly or all propane in winter) was a looped line […]

Many of us have believed the EPA was stripped of their authority to regulate fracking in 2005. Turns out: this is not true! I have discovered, The Halliburton Loophole, has a loophole! This is Good News! Bottom Line: The EPA does have the authority to prescribe requirements which “interferes with or impedes“ the underground injection of fluids pursuant to hydraulic fracturing…  === (now here’s the key phrase:) === … if such requirements are essential to assure that underground sources of drinking water will not be endangered by such injection. In other words: The EPA has the authority to BAN FRACKING Tomorrow! or Today. ding! ding! ding! Please read that again until the enormity of that sinks in. Now I do agree — If you read Section 322 “Hydraulic Fracturing” of […]

Debbie’s First Blunder of the week: Broome County Exec unveils a new “comprehensive” One Stop Shop for Gas Drilling Info in Broome County:  http://broomenaturalgas.com/ Coupla problems: Comprehensive? Hah. It’s nearly content-free. They spent $6,000 of taxpayer money and a year developing it! But there’s no mention of any negative impacts. Probably just an oversight? Just a few links to industry sources, pro-fracking landowner groups, etc. As websites go, it’s pitiful. Oh and one other small detail: There’s no economic shale gas in the whole state: http://tinyurl.com/ShaleGasPotentialInNY1 (as you’ll find out in Vestal on Friday: http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20140129/NEWS01/301290030 ) But the best part is this quote: Preston says, “This is not a push to promote safe natural gas drilling in New York state.” Which is either a Freudian slip or a bit of […]

Permanent supply of DILBIT in every basement. No smoking outside or inside. Children born there to be known as “Tar Babies’  Houses to be sold as Tar Boxes. How’d you like a Tar Pipeline to China in your ‘hood ?  After all, it’s your patriotic duty as Americans to get this Canadian goo to China as cheaply as possible. http://www.arkansasmatters.com/story/mayflower-neighborhood-dead-after-oil-spill/d/story/9JMSFBamOkedQDYnJYgFhQ   MAYFLOWER, AR — Before the 3,500 gallons spilled from a ruptured oil pipeline here, the Northwoods subdivision was considered one of the nicest neighborhoods in Mayflower.Nearly 10 months later, home after home sits empty, leaving just a few residents left in some areas to hang on.”People think it’s like know nobody lives here, but we’re still here on the corner,” said Michele Ward, one of the few left on N […]

The“Washington Legal Foundation”is a Rent-a-Shill for the tobacco industry,  fracking, you name it . . .  Have now decided that they are opposed to Home Rule in New York. Foundation asks New York court to invalidate fracking bans By BOB DOWNING Published: January 15, 2014 A press release received today from the Washington Legal Foundation: WLF ASKS N.Y. HIGH COURT TO INVALIDATE MUNICIPAL ZONING BANS ON FRACKING Norse Energy Corp. USA v. Town of Dryden New York Court of Appeals ALBANY, NY—The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) today asked the New York Court of Appeals to overturn a decision that threatens to allow N.Y. municipalities to ban oil and gas exploration locally, even though the state legislature has expressly preempted all oil and gas regulation. In a brief filed in Norse Energy Corp., USA v. Town of […]

In more ways than one . . .   http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/researchers-find-nearly-6000-natural-gas-leaks-in-districts-aging-pipe-system/2014/01/15/f6ee2204-7dff-11e3-9556-4a4bf7bcbd84_story.html?wpisrc=nl_headlines Researchers Find Explosive Leaks in District’s Gas Lines (Robert B. Jackson) – Methane at 10 percent (100,000 ppm) gas concentration measured in a telecommunications manhole in Washington, D.C. Researchers found nearly 5,893 natural gas leaks from the city’s aging pipe system. CAPTION Share to Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Add to PersonalPost Share via Email Print Article More By Lenny Bernstein, Updated: Thursday, January 16, 6:00 AM E-mail the writer Researchers who conducted a street-by-street survey of the District found nearly 6,000 natural gas leaks from the city’s aging pipe system, including 12 in manholes where methane had collected to potentially explosive levels, according to a study published Thursday. The team, after warning Washington Gas about those 12 locations, retested them four months later and discovered […]

Many local media are reporting that incoming Binghamton Mayor Rich David cancelled the appeal of the court decision which overturned the Binghamton moratorium on a technicality. e.g., BINGHAMTON — Within 10 days of taking over City Hall, Mayor Rich David dropped the appeal of a court decision striking down the moratorium on oil and gas drilling in Binghamton.  — “Binghamton withdraws fracking-ban appeal“, Binghamton Press and Sun Bulletin. 1/15/14 http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20140114/news01/301140034/binghamton-withdraws-fracking-ban-appeal Only thing is, the Binghamton moratorium expired on December 31, 2013. So basically, Rich David is trying to impress his pro-drilling friends at the Greater Binghamton Chamber, who put him in office, by claiming credit for cancelling an appeal which is moot. He might as well take credit for the sun setting. (No Rich, it was going to do that […]

Idle No More at Governor Cuomo’s State of the State address: Mohawk Nation Drummers from Akwesasne assert their rights. This year, authorities ruled that no drumming would be allowed in the concourse under the state capitol in Albany during the governor’s state of the state address. That memo never reached members of the Mohawk Nation who came to Albany to add a first nations perspective to the call for a ban on fracking. The problem for the police is that this rule took no account of the religious and culture centrality of the drum to native peoples, nor the implicit understand of this on the part of supporters who instantly rallied in support of the drummers. It was an inspiring. Chants of “let them go” changed to “let them drum”.  The […]

They were evidently taking taking orders from their guru, an old guy in a white robe and a beanie, known as “Il Papa,” AP reports.  A major Fractavist Sleeper Cell, lead by Miriam “Moon Child” Hurst, retired high school trigonometry teacher, and Ralph “Road Dog” Gibbs, aging bus driver and part time banjo player (a sure giveaway), has been exposed in Ohio ! Delete all emails from these crazed rebels. Deny you have any knowledge of their devious activities. Hide your inflammatory yard signs and insurgent bumper stickers. Tuck your dreds under a gimme cap – they could be your ticket to the pokey. Remember: The First Rule of Fractavist Club is to deny there’s a Fractavist Club.  Apology issued for terror training scenario Posted: Thursday, December 12, 2013 5:45 pm | Updated: 8:22 pm, […]

Warning– this borderlines on Satire… but it’s ALL TRUE! We don’t mean to pick on Ralph Hill as a person. He’s probably a swell church-going man. We only mean to pick on his professional performance. Since he just got canned by the WPX Board of Directors, it feels a little like picking on someone who’s already down… It’s just so darn fun, and his screwups — a BUNCH of ‘em, to boot!– have been so spectacular, they can only be called… EPIC… Ralph Hill’s WPX Energy is like Doofy Doofis, the four-eyed fat kid with buck teeth that everyone picks on. It’s so easy to pick on Ralph Hill, there is a little attendant guilt or shame… But he deserves this for the living hell he’s unleashed on Pennsylvania. So […]

I guess they decided that if dumping fracking filth on the roads and in water treatment plants is illegal in Texas, the World’s Capital of Frack Filth. Maybe it’s not such a hot idea for New York, unless you think Radium 226 on your tires improves traction. No Frack Waste in Onondaga County Bill Monahan fills his truck with water that will be used for hydraulic fracturing at a pumping station in Pennsylvania last year. Onondaga County legislators voted today to ban hydrofracking fluids from roads and treatment plants. (Andrew Maykuth | Philadelphia Inquirer) Print By Glenn Coin | gcoin@syracuse.com  Follow on Twitter on December 17, 2013 at 4:08 PM, updated December 17, 2013 at 5:46 PM Syracuse, N.Y. — The salty fluids from hydrofracking will be banned from roads and treatment plants in […]

My pal Deborah Goldberg, or as I call her Lady Chainsaw, is where the rubber meets the road in the legal battles to keep frackers at bay. Great interview here. She looks so harmless, doesn’t she ? At least that’s what shale shysters Tom West and Scott Kurkoski thought before she had their guts for garters. Advice to frackers: If this person shows up carrying a legal brief, cell phone and notepad – do not make eye contact – walk slowly back to your truck, get in, lock the door, and head back to Oklahoma. Do not speed or forget to use your turn signals. Should be OK. PODCAST Print this page  Email this page CAMPAIGN: Fracking Gone Wrong: Finding A Better Way Fracking is a dangerous way of getting oil and gas […]

Cornell’s professors have asked the University to divest itself of investments in fossil fuels. Before we’re all fossils. Most of New York state’s future electrical energy needs can be met with new wind and hydro power – but that will take some leadership  in Albany. New York has to look to the future on this – the production of fossil fuels is not even much of an option in this state, as we explained on October  30th at Cornell.  Full story here : http://www.dcbureau.org/201312179489/natural-resources-news-service/ivy-league-university-votes-to-dump-oil-and-gas-investments.html#more-9489 December 11, 2013 Cornell University Faculty Senate Votes to Divest Ithaca, NY — The Cornell University Faculty Senate made a strong statement on Wednesday by adopting a resolution that calls for the University to divest its $5.7B endowment from the top 200 fossil fuel holding companies.  (1) These companies […]

Great report by Laurie Barr on what happens when oil and gas wells move into a neighborhood.  They take over. To the detriment of the other residents . . . Life on the Wrong Side of the Oil Field Tracks. Dec. 7, 2013 (SOSPA) By Laurie Barr Save Our Streams PA www.saveourstreamspa.org The industry can be broken down into two distinct groups, the old and the new. While Gov.Tom Corbett promotes the successes of the new unconventional drilling industry during his re-election campaign, oil rises up from the shadows of the dilapidated pump-jacks, helping to shed light, revealing a long history of a dysfunctional  agency charged with the oversight of both the old and new style drilling. Leaking well on the Thomas’ Property, Duke Center, Pennsylvania ( SOSPA Photo left) Some […]

Final day – comments in on Cuomo’s Plan to Festoon New York State With Cryogenically Cooled Gas Bombs  Need a few more comments to surpass 50,000 comments, which we are submitting today. Submit 13 great comment letters from Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy: http://bit.ly/18lHYji And/or use Frack Action comment tool: http://www.frackaction.com/take-action/comment-proposed-lng-regulations/ And please share this on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=717283378283894&set=a.289293371082899.79840.134846486527589&type=1&theater

Not all of Fracksylvania’s frack filth gets exported to Ohio and Idafrackingho. Some of it is already being dumped in New York -as “brine.”  So here’s the game  – the gas goes to China, and New York gets the filth. Sound like a plan ? http://thelcn.com/2013/11/25/dec-confirms-fracking-fluid-processed-at-cuylerville-plant/ DEC confirms fracking fluid processed at Cuylerville plant November 25, 2013 by Howard W. Appell A 3-year-old rumor was confirmed during the question and answer session at the Nov. 6 DEC-AkzoNobel information meeting at SUNY Geneseo Newton Hall: In 2010 the Cuylerville desalination plant was used to treat fracking fluid from wells in Pennsylvania. DEC Special Assistant Ray Yacuzzo qualified that the treatment was a one-time experiment, and that the more odious elements in the waste fluid — radioactive material and heavy metals — were […]

One fracked mortgage at a time. Add SECU to the list of lenders that are telling frackers to take a hike.  http://www.cutimes.com/2013/11/14/secu-pulls-back-from-financing-fracking-property SECU Pulls Back From Financing Fracking Property BY DAVID MORRISON November 14, 2013 • Reprints Share on linkedinShare on twitterShare on facebookShare on emailMore Sharing Services6 The State Employees’ Credit Union said it now is one of a growing number of financial institutions in some parts of the country that have stopped financing purchases of property whose owners have sold the mineral rights. The mineral rights have most often been sold to facilitate exploration and drilling for oil and natural gas, often through a procedure known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking, which extracts oil and natural gas from primarily shale deposits with a mixture of water and chemicals forced underground at pressure. […]

Even in death, Norse’s PR spin is emblematic of the disconnect between the actual prospects for shale gas in most of Upstate (terrible) and the PR of the gas industry: that there is a lot of shale worth fracking in New York (Norse could not find any) and that the state moratorium drove the majors away and made Norse go bankrupt (wrong again, most of the majors left the state before the moratorium). Norse crooked its investors and got sued. It crooked the towns it drilled in on road damages. It could not make any money on vertical gas wells.  And it proved where the Utica and Marcellus “fairway” are not located in New York.  Then tried to start a Shale Shamstitute at the University of Buffalo as part of the […]

Our pal Art Berman explains why most of the shale gas boom is non-sustainable, and never was going to be.  New York Shale Gas Potential Overview here

Frackers are talking about getting Coast Guard approval to barge frack waste down the Erie Canal. Would not touch that with an 11′ barge pole. The following article provides insight on the Coast Guard’s proposal to allow fracking waste to be transported by barge, the problem with barge spills, and Pennsylvania’s lax rules that encourage illicit dumping. As Lou Alstadt has pointed out, a consequence of transporting fracking waste by barge could be a lot of northbound trucks carrying fracking waste through Otsego County up to the Erie Canal. http://www.desmogblog.com/2013/02/05/shale-industry-moves-ship-fracking-waste-barge-threatens-drinking-water-supplies Here is a link to the federal website to comment… http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketBrowser;rpp=25;po=0;dct=PS;D=USCG-2013-0915   A friend, who happens to have been a licensed ship commander in charge of a tanker fleet, weighs in on the prospect:  “There are several water routes north from the PA gas […]

Excellent presentations at Cornell Geology Department Building. Audience of 200 and great Q&A. Hosted by Dr. Ingraffea and planned by Sara Hess, Irene Weiser and Karen Edelstein.  The Power Points will be narrated online, then a video out of the presenters – Lou Allstadt, ex Executive Vice President Mobil Oil, Jerry Acton, ex Lockheed Martin, Brian Brock, retired geologist, and yours truly. Summary of presentations here. Cornell Panelists: Most N.Y. Shale Likely Unprofitable Little local economic gain. Collateral damage likely. 8:03 PM, Oct 31, 2013   |  Comments    A panel at Cornell University Wednesday night said the economic advantage of hydraulic fracturing in New York state is limited compared to neighboring Pennsylvania. Written by Andrew Casler ITHACA — Hydrofracking would bring little economic gain to New York state and more environmental fallout, according […]

Local zoning ordinances apply to gas wells in almost every state – and where the state tries to override local ordinances – as in Pennsylvania – the issue of jurisdiction is  being litigated. In Dallas, the City Manager leased some mineral rights before the City council approved the drilling permit.  When the driller showed up to drill the wells, the City council disapproved the permit. So the driller wants its money back. And the City is firming up restrictions on drilling.  October 17, 2013 Debate Shows Power of Cities to Limit Reach of Drilling By JIM MALEWITZ DALLAS — Claudia and Ed Meyer do not want drilling near their West Dallas home or anywhere else in the city, for that matter. Their neighborhood sits next to a patch of land that developers, […]