EARTHblog
GAO Calls Out EPA: Step Up on Frackquakes!
Last week the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) released their critique of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) regulation of oil and gas waste injection wells. The GAO found that EPA does not perform sufficient oversight and they inconsistently evaluate how states regulate this activity. Even when EPA wants to conduct oversight, GAO noted that EPA sometimes couldn’t because they never incorporated many state rules in to their federal regulations.
Tagged with: enforcement, earthquakes, gao, injection wells, uic calls ii, frackquakes
Earthworks Joins Brief to Peru Court Challenging Conga
This week, Earthworks joined Earthrights International and the Center for International Environmental Law in filing an amicus curiae [friend of the court brief] to the Peruvian Constitutional Court in support of Grufides' case.
Tagged with: mining, no dirty gold, peru, conga
Former Mayor Featured in Gasland Movies Launches California Speaking Tour
Calvin Tillman, former mayor of Dish, TX, is speaking to fracking affected communities in California this week, from July 24th through July 26th. Calvin's story has been featured in the films Gasland and Gasland II. He will be talking about his own experiences with fracking, effects on public health and the environment, and property rights.
Tagged with: fracking, texas, california, dish
Welcome growling over shale gas oversight
Pennsylvanians whose health and quality of life have been disrupted by gas development certainly have a personal “dog in the fight” for better industry oversight and accountability. But they might not have expected help in that quest from the state’s fiscal watchdog—who yesterday strongly criticized the ability of the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) to track problems and respond to the public.
In a report on DEP’s protection of water quality in the face of shale gas drilling, Auditor General Eugene DePasquale detailed serious lapses in how DEP works with drillers who have caused water pollution; communicates investigation results to residents; registers citizen complaints; conducts inspections of gas sites; and tracks waste.
Tagged with: fracking, pennsylvania, pennsylvania department of environmental protection, water contamination
Coming Soon: A New Standard for More Responsible Mining
Earthworks is part of a multistakeholder group working to develop the world's first certification system for more responsible mining. Today, the group releases the first draft of the standards for public comment. Here's a message from the committee about these groundbreaking standards.
Tagged with: certification, irma, standards
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