Search Results for: regulations

82 results found

Longtime landowner advocate reflects on decades of activism

A landowner advocate looks back over years of leasing battles, negotiations, and the slow lessons of contract language. The drama isn’t abstract — it’s clauses, deductions, surface rights, and the moment someone realizes what they signed. Retrospective voices like this become a record of learning under pressure: what worked, what backfired, and how communities adapted as the boom rolled in faster than most legal advice could travel.

Source: Wyofile (2020) Read More

This Website is a Crash Course In Fracking

A curated collection of bibliographic resources, government documents, letters, and video investigations serves as a crash course in fracking.

Source: Neil Zusman (2010) Read More

Hydraulic Fracturing Applicability of the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act Science Advisory Board Discussion.

Debate over whether hydraulic fracturing falls under the Safe Drinking Water Act remains central to the regulatory framework governing shale. The statute’s exemptions — often referred to as the “Halliburton loophole” — limited federal oversight of underground injection practices, leaving primary authority to states.

Source: U.S. EPA (2010) Read More

U.S. EPA Water Enforcement

The Environmental Protection Agency’s water enforcement division pursues violations related to discharges, contamination, and compliance under federal water statutes. Under the Clean Water Act, the law’s objective is to “restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters,” while recognizing state responsibilities and providing federal assistance — including funding for publicly owned treatment works. Enforcement records form the regulatory ledger that reveals how that mandate is implemented, tested, or challenged in drilling regions.

Source: U.S. EPA (2023) Read More

What broke the Safe Drinking Water Act?

Annie Snider wrote in Politico: “There’s perchlorate in this reservoir. Here’s why Washington isn’t doing anything about it.” The story revisits the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), enacted in 1974 as the nation’s primary law to ensure safe public drinking water. Under the statute, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sets standards and oversees state implementation — yet regulatory gaps and political hesitation can leave contaminants in place, testing how far the law’s protections actually reach.

Source: Politico (2017) Read More

Congress Launches Investigation Into Gas Drilling Practices

Members of Congress initiated investigations into gas drilling practices, requesting documents and testimony related to environmental impacts and regulatory compliance. When congressional oversight activates, the technical mechanics of fracking move into public record.

Source: ProPublica (2010) Read More

Bushwhacked : Life in George W. Bush’s America

Molly Ivins and Lou Dubose take a brisk, sharp tour through the George W. Bush years — from the campaign machine to the policy aftermath. The book treats politics less like abstract ideology and more like a lived system: money, messaging, crony networks, and consequences that land on ordinary people. It reads like a field guide to power — funny, furious, and specific — with names attached and receipts implied.

Source: Random House (2003) Read More

Marcellus Shale – Subject Guides at Binghamton University Libraries

A curated academic gateway: reports, agencies, research centers, and key organizations tied to Marcellus development. Instead of one narrative, it offers a controlled door into many — science, policy, public health, law, economics. The hook is the curation itself: a university quietly assembling the documents that everyone argues about. When the public conversation gets heated, a subject guide can function like a calm shelf of evidence.

Source: Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling Research Guide (2010) Read More

Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP)

OGAP tracks drilling impacts with a watchdog’s eye: complaints, enforcement gaps, industry claims, and the fine print of regulation. The hook is accountability — who reports what, who inspects, who pays, who fixes. In boom country, the technical work happens fast and the paperwork trails behind. OGAP exists to pull that trail forward into view, turning scattered incidents into patterns that regulators and communities can’t easily ignore.

Source: Earthworks (2009) Read More

Drilling Wastewater Disposal Options in N.Y. Report Have Problems of Their Own – ProPublica

New York faced a practical question with massive implications: what do you do with the wastewater? Truck it? Treat it? Inject it? Store it? The choices sound technical until you scale them — volumes, routes, facilities, permits — and realize disposal is the hidden engine of the boom. This entry centers the downstream reality of fracking: what comes back up, where it goes, and which communities inherit the burden.

Source: ProPublica (2009) Read More

Halliburton

Halliburton, long associated with hydraulic fracturing technology, became synonymous with the so-called “Halliburton loophole” in the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which exempted most fracking from federal Safe Drinking Water Act oversight. As a global oilfield services leader, the company’s influence extends from well design to policy debate.

Source: Solutions for Today's Energy Challenges - Halliburton (2010) Read More

Energy in Depth – SourceWatch

Energy in Depth, an industry-backed initiative, promoted hydraulic fracturing as economically and environmentally responsible. Watchdog groups such as SourceWatch have examined the project’s funding and messaging, framing it as part of a coordinated public-relations strategy within the shale debate.

Source: SourceWatch (2010) Read More

Chief Oil & Gas

Chief Oil & Gas became a significant leaseholder in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, operating as a privately held company with extensive acreage positions. Independent operators like Chief helped seed development before larger corporate consolidation accelerated.

Source: Chief Oil & Gas (2010) Read More

Lenape Resources, Inc.

Lenape Resources operated in upstate New York, exploring gas prospects amid a regulatory landscape that remained uncertain. Smaller operators often navigated tighter margins and local scrutiny, their ambitions tied closely to state permitting decisions.

Source: Lenape Resources, Inc. (2010) Read More

U.S. Energy Development Corporation

U.S. Energy Development Corporation pursued upstream drilling opportunities across shale basins, aggregating leases and capitalizing on unconventional resource plays. In Meadville, Pennsylvania, the Department of Environmental Protection issued a cease-and-desist order to the Getzville, New York–based firm, citing persistent and repeated violations of environmental laws and regulations.

Source: U.S. Energy Development Corporation | Strive for Excellence (2010) Read More

Triana Energy

Triana Energy operated in the Marcellus Shale during the boom’s early expansion, navigating leasing, drilling, and eventual acquisition in a fast-moving market. In a 2009 case in West Virginia, landowners who sold natural gas to Chesapeake and its predecessors — including Triana Energy, NiSource Inc., and Columbia Natural Resources — alleged they were cheated out of portions of their royalty payments. In shale’s rapid ascent, corporate timing and contract terms often moved just as quickly as the drilling rigs.

Source: Triana Energy (2010) Read More

Tennessee Gas Pipeline

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline system connects production fields to distant markets, underscoring that extraction is only part of the equation. Pipelines determine where gas flows — and which communities host compressor stations and right-of-way corridors. Infrastructure redraws maps.

Source: Tennessee Gas Pipeline (2010) Read More

Statoil

Norway’s Statoil — majority-owned by the Norwegian state — expanded into U.S. shale during the boom, pairing offshore expertise with unconventional gas plays in formations like the Marcellus and Bakken. Backed by sovereign capital and a global portfolio, the company entered American drilling amid ongoing scientific and regulatory examination of whether the gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — poses hazards to groundwater drinking supplies. As development scaled, the groundwater question remained central to public debate.

Source: Statoil – a leading energy company in oil and gas production (2010) Read More

Watchdog: New York State Regulation of Natural Gas Wells Has Been “Woefully Insufficient for Decades.”

Watchdog reporting scrutinized New York’s regulatory approach to natural gas development as the state weighed whether to permit high-volume hydraulic fracturing. New York–based Toxics Targeting examined the Department of Environmental Conservation’s own spill database, identifying 270 documented cases over three decades involving fires, explosions, wastewater releases, well contamination, and ecological damage tied to gas drilling — many still unresolved. The findings challenged repeated assurances that existing regulations were sufficient to safeguard public health and the environment.

Source: Democracy Now! (2009) Read More

Bruce Baizel Testimony to the City of New York

Bruce Baizel testified before New York City officials as the state weighed whether to allow high-volume hydraulic fracturing near its watershed. His remarks dissected regulatory gaps and contamination risks, urging caution where millions rely on unfiltered water. In a city built atop distant reservoirs, upstream decisions become municipal defense.

Source: Earthworks (2008) Read More

ToxFAQs™: Hydrogen Sulfide

Hydrogen sulfide — a colorless gas with a rotten-egg odor — can be released during oil and gas operations. At high concentrations, it is dangerous; at lower levels, it can cause headaches and respiratory irritation. Toxicology sheets like this ground political debate in chemistry. What’s in the air matters.

Source: Agency of Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) (2006) Read More

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania DEP takes aggressive enforcement action against Cabot Oil

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection signaled a more aggressive enforcement posture amid rising complaints of water contamination and methane migration. Civil penalties, consent orders, and permit reviews followed. The regulator’s stance suggested that rapid expansion had outpaced earlier assumptions.

Source: State of Pennsylvania (2010) Read More

Walter Hang’s Letter to DEC Commissioner Grannis Regarding Additional Natural Gas Hazards | Toxics Targeting

Environmental activist Walter Hang wrote directly to New York’s DEC Commissioner Pete Grannis, challenging assumptions in the state’s drilling review process. The letter dissected regulatory language and risk modeling, urging caution before permitting high-volume fracturing. Sometimes oversight begins not with a lawsuit, but with a pointed letter.

Source: Toxics Targeting (2010) Read More

Environmental Issues and Challenges in Coal Bed Methane Production

Coalbed methane development revealed a familiar pattern: energy extraction layered atop groundwater systems and rural landscapes. Pumping methane from coal seams alters aquifers, produces saline discharge, and reshapes surface hydrology. The environmental challenges are not incidental — they are engineered into the process. As unconventional gas expands, coalbed lessons echo forward.

Source: International Petroleum Environmental Conference, University of Tulsa (2003) Read More

U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) – Oil And Gas Development: Increased Permitting Activity Has Lessened the Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) Ability to Meet Its Environmental Protection Responsibilities

The GAO examined how oil and gas leasing and oversight were administered on public lands — auditing whether agencies collected fair royalties and enforced regulations effectively. When billions in public resources are at stake, oversight becomes more than paperwork. It becomes accountability for taxpayers.

Source: U.S. GAO (2005) Read More

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) | Safe Drinking Water Act | US EPA

The Safe Drinking Water Act establishes federal standards to protect public water supplies from contamination. Its authority over underground injection became central to the hydraulic fracturing debate — especially after exemptions narrowed its reach. The statute’s language determines what protections apply beneath the surface.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (1974) Read More

U.S. Congress. (2009). A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes

$U.S. Congress. (2009). A bill to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to repeal a certain exemption for hydraulic fracturing, and for other purposes$

Legislation introduced in Congress sought to amend the Safe Drinking Water Act to remove exemptions shielding hydraulic fracturing from federal oversight. Supporters argued the change would restore transparency and accountability. Industry groups warned of duplication and delay. The bill spotlighted the “Halliburton loophole” in statutory form.

Source: Library of Congress (2009) Read More

Senators Want to Bar E.P.A. Greenhouse Gas Limits

A group of senators moved to block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases, arguing climate rules exceeded the agency’s mandate. The proposal reflected a broader clash over separation of powers: should carbon limits originate in Congress or through agency interpretation of existing law?

Source: The New York Times (2010) Read More

Penn State Law – Natural Gas Exploration Online Resources

Penn State Law launched an online resource tracking legal developments tied to natural gas exploration — statutes, court rulings, and regulatory updates. As shale transformed Pennsylvania’s economy, the legal framework evolved in real time. The site became a clearinghouse for those trying to keep up with precedent and policy.

Source: Penn State Law - The Dickinson School of Law (2010) Read More

Northeast Ohio faction fights uphill battle over oil and gas well drilling laws | cleveland.com

In Northeast Ohio, local activists mounted opposition to drilling proposals, arguing for stricter oversight and community control. Facing state preemption laws and industry influence, the fight was uphill — both legally and politically. Yet resistance persisted, rooted in concerns about water, waste injection, and seismic activity.

Source: The Plain Dealer (2009) Read More

Marcellus Shale Development : Toxic Tort Litigation Blog

As drilling expanded across Pennsylvania and neighboring states, toxic tort claims followed — lawsuits alleging groundwater contamination, methane migration, and chemical exposure. Plaintiffs sought damages for health impacts and property loss. Defendants contested causation and baseline conditions. In these cases, geology met civil procedure, and the burden of proof carried enormous weight.

Source: Toxic Tort Litigation Blog (2010) Read More

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): EPA Announces “Eyes on Drilling” Tipline.

The Environmental Protection Agency weighed how existing federal statutes applied to hydraulic fracturing — parsing authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act and Clean Water Act. As pressure mounted from both industry and environmental groups, the EPA’s interpretations shaped whether certain practices required permits or fell through regulatory gaps.

Source: US EPA: “Eyes on Drilling” Tipline. (2010) Read More

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): Hydraulic Fracturing Study (2010-2012)

The Environmental Protection Agency compiled research, guidance, and regulatory interpretations on hydraulic fracturing as public scrutiny intensified. From underground injection rules to drinking water protections, the agency’s evolving position signaled how far federal oversight would reach — and where exemptions still stood.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2010) Read More

Clean Water Restoration Act of 2009 (S 787)

The Clean Water Restoration Act aimed to clarify and restore federal authority over streams and wetlands narrowed by Supreme Court rulings. Supporters argued it would close regulatory gaps affecting small waterways. Opponents warned of expanded federal reach. In drilling regions, the bill’s language carried implications for wastewater oversight and watershed protection.

Source: cleanwateraction.org (2010) Read More

Decatur Texas: When Drilling Starts The Ruggiero’s story from the Barnett Shale gas play in Wise County, Texas

In Decatur, Texas, the Ruggiero family described what changed after nearby drilling began — odors, noise, medical symptoms, uncertainty about air quality. State regulators conducted tests. Companies defended operations. For families living beside compressor stations, the energy boom was not macroeconomics — it was lived proximity.

Source: Earthworks (2012) Read More

Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost in Suffering

Journalist Charles Duhigg examined how weakened enforcement of clean water laws left communities exposed to pollution. In states where regulators lacked resources or political backing, violations mounted quietly. The cost wasn’t theoretical — it showed up in hospital visits, contaminated wells, and neighborhoods struggling with what flowed from upstream facilities.

Source: New York Times (2009) Read More

Petition Site: Ban Natural Gas Drilling in New York State

As Albany weighed whether to permit high-volume hydraulic fracturing, online petitions gathered signatures urging a statewide ban. Supporters argued the risks to drinking water and rural character outweighed promised gains. The petition movement signaled something larger: shale policy was no longer confined to regulatory agencies — it had become a public referendum.

Source: Care2 Petition Site (2019) Read More

Buried Secrets: Is Natural Gas Drilling Endangering U.S. Water Supplies?

Investigative reporter Abrahm Lustgarten examined whether hydraulic fracturing posed risks to underground water supplies long assumed safe. Internal documents, field reports, and federal hesitations suggested a murkier picture than public assurances implied. At stake: aquifers serving millions. The promise of cleaner-burning fuel collided with a quieter question — what happens if the contamination is slow, invisible, and hard to prove?

Source: ProPublica (2008) Read More

State Decision Blocks Drilling for Gas in Catskills

New York State halted proposed drilling in the Catskill Park, protecting a region that feeds New York City’s drinking water system. Energy companies argued modern techniques could operate safely. State officials weighed the risk to a supply serving millions. The decision underscored a high-stakes reality: when gas sits beneath a watershed of national importance, economics collides with precaution.

Source: The New York Times (2010) Read More

Our Towns: A Land Rush Is Likely, So a Lawyer Gets Ready

Across upstate communities, the Marcellus Shale boom promised economic revival—lucrative leases for landowners and revenue for state government. Yet thousands of wells using high-volume slickwater fracturing injected millions of gallons of chemically treated water deep underground. As reports detailed substances like benzene and toluene in drilling fluids, residents grappled with a defining question: would the gas rush bring prosperity, or expose long-term environmental costs?

Source: The New York Times (2008) Read More

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Writing in The Nation, Eyal Press traced the evolution of federal natural gas policy from the Clinton administration’s balanced expansion to the Bush administration’s push to remove drilling restrictions on public lands. The article framed shale development not simply as an energy story but as a political shift in regulatory philosophy—one with implications for environmental protection, public land stewardship, and the accelerating push toward fossil fuel extraction.

Source: The Nation (2004) Read More

Louisiana tells EPA that it should let Congress handle greenhouse gas regulation

Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to rescind its finding that greenhouse gases endanger public health, arguing that Congress—not regulators—should set climate policy. Reported by Mark Schleifstein in The Times-Picayune, the dispute reflected broader national resistance to federal climate oversight, even as scientific consensus around emissions and long-term environmental risk continued to solidify.

Source: NOLA.com | Times-Picayune (2009) Read More

Halliburton’s Interests Assisted by White House – Los Angeles Times

In 2005, Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, carving out a controversial exemption for hydraulic fracturing. The move—later dubbed the “Halliburton loophole”—removed federal oversight of underground injection practices central to the shale boom. Supporters framed it as regulatory clarity for domestic energy development; critics saw it as a quiet rollback of environmental protection with national consequences.

Source: Los Angeles Times (2004) Read More

Editorial – The risks of fracking | Philadelphia Inquirer

$Editorial – The risks of fracking | Philadelphia Inquirer$

A March 22, 2010 Philadelphia Inquirer editorial noted the Marcellus Shale Coalition’s claim that hydraulic fracturing had never contaminated groundwater, while acknowledging environmental risks and New York’s drilling moratorium. What followed was a pointed public exchange: commenters such as Jim Barth challenged industry timelines, cited EPA whistleblower Westin Wilson and ProPublica’s Abrahm Lustgarten, and questioned chemical disclosure, regulatory exemptions, and cumulative impacts on Pennsylvania watersheds.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (2010) Read More

Politicians choose sides in Marcellus Shale drilling debate

As drilling expanded across the Marcellus region, elected officials split along economic and environmental lines. Promises of jobs and tax revenue competed with warnings about water contamination and landscape fragmentation. The shale boom reshaped not only terrain, but political alliances.

Source: Press & Sun-Bulletin: pressconnects.com (2009) Read More

Plan to send fracking wastewater near Keuka Lake is abandoned | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette

$Plan to send fracking wastewater near Keuka Lake is abandoned | stargazette.com | Star-Gazette$

A contentious plan by Chesapeake Energy to convert an abandoned gas well in Pulteney, New York, into a deep-well wastewater disposal site near Keuka Lake is officially dead—though the company left the door open for similar facilities in the future. The proposal, which would have handled more than 180,000 gallons of Marcellus Shale fracking waste per day, drew opposition from local residents, Pulteney Town Supervisor Bill Weber, U.S. Rep. Eric Massa, and Walter Hang of Ithaca-based Toxics Targeting, who argued that grassroots resistance in the Finger Lakes influenced decisions before the EPA and the New York DEC.

Source: Ithaca Journal (2010) Read More

Pennsylvania plans more gas drilling regulation | Reuters

Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell proposed tighter oversight of Marcellus Shale drilling, requiring companies to restore contaminated water supplies, report gas migration, and use oilfield-grade cement casings. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection added 68 inspectors, bringing the total to 188. Meanwhile, drillers applied for 5,200 permits—nearly triple 2009 levels—accelerating development across two-thirds of Pennsylvania and neighboring states.

Source: Reuters (2010) Read More

Use of potentially harmful chemicals kept secret under law – washingtonpost.com

In the Washington Post, Lyndsey Layton reported that nearly 20 percent of the 84,000 chemicals in commercial use are shielded from public disclosure under a little-known federal provision. The Environmental Protection Agency allows companies to keep identities secret, leaving consumers and regulators in the dark. As hydraulic fracturing expands nationwide, critics warn that this chemical secrecy undermines public trust and limits meaningful oversight of substances injected underground.

Source: Washington Post (2010) Read More

The Costs of Natural Gas, Including Flaming Water

A critical examination of Josh Fox’s documentary Gasland, exploring fracking’s environmental and health impacts through vivid imagery and testimony from scientists and affected residents. The review weighs Fox’s emotional force against questions of investigative rigor, situating the film within the broader debate over regulation and watershed protection. Josh Fox’s documentary exposes hydraulic fracturing as a process that injects chemical-laced water deep underground, resulting in contamination so severe that tap water can ignite. Through personal stories and scientific testimony, the film frames fracking as an urgent public health and environmental crisis.

Source: The New York Times (2010) Read More

Smitsky Letter

Narrated by Virginia Smitsky’s son, this firsthand account describes brown, toxin-filled water in a Pennsylvania household. The video contrasts public fear of distant health threats with the quiet normalization of local contamination tied to gas drilling.

Source: YouTube (2010) Read More

Plan to truck hydrofracking wastewater to Finger Lakes shelved, for now

$Plan to truck hydrofracking wastewater to Finger Lakes shelved, for now$

Sharon Daggat and her husband have a 52 acre farm, 38 acres used as a vineyard, in the Steuben County town of Pulteney. They are concerned about a permit that would allow Chesapeake Energy to store hydrofracking wastewater in an empty natural gas well next to their property. Their property is less than a mile west of Keuka Lake. They fear contamination of their well water and damage to their vineyard.

Source: syracuse.com (2010) Read More

Opinion: Avoiding America’s next drilling disaster

In the wake of the BP Gulf oil disaster, U.S. Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette of Colorado warned in the Philadelphia Inquirer that hydraulic fracturing posed a parallel onshore risk, urging federal disclosure of fracking chemicals under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Challenging exemptions advanced during Vice President Dick Cheney’s 2005 energy legislation, Casey and DeGette argued that energy companies should disclose the ingredients in fracking fluids—diesel fuel, benzene, methanol, and formaldehyde among them—while preserving proprietary formulas, countering industry claims that state regulation alone was sufficient.

Source: Philadelphia Inquirer (2010) Read More

Leaking Underground Storage Tanks

Environmental engineer Dr. Joe Ryan of the University of Colorado explained how even small gasoline leaks can contaminate millions of gallons of groundwater, drawing parallels to risks associated with natural gas storage and fracking waste. At a July 9, 2010 EPA meeting in Texas, citizen Tim Ruggiero testified that drilling near his property led to contaminated drinking water resembling MTBE exposure, underscoring growing concerns raised at EPA hearings about benzene, BTEX compounds, and undisclosed fracking chemicals.

Source: Boulder Area Sustainability Network (BASIN) (2010) Read More

Environmental Advocates New York

The New York Water Rangers, launched by Environmental Advocates of New York, mobilized residents to defend state waters from hazardous fracking waste. Through legislative advocacy, coalition organizing, and narrative strategy developed with SmartMeme Studios, the campaign pushed to close loopholes in state law, extend moratorium protections, and require independent health impact assessments before permitting high-volume hydraulic fracturing in New York.

Source: Environmental Advocates New York (2011) Read More

Obama’s gifts to extractive industries continue with defense of Bush mining policy

In April 2010, Earthworks criticized the Obama administration for defending a Bush-era policy allowing unlimited toxic mine waste dumping on public lands, arguing the move contradicted stated commitments to environmental reform. The organization framed the decision as another example of federal policy favoring extractive industries over water protection, public lands stewardship, and community health.

Source: Earthworks (2010) Read More

Obama Admin Rejects Timeout for Natural Gas Drilling in N.Y., Pa.

President Obama and federal officials declined calls to seek a temporary halt on Marcellus Shale drilling in the Delaware River Basin pending a cumulative environmental impact study, despite appeals from Rep. Maurice Hinchey and environmental advocates. The dispute exposed tensions between economic development and watershed protection, with critics arguing that comprehensive risk assessment should precede regulatory approval in order to safeguard the basin’s Special Protection Waters.

Source: The New York Times: Greenwire (2010) Read More

Fueling Washington

OpenSecrets.org Launches ‘Fueling Washington’ Series Exploring Oil and Gas Industry’s Political Influence

Source: OpenSecrets.org (2010) Read More

Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining

The Pew Campaign for Responsible Mining argues that the 1872 General Mining Law is outdated and fails to protect taxpayers and public lands. The law allows companies to extract billions in hardrock minerals without paying royalties, while cleanup costs from abandoned mines burden the public. Pew calls for reforms to ensure fair compensation, environmental safeguards, and protection of water sources, wildlife habitats, tribal lands, and national parks amid a renewed mining rush in the American West.

Source: pewminingreform.org (2011) Read More

No Frack Mountain

Pennsylvania based blog. Includes a quotes page unique to blogs on the environment, highlighting the struggle between citizens, corporations, and government regulations, providing a larger historical context.

Source: No Frack Mountain (2010) Read More

NYS Senate Session Hydro Fracking Debate – 8/3/10

Last week was an active week for those following regulation of Marcellus Shale natural gas development.

Source: YouTube (2010) Read More

Addressing the Environmental Risks from Shale Gas Development

Our analysis suggests that while shale gas development poses significant risks to the environment, including faulty well construction, blowouts, and above-ground contamination due to leaks and spills of fracturing fluids and waste water, technologies and best practices exist that can help manage these risks.

Source: Briefing Paper (2010) Read More

EPA in the Crosshairs

Politico, a Washington, D.C.–based political news outlet founded by former Washington Post reporters John Harris and Jim VandeHei, reported that Congressional Republicans were preparing to target EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson over the Obama administration’s environmental agenda. GOP lawmakers accused the Environmental Protection Agency of regulatory overreach, particularly in advancing climate rules and emissions limits. Jackson defended the agency’s authority as it moved to curb pollution from industry, automobiles, and coal-fired power plants.

Source: Politico (2010) Read More

Whistle Blower’s Corner

Every thing secret degenerates, even the administration of justice; nothing is safe that does not show how it can bear discussion and publicity.’

Source: Basel Action Network (BAN) (2010) Read More

National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling

Presentation of the findings and recommendations in the National Oil Spill Commission’s final report on the causes of BP’s Gulf rig blowout and prevention of future disasters will be held 11am EST, Tues.,

Source: National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill (2010) Read More

Untested Waters: The Rise of Hydraulic Fracturing in Oil and Gas Production and the Need to Revisit Regulation

As the hunt for important unconventional gas resources in America expands, an increasingly popular method of wringing resources from stubborn underground formations is a process called hydraulic fracturing – also described as hydrofracturing, fracking, or fracing – wherein fluids are pumped at high pressure underground to fracture a formation and release trapped oil or gas.

Source: Fordham Environmental Law Review (2008) Read More

Opponents to Fracking Disclosure Take Big Money From Industry

The Interior Department wades into controversy as it mulls whether to require drilling companies to disclose the chemicals they use to frack wells drilled on public lands.

Source: ProPublica (2011) Read More

Climate Zombies Now Run The House

Giant new oil and gas wells that require astonishing volumes of water to fracture bedrock threaten America’s fragile aquifers.

Source: The Wonk Room (2011) Read More

Pennsylvania Gas Drillers Dumping Radioactive Waste in New York

ELMIRA, N.Y. Trucks hauling rock cuttings from drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation in Pennsylvania regularly cross the New York State border these days to dump in the Chemung County Landfill seven miles east of Elmira.

Source: DC Bureau | Bulldog Blog (2010) Read More

The Case of Chevron

According to the EPA’s National Emission Inventory, Chevron was responsible for 4,030,422.95 pounds of green house gas emission pollution in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana in 2002.

Source: Friends of the Earth (2008) Read More

Draft Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources (Updated 2011-04-09)

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public face-to-face meeting of the SAB Panel (archived) to conduct an independent review of EPA’s Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (2011) Read More

Industry responds to public take on hydraulic fracturing

$Industry responds to public take on hydraulic fracturing$

The fate of bills before Congress related to regulation of hydraulic fracturing is critically important. Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005, but a bill was introduced last summer to federally regulate hydraulic fracturing under the act.

Source: Hart Energy E & P (2010) Read More

US natural gas drilling boom linked to pollution and social strife

The gas stored in the Marcellus Shale formation is the subject of desperate drilling to secure US domestic energy supplies. But the process involved – hydraulic fracturing – is the focus of a bitter dispute over environmental damage and community rights.

Source: The Ecologist (2010) Read More

A Life’s Value May Depend on the Agency, but It’s Rising

To protests from business and praise from unions, environmentalists and consumer groups, one agency after another has ratcheted up the price of life, justifying tougher — and more costly — standards…

Source: The New York Times (2011) Read More

Climate Co-benefits and Child Mortality Wedges

Climate change issues bring into greater prominence that all the world’s people are linked together and that we all have a stake in creating a sustainable path for the planet and no such path can allow for 10 million avoidable child deaths each year.

Source: Wellcome Trust Frontiers Meeting (2008) Read More

E.P.A. Proposes New Emission Standards for Power Plants

The Environmental Protection Agency (archived) on Wednesday (2011-03-16) proposed the first national standard (archived) for emissions of mercury and other pollutants from coal (archived) -burning power plants, a rule that could lead to the early closing of a number of older plants and one that is certain to be challenged by the some utilities and Republicans in Congress.

Source: The New York Times (2011) Read More

The risks of oil and gas production acknowledged around the world

Government officials from around the world have recently declared that the risks of natural gas drilling are too great to allow it to proceed without additional analysis.

Source: Amy Mall's Blog | Switchboard, from NRDC (2011) Read More

Property Rights and Drilling

Slottje warned municipal officials to avoid getting trapped into thinking they have to provide road use agreements. The biggest problem Slottje sees facing municipalities is the increased erosion of enforcement of environmental regulations. “So we’re swinging back to protecting the environment through property rights and home rule,” she said.

Source: Tompkins Weekly (2011) Read More

High court could melt climate-change cases

Here you have a particular village that is going to be under water. Various scientific and government studies report that the right combination of storms could flood the entire village at any time and have recommended relocation at costs varying up to $400 million.

Source: The National Law Journal | Law.com (2010) Read More

Peabody coal company threatens to sue over getting punked

Change.org, the website that allows users to create petitions for social change, received a legal threat from Peabody Energy after Coal Kills Kids (CKK) — a group that partnered with the Yes Men to unveil a faux Peabody charity initiative earlier this week (archived) — continued the hoax with a mock petition.

Source: San Francisco Bay Guardian Online (SFBG) (2011) Read More

Strong Push Against Fracking

Sens. Tony Avella, D-Whitestone, Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, and Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, introduced a package of bills April 11 that includes three bills for tighter regulations and transparency for oil and gas drilling and a bill by Avella to ban hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, in New York State.

Source: New York State Senate | Liz Krueger (2011) Read More

Drill, Baby, Drill!: The chant of the political naif

Numerous complainants petitioned the USA government to get the EPA to review the earlier decision on hydraulic fracking. One of them, from Neil Zusman, Ithaca, NY, is particularly poignant: I have read widely on this topic and it is of personal interest to me. I am not a scientist. I observe the events along the historical timeline that includes civil rights, anti-war protest, and the environmental movement….

Source: Magiric (2011) Read More

Clean Water Act Definition of “Waters of the United States”

Americans depend on clean and abundant water. However, over the past decade, interpretations of Supreme Court rulings removed some critical waters from Federal protection, and caused confusion about which waters and wetlands are protected under the Clean Water Act.

Source: US EPA: Wetlands | Clean Water Act (1972) Read More