| | |

Postmortem: Video Shows Tribeca/Josh Fox Lied, Censored Farmers

liar It’s not worth a lot more in the way of “ink”—but it is worth a final post to show how the anti-fracking side simply lies when it suits them. On Sunday, FrackNation creator/director Phelim McAleer and about 20 farmers from Pennsylvania and upstate New York shouted questions to Josh Fox and the freakish Yoko Ono as they entered the debut of Gasland Part Deux at the Tribeca film festival in New York City. The questioners were barred from entering, even though they had paid for and secured tickets (see Upstate NY Farmers with Tickets Barred from Gasland 2 Premier).

Although Tribeca now claims the theater was full (do they now oversell tickets for movies like they do for airplane seats?), Phelim captured the real reason they were not admitted—on film (see it below)…

Continue reading

| | | |

Video: Martens Riffs on Why NY Fracking Decision Taking So Long

New York Commissioner of the Dept. of Environmental Conservation (DEC), Joe Martens, was questioned by Gannett reporter Jon Campbell on Monday about the status of New York’s fracking decision. Below is Campbell’s summary of that conversation, and a video of the interview, so you can hear and see Martens in his own words.

Bottom line: Martens and State Health Commissioner Nirav Shah are running interference for their boss, Andrew “Ditherer” Cuomo–giving him time to make up his mind. In the meantime, Martens and Shah are riffing (making it up as they go) when asked to defend why it’s taking so long. Give the video a watch…

Continue reading

| | | | | | | |

Manufactured Controversy over Drilling in Loyalsock State Forest

A new manufactured “controversy” is being ginned up by PA Democrat officials and anti-drillers over Anadarko Petroleum’s plan to drill on land they legally own the mineral rights to—25,000 acres in Loyalsock State Forest that covers parts of Lycoming, Sullivan and Bradford counties in PA. Here’s the first time we’ve heard this phrase: The forest contains a “critical bird nursery.” I mean, who could possibly drill in a nursery? Drilling will also happen underneath part of the Old Logger’s Path—not the New Logger’s Path, not the Plain and Simple Logger’s path, but the Old Logger’s Path. And drilling may include portions of the exceptional value stream known as Rock Run. We wonder, are other streams unexceptional? And (OMG!) it may include the lumber ghost town of Masten. DO NOT disturb ghosts—they don’t like it.

Isn’t language in an anti-drilling demagogue’s hands a marvel to behold?…

[Please see an update/note at the end of this article.]

Continue reading

| |

New Interior Secretary Jewell Says BLM Fracking Rules Coming Soon

Newly approved Sec. of Interior, Sally Jewell, said on Monday that new rules for fracking on federal lands from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) will be out “fairly soon.” She also said “one size doesn’t fit all,” apparently trying to assuage concerns by the drilling industry that the federal government is attempting a takeover of regulating fracking. She even claimed she was a fracker once upon a time…

Continue reading

| |

Harvard Law School Says FracFocus "Fails" as Compliance Tool

The online national hydraulic fracturing chemical registry called FracFocus was launched in April of 2011. Created and managed by the Ground Water Protection Council and Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission, two organizations whose missions both revolve around conservation and environmental protection, FracFocus was created to provide the public access to reported chemicals used for hydraulic fracturing within their area. By all accounts it’s been a great success with most oil and gas drilling companies participating and supplying data about their drilling operations to the organization.

However, yesterday FracFocus came under heavy criticism from the Harvard Law School who published a 16-page study (embedded below) that says FracFocus doesn’t go far enough—they say voluntary reporting by drillers is “spotty” and the trade secret provision that allows drillers to hold back some information is “overly broad.” The title of this “study” claims that, “FracFocus fails as a regulatory compliance tool.” HLS’ proposed fix? Bring in the feds…

Continue reading

| | | |

The Fractured Reality (and Hypocrisy) of NY Anti-Drillers

A perceptive MDN reader from the Buffalo area emailed to make an excellent point. He told us about a real, existential and present threat in western NY from an old nuclear waste dump called West Valley. Stick with us here—there is a point!

There’s a very real possibility the nuclear waste stockpiled at West Valley may erode and be released into the environment within the next 150 years—and possibly much sooner if the area gets washed away by freak torrential downpours which seem to be occurring more regularly in the region. If that happens, nuclear waste may escape and pollute both Lakes Erie and Ontario, and with it, the drinking water for millions of people…

Continue reading

| | | | | | | |

Trumbull County Mobile Home Park Doesn’t Like Utica Drilling

The down sides of drilling, if you happen to live close to a drill site, are noise, flood lights for working at night, and truck traffic. Residents of the Westwood Lake Mobile Home Park in Trumbull County, OH can attest to that. The good news is, drilling only lasts a short time—typically a month or less. Still, someone banging on your door at 3 a.m. in the morning is a bit much…

Continue reading