Ohio Air “Study” Near Frack Sites Retracted for Basic Math Error
In May 2015 MDN brought you news of a then-newly released “study” from “scientists” at Oregon State University and the University of Cincinnati that reportedly found people living near fracking sites in Ohio were being exposed to “deadly” air pollution (see Sham Air Study: “Unsafe Exposure” for Those Near OH Frack Sites). The so-called study used the dreaded “c” word–cancer–implying those who live close to fracking operations “may have” an increased chance of getting cancer. The published paper was titled “Impact of Natural Gas Extraction on PAH Levels in Ambient Air” and published in the peer reviewed journal Environmental Science & Technology. At the time, left-leaning mainstream media had a hay day, trumpeting the study as yet more proof that fracking is not only evil–it kills ya. We pointed out all of the problems with this so-called scientific research: a very small number of air samples, taken from “non-random” (i.e. cherry-picked) locations, with untrained homeowner “volunteers” collecting the samples and shipping them to Oregon for study. In news that no mainstream outlets are reporting, the authors of the study have retracted it because (a) they used a wrong value for a gas constant, and (b) they screwed up an Excel spreadsheet link/formula. That threw off the entire outcome. In other words, the air near fracking sites is just fine–nothing to see here folks–just move along and ignore our previous 5-alarm study…
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In May MDN told you about a sham lawsuit brought by two radical environmental groups–Homeowners Against Land Taking – PennEast Inc. (HALT PennEast) and the New Jersey Conservation Foundation–against the PennEast Pipeline (see 
It’s been some time since we’ve heard anything about/from the Ashtabula Gas-to-Liquids (GTL) plant project that Velocys says it will build in Ashtabula, Ohio. As a quick tutorial for those who may not know, GTL converts natural gas, a hydrocarbon, into other hydrocarbons, like diesel fuel, gasoline, solvents and (for Ashtabula) waxes. An abundance of cheap natural gas in the Marcellus/Utica is one of the prime motivators for establishing a GTL plant in the area. But although we’ve heard plenty of talk about such plants, none of them seem to get built–including the Ashtabula plant. There has been progress on the Ashtabula project. Early in 2015 Velocys filed for a permit, which was subsequently granted (see 
Emails recently obtained through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests provide proof that New York Attorney General, Eric Schneiderman, along with Democrat AGs from a number of other states, pre-planned an attack on Exxon Mobil, not only colluding with each other, but with also with radical environmental groups. And they tried to keep it all secret. AG Schneiderman’s office circulated a “Common Interest Agreement” to the other AGs–a pact he wanted them to sign that they would not release any documents about their colluding schemes to smear Exxon–BEFORE they launched the attack. We honestly wonder if what they did is criminal. We sincerely hope Exxon is pushing for an FBI investigation into this bunch of sleazy AGs–which include not only Schneiderman, but also the AGs from the Virgin Islands, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts…
In May MDN reported the great news that the Wayne Land and Mineral Group has filed a lawsuit against the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to contest the DRBC’s ongoing blockade of shale drilling in Wayne (and Pike) counties in Pennsylvania (see 
The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) filed a lengthy comment with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) last week regarding the Williams Atlantic Sunrise Pipeline project (full copy below). The EPA said, in a nutshell, that more studies should be done. The EPA said the pipeline could have “significant adverse environmental impacts.” They also said alternate routes should be considered. A few things to know about the EPA’s filing: First and foremost, the EPA is treated like any other individual or organization who files comments on a project with FERC. That is, the EPA’s comments will receive no special treatment or consideration. Second, the only value in EPA’s comments is publicity for anti-pipeline nutters. Third, the “alternate routes” the EPA professes to prefer have already been considered, thoroughly, and discarded by FERC. So this is a lot of smoke and noise and mirrors–and nothing else…
In March MDN reported that 47 dumpsters full of concentrated frack waste from OH, PA and WV was illegally dumped in a Kentucky landfill in Estill County, KY (see 
Another day, another attack on natural gas by the radicals of the Sierra Club. In this case, the Virginia chapter of the Sierra Club found a retired geologist they could buy, er, a, hire to write a report slamming the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a $3.5 billion, 301-mile pipeline that will run from Wetzel County, WV to the Transco Pipeline in Pittsylvania County, VA. The pipeline is due to be built by EQT, NextEra Energy and several other partners. The geologist who sold himself out to the Sierra Club says the pipeline would run through a “karst” area–an area of sinkholes and caves–and building the pipeline could potentially damage the water aquifer in that area. Below is a news report and a copy of the sham report released by the Virginia Sierra Clubbers…
The “best of the rest” – stories that caught MDN’s eye that you may be interested in reading. In today’s lineup: Private Appalachian producers highlight different approaches to downturn; Eclipse’s record-breaking Purple Hayes well redefines well dev; after pushing peak oil theory, fractivists now say we have too much oil; can new buyers boost LNG market?; Canadian gas imports to U.S. spike; and more!