Co-Author of Retracted OH Air Study Admits Results were Wrong
Last week MDN reported that a previously trumpeted so-called research study of air quality near fracking sites in Ohio had been retracted (see Ohio Air “Study” Near Frack Sites Retracted for Basic Math Error). At the time the study was released in 2015, one of the authors of the study implied elevated toxins in the air near fracking sites may lead to cancer. We now know it was fully loaded horse manure. The numbers used to draw conclusions were erroneous. Simple spreadsheet formulas used to calculate the numbers were wrong. The researchers should be ashamed of themselves. And now, one of the authors of that report is on the record admitting the data, when corrected, shows air quality risks near those fracking sites are “below EPA levels” for such risks. Here’s an update…
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In July 2012 MDN told you about a one-year study of air quality in and around Chartiers Township in Washington County, PA being conducted by the PA Dept. of Environmental Protection (see 
A new bill in the Pennsylvania legislature, Senate Bill (SB) 1327 looks to undo some of the damage done by the now departed anti-drilling Secretary of the Dept. of Environmental Protection, John Quigley. The federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently introduced draconian new rules to govern methane emissions from oil and gas drilling (see 
The Congressional Research Service (CRS) works exclusively for the United States Congress, providing policy and legal analysis to committees and Members of both the House and Senate, regardless of party affiliation. As a legislative branch agency within the Library of Congress, CRS has been a valued and respected resource on Capitol Hill for more than a century. Recently CRS wrote and published a report titled “An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems” (full copy below). The report looks at federal, state and local activities to help control air pollution from oil and gas–both drilling and pipelines. Without taking sides, this report provides information on the natural gas industry and the types and sources of air pollutants caused by the industry. The report examines the role of the federal government in regulating these emissions, including provisions in the Clean Air Act and EPA’s onerous regulatory activities. The report concludes with a brief discussion of the issues. Worth a read…
A few weeks ago MDN brought you the news that the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has issued onerous new regulations on capturing every last molecule of methane all along the route from wellhead to burner tip (see 
You may recall a few months back when President Barack Hussein Obama signed the Paris climate treaty, referred to as COP21. As we wrote at the time, the treaty is not binding on the U.S. because it’s not been ratified by the Senate (see 
Yesterday the federal Environmental Protection Agency–a rogue agency that is out of control and drunk on its own power (and needs reigning in)–issued more shale-killing regulations, designed to suppress the very revolution that has kept the United States out of an economic depression despite Obama’s wild spending spree. The EPA issued 600 pages of new regulations that require drillers to install expensive new equipment to locate so-called fugitive methane that may or may not be leaking from wells, pipelines, etc. And if they find such microscopic amounts of methane, they need to capture it. All in the name of preventing non-existent man-made global warming. What a lark. But it’s no laughing matter. You can tell it’s a bad regulation because the oil and gas industry has lined up against it, and radical, leftist environmental groups have lined up to support it. They should–they helped create it…
The Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection (DEP) said yesterday they will launch an “unprecedented expansion” of air monitoring near compressor stations and shale wells in the Marcellus. DEP Sec. John Quigley said the DEP will add 10 new monitoring sites to its existing network of 27 sites. Part of the $1.56 million it will take to install and maintain the sites for five years is coming from taxpayers’ federal government pocket, from a Federal Clean Air Act grant. What does Quigley expect to do with the data they collect from this effort? On a teleconference call he said, “We have no expectations here. The ambition is to get a more comprehensive dataset.” There’s a fine expenditure of taxpayer’s money–spend it with no expectations! Here’s the low down on the latest DEP boondoggle…