Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

Muskingum Watershed Reverses Decision to Sell Water to Drillers
June 8, 2012June 8, 2012

Someone from the enviro-left movement has gotten to the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) board and the board has caved. On June 6 news broke that the MWCD had earlier this year commissioned a study that would look at using three of the reservoirs it controls to make water sales to drillers for use in hydraulic fracturing (see this MDN story). The MWCD had already approved one deal to sell 11 million gallons of water from Clendening Lake to Gulfport Energy.

But the very next day—yesterday—the MWCD issued a press release saying no more water sales would be considered until the study is complete “later this year” (except for the 11 million gallons already agreed to). You scratch your head and say, “Well yeah, duh, that’s what the study is for!” But that’s not all.

Read More “Muskingum Watershed Reverses Decision to Sell Water to Drillers”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Fracking Bills in NY Legislature See Movement
June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

Several bills that deal with hydraulic fracturing are making their way through the legislature in Albany, but with only eight days left in the legislative session for 2012, it’s not at all assured any of them will pass. The bills range from stricter control of fracking wastewater to an outright ban on fracking in the state—and everything in between.

Read More “Fracking Bills in NY Legislature See Movement”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

Elected Democrats Tell Cuomo to Continue Fracking Moratorium
June 7, 2012June 7, 2012

A new partisan effort is under way to pressure New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to just keep the hydraulic fracturing moratorium in place for another year, and another year, and another year…

This effort is to get elected officials throughout the state to sign a letter which asks Cuomo to keep the moratorium in place, “until analyses have thoroughly and properly evaluated the potential health, economic, and cumulative environmental impacts on local communities.” Of course that very analysis has been going on now for four years, so may we presume another four years or more is what they’re asking for?

So far, the “letter” (which is really a website with a form on it) has 306 signatures (as of June 7) from elected representatives—everything from town clerks to county legislators to mayors—virtually of them Democrats.

You can find the letter and the list of signatories (people you should vote out of office), here: //www.nyelectedofficials.org/.
Broome County | Chemung County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Statewide NY | Tioga County (NY)

NY Rumor Mill: Cuomo to Allow Test Sites for Fracking?!
June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

The anti-drillers are hot and bothered. A fringe anti-drilling group called Toxics Targeting (from where else, Ithaca, NY) held a small rally in Binghamton yesterday. They enlisted the support of the Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan to their cause. And this week’s cause? Send a letter to Gov. Andrew Cuomo asking him to ban fracking, but especially to drop any plans to allow the drilling of “demonstration wells” in Broome, Tioga and Chemung counties.

Read More “NY Rumor Mill: Cuomo to Allow Test Sites for Fracking?!”
Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

New Study: Methane Emissions Half of EPA’s Previous Estimates
June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

A new study just released by America’s Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA) and the American Petroleum Institute (API) finds that methane emissions from hydraulic fracturing are at least 50% less than estimates from the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). And this is not a wild, unsubstantiated claim by “the industry.” ANGA and API have the science to prove it.

The new study (full copy embedded below) takes the most comprehensive look at the data to date—data from 91,000 U.S. natural gas producing wells. That’s a sample size 10 times larger than the EPA used in their estimates.

Here’s some of the stunning results found by the new study:

Read More “New Study: Methane Emissions Half of EPA’s Previous Estimates”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Monongalia County | Regulation | West Virginia

Morgantown WV Attempts to Ban Fracking a Second Time
June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

Here we go again. Yesterday, the Morgantown, WV City Council voted on new legislation that would “regulate” (i.e. ban) hydraulic fracturing. But this time, those sharp-as-a-tack council members have contented themselves with regulating it within their own borders.

You may recall that last year the same Morgantown City Council (pictured below) passed a ban on fracking that included areas up to one mile outside of the city limits in a blatant attempt to try and stop the fracking of two gas wells that sit about a mile from the edge of the city. A WV circuit court judge overturned the ban (see this MDN story). Since then, both of those Marcellus wells were fracked, came online, and somehow, mystically—there has been no water contamination or ill health affects of any kind. Who woulda thunk?

Read More “Morgantown WV Attempts to Ban Fracking a Second Time”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Ohio | Statewide OH

OH Watershed Looking to Increase Water Sales for Fracking
June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD) has ordered a study to determine if three of the district’s reservoirs—Clendening, Atwood and Leesville—can safely become a source of water sales for drillers who need water for hydraulic fracturing. Some residents are concerned, but the MWCD is already successfully selling some water and believes there may be an opportunity to sell more.

Read More “OH Watershed Looking to Increase Water Sales for Fracking”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

The Enviro-Left’s Motivation to Ban Fracking
June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

An article on the Legal Newsline website takes a look at the motivations behind calls for a ban on hydraulic fracturing—and they get it right:

Read More “The Enviro-Left’s Motivation to Ban Fracking”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Ulster County

Town of Rochester, NY Considers Fracking Ban
June 6, 2012June 6, 2012

The Town of Rochester, NY, located in Ulster County along the Hudson River (and not the City of Rochester located on the opposite side of the state) is considering a ban on hydraulic fracturing:

Read More “Town of Rochester, NY Considers Fracking Ban”
Air Quality | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Is Frack Sand a Health Risk?
June 5, 2012June 5, 2012

The hydraulic fracturing process uses sand—a lot of sand. The sand is used as a “proppant” to prop open the cracks created during the fracturing process.

But it’s not just your ordinary seaside sand that is used. It’s a special kind of sand that is almost 100% crystalline (pure). When that sand gets into the air, its particles are so fine they can irritate the lungs, and according to some, may cause lung cancer. This is generally not a problem for landowners or others who live nearby a drilling site, as any airborne sand would quickly fall to the ground. However, it may be a health risk for workers handling the sand if they are not properly protected.

Read More “Is Frack Sand a Health Risk?”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Onondaga County | Statewide NY

Alec Baldwin Takes Aim at Fracking in Syracuse Appearance
June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

On Saturday night, a B-list actor with anger management issues (who used to be A-list), Alec Baldwin, was joined by one-trick pony Josh Fox to show Josh’s masterful propaganda film, Gasland, to a small gathering at the Landmark Theatre in Syracuse, NY.

Alec has found yet another cause célèbre—defeat fracking in New York. (Oh, and Alec’s mom lives in Syracuse, so that’s why he was really in town.)

Read More “Alec Baldwin Takes Aim at Fracking in Syracuse Appearance”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation | Statewide NY

AP Story: NY Should Give Up on Drilling Before It’s Begun
June 4, 2012June 4, 2012

An AP story that appeared over the weekend attempts to make the case that Pennsylvania is so far ahead in the natural gas game that New York shouldn’t even make an attempt to allow fracking. The opening paragraph compares the situation to a runner with a huge lead in a foot race—PA will dominate natural gas for years to come.

The logic of the AP writer goes like this:

Read More “AP Story: NY Should Give Up on Drilling Before It’s Begun”
Chemung County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | New York | Regulation

Horseheads, NY Still Considering a Ban on Fracking
June 1, 2012June 1, 2012

As MDN previously reported, the Town of Horseheads (NY) continues to flirt with the idea of enacting a fracking ban (see this MDN story). What makes Horseheads different from the other 90 or so towns that have enacted bans in New York different is that it’s located in prime Marcellus and Utica Shale development territory—in Chemung County, just across the border from the super-hot drilling area of Bradford County, PA. If Horseheads does ban fracking, it would be the second such municipality in the Marcellus “zone” to do so, after the City of Binghamton in nearby Broome County.

Town Supervisor Michael Edwards floated the idea of a fracking ban at a recent Town Board meeting—and he’s still pursuing it:

Read More “Horseheads, NY Still Considering a Ban on Fracking”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Regulation

Senate Bill Would Empower States (Alone) to Regulate Fracking
June 1, 2012June 1, 2012

Recognizing the federal government’s voracious appetite to usurp and seize control of rights that Constitutionally belong to the states—and in an effort to curb those tendencies in the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Interior, and Department of Energy—Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK) introduced new legislation on March 28th that will ensure oversight of hydraulic fracturing is done by the states and not the federal government.

Read More “Senate Bill Would Empower States (Alone) to Regulate Fracking”
Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues

Cornell Prof Testifies Before Congress on Evils of Fracking
June 1, 2012June 1, 2012

Cornell professors Robert Howarth and Tony Ingraffea have made a cottage industry (and have become minor celebrities) of bashing shale gas drilling. The two of them collaborated on a now discredited article in a so-called “peer reviewed” journal that claimed, fantastically, that burning coal is actually better for the environment than burning natural gas (see this MDN story). Yeah, if they didn’t have “Cornell” next to their names, Howarth and Ingraffea would be laughed out of the room.

Such are the mental gymnastics those who hate all fossil fuels will perform in order to do anything to slow down shale gas drilling. They pedal junk science and try to dress it up. You know the old saw about putting lipstick on a pig…

Read More “Cornell Prof Testifies Before Congress on Evils of Fracking”
Broome County | Hydraulic Fracturing | Industrywide Issues | Litigation | New York | Regulation

City of Binghamton Gets Sued Over Fracking Ban
May 31, 2012May 31, 2012

Binghamton Mayor Matt Ryan’s folly, a symbolic ban on hydraulic fracturing within the city, has now come back to bite him in the rear end. His folly will cost Binghamton City taxpayers a lot of money as the city has now been sued over their illegal ban, passed at the eleventh hour last December before Ryan was about to lose a majority of support from the Binghamton City Council in January (voters tossing out some of the all-Democrat council members in the last election).

The Binghamton law firm Hinman, Howard & Kattell filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in state Supreme Court on behalf of five plaintiffs to overturn the Binghamton ban.

Read More “City of Binghamton Gets Sued Over Fracking Ban”