Global Frac News

Potentially explosive methane gas mobile in groundwater, poses safety risk: U of G study, Methane that leaks into atmosphere a powerful greenhouse gas by University of Guelph, April 5, 2017 Summary: Potentially explosive methane gas leaking from energy wells may travel extensively through groundwater and pose a safety risk, according to a new study. It will also escape ...

Refer first to (will be interesting to see who gets discovery documents first, Ernst or AER): 2017 04 04: How many years will it take for Encana to heed Alberta’s Rules of Court and respect the parties’ 2014 agreed-upon Protocol for Electronic Discovery? Case “Management” Alberta Style! Klippenstein’s April 4, 2017 letter to Encana’s lawyer, Maureen Killoran with ...

Health Canada wants to strengthen regulation of natural health products by Caly Weeks, March 31, 2017, The Globe and Mail Health Canada wants expanded powers that would allow it to pull dangerous cosmetics and natural health products from store shelves and increase fines for companies that sell those risky goods, part of a major overhaul of the ...

Evolution or revolution, change is inevitable for auto sector by Chris Varcoe, April 4, 2017, Calgary Herald Standing in front of a classic 1932 Auburn sedan and just a few feet from a shiny new Tesla Model X, Larry Burns surveys the past — and future — of the global automobile industry. Electric, self-driving vehicles will power the future, ...

Diana Daunheimer on March 27, 2017 There are so many misconceptions and lack of understanding presented here about our resource realities in Alberta, of which Mr. Panda is either wilfully or negligently ignorant, or simply a talking head for TransCanada and CAPP. Many people argue we need refining and upgrading in the province, Alberta currently has 5 ...

Investigation reveals oil and gas drilling waste dumped at local magistrate, Dairy Queen by Alyssa Choiniere, Mar 29, 2017, Herald Standard An investigation conducted by the Office of the Attorney General revealed oil and gas industry waste was illegally dumped at multiple Fayette County locations, including Dairy Queen property in Uniontown and a magistrate’s office. John Ashley Joseph, 45, of Connellsville ...

Comment to posting of this post on Alberta Surface Rights Group Facebook Page: Rob Schwartz Perhaps Alberta’s lack of testing for radon might have a lot to do with the venting , flaring , land spreading , and oilfield solids disposal and flowback fluids handling expectations as required by the AER. I find it more than interesting ...

Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection Sues Towns for Trying to Protect Their Environment by Rural America in These Times, March 30, 2017 Fracking injection wells, which blast millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals deep underground to expand fissures in the rock, have triggered earthquakes and polluted drinking water in several states. In order to ...

New Trial Ordered Over Bad Evidence In Cabot Fracking Case by Ryan Boysen, March 31, 2017, Law360 Last year’s upset trial victory by a solo practitioner facing off against megafirm Norton Rose Fulbright in a yearslong groundwater contamination suit may have been too good to be true after all, with a Pennsylvania federal judge on Friday ...

Esso Longford plant: Potentially toxic chemical found in dam and groundwater by Emma Field, March 22, 2017, The Weekly Times UPDATE: A POTENTIALLY toxic chemical has been found in a dam and groundwater at gas company Esso’s Longford plant, which is surrounded by vegetable and livestock farms. The Environment Protection Authority Victoria today confirmed it had found a ...

Press Release – for Immediate Release March 30, 2017 Cape Breton Nova Scotia filmmaker Neal Livingston is pleased to advise that, 100 Short Stories has won the Energy Award, by Cinema Verde, one of the top 6 environmental film festivals in the USA. 2017.3.24 Cinema Verde Awards 2017 100 Short Stories is Livingston’s first feature film. Energy Award: 100 Short ...

Government gives green light for shale gas fracking in Karoo by Jenna Etheridge, March 30, 207, News24 Cape Town – The government has given the go-ahead for shale gas development in the Karoo region, Mineral Resources Minister Mosebenzi Zwane said on Thursday. He revealed this during a community engagement on shale gas development in Richmond, in the Northern ...

Study finds deadly radon gas exceeds safe levels in one of eight Calgary homes by Shawn Logan, March 29, 2017, Calgary Herald An invisible killer is lurking inside one in every eight Calgary homes, an alarming University of Calgary study has found. The research, published in Wednesday’s CMAJ Open journal, tested radon levels in 2,382 homes in Calgary and ...

Subject: encana (now cenovus) selling suffield to help buy conocophillips’ canadian assets (at $17.7 billion) Date: Thu, 30 Mar 2017 12:54:31 -0600 From: Stewart Shields email hidden; JavaScript is required To: email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, letters email hidden; JavaScript is required, Liberal Canada email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required CC: brian mason email hidden; JavaScript is required, Calgary MountainView email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, Office of the Premier ...

Sligo to retain ban on fracking in county development plan, Council chief, backing activity, cites conflict between national and local government needs by Marese McDonagh, March 27, 2017, Irish Times Rural fracking. Cllr Declan Bree said the ban had been welcomed by the Sligo community “who fully recognise the dangers fracking poses to water quality, to human safety and ...

Maryland lawmakers vote to ban fracking by Associated Press, March 27, 2017, WBAL Maryland lawmakers voted Monday to ban hydraulic fracturing for oil and natural gas, a process better known as fracking. The Senate voted 35-10 for a measure that already has been approved by the House. That sends the bill to Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, who ...

Canadians value, worry about country’s supply of fresh water: poll by Shawn McCarthy, March 20, 2017, The Globe and Mail Canadians see fresh water as the country’s most important resource, but worry the country faces a growing risk to the quality and adequate supply of clean water, a new poll from the Royal Bank of ...

Oil spill in creek originally underestimated, making it one of largest in North Dakota history by Amy Dalrymple, March 23, 2017, The Bismark Tribune This Dec. 10 photo by the North Dakota Department of Health shows an oil spill from the Belle Fourche Pipeline that was discovered Dec. 5 in Ash Coulee Creek, a tributary of the ...

Firefighters: Increased disclosure needed for fracking emergencies by Marc Kovac, March 23, 2017, Twinsburg Bulletin COLUMBUS — A Youngstown firefighter urged state lawmakers March 22 to require increased disclosure to emergency responders of chemicals used in horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Sil Caggiano, deputy chief for Mahoning ...

Addams Family Actor Lends Voice to Fracking Opposition, In an ad, John Astin said there’s nothing funny about poisoning drinking water by Associated Press, March 23, 2017, NBC Boston The actor who played the patriarch of the Addams Family says the gas drilling process known as fracking is no joke. John Astin, a Baltimore native and comedian who ...

Ruling might force Colorado to block drilling within cities Press Release by Bruce Baizel, Earth Works, March 23, 2017 Denver, March 23 -Today the Colorado Court of Appeals (in a 2-1 decision) held that the Oil and Gas Conservation Act makes oil and gas development conditional on protection of public health, safety, and welfare. “Today’s court ruling ...

Fracking ban advances to Maryland Senate floor by Josh Hicks, March 22, 2017, The Washington Post  A bill to ban hydraulic fracturing in Maryland cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, days after Gov. Larry Hogan (R) surprised advocates by endorsing the ban. The state Senate’s environmental committee voted 8-3 in favor of the House bill, with one of ...

Officials investigating oil spill near Strathcona County Enbridge facility by Edmonton Journal with files from Canadian Press, March 21, 2017 Enbridge continued clean-up operations Tuesday of a synthetic crude oil spill from a tank valve at its Edmonton terminal in Strathcona County the day before. An undisclosed amount of oil flowed off Enbridge’s property into a neighbouring industrial site ...

Chartered Insurance Institute warns on growing fracking risks by Intelligent Insurer, March 20, 2017 Insurers need to prepare for the impact of increased onshore fracking on UK households and businesses as there are currently no policies in the market that cover it, according to a Chartered Insurance Institute (CII) report. The CII’s claims faculty new generation group ...

Husky oil spill west of Bragg Creek estimated at 25,000 litres by The Canadian Press, March 23, 2017, Calgary Herald Husky Energy says about 25,000 litres of crude oil leaked from one of its pipelines near Bragg Creek last week. Spokesman Mel Duvall said in an email to The Canadian Press that cleanup at the site at Cox Hill ...

ConocoPhillips to test new fracking tech, Supermajor working on pilot project with service providers to develop cost-effective multi-lateral fracking technology with test planned later this year by Noah Brenner, 17 Mar 2017, upstreamonline ConocoPhillips is working with major service companies to develop technology that will make it easier to fracture multi-lateral wellbores and plans its first test of the ...

This might be the strongest anti-fracking statement a Republican governor has ever made by Emily Atkin, March 17, 2017, New Republic This might be the strongest anti-fracking statement a Republican governor has ever made. Democratic lawmakers in Maryland have long been pushing legislation that would issue a statewide ban on hydraulic fracturing, a controversial practice which ...

Spain’s fracking bubble bursts, Five companies give up shale gas extraction plans in face of opposition and low prices by Manuel Planelles, 16 MAR 2017, elpais.com At the beginning of the decade, five companies began eyeing Spain’s underground resources, promising that the US shale boom could be reproduced on the Iberian peninsula. The conservative government of the Popular Party (PP) ...

South East farmers oppose gas royalty deal amid fracking push by Belinda Willis, March 15, 2017, The Advertiser SOUTH-EAST farmers lobbying against fracking on their land say the promise of 10 per cent of royalties for any gas sold from their properties won’t change their minds. Tantanoola farmer Peter Altschwager said the majority of South-East farmers opposed fracking ...

Ryan Young with Ecolibrium on CKUT 90.3fm out of Montreal interviews Jessica Ernst March 14, 2017, 11 am Eastern Time. Podcast  Interview starts after some music. 64 kbps  128 kbps  On every Tuesday on CKUT 90.3 FM in Montreal and on the world wide web at www.ckut.ca. Ecolibrium covers a wide array of both local and international environmental topics and has brought ...

Natural gas leaks from abandoned water well in Denton; state investigates by Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe, March 10, 2017, Denton Chronicle A small hole formed in an aging natural gas well in southern Denton last fall. Instead of traveling up the casing into gas gathering pipelines, the methane and other hydrocarbons escaped underground. Powered by pressure from the well, the ...

Maryland House votes to ban fracking by veto-proof margin by Michael Dresser, March 10, 2017, The Baltimore Sun The Maryland House voted to ban the natural gas extraction method known as fracking. The House of Delegates voted by a veto-proof margin on Friday to ban in the natural gas extraction method known as fracking in Maryland, sending the bill ...

Scientists link fracking and water well explosion in Palo Pinto County by Brett Shipp, March 9, 2017, WFAA New information has surfaced in the water well explosion in the summer of 2014 injuring three members of a Palo Pinto County family. According to new scientific studies commissioned by the family, and included in newly filed court papers, ...

Chevron, Aera Energy Sue to Block Monterey County, California’s Voter-Approved Ban on Fracking by Larry Buhl, March 7, 2017, desmog.blog.com Last November, voters of Monterey County, California, passed a fracking ban known as Measure Z with 56 percent of the vote, despite being outspent 30-to-1 by the industry-backed group, Monterey County Citizens for Energy Independence. Passing Measure ...

This post is dedicated to Australia’s Anne Daw. Fracking ban in Florida gets early Senate support by Mary Ellen Klas, March 7, 2017, Miami Herald The Florida Senate reversed years of opposition to a statewide ban on oil and gas fracking and advanced a bill Tuesday that will prohibit the controversial practice in Florida. Just hours after opening ...

Tweets by Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews Community campaign wins permanent #fracking ban in Victoria reports @takvera by John Englart, March 7, 2017, nofibs.com.au To ensure it’s clean green reputation of it’s agricultural sector, and to guarantee the health of rural farming communities Victoria became the first Australian state officially banning fracking. It was motivated by a strong community ...

Pawnee Nation Sues Oklahoma Oil Companies in Tribal Court Over Earthquake Damage by The Associated Press, March 4, 2017, The New York Times OKLAHOMA CITY — A Native American tribe here has filed a lawsuit in its own tribal court system accusing several oil companies of causing an earthquake that damaged near-century-old tribal buildings. The Pawnee Nation alleges ...

Years after well explosion, Texas family still waiting for answers from agency by Jim Malewitz, March 6, 2017, The Texas Tribune A North Texas family is still waiting for answers about whether nearby gas production caused their water well to explode and why the Railroad Commission seemed to miss early signs that something like this could happen ...

Insisting on the Rights of Everyone Everywhere by Howard Zinn, January 24, 2017, Howard Zinn Website I was one of the speakers at historic Faneuil Hall in Boston (though named after an early slave trader, it was the scene of many meetings of anti-slavery groups before the Civil War) in 1991, when the Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts ...

US EPA Takes Frac Deregulation to the Extreme: California and EPA Poised to Increase Oil and Gas Waste Injection into Protected Aquifers, Even as Need for Safe Groundwater Grows Will waste water kill fracing? EPA bans disposal of frac waste at public treatment plants. Injecting it causes seismicity, recycling it is costly, using it to irrigate ...

Shale gas driller fined $1.2M for contaminating drinking water in Westmoreland by Don Hopey, February 28, 2017, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette More than four years after a WPX Energy Appalachia wastewater impoundment leaked and contaminated the drinking water of five Westmoreland County families, the shale gas company has agreed to pay the state a $1.2 million penalty. But the families ...

Fracking or not, Albanian village to get compensation for damaged houses by Benet Koleka, March 1, 2017, Reuters Albanian villagers who accuse an energy company of damaging their homes by fracking will get full compensation, the country’s deputy prime minister said on Wednesday. A group of the villagers from western Albania walked more than 100 kilometers (62 ...

DEP links Lawrence County earthquakes to fracking by Laura Legere, February 16, 2017, Post Gazette A series of small earthquakes in Lawrence County last year appear to have been linked to fracking operations at nearby Utica Shale wells, Pennsylvania regulators said today. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection announced the conclusion in an advisory for an online event ...

River’s Rise Linked to Oklahoma’s Largest Earthquake by Sarah Witman, January 13, 2017, Geophysical Research Letters, EOS Earth & Space Science News 98 doi.org/10.1029/2017EO066231 As human-induced earthquakes increase in frequency and magnitude, researchers race to uncover their effects on surface water and groundwater. Earthquakes do much more than literally make the earth quake. The shifting of massive sheets of rock ...

2017 One‐Year Seismic‐Hazard Forecast for the Central and Eastern United States from Induced and Natural Earthquakes by Mark D. Petersen, Charles S. Mueller, Morgan P. Moschetti, Susan M. Hoover, Allison M. Shumway, Daniel E. McNamara, Robert A. Williams, Andrea L. Llenos, William L. Ellsworth, Andrew J. Michael, Justin L. Rubinstein, Arthur F. McGarr, and Kenneth S. ...

Alberta energy regulator releases rules on heavy oil odours by Bob Webber, The Canadian Press, February 24, 2017, Edmonton Journal CALGARY – Alberta’s energy regulator has set new rules to deal with long-standing complaints about powerful, gassy smells from heavy oil operations in the Peace River region. The rules, released late Thursday, grew out of a 2014 ...

Alberta slashes pay, perks and bonuses for CEOs at agencies, boards and commissions, The changes affect CEOs at 23 agencies, boards and commissions by Michelle Bellefontaine, Feb 24, 2017, CBC News Chief executive officers at 23 of Alberta’s agencies, boards and commissions are getting pay cuts, in some cases losing hundreds of thousands of dollars, as the ...

Dugald, Manitoba R0E 0K0   February 14, 2017   Premier Rachel Notley 307 Legislature Building 10800-97 Avenue Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2B6 Dear Premier Notley, I guess most people understand why Jane Fonda was dumped on so thoroughly for her concerns about the tar sands. I guess. After all, she was from Beverly Hills and, really, has no right to be concerned about the health of the ...

Subject: Wow!! The Transparency And Public Info. Is Incredible !! Date: Wed, 22 Feb 2017 16:32:41 -0700 From: Stewart Shields To: email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, brian mason email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, letters email hidden; JavaScript is required, Liberal Canada email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required CC: Calgary MountainView email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, Debbie carlson email hidden; JavaScript is required, Doreen Mueller email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, innisfail <email hidden; JavaScript is required, jessica ernst email hidden; JavaScript is required, Lacombe Ponoka email hidden; JavaScript is required, email hidden; JavaScript is required, little email hidden; JavaScript is required, mccallum email hidden; JavaScript is required, ...

SDLP pledge to introduce permanent ban on fracking by Derry Now, February 21, 2017 SDLP Foyle Assembly candidate and former Environment Minister Mark H Durkan has said his party fundamentally opposes the introduction of fracking in Northern Ireland – and has pledged to develop legislation to permanently ban all exploration and extraction of shale gas through ...

PROPOSED  RESOLUTION – THAT WAS AGAIN DEFEATED (AS IT WAS IN 2016) ON FEBRUARY 11, 2017, NDP Provincial Council, University of Calgary–  NATURAL RESOURCE EXPLORATION AND EXTRACTION INVOLVING HORIZONTAL HYDRAULIC FRACTURING WHEREAS  horizontal hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking,” has been banned or placed under moratorium in several countries, three U.S. states and three Canadian provinces WHEREAS  recent ...

Fracking ban coming in act? by Andrew Lush
, Don’t Frack PEI Steering Committee, February 17, 2017, The Guardian.pe.ca Surely there can no longer be any doubt that high-volume hydraulic fracturing (fracking) causes unacceptable damage to human and environmental health, our plans to combat climate change and the social fabric of communities. The draft P.E.I. Water Act will be released ...

Cross sectional view of a regulation that takes us for idiots by Pierre Brignaud “Do you think we should have our water tested? It smells weird.” “Don’t worry. They are the required minimum distance from a house and more than a kilometre away.” Questerre Energy Corporation (“Questerre” or the “Company”) (TSX,OSE:QEC) reported today on the resource assessment (the ...

Cenovus aims to conserve $3.7B cash hoard amid calls for dividend hike by Geoffrey Morgan, The Canadian Press, February 16, 2017, Calgary Herald CALGARY – Oilsands producer Cenovus Energy Inc. learned tough lessons through the oil price collapse and is now resisting investor pressure to spend the cash it worked hard to save during the downturn. Cenovus president and ...

The Promise: Fracking brings prosperity & jobs. Reality: Tens of thousands of oil patch workers out of work and $300 billion in liabilities. Former oil worker proposes solution to abandoned pipelines 5:52 Min. by BNN Commodities, February 17, 2017 Our next guest is in the early stages of putting together a report called “Reclaiming Alberta’s Future ...

New CU study looks at impact of nearby oil and gas drilling on childhood cancer rates, State Health Department questions study’s conclusion by John Ingold, February 15, 2017, The Denver Post A new study from University of Colorado researchers finds a possible link between a specific kind of childhood cancer and nearby oil and gas activity, but ...

Read first: Alberta’s Growing $30-Billion Liability: Inactive Wells, Compared to other jurisdictions, province lets oil firms off the hook when it comes to cleaning up by Andrew Nikiforuk, 13 Feb 2017, TheTyee.ca *** AER enforcement action sparks questions over orphan wells by Chris Varcoe, February 16, 2017, Calgary Herald The operator of 16 sour gas wells located south of Calgary sent ...

Contamination near Linc Energy UCG plant at Hopeland more widespread than first thought by Mark Willacy, February 09, 2017, ABC News Flammable levels of hydrogen have been found at a number of locations near the site of a controversial gas project that has been blamed for contaminating huge swathes of prime Queensland farm land. The ABC understands an ...

Wise County family won’t appeal loss of $2.9 million judgment against driller by Max B. Baker, February 9, 2017, The Star Telegram A state appeals court recently tossed out the $2.9 million judgment the Parr family got against Aruba Petroleum. Paul Moseley Star-Telegram archives FORT WORTH A Wise County family driven from their home after they said ...

The Report: 80,000 INACTIVE OIL WELLS: A BLESSING OR A CURSE? by Lucija Muehlenbachs, February 2017, Volume 10, Issue 3, University of Calgary, The School of Public Policy Report calls for Alberta to put a time limit on inactive oil and gas wells, Report recommends change to rules allowing old oil or gas wells to sit inactive forever by Tracy ...

A systematic evaluation of chemicals in hydraulic-fracturing fluids and wastewater for reproductive and developmental toxicity by Elise G Elliott, Adrienne S Ettinger, Brian P Leaderer, Michael B Bracken and Nicole C Deziel, January/February 2017, Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology 27, doi:10.1038/jes.2015.81 Abstract Hydraulic-fracturing fluids and wastewater from unconventional oil and natural gas development contain hundreds of substances ...

Alberta is “guessing” when it comes to spill recovery by Shari Narine, February 4th, 2017, Windspeaker News North Dakota indicated that in 3.4 per cent of oil spills there was perfect recovery compared to Alberta’s 53 per cent. AER was “off the scale in terms of believability with the very low effects on the environment…” ~ Dr. Kevin ...

Justice Denied for a UI Woman of Courage by UNANIMA, February 1, 2017 The UI family extends a hand of compassion and solidarity this month to our 2011 Woman of Courage, Jessica Ernst. At the time she received the award, Jessica was in the midst of a prolonged legal battle against EnCana, a natural gas producer ...

The Ruling: Bokenfohr v Pembina Pipeline Corporation, 2017 ABCA 40 (CanLII) 2017-02-02, Docket: 1603-0135-AC It took the court only 7 days to rule! Compare to the phenomenally long times all levels of courts have taken to rule in the Ernst lawsuit to date: The Supreme Court of Canada taking one year and a day to dismiss Ernst’s appeal against AER; Alberta Court ...

There is no frac’ing aftercare, not from the companies, regulators, politicians or legal systems in North America. As the Supreme Court of Canada made clear in their “OK for government agencies to violate the Charter” ruling in Ernst vs AER ruling and now in this reversal of a jury verdict in Parr vs Aruba, the ...

Russia, Japan deepen ties with agreements on upstream, LNG cooperation by Nastassia Astrasheuskaya, December 18, 2016, Platts Russian and Japanese companies Friday signed a number of memoranda and agreements on cooperation in hydrocarbons development during the first visit to Japan in 11 years by a Russian president. The agreements included joint exploration offshore Sakhalin, technological and financial collaboration ...

On Jessica Ernst, and the Vagaries of Justice in Canada, Landowner’s ruling shows our legal system can easily lose sight of its mission by Andrew Nikiforuk, February 2, 2017, TheTyee.ca The recent Supreme Court ruling on Jessica Ernst in her case against the Alberta Energy Regulator demonstrates once again that Canada’s myopic legal system can easily lose sight ...

Ireland is set to become the first country to completely stop funding fossil fuels, Goodbye, coal and oil by Josh Hrala, February 2, 2017, Science Alert Ireland is close to becoming the first country in the world to completely divest from fossil fuels, thanks to a new bill recently passed by the Irish Parliament. If set into law ...

The trouble with self-made men is that they tend to worship their creator. source unknown This @latimes political cartoon by @davidhorsey is from 2015. Scarily relevant today… #Trump #Fascism #MuslimBan http://www.latimes.com/la-bio-david-horsey-staff.html… tweet by Jody Emery, January 28, 2017 Tweet by Gideon Turk, January 30, 2017

Snap from Alberta Surface Rights Group Facebook Page: Kevin O’Leary Would Force Fracking On Canadian Provinces by David Krayden, January 31, 2017, The daily Caller “Shark Tank” star and Conservative Party of Canada leadership candidate Kevin O’Leary says he would force all Canadian provinces to allow fracking. … It is banned or under review in a number of provinces but ...

Origin Energy ignores coal seam gas well leaks, whistleblower says by Michael Slezak, January 26, 2017, The Guardian Statement of claim lodged at federal court alleges that a general manager said company calculated it was cheaper to pay fines than comply with regulations [And in Alberta, many polluting oil companies – eg Encana – are fined ...

Jessica Ernst Box 753 Rosebud Alberta T0J 4T0 January 25, 2017 Open Letter to Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin C/O Canadian Judicial Council Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0W8 Dear Chief Justice Beverley McLachlin, Re: January 13, 2017 Ernst vs AER Supreme Court of Canada Judgement by Justice Rosalie Abella I write to bring to your attention a concerning matter regarding Justice Abella’s reasons in the above ...

DEP Urges Pennsylvanians to Test Homes for Radon Press Release by PA government, January 10, 2017 Harrisburg, PA – The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) urges Pennsylvanians to test their homes for radon in January as part of national Radon Action Month. Colorless, odorless, and radioactive, radon is a known human carcinogen and the second leading cause ...

Alberta research shows fracking fluids cause significant harm to fish by Hamilton Spectator, January 24, 2017 Research has found that liquids used to frack oil and gas wells can harm fish. A newly published paper by University of Alberta scientists concludes the water that flows from such wells causes significant damage. The study says chemicals damage the gills and liver ...

French Parliament to Discuss Fracking Ban by Kevin Bonnaud, January 23, 2017, naturalgasworld.com Just 100 days before the presidential election, the shale gas debate makes the headlines again in France, as parliament this week considers an amendment of the mining code to ban any development of non-conventional hydrocarbons by any technique. The last time shale gas opponents strengthened ...

OGC investigating incident at Crew Energy well site in Septimus area by Chris Newton News, January 24, 2017, energeticcity.ca B.C. Oil and Gas Commission inspectors are continuing to investigate an incident at a Crew Energy well site near Fort St. John. Crew Energy’s Sr. Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Rob Morgan explained that the incident happened yesterday ...

Snap of photo from the print article linked below. Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers: Coal bed methane operations contaminate water resources by The Calgary Herald, August 28, 2014 Yet CAPP’s Alex Ferguson says many worries about water quality are based on past operations involving coal-bed methane — shallow deposits in closer proximity to groundwater. These did occasionally contaminate water resources, ...

Supreme Court of Canada Ernst v. Alberta Energy Regulator decision Public Statement by AER, January 13, 2017, AERNR2017-01 Calgary, Alberta (Jan 13, 2017)… Today’s Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) decision is an important one to regulators across the country. This was an important decision affecting the ability of regulators to carry out their responsibilities, which was evident ...

The review was also posted to Dean Sossin’s Blog: With this interesting February 6, 2017 comment, emphasis added: Rory Fowler says: February 6, 2017 at 12:41 pm Dean Sossin, Thank you for this case comment. When I read the judgment in Ernst v. Alberta Energy Regulator, I too was flummoxed by both the plurality’s judgment as well as the dissent. ...

The interview archived. Starts at 32 min in the Saturday Jan 21 10:00 2017 portion One has to push the fast forward repeatedly. It only moves a few minutes each time. Redeye Vancouver Co-op Radio 100.5 FM / Saturdays 604-684-7561 Podcasts available at: rabble.ca/podcasts

Oilpatch woes fuel growing disputes with Alberta landowners, advocate says by Heith Gerein, January 10, 2017, Edmonton Journal Disputes between private landowners and energy companies are on the rise in Alberta, in part due to the financial woes of an oilpatch struggling to pay its bills, the province’s acting property rights advocate said Monday. Karen Johnson told ...

To the Ends of the Earth by TVO Air Date: Jan 18, 2017 Length: 55:29 Narrated by Emma Thompson, this documentary examines the rise of extreme energy extraction in Canada and its impact on the environment, economy and local communities. The fossil fuel industry’s intensive hunt for unconventional non-renewables, including Arctic drilling and shale gas fracking, also gives rise ...

EPA Floats Rule On Toxic Chemical Reporting For Gas Plants by Juan Carlos Rodriguez, January 6, 2017, Law360 EPA proposes adding gas processors to toxics inventory by Gabriel Dunsmith, January 5, 2017, E & E News Natural gas processing plants would be required to report chemical discharges on U.S. EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory under a U.S. EPA proposal set for ...

Canadian Natural Resources fined $10,000 following accident that killed two by Ian Bickis & Elizabeth McSheffrey, January 4th 2017, National Observer Canadian Natural Resources has been fined $10,000 by Alberta’s professional engineering society — the maximum allowed — following an investigation into an accident at an oilsands site that killed two and injured five others in 2007. In ...

Judge: Fracking contamination case can go to trial by Benjamin Storrow, January 3, 2017, E&E News A Wyoming family who claim a natural gas company contaminated their drinking water will be allowed to take their case to trial, a federal judge in Cheyenne has ruled. Pavillion-area farmers Jeff and Rhonda Locker contend Encana Corp. committed fraud when a ...

Big Oil Shouldn’t Celebrate Quebec’s Flawed Energy Bill Just Yet by Gerard Montpetit, Militant pour les énergies vertes de l’avenir, December 22, 2016, Huffingtonpost.ca In the December 10 edition of the Calgary Herald, an article exuberantly proclaims “Questerre Energy shares soar after Quebec passes bill to open oil and gas reserves.” Mr. Michael Binnion, Questerre’s CEO and ...

The only safe fracking regulation is a ban by Ann Bristow, December 19, 2016, Baltimore Sun The only way to protect public health and safety in Maryland is to ban fracking in the 2017 legislative On Tuesday, the General Assembly‘s Administrative, Executive and Legislative Review committee will hold a hearing on regulations drafted by the Maryland Department ...

AG Kamala D. Harris, California Coastal Commission File Lawsuit Challenging Fracking Off California Coastline by Office of the Attorney General, December 19, 2016 LOS ANGELES, December 19, 2016 – Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and the California Coastal Commission today filed a lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of the Interior’s final environmental assessment, which clears the ...

New Study, EPA Report Highlight Fracking’s Risk to Groundwater, Oil and gas industry claims undercut by growing body of research by Andrew Nikiforuk, 17 Dec 2016, The Tyee.ca Andrew Nikiforuk is an award-winning journalist who has been writing about the energy industry for two decades and is a contributing editor to The Tyee. His book on the history ...

Why Haig-Brown Matters More than Ever by Andrew Nikiforuk, November 24, 2016,  Campbell River Community Arts Council “Big pollutions are made up of a lot of little pollutions and each one must be detected and fought individually on its home ground.” “If we keep our fresh waters fit for salmon, then they’re fit for most every other purpose.” – Roderick Haig-Brown

Fracking company leaves province with the cleanup by Ken Summers, December 14, 2016, Nova Scotia Advocate (KJIPUKTUK (Halifax) – Ten years after Nova Scotia enticed Triangle Petroleum to experiment with hydraulic fracturing for shale gas in Kennetcook, Hants County, it’s the province that is cleaning up the mess it  left behind. In 2007 Energy Department Petroleum Division staff began ...

Challenge over ‘unlawful’ fracking licence in Cheshire by BBC News, December  15, 2016 IGas Energy is drilling in search of fossil fuels which could potentially lead to fracking An environmental campaigner has won the right to mount a High Court challenge against a fracking licence which he claims is “unlawful”. IGas Energy is drilling in search of fossil ...

[Refer first to: 2016 10 25: Yale School of Public Health: Fracking Linked to Cancer-Causing Chemicals 2016 09 28: 75% of Drinking Water in America is Contaminated With Cancer-causing Chromium-6; In Canada too? 2016 04 13: Many Oklahomans are sick of all the shaking going on: “Five years from now, they’re probably going to wonder why 2 million ...

Report: Wyoming students, teachers fell ill during gas leak by Education Week, November 30, 2016 CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) — Dozens of students and teachers at a school in a small Wyoming town fell ill while breathing gases from a leaky oil well last spring, according to a recent Wyoming Department of Health survey. The K-12 school in Midwest, ...

Fracking giant fails to lock up a grandmother by Jamie Kelsey, December 12, 2016, New Internationalist Blog Far from frightening off the campaigners by taking one of them to court, Cuadrilla has given them a boost, writes Jamie Kesley-Fry. For anyone wanting to understand how destructive and devious corporations can be, the fracking industry in the UK is ...

2016 12 11: MUST WATCH! Public Herald’s Melissa Troutman & Josh Pribanic Presentation on PA DEP & US EPA Cover-up of Drinking Water Contaminated by Frac’ing; Call for criminal investigation at federal & state level From some really bad reporting on the EPA Final Frac Report by Robert Rapier, December 15, 2016, Forbes: Of course if ...

2016 12 11: MUST WATCH! Public Herald Presentation on Pennsylvania Regulator Cover-up of Drinking Water Contaminated by Frac’ing 1 hour, 45 Min by Cineplex Rex Public Herald’s Melissa Troutman & Josh Pribanic report on their 3 year investigation of Pennsylvania DEP records on thousands of cases of water contamination from fracking. There are now calls for ...

Quebec Premier Philippe Couillard Reneges on Promise to Stop Fracking in St. Lawrence, Drill, Bébé, Drill by Alberta Oil Magazine, September 26, 2016 Quebec has come under fire from environmentalists for allowing fracking on an island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Liberal Premier Philippe Couillard says he’s sticking to a deal inked by the previous Parti Québécois ...

Quebec paves way for oil, gas exploration with new energy plan by Danielle Bochove and Robert Tuttle, Bloomberg News, Dec. 11, 2016, The Globe and Mail Quebec’s legislature passed a bill that will pave the way for more oil and gas exploration, providing a boost to drillers such as Junex Inc. while drawing criticism from environmental, aboriginal ...