Global Frac News

CSIRO research seeks information on methane seeps by Cassie Hough, April 28, 2014, ABC Rural A study starting this year may give researchers a better idea of what is causing methane seeps in the Surat Basin in Queensland. The CSIRO’s Dr Damian Barrett says methane naturally escapes into the atmosphere from places like the Surat Basin ...

Agang against fracking by Mail & Guaridan, Africa’s Best Read, April 28, 2014 Mamphela Ramphele’s party will oppose hydraulic fracturing, a first for a South African political party.  Agang says fracking would destroy the Karoo, one of the country’s most pristine and unique environments. … “Agang SA’s plan to oppose fracking is based on the growing evidence ...

Company suspected of dumping radioactive frac waste in Montana ordered to stop by Tom Lutey, April 26, 2014, Billings GazetteA Louisiana trucking company believed to have illegally dumped radioactive waste in an Eastern Montana landfill for nearly two years has been ordered to stop by state officials. Dual Trucking and Transport, of Houma, La., has ...

$3M federal grant aimed at Bakken oilfield crimes against women by Jame MacPherson, April 25, 2014, Associated Press in Missoulan The U.S. Justice Department launched a $3 million program Friday to help prosecute crimes against women and provide services for victims in the Bakken oil-producing region of western North Dakota and eastern Montana. The region’s oil ...

GasFrac agrees to replace board of directors, Troubled Calgary fracking company makes deal with Nanes Balkany Partners I LP by Dan Healing, April 29, 2014, Calgary Herald Drilling company veteran Dale Tremblay has agreed to serve on GasFrac Energy Services’ new board of directors. GasFrac Energy Services Inc., a Calgary company whose unique gelled propane [gelling the propane ...

The future of fracking could be determined this week by James Munson, April 28, 2014, ipolitics.ca Any interest by the federal government in regulating the fracking boom across Canada could be determined by a landmark report to be released this week. Ottawa has staked any requirement to regulate the game-changing petroleum extraction method on a study ...

Ian Jessop Interviews Jessica Ernst April 28, 2014, CFAX 1070 Ian and Jessica chat about: the April 16, 2014 Alberta government hearing where Crown counsel argued to get Jessica’s lawsuit thrown out because there could be millions or billions of dollars in damages; Who has the Best in the World Frac Regulations?  BC? Maybe, maybe not, complete with ...

Families Sue Frackers for $120 Million by Court House News Service, April 25, 2014 Eight families sued a natural gas company for personal injuries they attribute to its fracking operations, which emit half a pound of toxic emissions per minute, 24 hours a day, year round. The lawsuit comes two days after a Texas jury awarded $3 million ...

Former Mobil VP Louis Allstadt Comes Down Hard on Hydraulic Fracturing by Michael Teague, April 24, 2014, Equities.com Until his retirement in 2000, and shortly before the bacchanal of supermajor couplings that opened the new millenium, Louis Allstadt was the Vice President of Mobil Oil. Before the merger with Exxon created the world’s single-largest and most complex publicly traded oil and gas ...

Public Health Experts Back Chief Medical Officer on Fracking Impact Study by Adam Huras, Legislature Bureau, April 24, 2014, The Harbinger Green Politics & Action in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia Two experts on the public health effects of shale gas development are endorsing the work of the province’s chief medical officer of health in calling for ...

What did not come out in the trial: Aruba was reportedly fined $35,000 for releases of hazardous air pollutants and sued by the Attorney General Clips from: WATCH: Aruba Petroleum – Wright Lease – Star Shell Rd 41 seconds by Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (DCEQ), posted by TXSHARON, February 3, 2010 $3 Million Fracking Damages Jury Award Shows ...

Regulator approves more steaming at leaking oilsands site by Andrew Nikiforuk, April 23, 2014, The Tyee.ca Despite an unresolved leak, the Alberta Energy Regulator has given bitumen extractor Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. permission to once again start steaming parts of its Primrose and Wolf project in the Cold Lake Weapons Range. Last spring, the Primrose operation ...

Oil and gas firm Sovereign to sue Broomfield over fracking ban by Megan Quinn, April 22, 2014, Colorado Daily Oil and gas company Sovereign plans to sue Broomfield to bypass the city’s controversial, voter-approved five-year ban on fracking. Sovereign planned in 2013 to drill new wells in Broomfield but was not able to because voters in ...

Exxon CEO drops out of fracking water tower lawsuit by Tom Knox, April 22, 2014 CEO Rex Tillerson has  dropped out of a lawsuit against a proposed fracking water tower, a few months after receiving mocking national attention for his participation, the Dallas Business Journal reports. Tillerson and his wife had joined a lawsuit with opponents ...

Encana Readies Spinoff of Alberta Properties by Carolyn Davis, April 15, 2014, Naturalgasintel Encana Corp. is readying a spinoff of PrairieSky Royalty Ltd. to create one of Canada’s largest energy royalty companies with 5.2 million acres in Alberta that extend to the U.S. border. The largest natural gas producer in Canada said late Monday PrairieSky had ...

Beverly Hills City Council Set to Approve Ordinance to Ban Fracking by Victoria Talbot, April 19, 2014, bhcourier The Beverly Hills City Council will hear an ordinance to ban “fracking” Tuesday, making it unlawful to use hydraulic fracturing, acidizing or any other stimulation technique from any surface area in the City. The ordinance also prohibits these ...

Proposal would require firms to report any payments to First Nations by Marty Klinkenberg, April 21, 2014, Edmonton Journal A federal proposal to require mining and energy firms to report all payments that are made to First Nations and the companies they operate is raising alarms with industry representatives. [Is CAPP afraid of the bribery becoming ...

Fractious debate a theme at Halifax fracking meeting, Review panel urged to ensure process is fair by Selena Ross, April 15, 2014 It didn’t take long for people to clash at the first public meeting in Halifax about the province’s fracking review. About 50 people showed up to the Bloomfield Centre on Tuesday evening to hear ...

Third Report in Three Days Shows Scale Of Fracking Perils, ‘We can conclude that this process has not been shown to be safe’ by Jacob Chamberlain, April 19, 2014, Mint Press News The fracking industry is having a bad week. In the third asssessment in as many days focused on the pollution created by the booming ...

Fracking wastewater OK’d to go from Debert to Lafarge cement plant by Francis Campbell, April 17, 2014, The Chronicle Herald Trucks will begin hauling fracking wastewater from the the Atlantic Industrial Services holding ponds in Debert to the Lafarge Canada cement plant in Brookfield next week. “After considering the community’s concerns and reviewing the tests on ...

Alberta Moves to Strike Down Ernst’s Fracking Lawsuit, Landmark case could spark a flood of litigation against the province, lawyer argues by Andrew Nikiforuk, April 18, 2014, TheTyee.ca Court sketch, Ernst v. Alberta Government. Crown counsel argued that Alberta landowner Jessica Ernst’s case could inspire ‘millions or billions of dollars worth of damages’ in subsequent lawsuits against the province. An ...

Human Activity May Have Triggered Fatal Italian Earthquakes, Panel Says by Edwin Cartlidge, April 17, 2014, sciencemag.org In an as-yet-unpublished report, an international panel of geoscientists has concluded that a pair of deadly earthquakes that struck the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna in 2012 could have been triggered by the extraction of petroleum at a local oil field. Fear of human made seismicity has already sparked fierce opposition against ...

Important Developments from Two Influential Fracturing Litigation Jurisdictions by Michael Lisak, April 16, 2014, Sidley Austin LLP Texas Trial A Dallas jury is now being asked to award a Texas family $9 million in a “nuisance suit” against one remaining defendant – Aruba Petroleum, Inc. (Parr, et al. v. Aruba Petroleum Inc., CC-11-01650-E, in the County Court ...

Lethbridge Youth Advisory Council Opposed to Potential Oil Drilling by Bryan Jeannotte, April 16th 2014, CJOC 94.1 Add the City of Lethbridge Youth Advisory Council to the growing list of local organizations opposed to urban drilling. Another local organization has expressed its opposition to urban drilling. The City of Lethbridge Youth Advisory Council (YAC) has been ...

Another 2,070 anti-drilling signatures sent to Weadick by Caroline Zentner, April 15, 2014, Lethbridge Herald No Drilling Lethbridge has shipped an additional 2,070 signatures to Lethbridge West MLA Greg Weadick’s office in Edmonton. The signatures are on top of the more than 11,000 signatures already submitted. “It shows that this issue still has momentum and we’re ...

Caroline Lucas cleared of anti-fracking protest charges, Green MP and four co-defendants found not guilty of obstructing public highway and public order offences during protests by Caroline Davies, April 17, 2014, The Guardian As she and four co-defendants walked free from court, she said: “The action we took was for all of our futures” as she pledged to ...

“Frackaso,” An Art Perspective On Hydraulic Fracturing by Jack Morgan, April 17, 2014, Texas Public Radio A new exhibit opens Friday combining art and fossil fuel extraction called Frackaso. The Esperanza Peace and Justice Center’s Marisol Cortez explained how it was named. “In English it’s a play on fracas: a mess, a fracas. And in Spanish fracaso means an utter and abject ...

Modified Primrose steaming plan approved, Regulator approves limited resumption at Canadian Natural operations by Dan Healing, April 17, 2014, Calgary Herald The Alberta Energy Regulator has approved a modified plan under which Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. will be able to continue steaming wells at two phases of its Primrose project despite bitumen leaks to surface. In a news ...

Oilsands company given 4 months to halt emissions, Posionous emissions forced seven Peace Country families from homes by CBC News With files from CBC’s Kim Trynacity, April 15, 2014 Families forced from their homes in the Peace Country, received some welcome news today when the Alberta Energy Regulator ordered an oilsands company to capture all harmful ...

Bonavista Energy, Contaminated Wells, and now a evicted Family by Derrick, April 15, 2014, WestCoastNativeNews On March 12, Alberta Health Services informed the family that their water had a high level of sulfolane, a chemical used to purify natural gas. Since then, Bonavista Energy has installed water tanks on the side of Royale’s home. The company is ...

Encana selling subsidiary that distributes liquefied natural gas by Dennis Webb, April 15, 2014, The Daily Sentinenl Texas-based Stabilis Energy said in a news release that it is acquiring “substantially all” of the U.S.-based assets of Denver-based Encana Natural Gas Inc., a subsidiary of Encana Corp. ENGI distributes liquefied natural gas fuel to domestic, high-horsepower engine ...

Toward a better understanding and quantification of methane emissions from shale gas development by Dana R. Caultona, Paul B. Shepsona, Renee L. Santoroc, Jed P. Sparksd, Robert W. Howarthd, Anthony R. Ingraffea, Maria O. L. Cambalizaa, Colm Sweeney, Anna Karion, Kenneth J. Davish, Brian H. Stirmi, Stephen A. Montzkaf, and Ben R. Millerf, Edited by Barbara J. ...

Oil company blamed for toxic tap water in China: Xinhua by AFP, April 12, 2014, The Economic Times BEIJING: A Chinese oil giant was to blame for a toxic leak that contaminated tap water in a northwestern city, leading panicked residents to clear stores of bottled water, state media said Saturday. Tests conducted on Thursday and ...

Frack to School by C Abel, April 9, 2014, Page A8 in Lethbridge Herald

Fracking’s hottest year in China by Scott Cendrowski, April 11, 2014, CNN Money A new discovery pushes China closer to meeting its shale gas production goals. For more than a year, China’s goal of recovering 6.5 billion cubic meters of natural gas by 2015 via hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, seemed like a pipe dream. … Until ...

UCG Company Charged by southburnett.com.au, April 11, 2014 The Department of Environment and Heritage Protection has charged Linc Energy Limited with causing serious environmental harm in relation to its pilot Underground Coal Gasification plant near Chinchilla. Environment Minister Andrew Powell said the charges followed a nine-month investigation. “As a result of this ongoing investigation, the Department ...

Couple’s suit against state’s fracking lease gets OK to proceed by John Futty, April 9, 2014, The Columbus Dispatch A Franklin County judge has ruled that a Guernsey County couple can move forward with a lawsuit that seeks to stop fracking beneath and around Seneca Lake. The couple filed the suit in October, eight months after ...

La. Sinkhole Nat’l Sacrifice Zone: Energy Refugees Settle, $48M by Before It’s News, April 8, 2014 Governor Bobby Jindal has another notch on his belt today as his state reached a milestone regarding his sinkhole refugees and nearly completing his making a national sacrifice zone out of what was once a paradise home and lifestyle for ...

California proposal for state-wide fracking moratorium advances in state Senate by Patrick McGreevy, April 8, 2014, LA Times A bill that would place a moratorium on the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, in oil drilling in California was approved by a state Senate panel on Tuesday. The measure was passed by a bare majority of five ...

Worldwide cancer cases expected to soar by 70% over next 20 years by Sarah Bosely, Health Editor, The Guardian, February 3, 2014 Cancer cases worldwide are predicted to increase by 70% over the next two decades, from 14m in 2012 to 25m new cases a year, according to the World Health Organisation. … Even the richest countries will struggle to cope with ...

At the Intersection of Wall Street and Main: Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Residential Property Interests, Risk Allocation, and Implications for the Secondary Mortgage Market by Elisabeth N. Radow, 77 ALB. L. REV __ (2014). The mere existence of a signed gas lease enables the gas company to leverage it to obtain investors and financing. The mere existence ...

Saskatchewan oil discovery boosts Surge targets, Calgary producer raises its sights for 2014 production by Dan Healing, April 8, 2014, Calgary Herald A new crude oil discovery and good results from its enhanced oil recovery program have resulted in Surge Energy Inc. already surpassing the year-end target rate it set just three months ago, the company ...

First Fracking Trial in U.S. opens in Dallas by Corporatocracy Watch, April 7, 2014, Before its news The Parrs blame spills of hazardous waste and emissions of toxic gases from production tanks and various industrial equipment for a myriad of health problems. DALLAS — The first Zoloft lawsuit fracking trial in the U.S. opens in Dallas today. ...

Balance is missing in Alberta by Al Barnhill, April 6, 2014, Lethbridge Herald To Premier Hancock: In your letter of March 17, responding to my earlier letter, as the deputy premier you sang from the same Redford songbook as the energy minister and Lethbridge’s two MLAs. You emphasized that “. . . ensuring balance between urban and ...

Up all night with a license to kill – October 17th raid planned for maximum confrontation. At #Warriorscourt, Four officers testify to a gun being pointed – but was this all necessary? An analysis. by Miles Howe, April 4, 2014, Halifax Media Coop Troops in a semi-circle sweep engaged sleeping campers on the morning of the ...

Mi’kmaq women shut down N.S. Energy Minister event by Powershift Canada, March 31, 2014, rabble.ca On Monday March 31, several Mi’kmaq women shut down a Maritimes Energy Association briefing held at the Westin Nova Scotian by Nova Scotia Energy Minister Andrew Younger intended to give a briefing on the province’s plan to move forward on oil ...

Jessica Ernst Exposes Drilling and Fracking Crimes in Alberta 12:59 Min. by Feature Productions and The Commercial Factory, April 5, 2014, produced by Anthony Hall, event hosted by NO DRILLING LETHBRIDGE and LPRIG (The Lethbridge Public Interest Research Group) Exchange Between Lori Brave Rock and Jessica Ernst 9:47 Min. by Feature Productions and The Commercial Factory, April 5, 2014, ...

Diana Daunheimer presents on living with hydraulic fracturing as your neighbour April 8, 2014, Warburg Pembina Surface Rights Group [Refer also to: Diana Daunheimer files response to Statement of Defence filed by Angle / Bellatrix in $13 Million dollar frac lawsuit Diana Daunheimer’s frac lawsuit follows years of policing industry in her own backyard; Une mère albertaine se ...

STOP FRACKING ALBERTA! WALK MAKING HISTORY IN CALGARY! Other Canadians are under the impression that Albertans are “Okay with Fracking.” We need to show this Government and the world that this is not the case! Earth Day, April 22, 2014 12 Noon to 2 PM Near the Premier’s Office, McDougall Centre 455 – 6th St. S.W., Calgary TELL YOUR FRIENDS AND BRING YOUR ...

Water contamination may be linked to coal seam gas wells – Experts by Gympietimes.com, April 7, 2014 RESULTS have confirmed the presence of methane gas in the Wallumbilla water supply, following extensive CSG testing by ALS Environmental. In a statement released by Maranoa Regional Council yesterday, Mayor Robert Loughnan said until the source of the gas could be determined ...

1 killed, 1 injured in Howard truck explosion by Ben Krumholz, April 4, 2014, Fox11online HOWARD – A truck explosion in Howard Thursday afternoon killed the driver and critically injured a passenger. … Neighbors as far as a half-mile away say they felt it when the truck exploded. “I had just woken up, was making lunch ...

French court bans US company Hess from drilling for fear of fracking by RFI, March 3, 2014 A French court has cancelled a drilling permit for US oil company Hess, despite the company’s promise not to use the controversual method of fracking on the well. In 2011 France passed a law banning hydraulic fracturing, known as ...

Alberta Energy Regulator validates whistle-blower’s casing report. May 6, 2014 at 8:27 PM It’s been one month since the anonymous whistle-blower Facebook post reported a potential water contamination risk due to an incomplete cement well-casing project. The post appeared, April 4, 2014, on local Fox Creek groups and was shared to friend’s pages. The Investigation An Alberta Energy ...

Energy firms among top political donors by Chris Varcoe and Karen Kleiss, Postmedia News and Edmonton Journal, April 3, 2014 Energy firms and large corporations were among the biggest donors to Alberta political parties last year, but critics say it’s more evidence the province’s political financing rules need a major overhaul. A review of Elections Alberta ...

Exxon Mobil agrees to share more data on fracking risks by Ernest Scheyder, Reuters, April 3, 2014, The Globe and Mail Exxon Mobil Corp., the world’s largest publicly traded oil company, has agreed to disclose more information about the environmental risks of hydraulic fracturing, the process known as fracking. In an agreement with New York City’s ...

Weak records cited on Pa. shale pollution by Don Hopey, April 3, 2014, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Even when pollution discharges from shale gas well pads and impoundments contaminate private water supplies, those violations often go unrecorded or publicly reported by state environmental regulators, according to documents filed in the Pennsylvania Superior Court case challenging the constitutionality of the ...

Colorado Investigates a Spike in Fetal Abnormalities Near Natural Gas Drilling Site, A prevalence of anomalies such as low birth weight and congenital heart defects are found within a 10 mile radius of a concentration of wells by Anne Landman, April 1, 2014, Alternet The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has  called in ...

Residents join bid to block fracking by Lee Kelly, April 3, 2014, lep.co.uk ​NEARLY 2,000 Lancashire residents have rushed to join a legal block to stop fracking companies drilling under people’s homes. Figures released today by Greenpeace show monthly signups to the www.wrongmove.org legal platform soared more than three-fold between February and March, reaching over 42,000. ​​Greenpeace ...

Denton homeowners file $25M lawsuit over neighborhood fracking by EagleRidge Energy by Nicholas Sakelaris, March 12, 2014, Dallas Business Journal The drilling drama continues in Denton as residents there have filed a multimillion dollar lawsuit against an oil and gas company drilling within 300 feet of homes. A group of 43 Denton residents are seeking up to ...

An apology from Goldenkey is in order. The comments by the company reported in the Lethbridge Herald on April 2, 2014, are far from an apology. The comments at No Drilling Lethbridge are also worth reading. Goldenkey under fire for misleading information by Nick Kuhl, April 2, 2014, Lethbridge Herald The safety information sheet for Goldenkey Oil’s proposed ...

Court tosses fracking water lawsuit by Jeremy Moule, April 2, 2014, Rochester City Newspaper A lawsuit that could have stopped the Village of Painted Post from selling large quantities of water to a Shell subsidiary for fracking use has been dismissed. Now, the residents and environmental groups that brought the lawsuit will have to decide whether ...

Tar Sands Likely Caused Sickness That Forced Families From Homes, Canadian Regulator Says by Emily Atkin, April 1, 2014, Think Progress The panel’s recommendations, however, are not orders set in stone. Now, the full AER board has two weeks to respond to the panel’s recommendations. … It is also not the blanket recommendation that some of ...

A Barnett Shale Manifesto…From Austin by Jim, March 31, 2014, downwindersatrisk.org Sometimes it takes a perspective above the grind of trench warfare to give you a better sense of what the entire battlefield looks like. … Don’t let the academic title fool you. This is a call for a radically new approach to how communities in Texas ...

The Power of “No” Review of presentation by Jessica Ernst in Lethbridge, Alberta by Southern Alberta Group for the Environment, April 2014

(LIVE STREAMED CANCELLED) Walk and Fracking Ed at Slave Lake, Alberta with Jule Asterisk, Dr. Karlis Muehlenbachs and Jessica Ernst April 5, 2014, by Keepers of the Athabasca 1:00 PM Walk starts at the Slave Lake Friendship Centre, Walk to St. Mary’s School 2:00 PM Speakers start at St. Mary of the Lakes School

Fast Forward into Hanky Panky at the top of the AER: After expense hanky panky by AER’s top executive Jim Ellis is publicly commented on by Diana Daunheimer, Alberta farmer and mother of two, he steps down: “Good riddance, bring in the next dickhead.” Indeed! Third AER executive paid to commute from BC (air & water ...

Christy Clark boasts B.C. will rival Alberta’s domination once LNG starts flowing by Calgary Herald, March 31, 2014 Premier Christy Clark is projecting British Columbia will rival energy giant Alberta in terms of “contribution to Canada” once the province starts exporting liquefied natural gas to Asia. Clark is preaching the gospel of natural gas exports in ...

Encana sells Wyoming gas assets for $1.8-billion by Bertand Marotte, March 31, 2014, The Globe and Mail Encana Corp. is selling its natural gas assets in Wyoming’s Jonah field to an affiliate of U.S. private investment firm TPG Capital for about $1.8-billion (U.S.). The sale of one of the largest natural gas fields in the United ...

2000 protesters to block Metgasco gas drilling by Cowra Community News, March 31, 2014 MORE than 2000 people have joined residents in the Northern Rivers region this morning (Monday) to oppose drilling by gas miner Metgasco, says anti-coal seam gas (CSG) alliance Lock the Gate. The company is undertaking an exploration well at Bentley, west of ...

Goldenkey’s stalled plan in Lethbridge affects the Pincher Creek Landfill by Greg Cowan, March 28, 2014, Pincher Creek Echo Goldenkey Oil’s application to the Alberta Energy Regulator to drill three exploratory holes in Lethbridge has been put on hold until the province unveils its new urban drilling policy. The news affects Pincher Creek residents as Goldenkey ...

British CoLNGumbia, The Best Fracking Place on Earth by February 27, 2014, Comox Valley Record

Beware the wealthy bearing gifts by Trevor Harrison, University of Lethbridge Professor and Director of Parkland Institute March 29, 2014, Lethbridge Herald altruism of the wealthy is sometimes done for less saintly reasons Everyone loves people who give unstintingly to charity. But a little skepticism might be in order before saluting too much the ballyhooed generosity of the ...

Methane in Gaspé water: Quebec wants to reassure us Translation of Méthane dans l’eau de Gaspé : Québec se veut rassurant by Amie du Richelieu, March 26, 2014 The Environment Ministry wants to assure us that the methane concentrations measured in some Gaspé wells are not dangerous for the environment or human health. A hydro geological ...

Town That Shouted ‘No!’ to Fracking, Says ‘Yes!’ to Rooftop Solar, Balcombe village in the UK has seen loud and raucous protests against gas drilling, but it’s real solution is as silent as the sound by Jon Queally, March 28, 2014, Common Dreams The small village of Balcombe has been at the epicenter of the battle ...

Attorney for Cabot Oil and Gas “loses it” after court today by Bill Huston, March 24, 2014, Bill Huston’s Blog (Binghamton NY) The most interesting thing IMO about Vera Scroggins’s court date today happened after court was over: First there was a press conference downstairs. It was a mob scene. Dozens of TV news cameras were on Vera ...

In Bad Faith Presentation by Jessica Ernst, March 25, 2104, No Drilling Lethbridge Below, a few of Jessica’s new slides: Slides from Ernst presentation in Lethbridge Jessica Ernst after her talk in Lethbridge Poster Competition Winners, Ernst Presentation and Questions and Answers Live Streamed 7 PM March 25, 2014 Jessica Ernst in Lethbridge on March 25, 2014: Experiences of an ...

Oil well safety warning for fracking by James Morgan, Science reporter, March 24, 2014, BBC News The study led by ReFINE (Researching Fracking in Europe) is published in the journal Marine and Petroleum Geology. It is perhaps the most comprehensive review yet of Britain’s inland oil and gas legacy – pulling together scientific papers, government reports, and industry data. ...

Energy fight to be detailed by Nick Kuhl, March 25, 2014, Lethbridge Herald Jessica Ernst has ongoing lawsuits against Encana, the Alberta government and the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER). Tuesday night, she’ll tell Lethbridge residents why – and why they could potentially be faced with similar legal issues in the future. Ernst, who lives in Rosebud, about ...

Former Tory minister to head Alberta environmental monitoring agency by The Canadian Press, March 20, 2014, Lethbridge Herald A former Tory minister has been named the head of Alberta’s long-awaited environmental monitor. Lorne Taylor will become the first chairman of the province’s flagship agency to understand the impacts of rapid industrial development throughout the province, especially in the oilsands. Among other cabinet ...

High Court of Australia: Arnhem Land traditional owners flag High Court action to prevent mining industry fracking by Andrew Thompson, March 19, 2014, ABC News Traditional owners from Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory say they plan to initiate proceedings in the High Court of Australia to prevent fracking on their land and coast line. Maningrida ...

U of L governors to file statement of concern by Caroline Zentner, March 21, 2014, Lethbridge Herald The University of Lethbridge will file a statement of concern with the Alberta Energy Regulator over Goldenkey Oil’s proposal to drill exploratory oil wells in west Lethbridge. The five-member working group, struck at the close of the February board ...

Harkin Hammers European Parliament On Exclusion of Fracking Environmental Legislation by Independent MEP Marian Harkin, March 21, 2014, Sligo Today The decision of the European Commission to omit the need for Environmental Impact Assessments of hydraulic fracturing  (fracking) projects in legislation passed last week in the European Parliament has been strongly criticised by Independent MEP Marian ...

Leak in 100-year-old gas well emptied Southeast Regional Medical Center for months by Anya Litvak and Steve Twedt, March 19, 2014, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette An old natural gas well is the suspected cause of a gas leak that has kept a Waynesburg medical building empty for three months. Southwest Regional Medical Center’s two-story medical arts building was ...

Scientists call Alberta’s plan for Athabasca River ‘pathetic,’ not science-based by Bob Weber, The Canadian Press, March 19, 2014, The Calgary Herald Alberta’s plan to protect the Athabasca River from the escalating pressure of oilsands development reveals how little the government understands about the environment it claims to protect, say prominent scientists and critics. “It’s pretty ...

Carson slaps moratorium on oil drilling over fracking concerns by Christine Mai-Duc, March 19, 2014, Los Angeles Times The Carson City Council passed a moratorium on all new oil drilling citywide late Tuesday night after dozens of residents spoke against a massive proposed oil project by Occidental Petroleum. In a 5-0 vote, council members imposed an ...

Victory Nickel’s commissioning of Seven Persons Frac Sand Plan underway near Medicine Hat, Rail deliveries of Wisconsin sand concentrate continue to arrive in Alberta Press Release by Victory Nickel Inc., March 19, 2014, Marketwired Victory Nickel Inc. (“Victory Nickel” or the “Company”) (TSX:NI) today announced that commissioning of the Company’s Seven Persons frac sand plant (the ...

Fracking task force struck for Alberta by Matt Dykstra, March 18, 2014, Edmonton Sun The provincial government will strike a task force to form an urban drilling policy [Didn’t the government repeatedly say the policy has been in the works for two years and was soon to be released, as in this? This is just another ...

UPDATE: potential Sulfolane contamination; alternate water source continues to be advised by Alberta Health Services, March 19, 2014 As investigation into the Sulfolane release at the South Rosevear Gas Plant (10-11-054-15-W5M, Yellowhead County) continues, all residents within five kilometers of the Plant are advised to continue to use an alternate water source for drinking and human consumption, ...

Argentine Court to Halt YPF Fracking at El Trebol Well in Chubut by Pablo Gonzalez and Rodrigo Orihuela, March 18, 2014, Bloomberg YPF SA (YPF), Argentina’s largest shale oil and gas producer, will be ordered to cease fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, at a well in Chubut province as a local court reviews allegations of water contamination. Judge ...

Did ‘fracking’ play role in L.A. earthquake? Councilmen want to know by Emily Alpert Reyes, March 18, 2014, Los Angeles Times Three Los Angeles City Council members want city, state and federal groups to look into whether hydraulic fracturing and other forms of oil and gas “well stimulation” played any role in the earthquake that rattled ...

Johnson County Illinois Residents Have Fracking Industry Panicked about local effort to ban fracking by Will Reynolds, March 18, 2014, Huffingtonpost.com Johnson County, Illinois has oil and gas interests panicked about a local effort to stop fracking. They’re spending tens of thousands in the rural county to defeat a referendum that opposes fracking and defends local ...

In N.M., a sea of ‘frack hits’ may be tilting production by Gayathri Vaidyanathan, March 18, 2014, E&E News John Alexander, vice president at Dugan Production Corp., does not mind that other oil companies have fracked his company’s oil wells at least 36 times. Each event flooded the well bores with nitrogen, which is commonly used ...

SPOG outlines plans for county councilors by Dan Singleton, March 18, 2014, Mountain View Gazette

11,000 anti-drill signatures delivered to legislature by Nick Kuhl, March 18, 2014, Lethbridge Herald The signatures of more than 11,000 Lethbridge residents against drilling within city limits were delivered to Edmonton on Monday morning. Sheila Rogers of the group No Drilling Lethbridge dropped off a box of petitions, calling for the Alberta government to introduce legislation prohibiting ...

Encana in BC court to defend alleged illegal water use for fracking by James Keller, The Canadian Press, March 17, 2014, The Globe and Mail Water permits for natural gas fracking illegal, B.C. lawsuit alleges by James Keller, Canadian Press, March 17, 2014, Vancouver Sun A pair of environmental groups allege the B.C. government is skirting its ...

Probe of Canadian spy agency found ‘serious breaches’ of ethics code by Jim Bronskil, The Canadian Press, March 16, 2014, The Globe and Mail An investigation at Canada’s secretive eavesdropping agency has uncovered misuse of public assets and “serious breaches” of the spy outfit’s values and ethics code. … However, CSEC will say little more about ...

Box Elder Creek: Latest battlefield in Colorado’s natural resources war by Mark Jaffe, March 16, 2014, The Denver Post The meandering Box Elder Creek has become a battlefield as farmers and ranchers are facing off against a plan to drill wells along its banks to provide water for fracking and other oil-field operations. While the creek ...

Fracking fears for aquifers by Daniel Mercer, March 17, 2014, The West Australian Aquifers earmarked for drinking water between Geraldton and Busselton could be compromised if companies are allowed to drill for gas through them, the Water Corporation has warned. The State-owned utility also raised questions about why hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would be permitted in ...

Do fracking arrangements violate B.C. law? Environmental coalition gets day in court by Dan Fumano, March 16, 2014, The Province A coalition of environmental groups goes to court Monday to challenge the Oil and Gas Commission’s “systemic practice” of handing out repeated short-term water approvals for use in gas extraction operations in B.C. A petition, filed ...

Facing Millions in Cuts, Environment Canada Prepares to Get Lean, Harper gov’t releases a trim three-year budget for the department by Andrew Nikiforuk, March 15, 2014, TheTyee.ca Minister Aglukkaq also promises that Environment Canada will develop and implement world-class regulations on pollutants, including carbon emissions, as well as “improve industry requirements for prevention, preparation, response and ...