Global Frac News

Alberta Media Personality: Andrew Nikiforuk and the Politics of Oil by Mediamag.ca, May 15, 2013 Calgary based award winning journalist, Andrew Nikiforuk has been writing about the oil and gas industry for nearly 20 years and cares deeply about accuracy, government accountability, and cumulative impacts. He has won seven National Magazine Awards for his journalism since ...

English translation of Press Release Bill banning some activities linked to shale gas: an evanescent, incoherent and unsatisfactory moratorium (below) by Amis du Richelieu, May 16, 2013 “To ban shale gas without banning shale oil is a troubling inconsistency, says Sébastien Rioux, spokesperson for Trois-Pistoles. A moratorium project on gas fracking that limits itself to “the ...

Wishful fracking thinking by Jame Howard Kunstler, April 30, 2013, red green and blue.org Wishful thinking now runs so thick and deep across the USA that our hopes for a credible future are being drowned in a tidal wave of yellow smiley-face stories recklessly issued by institutions that ought to know better. A case in point ...

Mora: Lawyers Lining Up to Help by Las Vegas Optic, May 12, 2013 Mora County officials say attorneys from around the country are lining up to help them after the commission adopted a controversial community rights ordinance that bans oil and gas extraction. The ordinance is controversial because it seeks to restrict the rights that courts ...

WATCH: If Mr. Protti doesn’t have a conflict of interest, then who does? 3:06 Min. by AlbertaNDP, May 9, 2013 Over 30 Alberta groups demand oil industry fox Gerard Protti get out of Alberta’s henhouse by Mike Hudema, May 3, 2013, Greenpeace Alberta must stop letting an oily fox guard the energy henhouse, and bring in an energy ...

Wide Responsibility by Nielle and Howard Hawkwood, May 9, 2013, The Western Producer Re: “Sustainable agricultural policies will soon land in farmersʼ laps”, April 11, 2013 So, huge multinational food companies are starting to realize that the consumer wants sustainably raised food. Well, the responsibility for this cannot rest only on the farmersʼ shoulders, even if it does land ...

South African Anti-Fracking Activist Calls for Global Alliance by Sandra Postel, May 13, 2013, National Geographic’s Freshwater Initiative in Water Currents “We’ve got to stop doing this,” said Jonathan Deal, with a sense of urgency tinged with discomfort. Deal could well have been talking about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, the oil and gas drilling practice he ...

Bitumen project approval irks residents near Peace River by Marty Klinkenberg, May 10, 2013, Edmonton Journal Shell Canada has received regulatory approval to significantly increase bitumen production at an expanded plant near Peace River — an area where residents have raised a stink for three years about odours emanating from existing operations. On April 26, the ...

Pollutants detected in water wells in Sublette County’s gas fields by Willow Belden, May 10, 2013, Wyoming Public Media Pollutants including benzene and diesel-range organics have shown up in water wells like this one in the Pinedale Anticline for several years. Links to Sublette County water quality monitoring data Maps showing the locations of gas wells, ...

Bruce Jack – Well Water Explosion at Spirit River, Alberta by Grant Gelinas, October 25 and 26, 2006, CBC News posted by Will Koop, BC Tap Water Alliance, May 9, 2013 Bruce Jack and two industry gas-in-water testers were seriously injured and hospitalized when the methane and ethane contaminated water well ignited on industry water testing day, May 9, 2006. ...

Little lawsuit, big implications for future of fracking projects by Emma Lui and Stuart Trew, May 10, 2013, Edmonton Journal Lone Pine is one of many energy companies charging into Canada’s growing but controversial hydraulic fracturing (or fracking) business. It’s also one of several companies that were hoping to extract shale gas in Quebec before the ...

Cleary uncomfortable with shale gas blueprint, Health officer surprised policy document doesn’t include health as a key objective by CBC News, May 10, 2013 New Brunswick chief public health officer says the provincial government’s oil and natural gas blueprint should have included human health as one of its key objectives. Energy Minister Craig Leonard released the ...

Reward fracking communities with extra police officers, says IGas by Emily Gosden, May 9, 2013, The Telegraph Local communities should be won over to shale gas fracking by rewarding them with more teachers in primary schools and more police officers on the beat, the chief executive of explorer IGas has said. … Mr Austin also said ...

Sahtu water board pressured to fast-track fracking project, Some businesses urge board not to approve project without environmental assessment by CBC News, May 8, 2013 Debate about environmental reviews heats up in the N.W.T. Some business people in Norman Wells, N.W.T., are urging the Sahtu Land and Water Board to fast-track a drilling project near the ...

EU-Canada trade agreement threatens fracking bans by Financial Channel, May 8, 2013 The proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union (EU) and Canada would grant energy companies far-reaching rights to challenge bans and regulations of environmentally damaging shale gas development (fracking), a new briefing by Corporate Europe Observatory, The Council of Canadians ...

Coming to sites across the UK soon – fracking flares, IGas chief warns that any production of shale gas would involve ‘flaring off’ leakages by Tom Bawden, May 9, 2013, The Independent The British countryside could be dotted with hundreds of naked flames several metres high after the head of Britain’s biggest fracking company warned that ...

Port Elgin bans fracking within village limits by Joan LeBlanc, May 8, 2013 PORT ELGIN, N.B. – The Village of Port Elgin has banned the practice of fracking within its village limits. At a recent meeting, village council passed a unanimous resolution to prohibit hydraulic fracturing in an effort to protect the future of its clean ...

Letters to the editor Fracking Cattle by Jessica Lowe and Whian Whian, November 15, 2012, echonews.com.au I am a cattle farmer from Whian Whian, a parent of three young children, and the wife of a local GP. I would like to respond to an article in the Rural Weekly (October 31) ‘Casino farmers tell of positive ...

Province to complete review on urban oil drilling,  Planned well in Calgary suburb sparks controversy by Chris Varcoe, May 9, 2013, Calgary Herald Ward Sutherland, president of the Rocky Ridge Royal Oak Community Association, stands in a field behind the Royal Oak shopping centre where an oil well has been proposed. Sutherland says it’s time the ...

Home near oil and gas well suddenly has discolored drinking water by Bobby Magill,  May 7, 2013, The Coloradoan Christina Herz doesn’t know exactly why her tapwater turned orange, but she says it happened while a company was working on an oil and gas well across the street. After Herz’s husband, Karl, watched Bayswater Exploration and ...

Councillors pass bylaw that bans fracking in Nova Scotia county by The Canadian Press, May 7, 2013, Times Colonist Announcement: The Municipality of the County of Inverness Cape Breton, Nova Scotia passed a bylaw against fracking today. May 6, 2013. Inverness County passes anti-fracking bylaw by Chris Shannon, May 6, 2013, Cape Breton Post PORT HOOD — It’s taken two ...

Will BC’s Next Gov’t Defuse Toxic Time Bombs? by Wally Braul, May 6, 2013, TheTyee.ca The Ministry of Environment should make more strategic use of its powers. The EMA provides the Ministry of Environment with broad powers to order that sites be remediated. Few would disagree that the MOE’s limited resources should be devoted to high-risk ...

Springborg refuses to drink CSG water by Petrina Berry, April 22, 2013, Brisbane Times Queensland’s health minister has refused to sample a bottle of Tara Tingler, groundwater from a coal seam gas region in the state’s south. Protesters from the anti-CSG group Lock the Gate Alliance gathered outside the health department’s Brisbane office and challenged people ...

INVESTMENT IDEAS Shale gas provides opportunities for water companies by Bruce Jenkyn Jones, managing director of Impax Asset Management, London, April 24, 2013, PNP Paribas Investment Partners “Comparable to selling shovels during the gold rush”. Some of the best investment opportunities arising from the shale revolution are in the suppliers helping the industry to operate more efficiently ...

Chemical soup used in fracking includes hydrochloric acid, antifreeze by Kevin Griffin, May 3, 2013, Vancouver Sun Toxic chemicals such as hydrochloric acid and ethylene glycol (antifreeze) are among those pumped underground to help release natural gas through hydraulic fracturing, according to a database operated by the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission. Environment Canada wants gas ...

As Fort Collins awaits similar fracking lawsuit, Longmont racks up $69,000 in legal fees by Bobby Magill, May 2, 2013, Coloradoan.com If you’re wondering what it might cost Fort Collins to defend itself in court if it is sued for banning fracking, the answer is a quickly moving target. The only other city in Colorado to ...

Groups demand that head of new Alberta energy regulator resign before he starts by Bob Weber, May 3, 2013, Canadian Press Three dozen landowner, labour, aboriginal and environmental groups are demanding that the man hired to head Alberta’s new energy regulator resign before he even starts. A letter signed by such organizations as the Treaty 8 ...

Longmont-area farmer struggles to access evidence for oil & gas fine hearing of Encana’s non compliance near his home by Elizabeth Miller, May 2, 2013, Boulder Weekly When Longmont-area farmer Rod Brueske lodged a complaint about the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s (COGCC) settlement with Encana Oil & Gas Inc. following an air quality violation, ...

Details Withheld on Fracking Methane Study, High levels of methane in Susquehanna County, Pa., cannot be to attributed to fracking, yet claims impossible to verify by Kristen Meriwether, May 2, 2013, Epoch Times Susquehanna County, Pa.—made famous from Josh Fox’s documentary film “Gasland”—is back in the forefront of the hydraulic fracturing debate with pro-drilling activists claiming ...

Lock the Gate public meeting by LoveLeitrim, May 2, 2013

Dryden officials pleased, cautious after fracking decision by Andrew Casler, May 2, 2013, pressconnects “It’s good news — not surprising — but excellent confirmation that we’re on the right track,” Dryden Town Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner said about Thursday’s court ruling. “I’m very proud of the town for being able to take a lead on this ...

Trout River residents demand answers about fracking by Paul Hutchings, May 02, 2013, The Western Star William Lummis of Trout River said he has a bad feeling about the project. “I get people want jobs here, I understand the appeal but this is a small company doing risky drilling and it seems like they don’t have all the regulations in ...

Fracking ban moves forward in California Legislature by Miriam Raftery, April 30, 2013, East County Magazine The Assembly Natural Resources Committee in Sacramento yesterday voted 5 to 3 to temporarily halt fracking until further health assessments can be done. Three moratorium bills passed, including AB 1301 to stop fracking unless it can be proven safe. Two similar bills, AB ...

Watchdog bans a ‘misleading’ fracking leaflet by Garstang Courier, May 1, 2013 A leaflet distributed by the firm behind Lancashire’s fracking industry has been banned. The Advertising Standards Agency upheld six of 18 complaints made by anti-fracking group Refracktion about a leaflet posted by Cuadrilla Resources to homes in the county. The group has called on ...

Ex-deputy minister named CEO of energy regulator, Jim Ellis joins Gerry Protti to lead replacement for the ERCB by Dan Healing and Stephen Ewart, April 30, 2013, Calgary Herald Energy Minister Ken Hughes has announced that Jim Ellis will be CEO of the Alberta Energy Regulator. The chief executive of the Alberta Energy Regulator said Monday ...

Fracking Fluid Cleanup Continues by Amanda Kelley, May 1, 2013, Newswatch 16 One home and some farmland have significant damage. This comes less than two months after the same company had another big spill that forced several families from their homes. Trenches are being dug, and big vacuums are sucking up the spill. Fred Kuntz is ...

Fracking rules coming ‘in weeks,’ says Interior chief Jewell by Zack Colman, April 30, 2013, The Hill  Draft federal rules on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, will be released in a matter of “weeks, not months,” Interior Secretary Sally Jewell said Tuesday. The draft rules have undergone “sufficient change,” Jewell said during a media call. They’ll go ...

Alberta announces new cancer-care plan by Keith Gerein, April 30, 2013, Edmonton Journal Reduced wait times, more effective treatments and improved rates of prevention are among the major benefits Alberta patients can expect from a new provincial cancer strategy, the Alberta government said Tuesday. The plan, Changing Our Future, is the blueprint that will guide the ...

N.M. county bans drilling; ‘Leave us alone. Let us enjoy what we have’ by April Reese, April 30, 2013, E&E News County commissioners in a rural, picturesque swath of northern New Mexico voted yesterday to ban all oil and gas drilling. Passed in a 2-1 vote, the measure establishes a “bill of rights” for residents and ...

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING: EPA wants more existing data for drinking water study by Ellen M. Gilmer, April 30, 2013, E&E News U.S. EPA is taking an extra six months to collect existing research on hydraulic fracturing as it continues its own study of the oil and gas extraction method. The agency stressed yesterday that the deadline extension ...

$10 million tagged for 18 water projects in Alberta by Edmonton Journal, April 30, 2013 Alberta’s lead agency for energy and environmental research is spending $10 million to support 18 water projects, including one that deals with oilsands process water. “These projects will provide the crucial information we need to support an actionable strategy for safe, ...

Gorilla Radio with Chris Cook, Daniel Kovalik, Jessica Ernst, Janine Bandcroft by Chris Cook, April 29, 2013, Gorilla Radio Click and scroll to the bottom to access the podcast (Ernst interview at about 35 Min.) And; in 1998, oil patch consultant, Jessica Ernst moved out to Rosebud, Wheatland County in Alberta’s heartland. She bought a little house ...

California Proposal for Fracking Moratorium Clears Panel by Michael B. Marois & Alison Vekshin, April 29, 2013, Bloomberg A California Assembly panel approved a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing by oil and natural-gas producers until the most populous U.S. state assesses health and environmental concerns. The bill by Adrin Nazarian, a Los Angeles Democrat, is opposed by ...

NDP candidate promises moratorium on fracking by Jonathan Fowlie, April 29, 2013, Vancouver Sun The BC Liberal Party has released comments by an NDP candidate in Cariboo-Chilcotin from last week saying an NDP government would impose a two-year moratorium on fracking to allow for a scientific review. “The position of the NDP is that there will be ...

‘Don’t bribe us with cheap energy bills’ say Welsh anti-fracking activists by Aled Blake, April 29, 2013 Incentives for people living near planned controversial fracking projects – including slashed energy bills – have been condemned as “bribery” by a South Wales campaigner. The Financial Times today reported the UK Government is considering cheaper household energy bills ...

 Fracking: A silent death sweeps across the nation by Carolanne Wright, April 29, 2013, NaturalNews Farmland is tainted. Drinking water turns flammable. And humans along with animals are sick. The cause? Fracking. It’s terrorizing the environment, destroying the health of those who live close to the sites and contaminating the food supply. With more than 600,000 ...

Hydraulic Fracturning Worldwide. Jessica Ernst Of Rosebud, Alberta by Robin Mathews, April 29, 2013, vivelecanada.ca Le fracking – pas de réponses, interdit de poser des questions translation of Robin Mathews’ article by Ami(s) du Richelieu, April 28, 2013 Hydraulic Fracturing Worldwide by Robin Mathews, April 27, 2013, RadicalPress.com Hydraulic Fracturing Worldwide, Answers Not Forthcoming, Questions Not Allowed. Jessica ...

The Rainbow Spill: A Case of Crime and (No) Punishment by Keith Stewart, April 24, 2013, Greenpeace.ca The February 2013 findings of Alberta’s Energy Resources Conservation Board (ERCB) investigation into the April 2011 Rainbow Pipeline spill were damning. The cracks in the Rainbow pipeline that caused it to spill oil into the wetlands near the Lubicon ...

Court ruling: Obama administration overlooked fracking risks by rt.com, April 09, 2013 The Obama administration has broken the law, issuing oil leases across California without examining the risks of fracking. A federal judge ruled that the administration has “completely ignored” environmental concerns upon issuing the leases. In response to a lawsuit filed by environmentalist groups, US ...

Former Gas Workers: Fracking Caused Health Problems by Shannon Lins, April 26, 2013, wetmtv.com Former natural gas drillers gathered in the Southern Tier Friday night to say fracking has been harmful to their health. A group of doctors and former workers spoke to a crowd in Bath. They say hydraulic fracturing is harmful to the environment ...

Fracking could limit water, study says by Jerry Burnes, April 26, 2013, Williston Herald Water in North Dakota is going to dry up. That’s the message the Western Organization of Resource Councils sent Thursday when releasing its report, Gone for Good: Fracking and Water Loss in the West. Resource council members from North Dakota, Montana, Colorado ...

Plains Midstream charged for largest Alberta oil spill in decades, Fines could be as high as $1.5M if found guilty by Matt McClure, April 26, 2013, Calgary Herald As the province announces a pipeline giant could face fines of up to $1.5 million in connection with Alberta’s largest oil spill in over three decades, it faces ...

In Gasland sequel, fracking saga’s pressure ratchets up by Sarah Laskow, April 26, 2013, Grist By the end of Gasland Part II, many of his comrades-in-arms have been cornered and have taken gas companies’ settlements, which come along with non-disclosure agreements and gag clauses. His friends send psalm citations before going “radio silent,” or practice not ...

Pa. judge conviction leads to delay in gas drilling ruling by Amanda Cregan, April 24, 2013, phillyburbs.com The corruption conviction of Justice Joan Orie Melvin and her ensuing resignation from Pennsylvania’s Supreme Court might have caused a delay in the Act 13 decision, according to attorney Jordan Yeager. In March 2012, Nockamixon, Yardley and the Delaware ...

EPA Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response Final Guidance for Assessing and Mitigating the Vapor Intrusion Pathway from Substance Sources to Indoor Air (External Review Draft) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response, April 2013 Comments on the guidance will be accepted through May 24 Vapor intrusion is a potential ...

Industry Perspective: Managing Risk on the New Frontiers of Energy Exploration by Marsh Risk Management Research, May 2013, Marsh & McLennan Companies Significant Exposures The associated risk exposures derived from shale gas production are significant. There has been widespread condemnation, ranging from allegations of contaminating water tables to claims that it induces earthquakes. … Although shale exploration ...

California Fracking Rules Plan Stirs Trade Secrets Fight by Alison Vekshin, April 24, 2013, Bloomberg A California proposal to regulate the chemicals used by oil companies in hydraulic fracturing is stirring a battle over industry assertions of trade secrets protection and environmentalist calls for disclosure to shield public health. State officials developing rules for fracking say ...

Petrolia asks court to rule on Gaspé drilling ban by Nicolas Van Praet, April 24, 2013, Financial Post Pétrolia Inc. is taking legal action to quash a drilling ban in the town of Gaspé, the latest development in a highly-publicized battle between the junior exploration company and the municipal council. Pétrolia, which is seeking to become ...

Fracking, oil drilling a threat to Oakland County lakes, water quality chief says by Bill Laitner, April 24, 2013, Detroit Free Press Oakland County’s recently elected chief of water quality has challenged what he says is lenient acceptance of oil and gas development by county and state governments that could bring the controversial process called fracking ...

Ontario intervenes to save research station shuttered by Ottawa by Adam Radwanski and Gloria Galloway, April 24, 2013, The Globe and Mail Ontario is intervening to help preserve the freshwater research station controversially shuttered by the federal government. At an event at the University of Toronto on Wednesday morning alongside several of her ministers, Premier Kathleen ...

West Virginia judge recognizes trespass by hydraulic fracturing by McGuireWoods LLP Anthony J. Carna, Gregg M. Rosen , Jonathan T. Blank and Lisa M. Lorish, April 23 2013, Lexology.com The notion that an oil and gas producer can commit a trespass by engaging in hydraulic fracturing gained traction on April 9, 2013, when U.S. District Judge ...

Huge Earth Day gathering sends strong message by Monique Beaudin, with contribution by Kevin Dougherty, April 18, 2013, originally in The Montreal Gazette April 24, 2012 The largest environmental protest in Canadian history was born last December when Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s government decided to pull out of the Kyoto Protocol. The international agreement, which Canada ratified in ...

New Mexico Earthquakes Linked to Wastewater Injection by Becky Oskin, April 23, 2013, OurAmazingPlanet An ongoing earthquake swarm in New Mexico and Colorado, which includes Colorado’s largest earthquake since 1967, is due to underground wastewater injection, researchers said Friday (April 19) at the Seismological Society of America’s annual meeting in Salt Lake City. The earthquakes are ...

Petro firms with $2 trillion in revenues lured by Libs’ LNG plans by Geoff Dembicki, April 23, 2013, The Tyee.ca Well over a dozen of the planet’s biggest oil and gas companies, with combined revenues equaling about $2 trillion, are looking to cash in on premier Christy Clark’s liquefied natural gas strategy. They’re proposing to build ...

Cuadrilla censured by advertising watchdog over fracking safety claims, Advertising Standards Authority orders shale gas company to tone down claims that it uses ‘proven, safe technologies’ by Fiona Harvey, environment correspondent, April 24, 2013, guardian.co.uk Cuadrilla, the only shale fracking company operating in the UK, has been slapped down by the advertising watchdog for claiming that it ...

Out Of Control: Nova Scotia’s Experience Fracking for Shale Gas by Barb Harris, with John Cascadden, Angela Giles, Kris MacLellan, Ken Summers, Jennifer West, and Michael Whalen, April 2013, Nova Scotia Fracking Resource and Action Coalition This report is a must-read for all concerned about the extensive proposed shale gas development in Hants County and other ...

Credit for the “confidential” stamp on page 8 goes to Stuart Miles/123rf.com Legal Fractures in Chemical Disclosure Laws, Why the Voluntary Chemical Disclosure Registry FracFocus Fails as a Regulatory Compliance Tool by Kate Konschnik with Margaret Holden and Alexa Shasteen, April 23, 2013, Harvard Law School Summary In its current form, FracFocus is not an acceptable regulatory compliance method for chemical disclosures. ...

Yoko Ono Comes Together With Musicians–Including Paul McCartney–Over Fracking by Zack O’Malley Greenburg, April 23, 2013, Forbes Yoko Ono imagines there’s no fracking. Yoko Ono and Paul McCartney’s relationship dates back about half a century. Famously, John Lennon’s widow and his former bandmate have had their share of differences over the years. But in recent months, ...

Federal judge stops Monterey Shale fracking leases by Patrick M. Klemz, April 11, 2013, New Times, Volume 27, Issue 37 U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal put the brakes on plans by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to allow oil operators to drill exploratory wells on 2,500 federal acres in southern Monterey County. If those operators ...

Fracking fluid leak classified as well ‘blowout’ by Bobby Magill, February 27, 2013, Coloradoan The 30-hour oil well leak on Feb. 11 and 12 east of Fort Collins was a “blowout” directly related to fracking, state documents show. The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission has released its inspectors’ reports from the incident at PDC Energy’s ...

Expert pours cold water on fracking hopes, The price of gas is rising, but shale may not offer an answer by Nathan Coyne, February 27, 2013, politics.co.uk Shale gas should not be seen as the answer to Britain’s energy production issues “anytime soon”, according to a leading academic. Professor Michael Bradshaw told a meeting of MPs ...

Fracking’s future an illusion at best by David Olive, February 25, 2013, The Toronto Star The fantasy of “Saudi America” may end up making one of the speedier exits in the history of catchphrases. As recently as last year, the U.S. petroleum industry was boasting of a new, 100-year supply of oil and gas, mostly from ...

LISTEN: Technical and long-term questions remain about Encana’s aquifer exemption request by Irina Zhorov, Wyoming Public Media, April 19, 2013 IRINA ZHOROV: Encana says it needs to dispose of produced water into the Madison aquifer in order to grow its operations in the Moneta Divide oil and gas field. Encana first proposed the injection well in 2011. ...

La fracturation hydraulique, le Canada et la justice translation of Robin Mathews’ article by Amie du Richelieu April 13, 2013 Alberta Fracking. Jessica Ernst Versus The Corporate/Government Enemy. (A Case For History.) by Robin Mathews, April 12, 2013, The Straight Goods Take off the gloves. Take off the rose-tinted glasses.  This is (as they say) for real. ...

Earth Day – Letters from the Chemung County Jail by The Marcellus Effect Letters from the Chemung County Jail #2 by Sandra Steingraber, April 22, 2013 2e lettre de Sandra Steingraber translation by Amie du Richelieu April 23, 2013 I was led to cell #1 in block D of the Chemung County jail by three things. One is the decision of Inergy to industrialize the ...

Josh Fox’s ‘Gasland’ Sequel Opens, a Tour Through a Land of Abandoned Homes and Broken Promises, Gasland Part II contends that an industry should not be allowed to break what it cannot fix by Alison Rose Levy, April 22, 2013, Alternet, published in partnership with GlobalPossibilities.org. Gasland Part II, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival ...

Range Can Pursue Claims Against Landowner, Court Rules by Thomas Korosec, April 22, 2013, Bloomberg Range Resources Corp. (RRC) can pursue defamation and business disparagement claims against a Texas landowner who accused the company of fouling his well by hydraulic fracturing, an appeals court said. In a ruling today, the Texas Second Court of Appeals in ...

Fracking trade secrets case headed to Wyoming Supreme Court by Adam Voge, April 17, 2013, Star-Tribune A coalition of environmental and landowner groups on Wednesday appealed a Casper judge’s decision that individual ingredients used in hydraulic fracturing can be protected under Wyoming’s trade secrets law. The group, which includes the Powder River Basin Resource Council and ...

From fracking to SNC-Lavalin: The truth about corporate kingpin Gwyn Morgan by Nick Fillmore, April 17, 2013, rabble.ca One of the champions of Canada’s right-wing corporate elite is finally calling it quits. Gwyn Morgan, 66, is stepping down in May as Board Chairman of SNC-Lavalin, the troubled, giant engineering and construction firm trying to survive a ...

Survey: Methane in water near Silt by Dennis Webb, April 17, 2013, The Daily Sentinel A review of more than a half-century worth of water-quality data in western Colorado’s Piceance Basin found that most groundwater detections of methane were in an area south of Silt, where a possible link between such detections and natural gas drilling ...

WATCH: Fracking Contamination Will Only Get Worse 5:32 Min. by BNN, January 13, 2013, Bell Media BNN speaks with Karlis Muehlenbachs, Geochemist & Professor, University of Alberta who says hydraulic fracturing contamination will get worse. Business News Network: People often talk about the mysterious chemicals involved in hydraulic fracturing, but what about the possibility of frac’d wells leaking natural gas, methane, ...

Yedlin: Getting down to building new energy regulator by Deborah Yedlin, April 13, 2013, Calgary Herald Gerry Protti has not been wasting any time. Days into his new post as chairman of Alberta’s new energy regulator, Protti said his immediate agenda is filled with hiring a chief executive officer, filling out the board of directors and hiring ...

The man who did not know Quebec Translation by Amie du Richelieu April 13, 2013 of Kim Cornelissen’s retort L’homme qui ne connaissait pas le Québec to Michael Binnion of Questerre Energy Every time he opens his mouth, Mike insults us. Probably without even realizing it. This time, it’s claiming that us people all have a welfare dependence when it ...

Sepa probe at coal-bed methane wells by Rob Edwards, April 14, 2013, Herald Scotland AN allegation that explosive and highly-polluting gas is leaking from boreholes in southwest Scotland are being probed by the Scottish Government’s green watchdog. The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) is launching an investigation into claims that methane is “bubbling up” in wells ...

Believing in clean oilsands like putting faith in ‘magic fairies,’ Alberta scientist says by Tom Spears, April 12, 2013, Ottawa Citizen in Calgary Herald Claims that Alberta’s oilsands are environmentally harmless are “lies” and won’t convince anyone in Washington, one of this country’s most famous ecologists said Friday. Political leaders in Alberta and Ottawa “seem to ...

LISTEN: Fracking – what would Jesus do? 2:58 Min. by Stephanie Anderson, April 13, 2013, ABC News AM ROBERT BUCHAN: The Northwest Plains and the Liverpool Plains are wonderful crop-producing areas. We’re worried not only about the detrimental effect on the surface of the land by mining and coal seam gas drilling, but also too the ...

Encana plan for Wyoming aquifer wastewater well faces EPA scrutiny by Adam Voge, April 11, 2013, Star-Tribune The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency wants a company asking to inject oil and gas well wastewater into an aquifer in central Wyoming to do more to prove it won’t pollute the aquifer and show it won’t be used for ...

Environment Canada asks industry to come clean on hydraulic fracking by Mike De Souza, April 11, 2013, Edmonton Journal Environment Canada wants oil and gas companies to come clean about the unidentified fluids they inject deep underground to extract natural gas. In newly released correspondence obtained by Postmedia News, the department’s top official told the main Canadian oil ...

Harper’s style starts to chafe by The Star Phoenix, April 9, 2013 Mert Taylor is an unlikely rebel. A self-described cowboy from southwest Saskatchewan, Mr. Taylor rode the range for the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration for more than four decades, looking after community pastures. Like most people who live close to Saskatchewan’s historic grasslands, the years of ...

Prof says fracking has sordid track record by Dr. John W. Ray, April 08, 2013, Montana Standard Recently, the Montana Tech Petroleum Department, the Butte Patriots, which according to the Montana Tea Party website is the local Tea Party affiliate, and the Montana Petroleum Association sponsored a film titled FrackNation. The film’s purpose was to “uncover ...

Halliburton’s Dirty Secrets Pumped Into WV? by Dan Heyman, April 8, 2013, Public News Service – WV – News in the Public Interest Legislation now before lawmakers could mean first responders would not know what chemicals might be leaking from a fracking industrial accident. … Landowners, citizen groups and environmentalists are concerned about legislation now before ...

Letter: Appointment of Gerard Protti by Joan Young, April 5, 2013, Edmonton Journal Isn’t appointing Gerard Protti to regulate the energy industry in Alberta, like appointing the Wolf to protect the Three Pigs? He can’t, even if he’d like to. He’s a ‘wolf’ with an appetite for large amounts of oil and gas revenue.

HYDRAULIC FRACTURING: Public interest trumps trade secrets — law professors by Ellen M. Gilmer, April 4, 2013, E&E News A group of law professors are urging Alaska regulators to fend off industry pressure for the state to allow secret status for some chemicals used during hydraulic fracturing. Ten professors specializing in intellectual property and trade secrecy ...

Fracking chemicals shouldn’t be kept secret by Chuck Wyrostok, April 4, 2013, The Charleston Gazette When does a trade secret become dangerous to your health? One answer: when it is secret drilling chemicals spilling onto well sites, roads and waterways and endangering you by crippling your doctor’s ability to treat you. The original intent of West ...

Gas detected under 2 Bayou Corne homes by Sheila V Kumar, April 3, 2013, The Times-Picayune At least two homes in Assumption Parish have reported the presence of gas underneath their foundations, officials said Wednesday, one day after state authorities announced the first meeting of a commission designed to evaluate potential threats a 13-acre sinkhole may ...

Shale-rich Spanish region vote to ban fracking by Tracy Rucinsk, with additional reporting by Paul Day, Clare Kane, and Henning Gloystein, April 8, 2013, Reuters Lawmakers in Spain’s northern Cantabria region unanimously voted on Monday to ban hydraulic fracturing on environmental concerns, shooting down the central government’s hopes for a project to boost jobs in a ...

Fracking. The One Per Cent. Collapsing Canadian Courts. Jessica Ernst. by Robin Mathews, April 08, vivelecanada.ca The $33 million case taken by Jessica Ernst against Encana Corporation, Alberta Regulators, and the Alberta government is running into very dubious obstacles. Source: Radical Press.com Fracking. The One Per Cent. Collapsing Canadian Courts. Jessica Ernst of Rosebud, Alberta by Robin Mathews, April ...

NO CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH FOR CSG A Critique of the Queensland Department of Health’s Report on the Health Impacts of CSG Activities on the Tara Community by National Toxics Network, April 2013 Summary The Queensland Government’s Health Report, ‘Coal seam gas in the Tara region: Summary risk assessment of health complaints and environmental monitoring data, March 2013’, ...

Mudslinging hurts democratic debate about climate and economy, says outgoing watchdog Scott Vaughan, Parliament’s outgoing environment watchdog, Scott Vaughan, says no one should be bullied for seeking information by Mike De Souza, Postmedia News, April 2, 2013, canada.com “I found it a little discouraging when you’re coming forward with absolutely serious issues, which have profound economic ...