Global Frac News

Read up on shale gas by Mel McLachlan, Postmedia News, February 26, 2013, Comox Valley Echo Your readers may recall that a few years ago a series of test wells were drilled in the Comox Valley in an attempt to evaluate the potential of exploiting the methane gas trapped in the local coal bearing formations. As ...

Chesapeake, Encana sued in civil antitrust action by Brian Grow and Joshua Schneyer with additional reporting by Scott Haggett in Calgary, February 25, 2013, Reuters A major Michigan landowner is suing Chesapeake Energy Corp and Encana Corp, alleging that the two energy giants colluded to rig bids for oil and gas rights in 2010. Northstar Energy, which owns ...

GAZ DE HOUILLE – LE FÉDÉRAL VEUT DÉCOURAGER JESSICA ERNST translation by lesamiedurichelieu in Pressgauche.org, February 26, 2013, of article in The Tyee.ca by Andrew Nikiforuk, February 22, 2013 Dans une décision étonnante, le gouvernement Harper met une autre embûche dans une procédure légale très suivie en Alberta qui veut juger la règlementation de la fracturation ...

Petro-state politics prompts CSIS to spy on citizens at alarming rate, FOIs reveal by Mike Chisholm and Jenny Uechi, February 25, 2013, Vancouver Observer Environmental activist Rod Marining knows the feel of steel handcuffs on his wrists. As co-founder of Greenpeace International, he sailed aboard Greenpeace ships campaigning against French atmospheric nuclear testing in French Polynesia, ...

Encana aims to dispose of wastewater in Madison aquifer by Adam Voge, February 21, 2013,  Star-Tribune Wyoming’s environmental regulatory agency is objecting to an oil and natural gas company’s plan to inject wastewater into a Wyoming aquifer.  The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality in a Feb. 11 letter opposed a plan by Encana Oil and Gas ...

Assassinations of environmental activists have doubled over last decade by Fred Pearce, Yale Environment 360, February 21, 2013, The Guardian Where is Sombath Somphone? With every day that passes, the fate of one of south-east Asia’s most high-profile environmental activists, who was snatched from the streets of Laos in December, becomes more worrisome. His case has ...

Kalkaska Co. fracking wells used 42M gallons water by the Morning Sun, February 24, 2013 Three deep hydraulic fracturing wells in northwestern lower Michigan’s Kalkaska County have used 42 million gallons of water in the past two years, according to a published report. … The wells are run by Encana Oil & Gas wells in Excelsior ...

Fears fracking could be “fast tracked”, Peers and charities fear a change in the law will allow the Government to “fast track” fracking against the will of local communities by Louise Gray, February 23, 2013, The Telegraph The Growth and Infrastructure Bill, currently going through the House of Lords, could allow exploration for shale gas to ...

Censorship is alive and well in Canada – just ask government scientists by Elizabeth Renezetti, February 22, 2013, The Globe and Mail We like to think of censorship as something that happens over there, in the faraway places where men break into houses at night to smash computers, or arrive in classrooms to remove books they ...

New South Wales sets up coal seam gas exclusion zones by Rick Wilkinson, Oil and Gas Journal, February 22, 2013 The government of New South Wales plans to establish 2-km exclusion zones around towns in the state with populations above 1,000 or more people to keep coal seam gas exploration and production activity away from residential ...

One of three men injured in Fort Saskatchewan blast dies by Mariam Ibrahim, February 22, 2013, Edmonton Journal One of three workers seriously injured in an explosion at a Fort Saskatchewan construction site has died. Alberta Occupational Health and Safety spokeswoman Lisa Glover confirmed one man died of his injuries around 6 a.m. Friday. The worker ...

Burnaby city council first in BC to call for a moratorium on fracking by Maryam Adrangi, February 22, 2013, rabble.ca Earlier this week, Burnaby city council passed a resolution to call for a moratorium on fracking. The city itself is not threatened by hydraulic fracturing; however, it has “from time to time advocated on environmental matters ...

Listen! Encana conference call (warning, executive profanity) 19 Seconds, February 15, 2013 Listens as of 9:32 PM October 4, 2014: 61,057 Listens as of 11:07 AM, February 22, 2013: 48,244 Listens as of 9:50 PM February 21, 2013: 34,755 Ewart: Encana fumbles over Internet follies by Stephen Ewart, February 22, 2013, Calgary Herald A week after Encana had to apologize when one of ...

How fracking’s catch-22 shields the natural gas industry and throws citizens under the bus by Laurel Peltier, February 21, 2013, green laurel  The Hagys’ water contamination lawsuit demonstrates how the natural gas industry has built a near-perfect “federal legal exemption’s framework” that when combined with lax or absent state regulations and the legal system’s high costs, ...

Alberta’s Strange Sinking Sensation, Why can’t Canada’s wealthiest province break even? Blame the paradox of plenty by Andrew Nikiforuk, February 21, 2013, TheTyee.ca But the invitation to converse is disingenuous. Petro states, which are studies in the abuse of power, engineer monologues for their citizens, not dialogues. … Truth in short supply Now here’s what Redford forgot to ...

‘Muzzling’ of federal scientists called a threat to democracy by Margaret Munro, February 20, 2013, Calgary Herald Federal Information Commissioner Suzanne Legault has been asked to investigate the way the Harper government has been “muzzling” federal scientists. The request, accompanied by a report on the government’s “systematic efforts” to obstruct access to researchers, was made jointly ...

Drill, Baby, Drill Can Unconventionals Usher in a New Era of Energy Abundance? by J. David Hughes, February 2013, Post Carbon Institute We’re on the cusp of an oil and gas revolution But what if it’s all just a short term bubble? Executive Summary Despite the rhetoric, the United States is highly unlikely to become energy independent unless rates ...

Oil and gas violations kept under wraps,  B.C. regulator won’t provide details of hundreds of regulatory violations uncovered last year by Gordon Hoekstra, February 19, 2013, Vancouver Su B.C. Oil and Gas Commission lacks ‘transparency’ on fracking violations by Gordon Hoekstra, February 18, 2013, Vancouver Sun Hundreds of deficiencies were discovered during the course of 4,223 inspections ...

Alberta asks public for consultations on fracking and water use by Grace C. Visconti, February 18, 2013, Digital Journal Edmonton – In a surprising move, Environment Minister Diana McQueen announced that the Alberta government would engage the public in consultations (February 19 – March 21) province-wide on the controversial hydraulic fracking practice and water use in ...

Germany may ban fracking over environmental concerns by rt.com, February 18, 2013 Germany could join other European countries and ban the fracking method of shale gas extraction, according to Germany’s Environment Minister Peter Altmaier. Altmaier says he wants a ban on fracking in all areas where drinking water is protected, noting that a fracking ban is nothing ...

Fracking’s harm is forever by Scotty Robinson, February 18, 2013, Toronto Star I have come to the conclusion the world has completely lost its ability to reason. There is nothing more important on this planet than water. It is why there is life here. We cannot live without it yet here we are taking billions of ...

Texas Fracker Accused of Bully Tactics Against Foes by Mark Drajem, February 18, 2013, Bloomberg When a Texas landowner took his fear that a gas driller had poisoned his well to federal regulators, the company, Range Resources Corp., turned around and sued him for conspiring “to harm Range.” In Pennsylvania, a state lawmaker who criticized the company was dubbed ...

Legislation further compromises environmental protection, Alberta government creates a new regulator and turns its back on accountability by Rachel Notley, February 14, 2013, Fast Forward Weekly In an exclusive interview with the Edmonton Journal on Saturday, February 9 at the Economic Summit (“Energy minister lays out Alberta’s new oil strategy,” February 11, 2013, Karen Kleiss), Energy ...

Fracking plans cause concern in Woody Point by CBC News, February 17, 2013 A town council on the Northern Peninsula has raised a lot of questions about fracking plans near Gros Morne National Park. Tony Howell, deputy mayor of Woody Point and chair of the area’s emergency planning committee, said it’s important to know what chemicals ...

Emotions driving Quebec fracking moratorium, Bouchard says by Bertrand Marotte, February 17, 2013, The Globe and Mail Quebec is sending a discouraging message to potential investors by dithering over development of its potentially huge oil and gas reserves, says former premier Lucien Bouchard. Those who oppose hydraulic fracturing to extract shale gas have essentially won the ...

Lupo has history of brine dumping; violations stretch back to 1970s by Jamison Cocklin, February 17, 2013, Vindy.com THE HEADLINES ARE DECADES OLD, but they all share one person in common: Ben W. Lupo. Today’s front pages are oddly reminiscent of headlines years ago: “Area brine dumping tied to sodium in Beaver River.” “Ohio EPA probes ...

Apache moves to kill gas well after uncontrolled flow by San Antonio Express-News, February 16, 2013, mywesttexas.com Apache Corp. evacuated 15 nonessential workers from a drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico and hired specialists Boots & Coots to kill the well after tests found natural gas migrating below the seabed. … Problems first arose Feb. ...

Oilsands tailings leaking into groundwater, Joe Oliver told in memo by Mike De Souza, February 17, 2013, Edmonton Journal Tailings ponds from oilsands production are leaking and contaminating Alberta’s groundwater, Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver was told in an internal memo obtained by Postmedia News. The memo, released through access to information legislation, said that federal ...

CEO of Gastem says ecology activists are fascists translation by des Ami(e)s du Richelieu February 17, 2013 of Le pdg de Gastem qualifie les militants écologistes de “fascistes” by Lapress.ca and Le Soleil, February 16, 2013 Mr Savoie did this declaration to the Soleil in reaction to the elected officials of the Gaspésie municipality of South-East Ristigouche that ...

New policy gives government power to muzzle DFO scientists by Michael Harris, February 7, 2013, iPolitics Inc. “Everything has a crack in it; that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen, take a bow. Another crack has appeared in the Harper government’s surreptitious but merciless war to muzzle Canadian scientists — and just about everyone else. ...

Minister boasts of fracking ban by Neil Reid, February 17, 2013, stuff.co.nz Crown minister Chris Tremain has been accused of double standards for lobbying to ban oil and gas exploration in parts of his back yard. Tremain, the Minister of Internal Affairs, of Local Government and Associate Minister of Tourism, is a member of a government ...

Yedlin: Profanity brings Encana pressures to the fore by Deborah Yedlin, February 16, 2013, Calgary Herald If Encana didn’t already have enough to deal with, more was added to its woes on Thursday. One of the 20 executives gathered to participate in a conference call with reporters, investors and financial analysts discussing the company’s fourth-quarter financial ...

If Alberta wants stricter regulations on oilsands pollution, the precedent exists by Marty Klinkenberg, February 16, 2013, Edmonton Journal The province and power companies once denied mercury and metals discovered in central Alberta lakes were linked to local industry, arguing instead they were carried on the wind from across the globe. It wasn’t until a scientist ...

Oh Yoko! Ms. Ono at 80 by Jon Wiener, February 14, 2013, The Nation explained the problem with fracking concisely in The New York Times letters column in December: “Evidence shows that there is no amount of regulation that can make fracking safe.… 6 percent of the wells leak immediately and 60 percent leak ...

Fracking fears play no part in throne speech by John Gleeson, February 15, 2013, Coastal Reporter B.C. is already in bed with the oil and gas industry and now the Liberal government wants us to make babies and grow old together. The most telling part of Tuesday’s throne speech — which banks on untold billions from ...

Encana shares down after posting $2.79 billion loss in 2012 by Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press, February 15, 2013, Calgary Herald New federal foreign investment rules wouldn’t stand in the way of natural gas giant Encana Corp. being taken over, interim CEO Clayton Woitas said Thursday as the company reported quarterly and annual losses and saw ...

Feds Come Down on Lupo; Reveal He Dumped 20 Times by Dan O’Brien, February 15, 2013, The Business Journal “Companies and workers must follow the rules when they extract its valuable resources,” declared U.S. Attorney Steven Dettelbach during a press conference in front of the B&O Station, his back facing a flowing Mahoning River. Dettelbach took ...

Update: State Oil and Gas Regulators Still Spread Thin by Abrahm Lustgarten, February 4, 2013, ProPublica The U.S. relies on state and federal regulators to make sure that oil and gas drilling is done safely, and that trillions of gallons of toxic waste injected into underground disposal wells do not contaminate water supplies. Today, ProPublica is ...

Liberals slam environmental funding of shale gas study, MLA Chris Collins says pitched idea not what trust fund is for by CBC News, February 14, 2013l The Opposition Liberals are criticizing the Alward government for considering using money from the Environmental Trust Fund to study the impact of developing the shale gas industry. Environment critic Chris ...

‘Free lunches’ for fracking by The New Age Online, February 14, 2013 The anti-fracking lobby organisation Treasure Karoo Action Group (TKAG) has claimed that Shell is dishing out “free lunches” to communities in the Karoo to get buy-in for the exploration of shale gas in the Karoo. TKAG chairperson, Jonathan Deal, said they were aware of ...

Not everyone against ‘fracking’ by Frank Gale, February 13, 2013, The Western Star CAPE ST. GEORGE  While some people are against proposed hydraulic fracturing in Western Newfoundland, Peter Fenwick supports the oil industry in its bid to “frack.” … He said one assertion is that the oil industry and fracking will destroy the tourism industry, but it’s ...

Welcome to his nightmare: Flaming well water by Brett Shipp, February 13, 2014, WFAA Photo Credit: WFAA, Steve Lipsky demonstrated for WFAA how water coming from his underground well can be ignited. PARKER COUNTY — Parker County homeowner Steve Lipsky, accused of conspiring against a powerful gas exploration company, is speaking out. A judge ruled last year that ...

Shale gas is a boon for New Brunswick, Environment Minister Peter Kent says by Jane Taber, February 13, 2013, The Globe and Mail The federal Environment Minister is voicing support for shale-gas exploration in New Brunswick as the province struggles to avoid being left behind in the Atlantic region’s pursuit of energy resources. Peter Kent acknowledges ...

Cost of re-creating records destroyed by ex-DEP employee unknown by Judy Harrison, February 13, 2013, BDN AUGUSTA, Maine — Re-creating the records destroyed by a former employee at the Maine Department of Environmental Protection will take hundreds of hours and the cost may never be known, a DEP spokeswoman said Wednesday. Jon P. Andrews, 58, of ...

W.Va. DEP fines Michels for drilling mud pollution by San Francisco Chronicle, February 13, 2013 A pipeline construction company that West Virginia regulators say polluted a stream must pay a $3,800 fine and stop storing mud from gas drilling operations at its site near Lumberton. … The DEP says inspectors discovered last fall that Michels had ...

Briny water flows into area streams by Natasha Khan, Fbruary 13, 2013, Observer-reporter.Com When Marcellus Shale drilling started to boom in Greene and Washington counties, the two retired outdoorsmen began conducting weekly water tests of local streams and tributaries. Dufalla, 66, a retired park ranger and deputy fish and game warden, runs the citizen water testing program for ...

DEP opens investigation of methane in Dimock water well by Laura Legere, February 13, 2013, The Times-Tribune State environmental regulators are investigating high levels of methane in a Dimock Twp. water well in an area of the community still off-limits to some natural gas drilling operations because of a past methane incident. The Department of Environmental ...

WANTED: Mickey Methane and The Fugitives by Guy Dauncey, BCSEA Sustainable Energy News, February 4, 2013 Mickey must be apprehended, so that his activities cease putting our future and our children’s future in such danger

Shale gas fracking ‘worth £5bn to Scotland’ by Andrew Whitaker, February 14, 2013 SCOTLAND is sitting on up to £5 billion of natural gas reserves which could be extracted using the controversial technique known as fracking, financial experts said today. A report from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said Scotland is in a prime position to “capitalise” on shale ...

Cuomo on fracking: Decision too important to rush by lohud.com, February 13, 2013 Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Wednesday pushed back against the suggestion his administration is playing politics in further delaying a decision on hydraulic fracturing, saying the issue is “too important to make a mistake.” … Speaking in Queens on Wednesday, Cuomo told reporters he ...

Editorial: Alberta Tories display the politics of indecision by Edmonton Journal, February 7, 2013 Alberta’s ruling Conservatives have three very tiresome habits, all related to a strange reluctance to exercise the right of leadership for which they fight so hard at election time. The first is “consulting with Albertans” as a strategy to avoid taking action ...

Oil well near Fort Collins sprays fracking fluid by The Associated Press, February 12, 2013, Timescall.com FORT COLLINS — After nearly 30 hours, oil-laden fracking fluid has stopped spraying from an oil well east of Fort Collins. The well started spraying green-tinted fluid following a mechanical failure Monday morning…. Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission spokesman ...

Hagan criticizes two state agencies over dumping cleanup by David Skolnick, February 13, 2013, vindy.com State Rep. Robert F. Hagan criticized two state agencies for failing to provide accurate information about a cleanup they are overseeing connected to the dumping of about 252,000 gallons of drilling waste into a city storm drain. Hagan, of Youngstown, D-58th, ...

Oil drilling concerns to be addressed says environment minister by CBC News, February 12, 2013 Quebec’s environment minister says the province will act soon to address concerns over how close to homes and waterways oil companies can drill. Speaking Monday in Quebec City, Yves-François Blanchet said in the next few weeks, the Parti Québécois government will lay ...

I drank fracking fluid, says Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper by Ben Wolfgang, February 12, 2013, The Washington Times Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper went to unusually great lengths to learn firsthand the strides the oil and gas industry has made to minimize environmental harm from fracking. The first-term Democrat and former Denver mayor told a Senate committee ...

Town bans talk of ‘fracking’ at meetings; sued over freedom of speech by Mary Esch, Associated Press, February 12, 2013, The Toronto Star ALBANY, N.Y. — Two environmental groups filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday against an upstate New York town, claiming it violated residents’ right to free speech by banning discussion of natural gas drilling ...

N.Y. May Issue Fracking Permits Without Final Regulations by Freeman Klopott, February 12, 2013, Bloomberg New York said it will begin issuing fracking permits before creating regulations if the state Health Department says the natural-gas drilling technique is safe. The decision announced today by Environmental Conservation Commissioner Joseph Martens may enable the state to grant hydraulic-fracturing permits ...

BREAKING NEWS: HUGE VICTORY – FRACKING DELAYED IN NEW YORK Governor Cuomo Delays Fracking Decision, Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Shah says he needs more time to complete health review forcing the Department of Environmental Conservation to miss key deadline Press Release by Catskill MountainKeeper, February 12, 2013 In an incredible victory for Mountainkeeper and activists across ...

Environmental affects of fracking and coalseam gas unclear: CSIRO study by Science Network, Western Australia, February 12, 2012 Review author and CSIRO chief research scientist Dr Graeme Batley says there is very little understanding of the chemical concentrations or what happens to them over time. CSIRO scientists have highlighted concerns that chemicals produced by hydraulic fracturing ...

Is There a Regulator in the House?  Through the Fracking Rabbit Hole with Nova Scotia Environment by Ken Summers, February 12, 2012 , Halifax MediaCoop NOEL, Nova Scotia — At the moment, Nova Scotians have two aspects of the continuous fracking debate on the table. Firstly, there’s the locally focused issue guaranteed to gain increasing attention: ...

Bainbridge Ohio residents deal with contaminated water from drilling by Rus Mitchell, February 12, 2013, WKYC.com BAINBRIDGE — Richard Payne still remembers what it felt like when a gas explosion lifted his house off its foundation five years. “I thought it was an earthquake,” he says. Richard and his wife, Thelma, were asleep when the explosion ...

Fracking in Germany? Nein danke! by Mark Halper, February 12, 2013, Smart Planet Frack off. Germany’s environment minister Peter Altmaeir doesn’t want fracking. Germany may be looking for new sources of energy following its decision to abandon nuclear power, but it seems determined to avoid “fracking,” the controversial method for extracting natural gas that is booming ...

Fracking Concerns: Another Fracking “Accident” in Alberta by Florence Havill, Mountain View Gazette So, it has happened again – another fracking “accident” … Fracking involves injecting highly presssurized water and chemicals into the drill holes. What chemicals? That is a closely-guarded industry secret. But I can tell you that flow-back from contaminated wells has high concentrations of cadmium, benzene, arsenic, napthalene and radioactive radium. In ...

Canada’s environmental protection idle by Paul Hanley, Februay 12, 2013, The Star Pheonix Are Idle No More and other green activists uninformed when they say Canada’s environmental protection standards are inadequate? Are they paranoid when they say massive resource developments threaten the well-being of future generations? Not according to Canada’s Commissioner of Environment and Sustainable Development, ...

The Bravest Man in Albany by Chip Northrup, February 12, 2013, Shaleshockmedia Turns out to be Dr. Nirav Shah. Imagine that. Who evidently would not be rail-roaded by the gas lobby, which makes him about the only person in the Cuomo Administration that has not been systematically bought-off, cowed, co-opted or otherwise compromised completely. For once someone in the administration ...

Protestors in court and on site by Jessica Tapp and Donna Harper, February 11, 2013, ABC North Coast NSW It was standing room only when anti coal seam gas protestors faced the Grafton local court today.

Western Newfoundland group calls for fracking moratorium by CBC News, February 11, 2013 A group in western Newfoundland has called for a moratorium on fracking in Newfoundland and Labrador. West Coast Citizens against Fracking said there are too many unknowns about the process.

Ohio EPA official: Lupo dumped drilling waste at least six times by Vindy.com, February 11, 2013 Ben W. Lupo, the owner of D&L Energy and Hardrock Excavating, admitted he ordered employees to dump drilling waste into a city storm drain at least five times prior to being caught Jan. 31, an Ohio Environmental Protection Agency official ...

AGL temporarily backs down from Sydney fracking plans by Alex Heber, February 11, 2013 AGL has temporarily withdrawn its plans to drill 66 coal seam gas wells in Western Sydney. On Friday the company said it had asked the Department of Planning and Infrastructure to suspend its assessment process, citing ”community concerns” as the main reason ...

More claims made for gas extraction damage by dutchnews, February 05, 2013 Householders in Groningen have made a further 200 claims for damages against natural gas extraction company NAM over the past week, news agency ANP reports. The new claims follow widespread publicity about the impact of gas extraction from massive underground reserves in the province ...

Energy minister lays out Alberta’s new oil strategy by Karen Kleiss, February 10, 2013, Edmonton Journal The role of government, he said, is to ensure that policies and regulations encourage innovation. … The province is also working to build the province’s reputation in Canada and abroad. “The other role for government is ensuring the political climate ...

Canada New Bills: Gay Marriage, Black Hockey Player Images Nixed, Report Shows by Dean Beeby, The Canadian Press, February 10, 2013, huffingtonpost.ca The reasons for early rejection are not clear in the heavily censored documents, obtained by The Canadian Press under the Access to Information Act. The images that were finally approved for the reverses of ...

White paper reveals gas industry scared of global protests by Farida Iqbal, February 10, 2013, GreenLeft The shale gas industry-commissioned white pape, The Global Anti-Fracking Movement: What it Wants, How it Operates and What’s Next, makes for some very interesting reading. It was produced late last year by Control Risks, an “independent, global risk consultancy specialising ...

Why Can Corporate Interests Trump Sovereign Rights? by therealnews.com, February 10, 2013 JAY: Welcome to The Real News Network. I’m Paul Jay in Baltimore. In Canada, the Quebec government passed a law restricting, prohibiting the use of fracking for to get natural gas. Well, now a company that is based in Calgary, owned in the United States, is ...

Workplace Deaths Drop – But not in the Oil Industry by Yang Wang, Lise Olsen, February 10, 2013, KBTX.com Oil and gas field services and drilling workers were killed on the job in Texas more than those in any other profession, according to a Houston Chronicle analysis of five years of fatal accidents investigated by the ...

Twilight of an energy boom: Alberta’s new fiscal challenge by Gordon Pitts and Nathan Vanderklippe, February 9, 2013, The Globe and Mail The forlorn shell symbolizes the hollowing out of Alberta’s hopes and dreams, as it confronts an energy market that has turned dramatically against it. It is a signal of how fast Alberta has fallen, ...

Alberta Energy Board Appealing by Kevin Martin, January 23, 2012, Lloydminster Meridian Booster

Fracking plans must go through government, says environment minister by CBC News, February 8, 2013 Shoal Point Energy is interested in doing exploratory fracking in three locations on Newfoundland’s west coast. Tom Hedderson, Newfoundland and Labrador’s environment minister, says any plans to use fracking in land-based oil exploration on Newfoundland’s west coast would have to go through ...

Fracking gets its day in court by Christian Pollard, February 6, 2013, Feb-8-2013 Issue The Halifax Commoner  A David versus Goliath court case about contaminated aquifers at Jessica Ernst’s Alberta home is under way, essentially putting the controversial practice of hydraulic fracking on trial. The case will have ramifications for the natural gas industry and environmental law ...

Groups Urge EPA to Resume Legal Action in Fracking Water Contamination Case by Earthworks, February 7, 2013, Ecowatch Conservation and citizen groups from Texas and around the country today sent a letter calling on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 6 Administrator Ron Curry to resume legal action against Range Resources for polluting the drinking water ...

WV-DEP Issues Consent Order: M3-Gathering Fined $38K For Five (5) Drilling Mud Incidents by Duane Nichols, February 8, 2013, frackcheckwv The WV Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) and M3 Appalachian have proposed a settlement of Administrative Consent Order No. 7746 which resolves violation(s) of the WV Water Pollution Control Act which occurred in Harrison, Marion and ...

RFF: Experts generally agree on shale gas development risks by Nick Snow, Oil and Gas Journal, February 8, 2013 Experts from the oil and gas industry, government, academia, and environmental and other non-government organizations agree on key risks of shale gas development activity, a research group said. Resources for the Future on Feb. 7 issued a ...

Ohio revokes permits of two firms tied to illegal Youngstown dumping by Bob Downing, February 7, 2013 The state of Ohio is permanently revoking the operating permits of two Youngstown companies in connection with the illegal dumping of drilling wastes into a storm sewer that drains to the Mahoning River. The announcement came this afternoon from ...

Bouchard exits as head of Quebec’s oil and gas association by Bertrand Marotte, February 7, 2013, The Globe and Mail Former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard is stepping down as head of the Quebec Oil and Gas Association as uncertainty continues over the future of shale-gas development in the province. Mr. Bouchard was appointed two years ago ...

Oil and gas industry seeks 2 billion-dollar tax break to lure LNG plants by Gordon Hamilton, February 7, 2013, Vancouver Sun The Canadian oil and gas industry is asking Ottawa for subsidies that could be worth $2 billion in tax savings to encourage the development of liquefied natural gas plants in British Columbia. Giving the industry ...

Fracking wastewater dumped down Youngstown storm drain by Lori Monsewicz, February 7, 2013, CantonRep.com Documents obtained by a newspaper show employees of a northeast Ohio company were directed to dump up to 20,000 gallons of gas drilling wastewater down a storm drain. The Vindicator reports that two state regulatory agencies are conducting an investigation into how ...

Cantabria becomes first region in Spain to ban fracking, PP premier submits bill to prohibit controversial gas-extraction technique by Lola Hierro, January 30, 3013, El Pais “Those scavengers are bleeding the Earth.” That is how Manuel López describes his battle against energy companies involved in fracking in Cantabria. … López, an environmental technician from Santander, has joined forces with ...

Religious Leaders Call for Divine Intervention in Fracking Debate by Jordyn Taylor, February 6, 2013, Politicke Christian leaders, like Episcopalian minister Catherine Skopic, also echoed the rabbi’s fears that fracking could destroy the “thriving Eden” that God created. “Fracking has been proven to be destructive to creation, as shown by scientific data and experienced by all those in the 34 ...

Documentary tackles controversy over fracking for gas, Regina-based documentary maker investigates effect of fracking on the air, our water and our health by Raveena Aulakh, February 6, 2013, Toronto Star What does it do to the air? Is too much water being used? What are the health effects on people living around the wells? “No one ...

Frackers Admit Frack Can Go 2,000 + Feet ! by Chip Northrup, February 5, 2013, Shaleshock Media Frackers are generally circumspect, to put it mildly, as to how far a frack can actually travel. Unless they are pinned down on it – which is what happened recently to Dominion Transmission, who admitted to 2,000 feet in a setback ...

Gros Morne official cites fracking concerns by CBC News, February 6, 2013 A Parks Canada official says staff at Gros Morne National Park are concerned about a fracking proposal in nearby Sally’s Cove. Peter Deering, resource manager for Parks Canada in western Newfoundland and Labrador, said officials have questions about how the fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, ...

Councilman Horak proposes ordinance to ban fracking, bypassing ballot by the Coloradan, February 5, 2013 City Council’s swing vote on a proposed hydraulic fracturing ban in Fort Collins picked a side on Tuesday. City Councilman Gerry Horak proposed an ordinance to enact a ban on the practice known as fracking through City Council action that would bypass a ...

Spring contaminated after fracking in Mountain View County, Alberta landowner wants answers by Dan Singleton, February 5, 2013, Front Page Mountain View Gazette Huhn said prior to the fracking operation he had been in contact with the company and requested water testing be conducted before and after the fracking operation. Company officials told him that such testing was not necessary and ...

WATCH Environmental commissioner Scott Vaughan warns of health risks by CP Video,  February 05, 2013 Environment Commissioner Says Growth Leaving Canada Exposed To Disaster by Heather Scoffield, The Canadian Press, Feruary 5, 2013, Huffington Post Hydraulic Fracturing in Canada, The hydraulic fracturing process from the report by Canada’s Environment Commissioner Scott Vaughan, tabled in the House of Commons, February 5, 2013 5.72 ...

The new oil sheik of Quebec by Sophie Cousineau, February 5, 2013, The Globe and Mail On the Radio-Canada talk show, Ms. Ouellet talked about the revenues that could be extracted from Quebec’s oil reserves. The Gaspé region could generate $35-billion, she said. The Anticosti Island? Between $200-billion and $300-billion. The Old Harry offshore deposit in ...

Showdown looms over B.C.’s gas exports by Nathan van der Klippe, February 5, 2013, The Globe and Mail  Billions of litres of water a year. Thousands of expensive wells. New roads. Many hectares of trees felled and land cleared. Camps to house thousands of workers. At the same time, the West Coast export of Canadian natural gas ...

NY comptroller: Cabot to reduce fracking risk by Associated Press, February 5, 2013 The trustee of New York’s $150.1 billion pension fund has reached an agreement with Cabot Oil and Gas Corp. to disclose what it’s doing to reduce risks of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says Tuesday that Cabot has agreed to ...

Ed Rendell Intervened For Oil Company to Stop EPA Contamination Case Against Range Resources by Steve Horn, February 5, 2013, Desmogblog.com A breaking investigation by EnergyWire appears to connect the dots between shadowy lobbying efforts by shale gas fracking company Range Resources, and the Obama EPA’s decision to shut down its high-profile lawsuit against Range for allegedly contaminating groundwater in Weatherford, TX. At ...

Fracking, old wells have local farmer worried by Eric Poole, February 5, 2013, TimesOnline “That buys the tractor of your dreams,” she said. “It buys the brush hog of your dreams. But how much is it worth if you have toxic water?”

Oil, banking, mining top three lobbying issues in 2012: lobbying registry, Canada’s natural resources is expected to be worth $600-billion over the next decade by Bea Vongdouangchanh, February 4, 2013, Hill Times The Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers was the busiest lobby group in 2012, meeting 217 times with designated public office holders from ministers and ...