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By arimoore, on August 26th, 2009%
Natural gas, not so sustainable by John Guerrerio, Energy Examiner, brings up some public health issues: “It makes no sense to expand these adverse health effects nationally, especially in light of skyrocketing healthcare costs. Denial of coverage based upon proximity to drill sites may become a possibility.”
He also asks, “Do we really have the luxury of poisoning this much of our freshwater suply in the name of natural gas development? The question needs to be asked again: What do we value more, energy to run our machines or water to sustain human life?” (Read more)
By arimoore, on August 12th, 2009%
Read Hours passed before cow deaths reported by Alisa Stingley:
When no state agency would take responsibility for determining the cause of death of the cows, Prator concluded that chemicals in the spill killed the cows.
The regional DEQ office found elevated chlorides, a salt, as well as oil and grease and some organic compounds in soil and water tests. Potassium chloride can be added to the fluids used during stages of the hydraulic fracturing process used to reach natural gas trapped in underground shale.
Continue reading "Hours passed before cow deaths reported"
By arimoore, on August 6th, 2009%
The Safety of Fracturing Fluids – A Quantitative Assessment by Steve Coffman, member of the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes –
August 4, 2009
In response to a FOIL request to New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation, the Committee to Preserve the Finger Lakes received a list of 48 toxic substances (as defined by the DEC or EPA) permitted for use in hydraulic fracture drilling of gas wells in the Marcellus Shale formation in Yates, Schuyler, Steuben, Broome and Cortland Counties. The received materials came in the form of documents submitted by the drilling companies themselves: Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) and Company Drilling Data Sheets.
Continue reading The Safety of Fracturing Fluids – A Quantitative Assessment
By arimoore, on August 6th, 2009%
Check out Natural gas ‘hydrofracking’ holds promise, peril, published by Post-Standard Editorial Board on August 5th:
The rich natural gas deposits beneath Central New York present a rare opportunity for large-scale economic development. They also present the specter of environmental degradation across a wide swath of the region… It’s a technology fraught with potential problems — noise, water pollution, increases in truck traffic, road deterioration, a scarred landscape and the disposal of millions of gallons of hazardous wastewater. If not done right, the search for natural gas could become a man-made disaster in Central New York.
Read more
By shirari, on July 30th, 2009%
Ithaca Democratic Socialists of America Presents #407: “What the Frack?” Marty Luster asks Ken Zeserson and Judy Abrams about “fracking” – a new method for extracting natural gas from much deeper underground than in conventional drilling. Contracts for such extraction are being signed all over Tompkins County. The environmental threats are severe, and the process is very weakly regulated. Recorded July 22, 2009.
Watch it on Channel 13, on Friday, July 31, 11:30 am-noon.
This week’s program will be available Tuesday in the Alternatives Library in Anabel Taylor Hall on the Cornell Campus. Now on DVD.
If you would like to help out with Ithaca Democratic Socialists’ community access cable television series, call Theresa Alt at 273-3009 or email talt at igc dot org.
By shirari, on July 21st, 2009%
We should contact the EPA and demand they expect coal and gas/oil to also “foot the bill for environmental cleanup”! Read on to see what they’re planning for the mining industry…
EPA Publishes Notice Identifying Hardrock Mining Industry for Financial Responsibility Requirements; EPA plans to propose rule by spring 2011
WASHINGTON – The U.S. EPA has identified the hardrock mining industry as its priority for developing financial assurance requirements. Financial assurance requirements help ensure that owners and operators of these facilities, not taxpayers, foot the bill for environmental cleanup. These requirements will be developed under section 108(b) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, commonly called “Superfund.” EPA plans to propose the rule by spring of 2011. The agency will publish a notice of this priority in the Federal Register, which is the first step toward developing the requirements.
The priority notice identifying hardrock mining also satisfies a court order issued by the United States District Court.
Financial assurance requirements can promote responsible environmental practices within industries. Since Congress enacted Superfund in 1980, EPA has spent billions of dollars to clean up uncontrolled hazardous waste sites.
EPA decided to develop financial responsibility requirements for classes of facilities within the hardrock mining industry before it did so for other types of facilities. This conclusion is based upon those facilities’ sheer size; the enormous quantities of waste and other materials exposed to the environment; the wide range of hazardous substances released to the environment; the number of active hardrock mining facilities; the extent of environmental contamination, including the number of sites identified by EPA as needing cleanup under Superfund’s National Priorities List; and government expenditures, projected clean-up costs, and corporate structure and bankruptcy potential.
Hardrock mining facilities include those that extract, beneficiate and process metals (e.g., copper, gold, iron, lead, magnesium, molybdenum, silver, uranium, and zinc) and non-metallic, non-fuel minerals (e.g., asbestos, gypsum, phosphate rock, and sulfur). Coal mining facilities are not hardrock mining facilities and are not included in EPA’s priority notice.
The agency plans to examine other industries outside of the hardrock mining industry that also may warrant the development of financial responsibility requirements under Superfund by the end of the year. EPA plans to examine, at a minimum, the following classes of facilities: hazardous waste generators, hazardous waste recyclers, metal finishers, wood treatment facilities, and chemical manufacturers. This list may be revised as the agency’s evaluation proceeds. EPA is scheduled to publish the notice addressing additional classes of facilities the agency plans to evaluate by December 2009. At that time, the agency will solicit public comment.
More information can be found here.
By shirari, on June 22nd, 2009%
Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling near Hickory, Pa: “The more you learn about hydraulic fracturing in the states ahead of us in these fast moving gas ventures, the more concern you have for our local environment.” (Read more and see photos)
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About Us Shaleshock is an information hub connecting people to regional groups and projects working to stop exploitative drilling in the Marcellus Shale.(more)
2009 Signs of Sustainability
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