Tag Archives: Fracking groundwater issues

Alberta Removes Oilsands Environmental Monitoring Restrictions

By Jake Cardinal, Alberta Native News, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

(ANNews) – The Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) has lifted environmental monitoring restrictions for all oil and gas companies in the province. The lifted restrictions allow for Alberta oil and gas to suspend the monitoring of air, water, and wildlife around worksites.

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Does Ernst & Young’s LNG Report Vindicate BC?

By Roy L Hales

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There are credible experts who believe that, with proper regulation and enforcement, it is possible to have a trustworthy fracking industry. They also say this does not yet exist in North America. Personally, I think the industry is out of control and BC’s government is desperate to get in bed with it. Last week the government released a report from Ernst & Young (EY) which the Minister of Natural Gas Development says “British Columbians can have confidence they are benefiting from a clean, well regulated natural gas industry.” Does Ernst & Young’s LNG report vindicate BC?

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How Fracking Impacts America’s Drinking Water

By Roy L Hales

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On June 4 the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a draft assessment on how fracking impacts America’s drinking water.  Contrary to industry claims, the EPA admits there have been incidents of water contamination and water being withdrawn from areas where there was little water available. The authors stated the number of incidents was small, but also admitted they had limited information from which to draw that conclusion. I reached out for expert opinions from two experts. Neither was impressed by the EPA’s report on how fracking impact’s America’s water supply.

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The Strongest Fracking Rules in America

Last summer Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection revealed that in 245 cases it had “determined that a private water supply was impacted by oil and gas activities.” Not too long after that, a joint study from the British Geological Survey and Durham University reported water contamination associated with 6% of Pennsylvania’s gas wells . There have been at least 122 complaints about water contamination in West Virginia. There is, as yet, no fracking in the neighboring state of Maryland, which also sit on the Marcellus Shale. The citizens of this region raised concerns about the impact development would have on “public health, the environment and quality of life.” Governor Martin O’Malley (D) responded with a interim moratorium. Maryland’s Departments of Environment and Natural Resources have been studying fracking operations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia for over three years. They have just released a report on (p 2 of attached) how fracking “can be accomplished without unacceptable risks of adverse impacts to public health, safety, the environment, and natural resources.” These are the strongest Fracking rules in America.

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Two Perspectives on Fracking

The ECOreport interviews an environmentalists & retired senior analyst witht he D.O.E. for two perspectives on fracking.

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Interviews with Dr Allan Hoffman, formerly a senior executive with the DOE, and Eoin Madden of the Wilderness Committee:  Two Perspectives on Fracking.

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