drilling

Will Gas Drilling Destroy NYC’s Drinking Water?

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation's long awaited plan for drilling in the Marcellus Shale was just released. The Shale, which stretches from Ohio to New York is believed to be the country's largest remaining reservoir of natural gas. Drilling has begun in Pennsylvania and West Virginia and there have already been reports of contaminated wells.

Posted in drilling, Environment, natural gas, pollution, water

Report Chides Bureau of Land Management's Rush to Drill

Sloppy wording in the Bush administration's 2005 Energy Policy Act's directives to streamline oil and gas development has led to lawsuits, end runs around environmental laws and dirty air in Vernal, a federal agency says.

In a report issued this week, the Government Accountability Office criticized the Bureau of Land Management's "inappropriate" use of so-called categorical exclusions -- exemptions from normal procedures -- in its drilling-permit operations.

Posted in drilling

Industry Defends Drilling, Ignores Water Contamination

In a packed and sometimes contentious hearing [1] on Capitol Hill Thursday, representatives of the oil and gas industry and their state regulators vigorously defended the practice of injecting toxic fluids underground without federal regulatory oversight [2].

Posted in drilling, natural gas, oil, pollution, water

Natural Gas Politics

$\"I believe that developers may have legitimate concerns about the impact that removing the exemption may have on their ability to find and extract oil and gas,\" he said. \"But ... the current regulatory approach is probably not sustainable and will probably need to be revised in some way,\" Salazar wrote in an emailed response.$

Four years after Vice President Dick Cheney spearheaded a massive energy bill that exempted natural gas drilling from federal clean water laws, Congress is having second thoughts about the environmental dangers posed by the burgeoning industry.

Posted in drilling, lobbyists, natural gas, pollution

An Unearthed Resource: Gas Drilling in Northeast Raises Health and Environmental Concerns Among Residents

The road leading to Ron Carter’s trailer is made of red clay that melts away a little every time it rains. Truck traffic has created an obstacle course of tall divots that punch at the bottom of cars, rattling spines and scraping mufflers. Some lawns along the way host bathtubs full of garbage or rusty drums belching out dark smoke. Others have drill pads and cranes that stab 200 feet into the air. This is Dimock Township, the speck on Pennsylvania’s map that just became ground zero for America’s energy future.

Posted in drilling, Energy, Environment, gas, water, water quality

Drilling Stalled in Allegheny National Forest

CLARION - The U.S. Forest Service hasn't OK'd any new gas or oil wells in the Allegheny National Forest for almost two months, delaying oil and gas development and causing at least one company to consider drilling without federal approval.

Leanne Martin, Allegheny National Forest supervisor, said no "notices to proceed" have been issued for new wells since Jan. 16, when the Forest Service's regional office in Milwaukee took over the local well review process.

Posted in conservation, drilling, Energy

Forest Service Ignored Concerns About Drilling

CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A private gas drilling and pipeline project in the Fernow Experimental Forest threatened an underground cave system that shelters endangered bats, created toxic runoff and damaged long-term forest ecology, according to a report from the group Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility.

U.S. Forest Service officials approved the project, despite grave concerns expressed by the agency's staff scientists about impacts on the Fernow, according to documents released by PEER.

Posted in drilling, ecology, Environment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2009
10:45 AM

CONTACT: Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)
Luke Eshleman (202) 265-7337

Forest Service at Sea on Status of Vast Mineral Rights

Wilderness and Experimental Forests in 34 Eastern States Open to Drilling

WASHINGTON - February 19 - Beset by lawsuits from both industry and environmentalists, the U.S. Forest Service is now pursuing regulations to govern drilling and mining on its lands. The agency's quandary is especially acute east of the Mississippi where large percentages of its wilderness and experimental forests - areas normally not subject to development - sit atop privately-held mineral estates, according to documents released today by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

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Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a national alliance of local state and federal resource professionals. PEER's environmental work is solely directed by the needs of its members. As a consequence, we have the distinct honor of serving resource professionals who daily cast profiles in courage in cubicles across the country.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) Links:

Posted in drilling, Environment

Monkey-Wrencher Thrilled That Interior Boss Is Scrapping Utah Lease Sale

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will cancel the results of a chaotic Utah oil- and gas-lease sale that drew protests from conservationists, outdoors enthusiasts, the National Park Service and President Barack Obama's transition team chief.

The move drew quick congratulations from members of Congress who had criticized the sale the U.S. Bureau of Land Management conducted Dec. 19 in Salt Lake City.

Posted in conservation, drilling, Environment, mining

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 4, 2009
2:52 PM

CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)
Erin Allweiss, NRDC, 202-513-6254, or cell: 202-277-8370

Bold Action by Department of Interior Halts Leasing of Utah Wilderness

Robert Redford and Environmental Groups Support Critical Step in Land Protection

WASHINGTON - February 4 - More than 100,000 acres of Utah wilderness will be protected from oil and gas drilling after the Department of Interior announced today that it will cancel 77 leases issued under the Bush administration. This is among the first actions taken by the Obama administration to protect America's wild lands. Since December, a coalition of environmental groups - led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Earthjustice, and the Wilderness Society - have been working to protect these public lands.

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The Natural Resources Defense Council is a national, nonprofit organization of scientists, lawyers and environmental specialists dedicated to protecting public health and the environment. Founded in 1970, NRDC has 1.2 million members and online activists, served from offices in New York, Washington, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Beijing.

Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Links:

Posted in conservation, drilling, Environment, mining