Hydraulic fracturing involves the injecting of fluids -- often containing toxic chemicals -- into oil or gas wells at very high pressure. A loophole in the Safe Drinking Water Act exempts hydraulic fracturing from regulation, despite the threat to drinking water supplies. Hydraulic fracturing has been linked to contaminated drinking water in communities around the country.
Posted May 19, 2012 by Thom Cmar in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment, U.S. Law and Policy
A modern-day gold rush is on in Ohio. Oil and natural gas locked up in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations has attracted billions in investment from oil and gas companies ready to use new horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing,...continued→
Posted May 18, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
Earlier this week, 55 major financial investors with nearly $1 trillion in assets under management announced that they have united to support “best practices” for fracking. These investors signed on to guidelines for reducing risk in oil and gas companies. Where...continued→
Posted May 18, 2012 by Kate Sinding in Curbing Pollution, Health and the Environment
On Wednesday, Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin signed a law to ban fracking for natural gas in the state, making it the first in the nation to adopt such a measure. The legislature's overwhelming decision in favor of the ban, made...continued→
Posted May 17, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
The New York Times published a very alarming story this week. Loopholes in highway safety rules allow truck drivers in the oil and gas industry to work longer hours than drivers in most other industries. According to the article, some drivers are...continued→
Posted May 16, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
According to a recent article in Inside EPA (subscription only), the National Research Council (NRC) is preparing to undertake a preliminary review of the potential human and environmental risks of shale gas development, in particular hydraulic fracturing. The article quotes an NRC senior scholar...continued→
Posted May 15, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
A suite of bad bills is scheduled to be considered in the House Natural Resources Committee tomorrow, and NRDC opposes all of them. Here are the details from my colleague Bobby McEnaney on the four worst: H.R. 4383 – This draconian bill is designed...continued→
Posted May 14, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
Anyone who is following the current boom in domestic oil and gas production knows that the e-mails, articles, and reports never stop. I think the information flow will continue to grow as the industry continues to expand closer and closer to...continued→
Posted May 10, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and Wild Places
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has released a draft rule that would govern hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") of federally managed oil and gas resources. There are many reasons why it is essential that the BLM issue strong, protective new rules for fracking. Among...continued→
Posted May 10, 2012 by Briana Mordick in Health and the Environment, Saving Wildlife and WIld Places
Despite being similar processes and posing similar risks to the environment, the way hydraulic fracturing is regulated is very different from the way the underground injection of other fluids is regulated. This difference was made even more apparent when, on...continued→
Posted May 9, 2012 by Amy Mall in Health and the Environment
Today NRDC's clean water experts released an important new report on fracking waste, which concludes that contaminated fracking wastewater is threatening people’s health and the environment, and none of the methods currently used to treat or dispose of that wastewater are safe enough....continued→
