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Post by byronfishpaw on Jan 14, 2014 22:35:18 GMT -5
More than 2,000 anti-fracking protesters from across New York gathered in the corridor of Empire State Plaza before, during and after the 2014 State of the State Address, Wed., Jan. 8. The demonstrators called for a statewide ban on the controversial hydraulic fracturing process. For the third year in a row, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo did not mention hydrofracking in his speech. The assembled environmentalists stretched for a quarter of a mile chanting, with signs and information disputing safety claims, emphasizing the health and environmental risks of fracking. No apparent pro-frackers appeared at this year’s event. The rally was organized by dozens of groups statewide, including New Yorkers Against Fracking, Food and Water Watch, The Sierra Club and Catskill Mountainkeeper. Lots of photos of the Fracktavists. Third one is the best - Massive Civil Disobedience is Next www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/photos/2014/01/08/cuomo-state-of-the-state-rally#
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Post by Charlie Dickson on Jan 23, 2014 10:35:53 GMT -5
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Post by byronfishpaw on Jun 17, 2014 20:59:30 GMT -5
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Post by byronfishpaw on Jun 23, 2014 21:33:22 GMT -5
Lots going on! If yer at all interested in the fracking debate check out this link to Toxics Targeting. It contains the latest info regarding how FINALLY the issue of fracking fluid being processed in NY waste water treatment plants may be addressed. www.toxicstargeting.com/MarcellusShale/alerts/2014/06/23/Auburn_wastewater_dumping_banfew quotes: More than 20 million gallons of conventional gas extraction wastewater was dumped into treatment plants across Upstate New York in recent years, including Auburn, Cayuga Heights, Canandaigua, Sherburne and Watertown. The Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) permitted this practice for decades even though many pollutants in gas extraction wastewater are neither removed nor broken down by sewage treatment systems. At the end of March, Auburn's engineering consultant's report determined that: "The headworks analyses performed herein indicate that the Auburn WPCP [Water Pollution Control Plant, not in the original] does not have the additional capacity for the acceptance of hauled VGWW [Vertical Natural Gas Well Wastewater, not in the original] due to excess chloride loading to the plant (emphasis added)." This critically important study will maintain the Auburn dumping ban and make it exceedingly difficult for municipal treatment plants anywhere in New York to accept gas extraction wastewater. We have now systematically blocked gas extraction wastewater dumping in every municipal treatment plant in New York that earlier accepted it. The "headworks analysis" reveals that Auburn never should have accepted even one drop of gas extraction wastewater. That begs the question why DEC permitted 20 million gallons of gas extraction wastewaters to be dumped into local treatment plants without adequate study or regulatory controls.
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Post by byronfishpaw on Aug 28, 2014 21:44:56 GMT -5
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Six years into a natural gas boom, Pennsylvania has for the first time released details of 243 cases in which companies prospecting for oil or gas were found by state regulators to have contaminated private drinking water wells. The Department of Environmental Protection on Thursday posted online links to the documents after the agency conducted a “thorough review” of paper files stored among its regional offices. The Associated Press and other news outlets have filed lawsuits and numerous open-records requests over the last several years seeking records of the DEP’s investigations into gas-drilling complaints. Pennsylvania’s auditor general said in a report last month that DEP’s system for handling complaints “was woefully inadequate” and that investigators could not even determine whether all complaints were actually entered into a reporting system. DEP didn’t immediately issue a statement with the online release, but posted the links on the same day that seven environmental groups sent a letter urging the agency to heed the auditor general’s 29 recommendations for improvement. “I guess this is a step in the right direction,” Thomas Au of the Pennsylvania Sierra Club chapter said of the public release of documents on drinking well problems. “But this is something that should have been made public a long time ago.” The 243 cases, from 2008 to 2014, include some where a single drilling operation impacted multiple water wells. The problems listed in the documents include methane gas contamination, spills of wastewater and other pollutants, and wells that went dry or were otherwise undrinkable. Some of the problems were temporary, but the names of landowners were redacted, so it wasn’t clear if the problems were resolved to their satisfaction. Other complaints are still being investigated. The gas-rich Marcellus Shale lies under large parts of Pennsylvania, West Virginia, New York and Ohio. A drilling boom that took off in 2008 has made the Marcellus the most productive natural gas field in the nation, and more than 6,000 shale gas wells have been drilled. That has led to billions of dollars in revenue for companies and landowners, but also to complaints from homeowners about ruined water supplies. Extracting fuel from shale formations requires pumping millions of gallons of water, along with sand and chemicals, into the ground to break apart rock and free the gas. Some of that water, along with other heavy metals and contaminants, returns to the surface. The documents released Thursday listed drilling-related water well problems in 22 counties, with most of the cases in Susquehanna, Tioga, Lycoming, and Bradford counties in the northeast portion of the state. Some energy companies have dismissed or downplayed the issue of water well contamination, suggesting that it rarely or never happens. The Marcellus Shale Coalition, the main industry group, suggested that geology and Pennsylvania’s lack of standards for water well construction were partly to blame. Coalition president Dave Spigelmyer said in statement Thursday that Pennsylvania “has longstanding water well-related challenges, a function of our region’s unique geology — where stray methane gas is frequently present in and around shallow aquifers.” He said many of the problems were related to surface spills, not drilling. “Our industry works closely and tirelessly with regulators and others to ensure that we protect our environment, striving for zero incidents,” Spigelmyer said. ___ Online: bit.ly/1lyMfGG
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Post by byronfishpaw on Aug 29, 2014 22:08:04 GMT -5
Ever since DICK Cheney (via lame congress) was able to exempt fracking from the clean water regs the industry has denied there ever being any well water contamination. People in Dimrock PA say otherwise. This should be front page news!
In this link second column from the right lists the township...welcome to PA, see the contaminated water wells!
files.dep.state.pa.us/OilGas/BOGM/BOGMPortalFiles/OilGasReports/Determination_Letters/Regional_Determination_Letters.pdf
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Post by BillWachtel on Sept 9, 2014 8:08:22 GMT -5
I would like to put another spin on the fracking issue. I realize there are many risks that come with this type of drilling and I am not debating those risks. They are there and they are real but have you ever wondered why Albany and Eastern NY is so against fracking? I am a firm believer in follow the money. Being involved in the edges of the oil and gas business, my company which is in Western NY manufactures some products for the oil and gas producers. We have manufactured these products for over 40 years and they use them mostly in off shore applications. The amount of money that would flow into Western NY would be staggering. I know that's debatable but I have seen the $$ that has come to North Dakota and into SW Texas. With money comes power and influence. Do you think Albany wants that kind of money and power coming into Western NY which in general is much more conservative than Albany and east to NYC? I don't think so. Again I know the risk in using this kind of technology. But I think there might be much more to this issue than the environmental concerns.
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Post by byronfishpaw on Sept 9, 2014 22:28:37 GMT -5
I would like to put another spin on the fracking issue. I realize there are many risks that come with this type of drilling and I am not debating those risks. They are there and they are real but have you ever wondered why Albany and Eastern NY is so against fracking? My opinion is that Albany (Cuomo) is pro fracking. The one and only reason that no high volume hydraulically fracked well has ever been blasted into NY shale is that approximately 50 to 55% of the population is opposed to it. The grass root effort to prohibit fracking in NY has been nothing short of amazing. I am a firm believer in follow the money. Being involved in the edges of the oil and gas business, my company which is in Western NY manufactures some products for the oil and gas producers. We have manufactured these products for over 40 years and they use them mostly in off shore applications. The amount of money that would flow into Western NY would be staggering. I know that's debatable but I have seen the $$ that has come to North Dakota and into SW Texas. With money comes power and influence. Really? What would be staggering would be the contamination of water wells. Staggering would be the thousands of millions of gallons of fresh fresh water stolen from our (yeah, water is a natural resource owned by the public) streams, creeks and ponds. Then there is the contamination from the waste water disposal. Oh and don't forget the spills or the intentional dumping that goes on. The costs out way the benefits. From this report: newyork.construction.com/opinions/viewpoint/2011/0307_hydrofrackingoffers.aspRegarding the promise of economic prosperity, studies funded by the gas industry are flawed. They ignore the fact that 70% of gas rig jobs in Pennsylvania are going to people from out of state, according to Laura Fisher, senior vice president of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development. Drilling operations typically involve numerous transient workers, who send earnings to their families in their home states.
Also ignored is increased spending by communities on emergency medical care, first responders and law enforcement. Local hospitals and fire departments may be ill-equipped to handle industrial accidents.
Demands on public transportation budgets are ignored. Fewer new roads and bridges can be built if budgets have to be spent on increased maintenance of roads damaged by increased heavy truck traffic.
The studies ignore high costs associated with potentially severe health impacts such as cancer, brain damage, respiratory disease and endocrine disruption that have been connected to chemicals used in fracking.
Also not reflected are potential declines in other industries. The negative effect on natural beauty and the environment would hurt the tourism industry.
Supporters assume that property values will increase. In fact, they may decrease. Last fall, the Denton Record Chronicle reported that in Wise County, Texas, real estate appraisers have discounted valuations by as much as 75% when a gas well sits on the land.
Although communities could see a short economic boom, independent and academic studies conclude that regions that have encouraged extractive industries experience relatively high poverty and unemployment rates in the long term. Other independent studies show limited multiplier impacts on local economies and any positive impacts are likely to be short-lived.
In the long run, gas companies and a few lucky landowners may be the only ones that benefit from gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.Do you think Albany wants that kind of money and power coming into Western NY which in general is much more conservative than Albany and east to NYC? I don't think so. I don't want that money influence either. That's one of the major things wrong in Amerika = money runs the country, not yer vote.
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Post by BillWachtel on Sept 10, 2014 10:38:01 GMT -5
"I don't want that money influence either. That's one of the major things wrong in Amerika = money runs the country, not yer vote."
While I agree with you on this that issue left the building a long time ago and it's not going back.
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Post by byronfishpaw on Sept 11, 2014 11:38:25 GMT -5
Yep.
Unless we overturn the Citizens United ruling. And then we vote to publicly fund elections.
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