The Facts on Fracking | BillMoyers.com

by Julia Conley and John Light

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking — a method of extracting natural gas from underground shale formations — has become a contentious issue across America, especially in New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, states that sit on top of the Marcellus Shale, the largest known deposit of shale gas in America. Some estimate that the shale formation could contain nearly 500 trillion cubic feet of gas — enough to power all American homes for 50 years. Oil and mining companies want to get the gas out, but environmentalist groups say the process is not safe. Here are the facts:

Death on the Job Report

Since Congress passed the Occupational Safety and Health Act in 1970, workplace safety and health conditions have improved. But too many workers remain at serious risk of injury, illness or death.

"Wheeling Water Warriors" Attend Board of Zoning Appeals about GreenHunter's plans

John Jack, GreenHunter Water’s vice president of business development,
shows the storage tanks the company refurbished upon purchasing this
 facility along Ohio 7 in New Matamoras.
Photo by Casey Junkins

WHEELING -

Concerned residents of Warwood attended the Wheeling Board of Zoning Appeals Commission to voice opposition to GreenHunter's plans to build a frack water storage facility. 

Most residents were concerned that the plant's water would leak into the ground and cause contamination.  They also say they're concerned about dust prevention and bringing toxic and radioactive materials into the neighborhood. 

But GreenHunter's vice president, John Jack, told the board  the water they handle is a non-hazardous material and residents needed more information in what his company is doing.

State Fracking Regulations Will Trigger FOIA And Trade Secrets Lawsuits

With a growing number of states demanding disclosure of its fracking recipes, the oil and gas industry is fighting to plug what it views as government-mandated leaks in its trade secrets pipeline.

Wheeling West Virginia GreenHunter Plans to Process, Recycle, and Barge Frack Water from Warwood Frack Water Plant on Ohio River

Early Marcellus Sites: Ohio Co. WV

From the Article by Casey Junkins, Wheeling Intelligencer, May 12, 2013

NEW MATAMORAS, OH – John Jack is confident that GreenHunter Water’s plans to store nearly 800,000 gallons of natural gas frack water in the Warwood section of Wheeling will become a reality.

John Jack, GreenHunter vice president, shows the storage tanks the company refurbished upon purchasing this facility along Ohio 7 in New Matamoras. He also hopes that once built, the local community will grow to appreciate the recycling facility.

Is EPA Setting Its Sights on Hydraulic Fracturing Compounds?

Agency implements rule requiring companies to disclose information regarding the use of certain industrial chemical substances commonly used in natural gas and oil well drilling.

http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/is-epa-setting-its-sights-on-hydraulic-f-25824/

On May 9, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a Direct Final Rule[1] identifying 15 chemical substances[2] that will require notice prior to manufacturing, importing, or processing for an activity designated as a significant new use. These chemicals were flagged pursuant to the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) significant new use rules (SNURs). The notices, referred to as Significant New Use Notices (SNUNs), must be submitted to EPA 90 days before a listed chemical is manufactured, imported, or processed for an activity designated as a significant new use. EPA states that this will provide the agency with an opportunity to evaluate the intended use and determine whether it is necessary under TSCA to prohibit or limit the activity before it occurs.

The Sky Is Pink - Josh Fox

Josh Fox does a follow-up documentary to his hit Gasland about the propaganda & misinformation that the hydraulic fracking industry puts out. He refutes the claims that fracking is clean & safe by the industry.

Here are the hard FACTS behind this documentary in case you wanted to refute the claims yourself.
http://www1.rollingstone.com/extras/t...

Meet the Frackers

“The Department investigation indicates that gas well drilling has impacted your water supply.”

Despite the oft-repeated gas industry canard that there are no confirmed cases of fracking contaminating water supplies, the following Determination Letters from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection clearly state  that “gas well drilling” has contaminated wells in Bradford County, in municipalities such as Granville, Tuscarora, Terry, Orwell, Wilmot and Monroe Townships, and in Alba Boro.

The letters posted so far were obtained by Right to Know requests to the PA DEP filed by Vera Scroggins of “Citizens for Clean Water” located in Susquehanna County.

Doddridge County West Virginia is Getting Fracked Apart

Congestion, road damage. These roads were not built for this kind of traffic.
The gas industry says that this is clean and safe prosperity and we should be glad to live here.
Isn't this why you live in the country?

The Shale Gas Review: Frack Chemicals and Water Contamination

by S. TOM BOND on MAY 14, 2013

Commentary from Tom Wilber, The Shale Gas Review, May 10, 2013

The migration of fracking chemicals in the soil, in the earth’s strata and in groundwater are problems that are not fully understood. Plus, the chemicals resulting from drilling and fracking contain some toxic materials that have been leached from the earth or exposed by the drilling and frack operations. Tom Wilber in his blog entitled “Shale Gas Review” takes up these topics.

What the frack? What happens in West Virginia can happen here

One of the first finished, productive shale gas wells in Doddridge County, West Virginia. The vent stack emits excess gas and visible fumes on a regular basis to the dismay of nearby residents.

Jeanne Nicholson Siler

Fracking and Farmland: Stories from Ohio’s Fields: Kip Gardner of Creekview Ridge Farm

COLUMBUS, Ohio - As the oil and gas fracking industry grows in Ohio, farmers' concerns are mounting about the possible effects on public health, the food supply and the land. 

Kip Gardner of Creekview Ridge Farm in Carroll County is in the process of becoming organically certified. He says the toxic chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing have the potential to contaminate the water and soil, endanger livestock and threaten the food supply. He says nearly all of his neighbors have signed fracking leases, and he's concerned that a process known as "mandatory pooling" will force him into a lease.

Time to End Oil and Gas Company Town Culture in West Virginia

BY DAVID McMAHON 

DOMINION POST Sunday 12 May 2013 – OPINION

The vast wealth of the Marcellus shale is something beyond our state’s collective experience and requires new thinking. Most importantly, it means that our state needs to create and use our new wealth without making the same mistakes we made with coal. 

Should WV Beef be Advertised as Marcellus Fed?

“WV Host Farms” Concerns Include Fracking Impacts

Commentary from Diane Pitcock, West Virginia Host Farms, May 10, 2013

In rural communities in WV, we have many small farms that rely on Farmers Markets to sell their produce for supplemental income. And we also have “Mountain State Naturals” – which is a “WV Beef Farmers’ Cooperative” that markets their beef as raised without using growth hormones.

On their website: “Our cattle are raised in open fields with continual access to pasture. They are never fed growth hormones of any kind and have never been given antibiotics. Our young West Virginia beef are raised to about 1100 pounds and receive corn supplements as they reach finished weight. Because our West Virginia beef are primarily fed grass, they are higher in Omega-3 fatty acids, which are shown to reduce or prevent cardiac disease.”

Organic Farmers Struggle to Protect Their Land from Fracking Impacts

From an Article in EcoWatch, April 1, 2013

In Pennsylvania, organic farmers fear the entire process of shale gas drilling—from the building of the well pads through the hydraulic fracturing process to the disposal of fracking wastewater—threatening their ability to produce products that conformed to organic standards.

An 88-acre organic pork and poultry farm is less than 4,000 feet from a drilling site operated by Shell. The battle with the shale gas industry is featured in the latest installment of Gas Rush Stories, a documentary film project on shale gas drilling.

Massive Plans to Export US Natural Gas Stir Debate and Feed Fracking Frenzy

FILE - This June 13, 2003 file photo shows pipelines running from the offshore docking station to four liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks at the Dominion Resources Inc. Liquefied Natural Gas facility in Cove Point, Md. A domestic natural gas boom already has lowered U.S. energy prices while stoking fears of environmental disaster. Now U.S. producers are poised to ship vast quantities of gas overseas as energy companies seek permits for proposed export projects that could set off a renewed frenzy of fracking.
Photo: Matt Houston
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