So, the 2004 EPA report says that, in the final analysis, people should not have concerns because there’s a UIC program serving as a backstop to prevent contamination of drinking water. Congress, believing there’s no cause for concern, eliminated the backstop which in fact had been put forward by EPA as a major reason why there was no cause for concern.

This is not only circuitous, it is like a snake biting its own tail. It’s important to recognize what has transpired here, and to make sure that the snake is a harmless garden snake, and get its tail out of its mouth.

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Why did we sign? Partly because natural gas is a relatively “clean” fuel, so obtaining it locally seemed reasonable. Partly because the way it was presented to us made it sound inevitable and benign. Partly because the money was appealing. The Music Man came to town, and I am astonished and ashamed that we succumbed to his tune.

We never would have signed if we had known then what we now know about the pollution potential and the possible transformation of peaceful residential and agricultural areas into industrial zones. I am sure that there are many other landowners who feel the same way. We have decided to use the money we received from the lease to try to stave off this potential disaster. A new organization called “(F)leased” is forming to represent people who signed leases and wish they hadn't.

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Southern Tier farms, businesses and residents have a big stake in pending federal water quality regulations being developed to protect the Chesapeake Bay, 400 miles downstream on the Susquehanna River.

On Tuesday, they will have a chance to meet directly with officials from the federal Environmental Protection Agency to learn more about how the regulations are being developed, and their stake in the issue. The public meeting is scheduled from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Broome County Public Library, 185 Court St., Binghamton.

The meeting is part of the process to develop new standards, called a “pollution diet” by EPA officials, for the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

“We see this as the beginning of at least a one-year dialogue with the public,” said Bob Koroncai, a regulator with the EPA who covers Chesapeake Bay issues. “Anybody who eats food, flushes a toilet, uses fertilizer or drives a car is contributing to the problem.”

Although specific regulations are still being worked out, they involve capping states' contributions to pollution flowing to the bay. The goal is to impose the pollution diet to reduce nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment degrading water quality in the bay and upstream.

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The mining practice called fracking is coming under new scrutiny by the EPA.

A just-passed Interior Department spending bill includes a provision that encourages the agency to study whether fracking is polluting groundwater. Fracking – short for hydraulic fracturing – has made it easier for companies to drill for natural gas in energy-rich states like Colorado.

A similar study during the Bush Administration concluded there was no threat to groundwater. But that was widely criticized by environmentalists and some members of Congress who said the government's analysis was based primarily on input from Halliburton and other energy companies.

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It was a presentation of EPA staff concerning the new PCB Mega Rule — to an audience of several hundred mostly industry representatives.

The fact is that natural gas pipelines are now regulated under the PCB rule because many of them ARE contaminated with PCBs, due to leaking of PCB oil used in the compressor pumps which push the gas through the pipeline.

All along the gas lines — from the original wells to our homes and industries — are condensate traps where sampling often finds PCB in high levels. (Between 50 and 500 ppm)

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A federal judge has overturned water quality rules that were meant to protect southeastern Montana cropland from natural gas drilling but were assailed by Wyoming as a threat to energy production.

The rules covered the Tongue and Powder rivers, which flow north from the rich gas fields of northeastern Wyoming into primarily agricultural land in Montana.

Drafted by Montana and approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the rules limited how much salty water – a byproduct of drilling – could enter the rivers. State officials said the EPA had not yet begun to enforce the rules, in part because of a pending lawsuit.
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George Zimmermann, the owner of 480 acres in Washington County, southwest Pennsylvania, says Atlas Energy Inc. ruined his land with toxic chemicals used in or released there by hydraulic fracturing.

Water tests at three locations by gas wells on Zimmermann’s property — one is 1,500 feet from his home — found seven potentially carcinogenic chemicals above “screening levels” set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as warranting further investigation.
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A salt-loving alga that killed tens of millions of fish in Texas has struck for the first time in an Appalachian stream that flows along the border of Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Prymnesium parvum or “golden algae” caused the sudden death of thousands of fish, mussels, and salamanders in early September along some 30 miles of Dunkard Creek. University and government scientists fear the disaster could presage further kills in the region. Streams at risk due to high concentrations of total dissolved solids (TDS) include portions of the northern branch of the Potomac River and 20 other streams in West Virginia, according to state scientists. Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and Kentucky also have many vulnerable rivers and streams, according to U.S. EPA scientists.

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