Further: State governments appear unwilling to stop unlimited fracking of state natural gas resources. A case in point is Pennsylvania where Act 13 was passed by state Repugnants over the objections of most Democrats. The process was classic back room politics; the 174 page bill was written largely by the industry and passed in a hurry. Who else would have thought to include in the small print a confidential stricture covering doctors who treat patients with symptoms of exposure to drilling fluids except corporate lawyer conscious of damage suits? The Act revokes local zoning authority over drilling operations, limiting municipalities to some regulation of how the drilling is done, but not where. It empowers the unelected Public Utilities Commission to overturn local zoning ordinances, determine eligibility for per-well impact fee revenues and decide whether local rules violate the state's oil and gas regulations. As one critic of the legislation said, "It [Pennsylvania] is the corporate state." The law overturns an inconvenient 2009 ruling of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court that upheld municipal rights to zoning laws that excluding oil and gas drilling if the operation did not fit the character of the community. Now, some Pennsylvanians are comparing their state to Nigeria. The law takes effect April 14th.
More: {12.03.12}For the first time federal scientists have linked fracking to the pollution of drinking water. Before the conclusion reached in December, evidence of fracking operations polluting drinking water sources have been anecdotal even if somewhat spectacular such the now famous inflammable tap water featured in the film "Gaslands". The EPA conducted a three year study in Pavilion, Wyoming, an area punctured with 162 natural gas wells drilled between 1990 and 2006. The agency identified fracking chemicals in the water. The carcinogen benzene was found at 50 times permissible levels. Also found were diesel fuel, methane and heavy metals. Despite numerous complaints from residents about polluted drinking water and symptoms ranging from headaches to heart problems, the state did nothing to help. Why? One answer is the amount of money the fracking industry has put into election campaigns. Since 1990 it has spent $238.7 million on gubernatorial and Congressional campaigns and an additional $726 million on lobbying since 2001. Favored recipients are Repugnants on the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. The industry has been able to exempt itself from major federal environmental laws such as the Clean Water, the Resource Conservation and Recovery, and the Safe Drinking Water Acts. One exemption is even referred to as the "Haliburton Loophole" after the former Vice President's company which allows corporations to keep the formulas of their fracking fluids secret. Sixty-five chemicals used in fracking are listed by the federal government as hazardous, yet only four states out of 31 in which operations are occurring have significant drilling rules. Besides the chemicals, the process uses enormous amounts of fresh water. During the worst drought in Texas history more than 13 billion gallons of Texas water has been used in fracking operations.
{11.3.12}The high pressure injection of fluids into shale rock formations to release natural gas {fracking} caused a dozen earthquakes in Ohio between March and late December 2011 state officials concluded last week. According to state officials, evidence gathered "suggests fluid from the Northstar 1 disposal well intersected an unmapped fault in a near failure state causing [earth] movement along the fault" As a result of the small quakes, the largest being 4.0 magnitude, Ohio's Department of Natural Resources issued new regulations for transporting and disposing of brine wastewater, a fracking waste product. The new rules also require drillers to submit extensive geological data before beginning operations and install pressure and volume monitoring devices that record data. Environmental groups questioned whether the new rules are strong enough to protect Ohioans from disasters attributed to hydraulic fracturing.