Close

Articles Posted in Energy and the Environment

Updated:

Groundwater Districts’ Regulation of Water Supply Wells – What Landowners Should Know

A lot has been written lately about the amount of groundwater being used for hydraulic fracturing in shale plays – particularly in the Eagle Ford Shale, and more recently in the Permian Basin. This raises the question whether — and to what extent — exploration companies’ water wells used in…

Updated:

EPA Issues Proposed Rules to Reduce Emissions from Well Drilling and Production

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued proposed rules to cut down on emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and methane from well drilling and production sites. The rules were issued pursuant to a settlement of a suit by environmental groups alleging that EPA was not enforcing air emissions laws…

Updated:

New York Issues Revised Study of Fracing in the Marcellus

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) has been engaged in a comprehensive review of the potential environmental impacts of development of the Marcellus Shale in New York since 2008. The DEC is the regulatory agency in New York responsible for issuing drilling permits and regulating oil and…

Updated:

Recent News: EPA Fracing Study, Report on Eagle Ford, Frac Water Recycling, Range v. EPA,

WSJ Weighs In On Fracing Controversy The Wall Street Journal gives its opinion on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing, siding with the industry: “The shale gas and oil boom is the result of U.S. business innovation and risk-taking. If we let the fear of undocumented pollution kill this boom, we will…

Updated:

New MIT Study, “The Future of Natural Gas,” Touts the Future of Natural Gas Shale Development

A study group sponsored by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has issued a report, The Future of Natural Gas, the fourth in a series of MIT multidisciplinary reports examinging the role of various energy sources and the effects of carbon dioxide emissions restraints.  The full 170-page report can be found…

Updated:

Discussion and Debate Increase on Environmental Hazards of Fracking

Fracking has become more and more a topic in the general media and part of the state and federal environmental energy agenda, with new stories appearing daily. A sample: Secretary of Energy Steveb Chu has appointed an advisory panel, officially called the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board’s subcommittee on natural gas,…

Updated:

Duke University Researchers Find Correlation Between Marcellus Shale Drilling and Methane-Contaminated Drinking Water

Researchers at the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University have written an article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled “Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing,” which finds “systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shale-gas…

Updated:

Hydraulic Fracturing Controversy Makes Discover Magazine

The April issue of Discover, published by Kalmbach Publishing Co., contains an article on the potential environmental effects of hydraulic fracturing in gas shales, “Fracking Nation,” by Linda Marsa. Much of the article simply repeats allegations being made by environmental groups and landowners of alleged groundwater contamination by shale wells.…

Updated:

Texas Supreme Court Rules Against Citizens Complaining of Injection Well

The Texas Supreme Court has reversed a decision of the Austin Court of Appeals holding that the Texas Railroad Commission must consider traffic issues in deciding whether to issue a permit for an injection well to Pioneer Exploration, Ltd. in Wise County. In its decision, the Court held that, in…

Contact Us