Wednesday, December 14, 2016

The EPA Withdraws Claim that Fracking has no “Widespread Systemic Impacts” on Drinking Water

, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR SCIENCE AND DEMOCRACY | DECEMBER 13, 2016, 2:10 PM EST
The EPA removed language claiming that hydraulic fracturing has no “widespread systemic impacts” on drinking water from its final report on the subject. The move follows criticism from its Science Advisory Board and revelations by Marketplace that the report’s executive summary and press release may have been edited by non-scientists.

“No widespread systemic impacts”

In May 2015, EPA released its draft report and there were inconsistencies. The report itself covered the risks of fracking accurately: It found specific instances where well integrity and wastewater management related to hydraulic fracturing activities impacted drinking water resources and it identified several pathways through which the risk of water contamination exists, including spills, improper well construction, and improper disposal of wastewater. None of this was surprising for someone who was following the issue.
What was surprising was the way that the agency communicated those findings in the executive summary and press release of the draft.  Inexplicably, these more public-facing report accompaniments downplayed the risks of fracking to drinking water, claiming “hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread systemic impacts to drinking water resources,” as if this was the fundamental question. But the EPA wasn’t charged with assessing whether impacts were “widespread and systemic,” it was charged with assessing the risks. This raised questions about who wrote the press release and executive summary and why such a discrepancy existed between these materials and the final report.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

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Sunday, December 4, 2016

Federal Officials to Explore Different Route for Dakota Pipeline



Theresa Sandoval, of the Red Willow Tribe in northern New Mexico, bringing firewood back to her North Dakota camp early Sunday morning.CreditAlyssa Schukar for The New York Times
Federal officials announced on Sunday that they would not approve permits for construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline beneath a dammed section of the Missouri River that tribes say sits near sacred burial sites.
The decision is a victory for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of protesters camped near the construction site who have opposed the project because they said would it threaten a water source and cultural sites. Federal officials had given the protesters until tomorrow to leave a campsite near the construction site.
Continue reading...

Wednesday, November 30, 2016

EPA's Late Changes to Fracking Study Downplay Risk of Drinking Water Pollution

By 
Ray Kemble holds two samples of well water from his neighborhood in Dimock, PA. He says the water was contaminated after fracking.
Ray Kemble holds two samples of well water from his neighborhood in Dimock, PA. He says the water was contaminated after fracking. - 
This story was reported in conjunction with APM Reports.
Top officials of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last year made critical changes at the eleventh hour to a highly anticipated, five-year scientific study of hydraulic fracturing’s effect on the nation’s drinking water. The changes, later criticized by scientists for lacking evidence, played down the risk of pollution that can result from the well-drilling technique known as fracking.
Documents obtained by APM Reports and Marketplace show that in the six weeks before the study’s public release, officials inserted a key phrase into the executive summary that said researchers did not find evidence of “widespread systemic impacts” of fracking by the oil and gas industry on the nation’s drinking water.

Earlier draft versions emphasized more directly that fracking has contaminated drinking water in some places.

With now over 900 peer-reviewed studies showing harms of #fracking, will @EPAIreland study take these into account?


Unconventional gas exploration and extraction (UGEE) involves hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) of low permeability rock to permit the extraction of natural gas on a commercial scale from unconventional sources, such as shale gas deposits, coal seams and tight sandstone. The UGEE Joint Research Programme (JRP) (www.ugeeresearch.ie) is composed of five interlinked projects and involves field studies (baseline monitoring of water and seismicity), as well as an extensive desk-based literature review of UGEE practices and regulations worldwide. The UGEE JRP was designed to provide the scientific basis that will assist regulators - in both Northern Ireland and Ireland - to make informed decisions about whether or not it is environmentally safe to permit UGEE projects/operations involving fracking. As well as research in Ireland, the UGEE URP looks at and collates evidence from other countries.
The JRP is funded by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment, DCCAE (formerly the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources (DCENR) and the Environment Division of the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government (DECLG)) and the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA). The research programme was managed by a steering committee comprising the EPA, representatives from DCCAE, the Geological Survey of Ireland, Commission for Energy Regulation, An Bord Pleanála, NIEA, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland and the Health Service Executive.

UGEE Joint Research Programme

http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/research/ugeejointresearchprogramme/ugeeisr.html
YearTitle
2016UGEE Integrated Synthesis Report
UGEE Joint Research Programme Integrated Synthesis Report
2016Final Report 1: Baseline Characterisation of Groundwater, Surface Water and Aquatic Ecosystems (part 1 of 4)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 1 (part 1 of 4)
2016Final Report 1: Baseline Characterisation of Groundwater, Surface Water and Aquatic Ecosystems (part 2 of 4)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 1 (part 2 of 4)
2016Final Report 1: Baseline Characterisation of Groundwater, Surface Water and Aquatic Ecosystems (part 3 of 4)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 1 (part 3 of 4)
2016Final Report 1: Baseline Characterisation of Groundwater, Surface Water and Aquatic Ecosystems (part 4 of 4)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 1 (part 4 of 4)
2016Summary Report 1: Baseline Characterisation of Groundwater, Surface Water and Aquatic Ecosystems 
UGEE Joint Research Programme Summary Report 1
2016Final Report 2: Baseline Characterisation of Seismicity
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 2
2016Summary Report 2 : Baseline Characterisation of Seismicity
UGEE Joint Research Programme Summary Report 2
2016Final Report 3: Baseline Characterisation of Air Quality
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 3
2016Summary Report 3: Baseline Characterisation of Air Quality
UGEE Joint Research Programme Summary Report 3
2016Final Report 4: Impacts and Mitigation Measures (part 1 of 3)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 4 (part 1 of 3)
2016Final Report 4: Impacts and Mitigation Measures (part 2 of 3)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 4 (part 2 of 3)
2016Final Report 4: Impacts and Mitigation Measures (part 3 of 3)
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 4 (part 3 of 3)
2016Summary Report 4: Impacts and Mitigation Measures
UGEE Joint Research Programme Summary Report 4
2016Final Report 5: Regulatory Framework for Environmental Protection
UGEE Joint Research Programme Final Report 5
2016Summary Report 5: Regulatory Framework for Environmental Protection
UGEE Joint Research Programme Summary Report 5
2016UGEE JRP - EPA Statement October 2016
update on the status of the UGEE JRP
2015UGEE JRP - Tasks Status Update 22/12/2015
update on the status of the tasks of the UGEE JRP
2015UGEE JRP - List of organisations carrying out the UGEE JRP tasks
Table providing the list of organisations carrying out the UGEE JRP tasks
2015UGEE JRP - Tasks Update 15/07/2015
update on the status of the tasks of the UGEE JRP
2015Tasks Update of the UGEE Joint Research Programme - April 2015
Update on the Tasks of the UGEE Joint Research Programme - April 2015
2015UGEE Joint Research Programme Leaflet
Leaflet
2015UGEE Joint Research Programme Groundtruthing Notice
Groundtruthing Notice
2013Revised Terms of Reference for a Programme of Research on Environmental Impacts of Unconventional Gas Exploration & Extraction
Revised Terms of Reference (Appendix 1 of the Invitation to Tender)
2013What You Said and How We’ve Responded
Response document to the EPA Public Consultation
2013Invitation to Tender - Research on Environmental Impacts of Unconventional Gas Exploration & Extraction
Revised Terms of Reference (Appendix 1 of the Invitation to Tender)
2013Draft Terms of Reference for a Research Programme on the Environmental Impacts of UGEE
Document for Public Consultation
View the full list of the UGEE JRP Reports


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