NYT Op/ED ~ The Halliburton Loophole

[maddezmom]

Published: November 2, 2009
Among the many dubious provisions in the 2005 energy bill was one dubbed the Halliburton loophole, which was inserted at the behest of — you guessed it — then-Vice President Dick Cheney, a former chief executive of Halliburton.

It stripped the Environmental Protection Agency of its authority to regulate a drilling process called hydraulic fracturing. Invented by Halliburton in the 1940s, it involves injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals, some of them toxic, into underground rock formations to blast them open and release natural gas.

Hydraulic fracturing has been implicated in a growing number of water pollution cases across the country. It has become especially controversial in New York, where regulators are eager to clear the way for drilling in the New York City watershed, potentially imperiling the city’s water supply. Thankfully, the main company involved has now decided not to go ahead.

The safety of the nation’s water supply should not have to rely on luck or the public relations talents of the oil and gas industry. Thanks in part to two New Yorkers — Representative Maurice Hinchey and Senator Charles Schumer — Congress last week approved a bill that asks the E.P.A. to conduct a new study on the risks of hydraulic fracturing. An agency study in 2004 whitewashed the industry and was dismissed by experts as superficial and politically motivated. This time Congress is demanding “a transparent, peer-reviewed process.”

more:http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/opinion/03tue3.html

Chesapeake Energy Changes Natural Gas Drilling Over Water

Due to environmental concerns over safe drinking water, Chesapeake Energy Corp. has agreed not to drill for natural gas within the New York City watershed, a small area within the Marcellus Shale natural gas reserve, which includes some of the Appalachian regions of New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia, reports EARTHWORKS.

According to Chesapeake Energy, the company’s decision is primarily based on the distraction caused by environmental concerns over drilling in the NYC watershed.

“Though Chesapeake believes it can drill safely in any watershed, including New York City’s as confirmed by New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation’s supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (GEIS), we have chosen to focus our efforts on more promising areas for gas development in the state,” stated Aubrey K. McClendon, Chesapeake’s Chief executive officer, in a press release.

more:http://www.environmentalleader.com/2009/11/03/chesapeake-energy-changes-natural-gas-drilling-over-water-concerns/