WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is abandoning its plan to immediately tighten air-quality rules nationwide to reduce emissions of smog-causing chemicals after an intense lobbying campaign by industry, which said the new rule would cost billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of jobs, officials said Friday.
The White House announcement that it was overruling the Environmental Protection Agency’s plan to adopt a stricter standard for ground-level ozone came just hours after another dismal jobs reports and in the midst of an intensifying political debate over the impact of federal regulations on job creation. The president is planning a major address next week on new measures to stimulate employment, while Republicans in Congress and on the presidential campaign trail have harshly criticized the administration’s environmental and health regulations, which they claim are forcing layoffs and the export of jobs.
The E.P.A. following the recommendation of its scientific advisers, had proposed lowering the so-called ozone standard from that set by the Bush administration to a new stricter standard that would have thrown hundreds of American counties out of compliance with the Clean Air Act. It would have required a major effort by state and local officials, as well as new emissions controls by industries and across the country.
A few comments
Friday, September 2, 2011
Gov. John Hickenlooper Takes Questions From the Public - Fracking
CPR.org
by Michelle P. Fulcher
Listen to audio
Interview Produced by Michelle P. Fulcher and Lee Hill
Time for our regular conversation with Governor John Hickenlooper. For the last month or so, we’ve been asking what questions you have for the governor. Many of you have joined our Public Insight Network to share those questions and concerns. On today’s show, he’s going to answer some of them.
The governor mentioned a site for pointing out inefficiencies in state government. Go to this site where you'll find a link to provide feedback.
Here's a transcript of the interview:
RYAN WARNER, Host: Governor, Thank you for being with us.
JOHN HICKENLOOPER, Colorado governor: Oh, glad to be back.
Warner: We've gotten questions, even some suggestions for you, and themes certainly emerged. We heard a lot about state employee pay and benefits. We're going to talk about that shortly. We also heard a lot about “fracking,” the process of injecting chemicals deep into the ground to free up oil and natural gas. Lots of people told us their fears of those chemicals contaminating water.
Here's a question from Philip Davis, who is a farmer who lives in Hotchkiss, Colorado, on the Western Slope.
PHILIP DAVIS, Hotchkiss farmer: What do you say to people of Garfield County, who believe that fracking has polluted their ground water and resulted in serious diseases? What do you say to the people of Mesa and Delta counties, who depend on a clean environment, who feel powerless against Big Oil and look to their state government to balance the scales and to protect our environment and who are confident that the environmental impacts of fracking are not adequately understood at this time?
Warner: Multi-part question there, but what do you say?
Hickenlooper: Well, there is a great deal of fear out there about fracking. People are-- don't understand it. They're concerned.
Warner: Is it justified?
Hickenlooper: I don't think so. Again, having spent five years as a geologist and really looked into this pretty hard, there was a number of stories in the New York Times, we can't find examples in Garfield County or anywhere in Colorado where fracking has gotten into groundwater.
Now there are a number of occasions where oil companies have been careless or made mistakes and frack fluid has gotten into a stream or a pond, gotten into our water, and my opinion is I think we should be even more vigilant and increase the fines on those things.
But the fracking itself, what you're doing is you're pushing a dense fluid, with, you know, minute grains of sand and silt into the formation. So the formation is already under tremendous pressure, but you're pushing this fluid out there and pushing open these micro-fractures. They're very, very small fractures. And then the silt gets in there and holds them open. So, then, when you stop pushing, all that frack fluid comes back up the pipe again. It doesn't sit there out in the formation.
So, the vast majority of it, 95% of it, comes back up the pipe, and most oil companies, the good oil and gas companies use it again. So they're recycling that water and they're not wasting it.
And one of the things we're doing in Colorado and the Colorado Oil and Gas Association
announced a month ago that we're going to do a baseline water sampling program. So before anyone drills a well, we're going to measure what the ground water is and look at the chemical analysis of it and at regular periods after that well is drilled, if it's fracked, go back and measure and look at that water quality again just to make sure that there is no communication.
Warner: Communication? You mean between the fracking fluid and water?
Hickenlooper: Yes. No communication between, exactly, where the frack fluid has been pushed into the formation and that somehow that didn't get up around the drill pipe and get into ground water.
We're working aggressively with the oil and gas community to convince them, push them, that all the components of the frack fluid should be revealed. They are at the well site now. We want to put them up on some sort of a website and right now, about 90% of the companies drilling already do that voluntarily. So, I don't think there's too much reason not to go ahead and get everybody to do it. And then doing this baseline water sampling is really going to allow us to make sure, to prove to people, that there is no polluting of ground water from fracking.
Warner: So you've got the baseline water testing. How soon would that go into place?
Hickenlooper: That's in place. They're starting it right now, as we speak.
Warner: Okay. And then the separate issue, which is disclosing fracking fluids, that will be a state rule, correct?
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Colorado announces water-sampling effort to fight fracking fears
Houston (Platts)--
2Aug2011
Governor John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, said the effort was the first of its kind and was needed to build trust with the public and fight doubts and "paranoia" about the effects of hydraulic fracturing operations.
"The best way to fight back on that kind of misinformation is to be transparent ... to clearly demonstrate beyond any possible doubt that this doesn't happen," he told the Colorado Oil & Gas Association's Energy Epicenter conference in Denver.
The water sampling effort will be a statewide, voluntary program where groundwater samples would be collected by a third-party, with oversight and monitoring by the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The department would also hold onto all the sampling data, which would allow it to evaluate trends and water quality, Hickenlooper said.
Hickenlooper also said many larger drillers, representing 90% of all the wells set to be drilled in 2011, have already signed up for the program. He said he is hoping for near 100% participation.
Continue reading...
Years from now we may see some horrific water contamination but let's be realistic with your water testing campaign. You appear to 'fight fracking fears' with demonstrations that indicate negative contamination results.
We advise you test the deep injection wells and publish the chemical analytical results now so that the citizens of Colorado have future chemical benchmarks of non-point source pollution sites. We also strongly urge you to hire more field inspectors to prevent surface contamination as well.
Is the state in collision with its mission statement? Bullet point number four: 'The prevention and mitigation of adverse environmental impacts.' Prevention is a proactive approach of employing mitigating factors. It may appear that adaptive 'too-late' management is once again haunting us.
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Thursday, September 1, 2011
Keystone Pipeline Infographic: 'Built To Spill'
First Posted: 8/29/11 07:05 PM ET Updated: 8/29/11 07:11 PM ET
Source: Huffington Post
The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, planned to run from the Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, has caused quite a stir. And now it's also led to the creation of a very detailed infographic.
Currently, thousands of protesters are conducting a two week sit-in at the White House to push President Obama to deny the permit for the oil pipeline. According to Tar Sands Action, over 300 people have been arrested to date.
On Friday, the State Department found that the pipeline would have "no significant impact" on the environment and suggested that the project move forward. Over the weekend, an interview aired of a former State Department official saying that Clinton would likely approve plans for the pipeline.
Earlier this month, an editorial in The New York Times opposed the pipeline, reading, "We have two main concerns: the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and the fact that the extraction of petroleum from the tar sands creates far more greenhouse emissions than conventional production does."
In a Tar Sands Action Press release, NASA’s Dr. James Hansen said, “If Obama chooses the dirty needle it will confirm that the President was just green-washing all along, like the other well-oiled coal-fired politicians, with no real intention of solving the addiction.” Hansen was among the protestors arrested at the White House Monday morning.
Check out the infographic below:
CLICK TO ENLARGE
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Source: Huffington Post
The construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, planned to run from the Canadian tar sands to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico, has caused quite a stir. And now it's also led to the creation of a very detailed infographic.
Currently, thousands of protesters are conducting a two week sit-in at the White House to push President Obama to deny the permit for the oil pipeline. According to Tar Sands Action, over 300 people have been arrested to date.
On Friday, the State Department found that the pipeline would have "no significant impact" on the environment and suggested that the project move forward. Over the weekend, an interview aired of a former State Department official saying that Clinton would likely approve plans for the pipeline.
Earlier this month, an editorial in The New York Times opposed the pipeline, reading, "We have two main concerns: the risk of oil spills along the pipeline, which would traverse highly sensitive terrain, and the fact that the extraction of petroleum from the tar sands creates far more greenhouse emissions than conventional production does."
In a Tar Sands Action Press release, NASA’s Dr. James Hansen said, “If Obama chooses the dirty needle it will confirm that the President was just green-washing all along, like the other well-oiled coal-fired politicians, with no real intention of solving the addiction.” Hansen was among the protestors arrested at the White House Monday morning.
Check out the infographic below:
CLICK TO ENLARGE
Continue reading...
Please vote on the poll below -thank you
Boulder County, CO Landowner Complaint - Health Concerns from Emissions and Surface Agreement Second Thoughts
Please comment with your questions about this case.
| Date Rec'd: | 6/25/2010 | Complaint taken by: | JIM PRECUP |
| DocNum: | 200257667 | API number: | 05-013-06611 |
| Complaint Type: |
| Complainant Information |
| Name: | Norm Steiner |
| Address: | , Co |
| Date Received: | 6/25/2010 |
| Connection to Incident: | Surface owner |
| Description of Complaint: |
| Operator: | ENCANA OIL & GAS (USA) INC | |||||
| Oper. No. | 100185 | |||||
| Date of Incident: | 6/25/2010 | |||||
| Type of Facility: | WELL | |||||
| Well Name/No. | ||||||
| County Name: | ||||||
| Operator contact: | ||||||
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| Complaint Issue | ||||||
| Issue: | AIR QUALITY | Assigned To: | JIM PRECUP | Status: | In Process | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description: | Alex Fisher received a complaint from Norm Steiner regarding concerns he had about a four well pad scheduled to be drilled on the adjoining property west of his house. Alex refered the complaint to me. | |||||
| Other Notifications | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | 6/25/2010 | Agency: | surface owner | Contact: | Norm Steiner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Response or Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Talked with Mr. Steiner. He told me that Encana was going to drill some wells West of his property. He was concerned with the possibility of contamination from the heavy volatiles. He also said that there was gas leaking on the two wells already on his property. I told him that I would do an inspection and would like to meet with him on site. He told me that he could not be available until 6/23/2010. I then set an appointment for 8:00 a.m. on 6/23/2010. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | 6/25/2010 | Agency: | Encana | Contact: | Micheal Coppersmith | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Response or Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I did an inspection on the wells associated with Mr. Norm Steiners property and found a small gas release at the surface/production casing hammer nut seal on the Deason GU 1, Oil saturated soil inside the battery berm, no sign on the Deason GU1 and no battery sign on the Deason 32-35. The horizontal separator needed paint. I noted that there were 6 wells staked to be drilled west of his property line. I also noted that the 6 wells were not observing the 150ft setback from Mr. Steiners property line.I contacted Encana and met with Mr. Coppersmith to discuss the release and wellsite problems. I looked in the Scoutcard and found the surface use agreement between Mr. Steiner and Encana. I noted that on the form 2 that there were COA's in violation with the permit. The surface had yet to be recovered, the separator had not been painted , there were no bushes planted around the battery site on the south and east, the surface use agreement was specific to a separator for only 2 wells. The emissions burner was functional and it appeared that the volatiles were being handled properly off of the battery tanks | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date: | 6/25/2010 | Agency: | surface owner | Contact: | Norm Steiner | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Response or Details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| I met with Mr. Steiner on the battery site on 6/23/2010. He asked about the gas release and I did a walk through with Mr. Steiner. He asked about the danger of the heavy volatiles to his health. I showed him how the system was designed to deal with the releases from the tanks. I asked him where he was getting his information. He showed me a general letter he received from Boulder County identifying it as a possible problem it was represented by the Air Quality Board.I asked him to fax or email it to me as he was unable to make a copy at his house. I told him that I was going to have to NOAV Encana due to COA's not being done in a timely manner. I showed him the prospective wells and he was aware that they did not meet minimum setbacks from his property line. He said that he had signed a release waiver. I told him that I had seen the property line letter addressing the Permit for the Deason 4-2-35. I asked him why if he was concerned with air quality issues he had released his right to the setback. He said that Encana told him that they could do it with or without his help, all they had to do was bond out. I told him that it was possible, that he could have contacted the COGCC and possibly had that inclued as a COA to the permit. I found out that Encana had also amended his surface agreement to add the additional wells to his tank battery. He said that Encana told him they would use large upright tanks and reduce his visibility to the mountains if he didnot cooperate. They also said that they could do this by bonding out. Mr. Steiner wanted me to assure him that there would be no problems with the volatiles if they added them to his battery site. He also asked me to make Encana give him a letter that there would not be any problems in regard to the volatiles affecting their health.I told him I could not make such assurances and I did not have the authority to force Encana to give him a letter assuring they would have no problems in that regard. I told him that the rules gave us some ability to deal with the issue should it occure but we couldnot even guarantee him that Encana would even own the property for the life of the well. He represented that he was having second thoughts about having signed the agreements. I told him I was relatively sure that nothing could be done at this time, but I offered to have him talk to someone in enforcement. He said he had to talk to his wife. I called him later that afternoon and asked him if he had talked to his wife. He said he had not. I told him I would not bring it up to enforcement unless he was sure he was serious about trying to remedy some of the concerns he had brougnt up. He asked me to wait until next week and he would call me and let me know if he wanted to stay as it was or talk to someone about how Encana had handled the information back to him. He has at this time not received his check from Encana for his surface agreement amendment and property line waiver. PRODUCTION DATA
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STEINER'S SURFACE AGREEMENT(S) notice dates CLICK TO ENLARGE
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He has stopped regulations that harm business this month.
Isn't it obvious to those Obamites, that the only job he cares about is his own.
Obama has performed a miracle. After the failed Presidency of George Bush I thought that it would take a decade for the Republicans to gain control of the Federal Government. But Obama has managed to have a Republican House elected last year and it is all but assured there will be a Republican Senate in 2012. But,I would have thought it impossible for the Republicans to win the Presidency in 2012. Not anymore. The combination of failure and feebleness has made the Republicans the favorite.
As a Libertarian, all I can say is.
"Mission accomplished". Progressive philosophy is discredited.
C. ALEXANDER BROWN
It is very distressing to see the back downs and the cave ins day after day.
Whatever implications it may have on you personally, it is all the more disheartening to see the Office of the President being degraded.
You are the commander in chief of our troops. Please take some heed from them and learn to fight your own battles.
Else, step aside and let others take the hot seat.
Maybe you do not have to look as far back as Abe Lincoln for a role model. Perhaps an LBJ would be more fitting in your situation, when he stepped aside for a job he no more felt connected to.
Note to myself: Next time I vote for a rookie, I will keep my irrational enthusiasm in check and first count how many "present" votes that candidate has voted.
Some posters here are asking things like 'when is he going to stand up for what he believes?'.
Once you figure out that the only thing Obama cares about or believes in is the re-election of Obama, then all his recent actions make perfect sense.
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Earth to Judy. No matter how much Obama tries to compromise or whatever he proposes, the house approves and enacts legislation. Clearly he’s realist and understands that the house is controlled by the GOP who were put there by an electorate in 2010 on the message to make Obama fail, and they are hell-bent to do so, no question. They are recklessly and doggedly pursuing this aim, regardless of the mandate Obama got when he was elected. He is powerless to do anything about it. This is after all how democracy works in america where the people know what they want, and deserve to get it good and hard.