PA DEP Accused of Covering Up Water Contamination; Agency Argues That They Followed Guidelines

By -
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is being accused, basically, of working with their Oil & Gas Division to conceal dangerous water contamination from drilling operations from residents.  The accusations are no doubt something that fracking critics hope will lead more people to conclude that the industry is lying when it says there is no proven case of contamination from fracking.

Here is a letter sent by a law firm to the PA DEP:
Krancer Letter

And here is an excerpt from a Shale Reporter article on this topic:
A high-ranking state Department of Environmental Protection official reveals the agency may have intentionally left out part of the results of water testing in relation to Marcellus shale drilling.
According to a press release from the office of State Rep. Jesse White, D-Allegheny/Beaver/Washington, the sworn testimony of DEP Bureau of Laboratories Technical Director Taru Upadhyay revealed the DEP used a computer code system that intentionally left out a portion of test results for residents who were concerned their water had been contaminated by nearby drilling.
“This is beyond outrageous,” White said. “Anyone who relied on the DEP for the truth about whether their water has been impacted by drilling activities has apparently been intentionally deprived of critical health and safety information by their own government.”
Upadhyay, employed by the DEP since 1994, was deposed in a lawsuit alleging nearby natural gas drilling operations contaminated drinking-water supplies and caused health issues in Washington County.
According to White, the court transcripts showed the DEP lab conducted water tests using an EPA-approved standard -- the DEP employee who requested the testing would use a "Suite Code" that limited the information coming back from the DEP lab to the DEP field office, and thus the property owner. The suite codes used were Suite Code 942, 943 and 946.
Read the entire article here.

Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Popular posts from this blog

Fracktivist in Dimock Releases Carefully Edited Video, Refuses to Release the Rest

By -
Image
From Energy in Depth: There is something very strange going on along Carter Road, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and I’m not speaking of natural gas, methane migration, contamination, litigation or even the extensive water testing there by the EPA and others.  No, I’m talking about a new “Watergate” conspiracy, complete with 18 minutes of missing tape (well, video, actually). It seems the ever-present Green Party member and  naturist   Vera Scroggins  (a/k/a  Vera Duerga ) has posted a video of Craig Sautner meeting with the EPA.  Mysteriously, the video is but 14 seconds in length, cutting off conversation in what is obviously mid-stream.  It raises a question Craig Sautner, like  Ronald Reagan in Kings Row , might have asked, “Where’s the rest of me?’  Carter Road, isn’t Kings Row, of course, (at least not until you arrive at  the mansion Scott Ely, one of the Dimock litigants, is building with his royalty money ), but there appears to be a whole lot of film editing going on there to fi
Read more

The Second Largest Oil and Gas Merger - Cabot and Cimarex

By -
Image
       Due to investor pressure, the U.S shale drillers are being pushed to improve financial and operational performance after a few years of poor returns. Even though the industry has improved its numbers, when compared to last year, investors still want more to be done for them to earn more money.      That's why two mid-tier shale drillers, Cabot and Climarex, have decided to merge in order to eliminate $100 million in annual costs, which means more money for the investors. This all-stock transaction is valued at about $7.4 billion, which is relatively high for the oil and gas sector.      The new entity will be renamed and the headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Cabot shareholders will own 49.5 percent of the new entity, and Climarex the rest.       The Cimarex-Cabot merger will address the investor's demand for a higher amount of returning cash. The initial plan is to pay a 50-cent-per-share special dividend on closing the deal while offering a quarterly variable div
Read more

Is a Strong Oil Demand Expected This Year?

By -
Image
  According to the world's largest oil traders, global oil demand is set for a rebound. Between now and the end of 2022, global consumption is expected to increase by up to 8 million barrels each day. Vitol Group, the world's largest oil trader, supports this statement.  In an interview with Bloomberg, Vitol's chief executive Russell Hardy said, "We'll need all eight cylinders to get through 2022". This, of course, is due to the lower than average demand for oil at the moment. Reopening economies and Asian markets will create a strong demand rebound by the end of this year and in 2022.  Although the demand for jet fuel will slowly increase, it will still be below average at the end of the year. Nevertheless, a surge in petrochemicals will offset the expected delay in jet fuel demand. Last year, the oil surplus reached a record of 1 billion barrels. This excess is already more than halfway drained, and experts believe it will be depleted by the third quarter th
Read more