Tag Archives: United States Environmental Protection Agency

Chesapeake well leaks in Wyoming, residents evacuate | Reuters

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Chesapeake well leaks in Wyoming, residents evacuate | Reuters.

Dozens of residents were evacuated from their homes after a Chesapeake Energy-operated well leaked natural gas and drilling mud in Wyoming, the company said on Wednesday.

Chesapeake lost control of a shale well late on Tuesday while installing a casing, triggering the leak, the company said in a statement. It wasn’t clear how much gas or fluid escaped the well.

A “cloud” of gas could be seen a mile away from the blown-out well, said Russ Dalgarn, coordinator for the Converse County Emergency Management agency in Wyoming.

No injuries, explosion or fires have been reported, and air quality readings near the well were “normal” on Wednesday, with the leaked gas “dissipating into the atmosphere,” Chesapeake coordinator Kelsey Campbell said in a statement.

The company has plans to “bring the well under control” as soon as safety conditions permit.

The cause of the incident was under investigation.

Sixty-seven residents within a 2.5 mile radius of the stricken well were asked to evacuate, Chesapeake said. The evacuation was voluntary, and several residents chose to remain in their homes.

“A blowout in a well builds uncertainty and distrust. We need more careful monitoring and regulation of drilling activities in the state,” said Bruce Pendery, program director at Wyoming Outdoor Council, an environmental group that has pressed for heightened scrutiny of drilling in the state.

The boom in on-shore production in shale oil and gas — often near homes and populated areas — has heightened concern about these accidents. The Rockies and Northern Plains region has stepped up drilling of promising oil and gas reserves in the Niobrara Shale, which straddles Colorado and Wyoming.

The regional office of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is sending an inspector to the site of the accident. EPA received reports of an oil sheen on an irrigation channel and a pond near the well, said agency spokesman Martin McComb. Neither is a source of drinking water for nearby communities, he said.

Chesapeake may have encountered a pocket of high-pressure natural gas while drilling the well, McComb said.

Chesapeake said the oil-laden drilling mud that leaked from the well is mostly being contained on site.

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake is the No. 2 U.S. natural gas driller. Last year, it signed a joint-venture agreement with Chinese national oil firm CNOOC for a third of its Niobrara interests.

Around a year ago, Chesapeake had a blowout on a well in the natural gas-rich Marcellus shale of Pennsylvania. It took six days to bring under control and prompted a fierce backlash among area residents opposed to the drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, in which water, sand and chemicals are pumped deep underground to fracture hydrocarbons-bearing shale rock.

In Wyoming, Governor Matt Mead said the state will investigate this week’s incident, to get a “better sense of what can or should be done in the future.”

Chesapeake shares rose 2 percent to $18.13 on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday

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11 States Sue EPA Over Delayed Soot Pollution Standards

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11 States Sue EPA Over Delayed Soot Pollution Standards – Yahoo! News.

According to Reuters, 11 states filed a lawsuit in a Manhattan federal court on Friday demanding the Environmental Protection Agency review clear air standards for nationwide soot pollution. The lawsuit was prompted after the EPA missed an October deadline for the review. Under the Clean Air Act, the federal agency is required to review clean air standards for pollutants every five years and update the National Ambient Air Quality Standards accordingly.

Here are some facts about soot pollution in the U.S., the health impacts, and the lawsuit itself:

* The Associated Press reported the eleven involved are California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont and Washington.

* Soot pollution comes from diesel burning vehicles and power plants and is linked to respiratory illnesses and disease, heart disease, asthma, and impaired lung function.

* The EPA has responded to the lawsuit and said it was continuing to work on proposing the revised and updated standards, noted the New York Times.

* The Obama administration has faced opposition from the GOP and industry representatives who claim that such standards would increase the cost of energy and be detrimental to economic growth in the country.

* ABC News reported the states with the largest number of deaths related to particulate pollution include Pennsylvania, Ohio, New York, Florida, and Illinois.

* Young children, the elderly, and those with already-existing respiratory problems are the most at-risk in terms of soot pollution.

* A report from Environment California lists California as having the worst rate of soot pollution in the U.S. with the Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario area ranked as the worst among metro areas.

* California’s poor performance in terms of soot in the air is attributed to the state’s power plants, diesel burning vehicles, and a growing population.

* Soot is considered particulate matter, a known air pollutant that can range in size from “fine” particles (less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) and “coarse” particles, which are larger, noted the Clean Air Trust.

* Because of how small soot particles are, often times soot can travel hundreds of miles downwind from the original pollution source.

* According to a report from the American Lung Association, Clean Air Task Force, and Earthjustice, up to 35,700 premature deaths and 2,350 heart attacks could be avoided each year if the EPA tightened its standards on soot.

* Additionally, the economic benefits of reducing soot exposure are estimated to be as much as $281 billion every year.

Climate Reality | Stop Keystone XL

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Climate Reality | Stop Keystone XL.

Click the link to do the rest needed below!

Dear Senator:

In the next few days, your vote will determine the fate of a pipeline that would link a vast oil deposit in Alberta, Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. This pipeline, Keystone XL, would carry one of the most carbon-intensive sources of oil on the planet.

If you care about the climate, you have to care about stopping this dangerous pollutant and the pipeline that carries it. After extensive research, the EPA estimates that annual carbon pollution from the Keystone XL pipeline could be at least 82% higher than average crude refined in America — if not more.

What does that number really mean? That’s the same amount of pollution as adding 4.8 million cars to our roads: an additional 27 million metric tons of carbon pollution.

It doesn’t matter where you live, or if the pipeline crosses into your home state. An increase of carbon pollution anywhere leads to climate change everywhere.

To put it simply: say NO to Keystone XL:

Sincerely,

Your Name