Ohio energy company in spotlight after Youngstown earthquakes undertakes geologic study Washington post

EVENT: State Rep. Robert Hagan, D-Youngstown, has scheduled a community forum on the issue for Jan. 11 and has called for a statewide moratorium on injection drilling until 2014. The Youngstown City Council voted Wednesday to support his proposal.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/ohio-energy-company-in-spotlight-after-youngstown-earthquakes-undertakes-geologic-study/2012/01/05/gIQAQiazcP_story.html

Permit revision required to ship fracking brine by rai

Hydraulic fracturing waste can be shipped here by truck, but no permits have been obtained for rail, according to Heidi Hetzel-Evans, communications manager for the ODNR. Bringing in waste by rail may involve an off-loading method that could create different concerns than truck transportation,

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20120106/NEWS01/201060301/Permit-revision-required-ship-fracking-brine-by-rail

Bills passed in the Ohio House, Senate this session:

http://www.the-daily-record.com/news/article/5142892

Earthquakes lead to calls for US fracking shutdown

Quick Look: Democratic State Representative Robert Hagan has called for a hiatus on all fracking activity until further investigations “conclude it is safe”.

http://www.rtcc.org/business/fracking-concerns-lead-to-calls-for-shutdown-of-us-shale-gas-drilling/

Avoiding fracking earthquakes: expensive venture

Reuters) - With mounting evidence linking hundreds of small earthquakes from Oklahoma to Ohio to the energy industry's growing use of fracking technology, scientists say there is one way to minimize risks of even minor temblors.

Only, it costs about $10 million a pop.

A thorough seismic survey to assess tracts of rock below where oil and gas drilling fluid is disposed of could help detect quake prone areas.

But that would be far more costly than the traditional method of drilling a bore hole, which takes a limited sample of a rock formation but gives no hint of faults lines or plates.

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CDC scientist: tests needed on gas drilling impact

PITTSBURGH — One of the government's top scientists says much more research is needed to determine the possible impacts of shale gas drilling on human health and the environment.

"Studies should include all the ways people can be exposed, such as through air, water, soil, plants and animals," Dr. Christopher Portier wrote to The Associated Press in an email.

Portier is director of the National Center for Environmental Health at the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

WSJ.com 

Fracking groups form Alliance, hire Kasich ally as Director

According to Kasich’s logic there’s no reason to slow down on the expansion of fracking since the fracking process and fracking wells are completely safe, it’s only the millions of gallons of toxic waste the process produces that’s a problem. So hey, full speed ahead!

Gas and Oil industry groups, not surprisingly, are pushing the exact same story. And they’ve formed a new group to help promote their message, hiring a Kasich ally to lead the effort.

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