Star Man
02-28-2014, 11:48 AM
Dear NorCal Residents,
Is this what you want? Read this article. Fracking companies want to dump their wastewater off our coast. No one knows what toxic chemicals this "frackwater" contains. No one. The EPA does not know, and they're supposed to protect us. The only people who do know are the citizens who've been poisoned by frackwater.
Our state is under attack by Big Energy frackompanies. They intend to frack us up. They want to frack on the San Andreas Fault, even though fracking is known to increase the probability of earthquakes. They want to use our drought-year scarce water to carry out their poisonous plan. They want to poison our offshore water -- where our crabs live, where whales swim, where our rockfish come from, and where we swim and our children play -- with the chemical offal from their intrusive, extractive, poisonous scheme to make money for them, not for us.
Our off shore waters are already being poisoned by radioactivity from Fukushima. Fracking and Fukushima are a deadly combination. When will We The People learn? The corporations of Big Energy and all the other elements of the corporatocracy are constructed to NOT care about We The People. We The People are thought of as a resource -- like gas, oil, coal -- to be harvested for our labor, our taxes, and our attention (think TV, smart phones). Once harvested, we've served our purpose, and we are no longer of any use. Is this what you want for yourself, your children, your grandchildren? Is it?
Star Man
Environmentalists Petition EPA to Ban Fracking Wastewater Dumping Off California Coast
Friday, 28 February 2014 11:45 By Mike Ludwig (https://truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/44659), Truthout (https://truth-out.org) | Report
Downloaded February 28, 2014 from https://truth-out.org/news/item/22167-environmentalists-petition-epa-to-ban-fracking-wastewater-dumping-off-california-coast
https://truth-out.org/images/images_2014_02/2014_0228-5.jpg
(Photo: mlhradio / Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/16268809@N04/2104012695/in/photolist-4cVBEX-4cZBHC-4cZKEw-4MtuVn-4MtvtR-5BjgFW-5U5W9u-bNR1Ma-bzWoaL-cS1rYs-7De4vT-fFBoTV-86AgVX-fiF6U6-9yjbpv-ar1vHd))
Environmentalists are asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the dumping of fracking fluids from oil platforms in federal waters off the California coast.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with the EPA this week asking the agency to revoke or modify a newly revised permit that allows oil producers off the coast of California to dump an estimated 9 billion gallons of wastewater into the ocean annually, including chemical-laced waste fluids from hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" operations.
"It’s disgusting that oil companies dump wastewater into California’s ocean," said Miyoko Sakashita, the group's oceans director. "You can see the rigs from shore, but the contaminated waters are hidden from view. Our goal is to make sure toxic fracking chemicals don't poison wildlife or end up in the food chain."
In response to growing public concern over offshore fracking, the EPA issued a new rule (https://truth-out.org/news/item/21208-epa-california-offshore-frackers-must-disclose-chemicals-dumped-into-ocean) in January requiring oil platforms in federally regulated waters off the coast of California to report the volume and chemical content of any fracking fluids and wastewater they dump into the ocean.
The EPA reserved the right to modify the pollution permit if the data reported by the industry indicates that fracking waste harms the marine environment.
The permit currently allows oil producers to dump unlimited amounts of fracking fluids mixed with other wastewater into federal waters where the EPA has jurisdiction, according to the Center for Biological Diversity's petition.
Environmentalists see the EPA's new reporting requirement as a small step in the right direction but argue that fracking fluids should not be dumped in the ocean at all.
Federal regulators have said that offshore fracking operations in the Pacific Ocean, which typically involve the forcing of water and chemicals into old oil wells to break up rock and release additional reserves, are rare and smaller in scale than the onshore operations that have sparked a nationwide controversy (https://truth-out.org/news/item/8740-gas-rush-fracking-in-depth). Offshore fracking could become more widespread as oil firms seek to exploit the Monterey Shale, an oil-rich formation under much of California and the outer continental shelf.
At least 13 of the 23 oil platforms regulated by the EPA in Southern California dump wastewater off the coast. About half of the platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, where a sensitive marine wildlife sanctuary provides habitat for endangered blue whales and sea turtles, dump some or all of their wastewater into the ocean, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
A review by the center found that at least one-third of the chemicals used in 12 offshore frack jobs in state waters were suspected ecological hazards and one-third of those chemicals are suspected of affecting human developmental and nervous systems.
The group drew on data voluntarily reported by oil companies operating in state waters within three miles of the coast, where fracking has been more common and wastewater dumping is prohibited.
Little is currently known about the fracking fluids dumped in federally regulated waters, but the new EPA reporting rule could shed some light on the chemical cocktails used to produce oil offshore.
In a meeting earlier this month, staffers for the powerful California Coastal Commission said the EPA's reporting requirement is an "important first step" but not adequate to ensure consistency with the California Coastal Act, which gives the commission authority to protect the coastline. Staffers recommended that the commission seek to review fracking wastewater dumping on a case-by-case basis.
The public - and even some federal regulators charged with overseeing offshore oil production - knew little about offshore fracking until last summer, when a Truthout investigation revealed that offshore oil producers had employed fracking technology in federal waters off the California coast at least 12 times in recent years. Truthout then confirmed that federal regulators green-lighted four more frack jobs (https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19340-more-details-on-ocean-fracking-revealed-as-environmentalists-challenge-federal-regulators) in 2013 as environmental groups vowed to challenge the practice. The Associated Press published similar reports after Truthout broke the news.
The revelations alarmed state lawmakers (https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18118-california-lawmakers-demand-federal-investigation-of-offshore-fracking) and sparked investigations (https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18313-offshore-fracking-uproar-grows-in-california-in-wake-of-truthout-report) by environmental groups and the California Coastal Commission as the public demanded to know more about offshore fracking.
Is this what you want? Read this article. Fracking companies want to dump their wastewater off our coast. No one knows what toxic chemicals this "frackwater" contains. No one. The EPA does not know, and they're supposed to protect us. The only people who do know are the citizens who've been poisoned by frackwater.
Our state is under attack by Big Energy frackompanies. They intend to frack us up. They want to frack on the San Andreas Fault, even though fracking is known to increase the probability of earthquakes. They want to use our drought-year scarce water to carry out their poisonous plan. They want to poison our offshore water -- where our crabs live, where whales swim, where our rockfish come from, and where we swim and our children play -- with the chemical offal from their intrusive, extractive, poisonous scheme to make money for them, not for us.
Our off shore waters are already being poisoned by radioactivity from Fukushima. Fracking and Fukushima are a deadly combination. When will We The People learn? The corporations of Big Energy and all the other elements of the corporatocracy are constructed to NOT care about We The People. We The People are thought of as a resource -- like gas, oil, coal -- to be harvested for our labor, our taxes, and our attention (think TV, smart phones). Once harvested, we've served our purpose, and we are no longer of any use. Is this what you want for yourself, your children, your grandchildren? Is it?
Star Man
Environmentalists Petition EPA to Ban Fracking Wastewater Dumping Off California Coast
Friday, 28 February 2014 11:45 By Mike Ludwig (https://truth-out.org/author/itemlist/user/44659), Truthout (https://truth-out.org) | Report
Downloaded February 28, 2014 from https://truth-out.org/news/item/22167-environmentalists-petition-epa-to-ban-fracking-wastewater-dumping-off-california-coast
https://truth-out.org/images/images_2014_02/2014_0228-5.jpg
(Photo: mlhradio / Flickr (https://www.flickr.com/photos/16268809@N04/2104012695/in/photolist-4cVBEX-4cZBHC-4cZKEw-4MtuVn-4MtvtR-5BjgFW-5U5W9u-bNR1Ma-bzWoaL-cS1rYs-7De4vT-fFBoTV-86AgVX-fiF6U6-9yjbpv-ar1vHd))
Environmentalists are asking the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ban the dumping of fracking fluids from oil platforms in federal waters off the California coast.
The Center for Biological Diversity filed a petition with the EPA this week asking the agency to revoke or modify a newly revised permit that allows oil producers off the coast of California to dump an estimated 9 billion gallons of wastewater into the ocean annually, including chemical-laced waste fluids from hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking" operations.
"It’s disgusting that oil companies dump wastewater into California’s ocean," said Miyoko Sakashita, the group's oceans director. "You can see the rigs from shore, but the contaminated waters are hidden from view. Our goal is to make sure toxic fracking chemicals don't poison wildlife or end up in the food chain."
In response to growing public concern over offshore fracking, the EPA issued a new rule (https://truth-out.org/news/item/21208-epa-california-offshore-frackers-must-disclose-chemicals-dumped-into-ocean) in January requiring oil platforms in federally regulated waters off the coast of California to report the volume and chemical content of any fracking fluids and wastewater they dump into the ocean.
The EPA reserved the right to modify the pollution permit if the data reported by the industry indicates that fracking waste harms the marine environment.
The permit currently allows oil producers to dump unlimited amounts of fracking fluids mixed with other wastewater into federal waters where the EPA has jurisdiction, according to the Center for Biological Diversity's petition.
Environmentalists see the EPA's new reporting requirement as a small step in the right direction but argue that fracking fluids should not be dumped in the ocean at all.
Federal regulators have said that offshore fracking operations in the Pacific Ocean, which typically involve the forcing of water and chemicals into old oil wells to break up rock and release additional reserves, are rare and smaller in scale than the onshore operations that have sparked a nationwide controversy (https://truth-out.org/news/item/8740-gas-rush-fracking-in-depth). Offshore fracking could become more widespread as oil firms seek to exploit the Monterey Shale, an oil-rich formation under much of California and the outer continental shelf.
At least 13 of the 23 oil platforms regulated by the EPA in Southern California dump wastewater off the coast. About half of the platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, where a sensitive marine wildlife sanctuary provides habitat for endangered blue whales and sea turtles, dump some or all of their wastewater into the ocean, according to the Center for Biological Diversity.
A review by the center found that at least one-third of the chemicals used in 12 offshore frack jobs in state waters were suspected ecological hazards and one-third of those chemicals are suspected of affecting human developmental and nervous systems.
The group drew on data voluntarily reported by oil companies operating in state waters within three miles of the coast, where fracking has been more common and wastewater dumping is prohibited.
Little is currently known about the fracking fluids dumped in federally regulated waters, but the new EPA reporting rule could shed some light on the chemical cocktails used to produce oil offshore.
In a meeting earlier this month, staffers for the powerful California Coastal Commission said the EPA's reporting requirement is an "important first step" but not adequate to ensure consistency with the California Coastal Act, which gives the commission authority to protect the coastline. Staffers recommended that the commission seek to review fracking wastewater dumping on a case-by-case basis.
The public - and even some federal regulators charged with overseeing offshore oil production - knew little about offshore fracking until last summer, when a Truthout investigation revealed that offshore oil producers had employed fracking technology in federal waters off the California coast at least 12 times in recent years. Truthout then confirmed that federal regulators green-lighted four more frack jobs (https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/19340-more-details-on-ocean-fracking-revealed-as-environmentalists-challenge-federal-regulators) in 2013 as environmental groups vowed to challenge the practice. The Associated Press published similar reports after Truthout broke the news.
The revelations alarmed state lawmakers (https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18118-california-lawmakers-demand-federal-investigation-of-offshore-fracking) and sparked investigations (https://www.truth-out.org/news/item/18313-offshore-fracking-uproar-grows-in-california-in-wake-of-truthout-report) by environmental groups and the California Coastal Commission as the public demanded to know more about offshore fracking.