May 15, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
It’s rumored that the BLM is about to release the next draft of its proposal for fracking guidelines for public lands.
We’ve been blogging about all the significant failures with the first draft, and why a strong rule is so important, not just to preserve America’s wild places, but to protect...
April 16, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
Since early March, citizens across Colorado have been hearing about groundwater contamination near the town of Parachute in western Colorado. High levels of benzene--a known carcinogen--have been found in groundwater about 1,400 feet downstream of the presumed source of a leak. A monitoring well about 10 feet from Parachute Creek found...
March 8, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
In past blogs, I as well as colleagues at NRDC have expressed our strong support for the authority of local governments to protect their residents from the risks of fracking. I also blogged about my extreme disappointment that the State of Colorado was opposed to local government authority and was even suing a local government...
March 1, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
In Fiscal Year 2011, the BLM conducted an Internal Control Review (ICR) of the onshore oil and gas Inspection and Enforcement (I&E) program. The ICR reviewed ten field offices with major oil and gas...
January 5, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
As I've blogged recently, Colorado is currently considering updating some of its oil and gas rules regarding setbacks from homes and schools, as well as rules for water testing and monitoring. This is the right thing to do; although state rules across the country are not strong enough, at least some states are updating their...
December 17, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
In a recent post I blogged about the risks to drinking water sources for the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, western Colorado communities, and Athens, Ohio. We think these and other important watersheds should be off limits to fracking for oil and gas. But if any oil and gas development is allowed, it should be regulated under...
December 5, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) is in the process of updating some of its oil and gas rules. Colorado, to its credit, has updated its rules periodically in recent years, to catch up with advancements in the oil and gas industry. As the industry expands and adopts new technologies, it is essential that regulations keep pace to protect clean air, clean water, and healthy communities. Unfortunately...
November 28, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the Department of the Interior is in the process of developing new rules for fracking on more than 750 million acres of public and private land across the country. A final rule could be released as early as December.
The current rules are woefully inadequate and need to be dramatically strengthened to protect health and the environment. Even Interior Secretary Ken...
October 25, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently issued two comprehensive reports:Oil and Gas: Information on Shale Resources, Development, and Environmental and Public Health Risks (GAO-12-732); and Unconventional Oil and Gas Development: Key Environmental and Public Health Requirements (GAO-12-874...
September 19, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
The state of Colorado is suing a local government that wants to protect its citizens from the harms of fracking. Does this sit well with anyone? The state is even opposed to a local government requiring water quality testing for families near fracking sites. It sounds to me like the state got a hold of the oil and gas industry's playbook.
Local governments in Colorado are outraged. More than 82 city and...
