May 22, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
Tomorrow, I’m headed to the U.S. Senate for a forum on the environmental impacts of shale gas development before the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I’ll be joined by members of the oil and gas industry, as well as representatives from other environmental groups and state government.
The event itself will look something like a congressional hearing. But the Senators have invited us to have...
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...
May 2, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
I've blogged before about how many oil and gas activities lead to increased ambient ozone. Ozone causes very dangerous health effects. Some of the most rural areas in Wyoming (and in Utah) have experienced dangerously high ozone levels.
Because residents of Sublette County, Wyoming, have expressed concerns about the high ozone and...
April 12, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
The need to protect some of California’s rich agricultural land provides the latest example of how important NEPA is in safeguarding our nation’s natural resources. Last week a federal court ruled that fracking proposals there need to look at the air and water impacts of fracking more thoroughly. This is just the latest powerful reminder of why "NEPA" is so important. NEPA is...
March 20, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
Last week the Obama Administration issued a new Energy Blueprint. There are some excellent elements in the White House proposal, including doubling renewable electricity generation by 2020, cutting energy waste, and supporting energy efficiency.
But there are also...
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...
February 25, 2013
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
According to a new NRDC analysis, at the end of 2011, seventy of the largest oil and gas companies operating in the United States held leases covering at least 141 million net acres of American land—an area greater than California and Florida combined.
Given the sordid environmental history of oil and gas development that...
December 26, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
The BLM recently issued a new Instruction Memorandum to its field offices. This IM establishes policy for reducing preventable wildlife mortality, increasing protection of livestock, and increasing human health and safety around oil and gas facilities.
The IM points...
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 4, 2012
Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C.
EcoWatch, an online news service in partnership with the Waterkeeper Alliance, has posted an online petition asking the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to issue strong rules for fracking under federal oil and gas leases, including leasing on both public and private land.
The BLM’s draft rule on fracking is a start and long overdue,...
