OU pipeline & consultant choices contradict ‘green commitment’

Note: This open letter that was signed by more than 130 members of the Athens community, including residents, students, faculty, alumni, and others.

The letter was published in the Reader’s Forum of the Athens News on June 3, 2015 (at http://www.athensnews.com/ohio/article-45139-ou-pipeline-consultant-choices-contradict-lsgreen-commitmentrs.html)

Humanity is now grappling with the greatest crisis in its history. If it is not able to rapidly end its addiction to fossil fuels, tipping points will be crossed and a climate catastrophe will spin out of control. The ecosystems that sustain our very lives are going to collapse, leading to the immense suffering of millions and societal chaos.

Notes on “The Rights of Nature”

By Bob Sheak

Does nature have rights? What is nature? What are the rights? These are questions being asked today by a growing number of groups that want to be able to protect their communities from the ravages of fracking, injection wells, from transportation of shale gas and oil by railroad or pipeline, and from offshore drilling and drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and in the ocean north of Alaska and other places in the Arctic.

Athens County Charter Introduces Frequently Asked Questions

As the Athens County Charter campaign is picking up speed, the Bill of Rights Committee has put forward a brochure with answers to frequently asked questions.  The charter form of government would give residents of Athens County a broader range of self-determination than the current form does. The petition to get it on the November ballot  requires 1440 signatures from voting-age Athens County by June 24 (follow this link for a PDF of the Petition with a signature list).

Athens County to become a County Charter?

To Prevent Fracking and Wastewater Injection, Athens County Shall Become a  Charter Government

By Bernhard Debatin

The Athens Bill of Rights Committee (BORC) has prepared a petition to turn Athens County into a charter government, to be voted on in the November election (full text see below). The charter form of government would give residents of Athens County a broader range of self-determination than the current form does. To be on the November ballot, 1440 signatures from voting-age Athens County residents are needed by June 24 (follow this link for a PDF of the Petition with a signature list).

In particular, the Charter would allow Athens County to prohibit the disposal of toxic fracking wastewater and also the extraction of water to be used for fracking. Under the current form of government, the State of Ohio, represented by the Oil and Gas Division of ODNR, permits and regulates fracking and wastewater injection.

ACFAN appeals K&H 3 Injection Well Permit

Athens County Fracking Action Network has appealed the recent permitting of another injection well in Torch, Ohio, owned by Jeff Harper of West Virginia. The latest Athens County frack waste injection well, the K&H #3, was permitted last month by Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

ODNR Issues Permit for K&H 3 Injection Well Without Considering Concerns

A Story of Lies and Willful Ignorance

By Bernhard Debatin

According to a report in the Athens News from March 25, 2015, ODNR has permitted the third K&H injection well, located at the K&H facility near Torch in the Southeast of Athens County.

Why the new K&H #3 Injection Well is Wrong

By Bernhard Debatin

ODNR NEEDS TO CONDUCT A PUBLIC HEARING

As documented by Acfan, a permit application for the new K&H 3 injection well at the existing K&H facility is currently pending. This would make the K&H facility the largest such operation in Ohio. Over the past years, Ohio has become a major importer of fracking wastewater from other states, due to its low taxation rates and lax regulations. Injection wells in Ohio are not monitored by the (more stringent) federal EPA, but by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas Resources, which has laxer regulations and less oversight. Coincidentally, ODNR also profits from the wastewater dumping, as it rakes in the fees for it.

Don’t let fracking waste be shipped on our waterways!

A letter to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding the permit application for a barge unloading and pipeline facility in Meigs County, Ohio

Context:

The proposal by GreenHunter, a Texas-based frackwaste company, is to build a barge off-loading facility on the Ohio River in Portland, Meigs County. The dock would unload as much as 1 million barrels, or 42 million gallons of frack waste at once. After storage in aboveground tanks, the waste will be trucked to injection wells around the region. Barging of liquid frack waste has not been approved by the U.S. Coast Guard, which received as many as 60,000 public comments opposing the proposal.

The dock proposal has not been given official notice in state or local media. The online notice posted by the Corps June 27 specifies that public comments must be hard copies and received at the Corps’ Huntington office by July 28, which has, due to over 340 comments submitted, been extended to Aug. 24. Also, a subsequent verbal and written statement by Teresa Spagna, Project Manager with the Corps, assures us that E-MAIL COMMENTS ARE ACCEPTABLE.
(from: Acfan.org)

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Feel free to copy this letter and email it to the address below!
COMMENT PERIOD EXTENDED TO Aug. 24
Please visit Acfan.org for additional information.

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The Ethics of Fracking

By Bernhard Debatin

As controversial as it is, fracking is not often discussed in terms of its ethics. The 37 minute-long video The Ethics of Fracking, by the Scott Cannon and the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition, provides a good discussion of the various ethical issues of fracking. It shows that fracking leads to a number of ethical problems and serious side-effects, ranging from the contamination of drinking water, to air and noise pollution, to increasing greenhouse gas emissions, and to disrupting communities and creating long-term risks and costs for our society.

ODNR Injection Well Permit Appealed

Formal Complaint to USEPA Filed

By ACFAN

The Athens County Fracking Action Network (ACFAN) has filed a legal appeal of the K&H 2 injection well permit issued last month by Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Oil and Gas. The well would be the second on the property owned by K&H Partners of West Virginia, in Troy Township, Athens County, and would dispose of 168,000 gallons or more of frack waste per day. The appeal is the first of an ODNR injection well permit filed in over twenty years.