Climate of Our Future

Bill seeks to close “Halliburton loophole,” requires oil and gas companies to follow the Safe Drinking Water Act

June 9, 2009

 

 

 

Washington, DC – A bill introduced today by Congresswoman Diana DeGette (D-CO), Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO) and Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) would protect drinking water from toxic chemicals often used during oil and gas drilling. A companion bill also was introduced today in the Senate by Sens. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY).

 

The Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals (FRAC) Act would close a loophole that has exempted oil and gas companies from complying with critical requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act since 2005, after the oil and gas industry successfully lobbied for the exemption. It remains the only industry unregulated by a provision in the Safe Drinking Water Act which monitors underground injections near drinking water sources.

While drilling for oil and gas, companies often times inject millions of gallons of chemically-treated water into underground rock deposits to force the oil and gas to the surface. The technique, known as hydraulic fracturing (or hydrofracking) is used in nine out of 10 oil and gas wells in the United States and is suspected of endangering drinking water supplies throughout the country.

The following statement is from Sean Babington, legislative associate for Earthjustice:

“We applaud Congresswoman DeGette and Congressmen Polis and Hinchey, and Senators Casey and Schumer for introducing this important legislation. This is a vital step in protecting public health, which was given a backseat to oil and gas industry profits after big oil received an exemption from the Safe Drinking Water Act in the 2005 Energy Bill. Although many deficiencies remain from the 2005 bill, we’re pleased the so-called ‘Halliburton loophole’ may now be closed.

“We shouldn’t put oil and gas companies’ profits over the protection of our drinking water. All other major industries must comply with provisions of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Oil and gas companies should not be the exception. Nothing is more important to a family than being able to trust that clean drinking water is coming out of their faucet. This important legislation, if enacted, would give millions of Americans those critical protections. This bill is a flexible, common sense proposal that restores balance to an energy policy that was tilted heavily in favor special interests for the past eight years.”

“Back pumping” polluted water into Okeechobee can continue without Clean Water Act permits

June 4, 2009

 

 

 

Aerial photograph of pumping station S-2 with Lake Okeechobee in the background. Photo: South Florida Water Management District

Tallahassee, FL – Even though a federal judge ruled in 2007 that “back pumping” polluted water from drainage canals into South Florida’s Lake Okeechobee creates toxic byproducts that threaten public health, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit ruled today that the practice can continue without Clean Water Act permits.

 

“This is the exact opposite interpretation than that reached by the Second Circuit Court of Appeal only two years ago. Further consideration by the whole appeals court panel seems appropriate,” said Earthjustice attorney David Guest.

Earthjustice plans to file for an en banc rehearing, which would be heard by a panel of judges.

“The public’s right to clean public waters is at stake here,” Guest said. “Lake Okeechobee is being treated like Big Agriculture’s private sewer, and the public shouldn’t stand for it.”

The South Florida Water Management District has contended for years that its controversial pumping practice should be exempt from the Clean Water Act.

Today’s ruling comes after a legal battle stretching back more than seven years. The Florida Wildlife Federation and other groups filed a legal challenge against pumping into Lake Okeechobee in 2002, and won when U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga found after a two month trial that the pumping creates a significant risk of triggering toxic algae blooms that can threaten human health and harm wildlife. The pumps at issue inject a plume of dark-colored polluted water into Lake Okeechobee which is used for drinking water. The flow rate of the pumps is similar to that of a medium-size river and affects a zone of the lake encompassing fourteen kilometers out from the pumps. The court issued an injunction, requiring the SFWMD to immediately apply for federal Clean Water Act permits if it planned to pump any more dirty water into the lake.

Instead of complying and cleaning up the lake, the District and Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Sole chose to spend tax dollars fighting for the right to keep polluting. They argued that they shouldn’t have to have Clean Water Act permits to pump dirty agricultural runoff back into public waters.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, under former president George W. Bush, also sided with polluters, adopting a last-minute administrative rule that says Clean Water Act permits for such polluting water pumping are unnecessary.

“This ruling is a backward step,” said Manley Fuller, president of the Florida Wildlife Federation. “We plan to keep the pressure on polluters. One day we hope to have a clean Lake Okeechobee that everyone can enjoy.”

State sponsored hunts scheduled for fall

June 2, 2009

 

 

 

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Missoula, MT – Conservation groups today filed their challenge to the removal of Endangered Species Act protections for gray wolves in the Idaho and Montana. On April 2, 2009, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service dropped the wolves from the Endangered Species list, finalizing an effort launched by the Bush administration to deprive the wolves of legal and habitat protections, thus allowing state management and hunting. The challenged delisting decision is the second time in a year the federal government has removed federal protections for wolves in the northern Rocky Mountains. Conservation groups, represented by Earthjustice, successfully sued to get the protections reinstated in July 2008.   

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Delisting wolves means they will be subject to state-sponsored wolf “control” efforts and hunting unless stopped by legal action.  Idaho and Montana plan to allow hundreds of wolves to be shot.

The decision to lift wolf protections comes as Yellowstone National Park wolves declined by 27 percent in the last year – one of the largest declines reported since wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. The northern Rockies wolf population also has not achieved a level of connectivity between the greater Yellowstone, central Idaho, and northwest Montana areas that is essential to wolves’ long-term survival.  In delisting wolves, the Fish and Wildlife Service authorized Idaho and Montana to reduce their wolf populations from a current population of roughly 1,500 wolves to only 200-300 wolves in the two states. 

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Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen says good first step

May 28, 2009

 

 

 

Forest in the Tongass National Forest Photo by SEACC

Oakland, CA – Statement from Earthjustice President Trip Van Noppen reacting to announcement from Department of Agriculture on the roadless rule:

 

“Secretary Vilsack’s announcement – that he will make all decisions about roadless area development for the next year or so — is needed and welcome. Roadless areas are important as some of the last remaining pristine areas in America, and they are a vital part of how we will protect our world in an era of climate change. We look to the Secretary and President Obama to fulfill their commitment to nationwide roadless area protection.

“It’s important that the Tongass National Forest is included in today’s directive. There are five timber sales scheduled this year in the Tongass that will be affected by the new interim directive.

“We need to get back to nationwide roadless area protection, and for that reason, we think Idaho should be included under this directive as well.  As the Obama administration develops its roadless vision over the next year, it must think about how best to implement roadless protections for the whole country.

“The Forest Service should end the temporary exemption of the roadless rule in the Tongass, and should also stop the expansion of the Smoky Canyon Mine into roadless areas of Idaho’s Caribou-Targhee National Forest. Secretary Vilsack must tell the Justice Department to drop the legal arguments carried over from the Bush administration and inform the courts that this administration supports the roadless rule.

“Hundreds of hearings have already been held on the roadless rule, millions of comments gathered, and Americans support roadless protection by a margin of 10 to 1. Supporters include hunters and anglers, religious leaders, scientists, backpackers, and many more.

“Those who oppose the rule hope to profit from exploitation of these public resources for logging, mining, and other extractive activities. But roadless areas are extraordinarily valuable just as they are –for recreation, wildlife habitat, climate adaptation, and clean water supplies for hundreds of communities. The only way to put an end to the use of the roadless rule as a political football is by returning protections to all 60 million acres.”

Background:

Both as a senator and as a candidate for the White House, President Obama was forthright in his support for the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, which protects nearly 60 million acres of pristine national forest lands.

The rule was established by President Bill Clinton in 2001, but severely undercut by the Bush administration — freezing its implementation, not defending it against industry court challenges, finally repealing it and opting for a state-by-state process that left roadless areas unprotected.

Earthjustice represented a wide swath of the environmental community in fighting off nine separate legal attacks on the rule filed by timber companies and a few states. The effort was remarkably successful, first keeping the loggers and roadbuilders at bay and then later overturning Bush’s local option rule.

Several cases are still pending on the rule, or on site-specific projects such as proposed mines and timber sales in roadless areas. If these cases have to go through the entire process of decisions, appeals, and remands, years will go by without a resolution — or full protection of roadless areas. In addition, the Forest Service is planning to offer several timber sales this year in roadless areas of Alaska’s magnificent Tongass National Forest and has several more in the planning process.

Colorado Citizens’ Groups Go To Court To Defend Oil & Gas Rules Industry refuses to accept new law protecting drinking water & wildlife May 27, 2009 Denver, CO — Citizens’ groups went to court today to defend Colorado’s new rules for safer oil and gas drilling, saying the industry’s attempt to overturn the recently adopted law would endanger drinking water, air quality, hunting and fishing, and the state’s economy. A coalition of regional, state and national groups filed a motion in Denver District Court to intervene in the Colorado Oil & Gas Association’s lawsuit against the state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The Commission developed the rules, which were ratified by the Legislature in a law that was signed by Gov. Bill Ritter in April, only to be challenged by the industry group a few weeks later. Filing the motion were the Colorado Environmental Coalition, Western Colorado Congress, San Juan Citizens Alliance, National Wildlife Federation, Colorado Wildlife Federation, Oil and Gas Accountability Project and The Wilderness Society, represented by Earthjustice. “These rules help protect the interests of citizen groups’ members in numerous ways, including by protecting drinking water, limiting chemical fumes, improving standards for waste pits and cleanups, and protecting wildlife and open space,” the motion said. “The new rules provide balanced, common-sense protections for our state, so that as Colorado develops its energy resources, we also safeguard the clean air and water, abundant wildlife, and scenic landscapes that are the backbone of Colorado’s tourism and recreation economy,” added Elise Jones, executive director of Colorado Environmental Coalition. A key part of the new rules is a first-in-the-nation requirement that under certain circumstances drilling companies must disclose their use of toxic chemicals, which are routinely injected into wellheads in a process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracing. The oil and gas industry won the right to keep their chemical mixtures secret in 2005, when the government exempted fracing from the Safe Drinking Water Act. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) is preparing legislation that would remove the exemption. The citizens’ groups argue that the state went through an extensive process of consulting citizens, cities and counties, and businesses in every corner of the state before developing the rules, going through the most extensive rulemaking hearing in the Commission’s history. “Everyone, from ranchers and hunters to the oil and gas industry, had ample opportunity for input,” said Michael Freeman, the Earthjustice attorney who represented the citizens’ groups through the long rulemaking process. “The state developed a detailed analysis of the costs and benefits of the new rules, but the industry refused to participate in developing that analysis. Now their suit claims the analysis was faulty. It’s time for the industry to respect the process, accept the outcome and show that they know how to be good neighbors.”