How uncertain property rights affect agriculture in West Virginia By Dave Walker This year will be Steve Vortigern and his wife Sunshine’s tenth year of farming in Preston County, W.Va. On 41 acres, they grow more than 40 different varieties…
Blog Archives
Scientists Review to EPA Fracking Report
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board raised questions about the scientific basis of a report by the agency on fracking.
Fracking Wastewater Leads to Ban in West Virginia County
In Fayette County, W.Va., residents speaking up against natural gas drilling wastewater spurred a county-wide ban on the use, storage or disposal of any oil or gas waste.
N.C. Communities Take Steps to Block Fracking
Despite efforts at the state level to pave the way for fracking, many North Carolina towns and counties are passing moratoria to block this form of natural gas extraction in their communities.
Fracking Investigations Stir Questions, Fines
Kentucky researchers prepare to test for fracking-induced earthquakes, a university fracking site stirs controversy in West Virginia, and suspicion rises that there may be natural gas beneath Stokes County, North Carolina.
Fracking Concerns Fuel Research, Government Opposition
The latest hydraulic fracturing news includes new fracking bans and moratoriums and an increase in earthquakes linked to underground injection of fracking wastewater.
Under Pressure: A Fractured Relationship with Natural Gas
Across the East, fracking for natural gas is advancing in starts and stops — as some states embrace the practice, another bans it, and still more consider the risks and potential rewards of entering the fracking fray.
Digging Under the Surface: West Virginia’s Fracking Boom
Many West Virginia landowners agreed to sever the right to use their land from their rights to the minerals buried beneath the surface long before the onset of fracking technology. Today, fracking operators are using those old leases to bring industrial development to formerly secluded country homes, like the ridge above David Wentz’ house.
Weak fracking rules pass in N.C.
The North Carolina Mining and Energy Commission issued their final vote on proposed changes to the rules regulating the process of hydraulic fracturing for natural gas last Friday, voting unanimously to approve the rule set. Despite the outpouring of public comments requesting stronger rules, almost all of the commission’s changes fell short of what the public overwhelmingly asked for, and the few changes that strengthen the rules only minimally do so.
Full Disclosure?
As North Carolina considers its first natural gas drilling rules, a survey of the region shows how states are — and aren’t — regulating fracking.
TAGS: Clean Water Act fracking hydraulic fracking Hydraulic Fracturing North Carolina Smoky Mountains toxic water water contamination Water Pollution
