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On the day of a large rally outside the Capitol, Senate Democrats introduced the first significant legislation against hydraulic fracturing since the 2010 moratorium imposed by former Gov. David Paterson and the Department of Environmental Conservation.

Sens. Tony Avella, D-Whitestone, Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan, and Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens, introduced a package of bills April 11 that includes three bills for tighter regulations and transparency for oil and gas drilling and a bill by Avella to ban hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, in New York State.

"I don't see it as that great of a request to require these gas companies to inform the public on what chemicals they're blasting into the Earth," said Krueger. "They want us to just fall in line and not ask any questions, to just trust them. Well, we saw what they did with Pennsylvania's trust, and I say no."

She was referring to a lawsuit filed by 31 Pennsylvania residents against the Southwest Energy Co. accusing the company of contaminating their water supplies for drinking, cooking and bathing with hazardous chemicals and pollutants as a result of hydrofracking.

Krueger's bill (S.425) would prohibit the use of fracking fluids "containing chemicals that pose a risk to human health." Also in the package is S.4251-a, a bill sponsored by Addabbo, that would require treatment facilities to test waste from hydraulic fracturing operations for radioactivity. The Assembly bill (A.2922) is sponsored by Robert Sweeney, D-Babylon...

See: New York State Assembly Passes Moratorium on Hydrofracking | Governor Vetoes Bill

Student Disrupts Government Auction of 150,000 Acres Of Wilderness For Oil & Gas Drilling.

Democracy Now reports on student action by Tim DeChristopher.

In a national broadcast exclusive, University of Utah student Tim DeChristopher explains how he bought 22,000 acres of land in an attempt to save the property from drilling. The sale had been strongly opposed by many environmental groups. Stephen Bloch of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance said: "This is the fire sale, the Bush administrations last great gift to the oil and gas industry. This is the first 10 minutes of the interview. For the rest go to DemocracyNow!

For full interview click here.

See: Judge says drilling lease lawsuit too late

See: Tim DeChristopher's blog and update on his legal battle.

See: As climate crime continues, who are we sending to jail? Tim DeChristopher?

Superior Well Services is one of the large companies being investigated by the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to see if the gas extraction method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a hazard to groundwater drinking supplies.

Superior Well Services, Inc. board faces investor investigation.

After the announcement to take over Superior Well Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWSI) by Nabors Industries Ltd. an investigation on behalf of current investors of Superior Well Services, Inc. (Public, NASDAQ:SWSI) over possible shareholder claims based on breach of fiduciary duty by certain members of the Superior Well Services board of directors in connection with their attempt to sell Superior Well Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWSI) was announced.

If you are a current investor in Superior Well Services, Inc. (NASDAQ:SWSI) shares, who purchased your SWSI stock prior to Monday, August 09, 2010, and/or have information relating to the investigation, you have certain options and you should contact the Shareholders Foundation, Inc by email at mail@shareholdersfoundation.com or call +1 (858) 779 - 1554.

Fracturing Systems: Hydraulic fracturing is a process of pumping water, oil, and/or gases with a proppant at sufficient pressure to create a fracture in a chosen formation. The goal is to create and prop open the fracture.

Thousands of the largest water polluters in the United States are outside the Clean Water Acts reach because the Supreme Court has left uncertain which waterways are protected by that law.

As a result, some businesses are declaring that the law no longer applies to them. And pollution rates are rising. About 117 million Americans get their drinking water from sources fed by waters that are vulnerable to exclusion from the Clean Water Act.

See: New York Times, February 28, 2010. "Rulings Restrict Clean Water Act, Foiling E.P.A. | Mixplex

"We are, in essence, shutting down our Clean Water programs in some states.  This is a huge step backward.  When companies figure out the cops can't operate, they start remembering how much cheaper it is to just dump stuff in a nearby creek."

--Douglas F. Mundrick, EPA Lawyer.

Sustainable Otsego is a loose, minimally structured network of local activists and supporters who seek to promote sustainable practices in the rural Leatherstocking region focused on Cooperstown and Otsego County, New York. Its' listserv provides a forum for the discussion of sustainability issues.

Includes links to expert opinions, products and chemicals fact sheets and current events.

Amy Mall. Switchboard. Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC).

Articles tagged hydraulicfracturing posted by Amy Mall, Senior Policy Analyst, Boulder, Colorado in "Health and the Environment".

"NRDC’s Land Program is dedicated to protecting our nation’s wildest places and most valuable wildlife habitat from irresponsible industrial development."

See: "Today's reports of spills from natural gas operations", 3/18/2010.

See also: Mall, A., S. Buccino, and J. Nichols. “Drilling down: Protecting western communities from the health and environmental effects of oil and gas production.” National Resources Defense Council. (October 2007). (PDF 48 pages, 13.7 MB.)

A Systems Approach to Energy Transitions