EC February 2011

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9 participants
36 discussions

Fw: Southern Calif Edison Buys 20 Years of Solar Power for Less than Natural Gas
by Jim Sconyers 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: F.J. Morris <frankmorris(a)ECOLOGICINVESTOR.COM> To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Sent: Thu, February 3, 2011 3:35:03 PM Subject: Southern Calif Edison Buys 20 Years of Solar Power for Less than Natural Gas Ed M, Good stuff…Like Ned Ford keeps saying, efficiency with distributed renewables, are competitive now. Good stuff. Get efficient, build distributed renewables, and bankrupt fossil. Money’s like calories, and so are Killowatts. Control the money, control the kws, and control the polluting industries. Frank Morris ________________________________ From:Chp & Grp Global Warming Energy Chairs [mailto:CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG] On Behalf Of Edward Mainland Sent: Thursday, February 03, 2011 3:05 PM To: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Subject: [GW-ACT-LEADERS] SCE Buys 20 Years of Solar Power for Less than Natural Gas Solar panel prices have decreased by about 40% in just the past couple years, a trend that is continuing. Doesn't this call into question outdated assumptions about natural gas being the Club's go-to "transition" or "bridge" fuel? Can NG be a "bridge" to anywhere once it becomes ever more costly (levelized) than renewables? And note how small renewable projects in many cases can now come on stream faster than large central-station, environmentally impactful desert projects. That these small solar projects in California have now broken through the discriminatory (in favor of natural gas) "market price referent" barrier under a "renewable standard contract" is highly significant. -- Ed M. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SCE Buys 20 Years of Solar Power for Less than Natural Gas 1 comment February 1, 2011 in Solar Energy Southern California Edison has selected 250 MW worth of solar bids from companies able to produce solar electricity for 20 years for less money annually than the 20 year levelized cost of energy of a combined-cycle natural gas turbine power plant. SCE’s bidding process for smaller renewable projects is smart. These small projects do not face the multi-year bureaucratic delays for extensive reviews, like most utility-scale solar, so each small unit can be built as quickly as normal commercial rooftop solar projects. They are made up of multiple distributed solar installations of under 20 MW, which in combination total a power plant-sized 250 MW. The utility already gets more than 19% of its electricity from renewable sources, placing it in the lead between California’s three big utilities to reach the Renewable Energy Standard requirement to get 20% of its electricity from renewables (which excludes large hydro and nuclear) by 2013. This year SCE had put out a request for bids to get 250 MW of just solar power, made up of multiple smaller rooftop arrays. Fremont-based Solyndra was one of the early bidders to be accepted. Solyndra will supply 20 years of power , with its unique cylindrical solar panels, to be installed by its subsidiary, Photon Solar. With a bidding process, SCE can save money by making renewable energy companies compete to offer the lowest price for supplying the utility some of its electricity through its Renewable Standard Contract The requirement is that the renewable energy has to be priced to cost no more than the Market Price Referent (MPR) – which is an annual calculation of the 20 year levelized cost of energy of a combined cycle gas turbine. This year, the solar bids are below the MPR, meaning that they cost less than the annual cost of getting the same amount of electricity from natural gas over the same time period. Even more interesting, SCE says that they received over 2.5 GW – 2,500 MW – of offers from solar companies eager and apparently able to supply solar power for less than the cost of gas. I was not able to locate that price in their detailed filing with the California Public Utilites Comission (PDF), a hefty tome. but the MPR for 2010 appears to be in the 11 cent range. According to Adam Browning at Vote Solar, “prices are kept confidential for something like 3 years. All we know is whether it is above or below MPR—and the advice letter says it is below”. Susan Kraemer @Twitter- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS list, send any message to: CONS-SPST-GLOBALWARM-CHAIRS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp

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Fwd: CoalSwam resources on coal plants
by Paul Wilson 03 Feb '11

03 Feb '11

Lots of information compiled here. Most of it due to the work of the Club's National Coal Campaign. See the credits below. regards, paul w. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Ted Nace <ted(a)tednace.com> Date: Thu, Feb 3, 2011 at 4:05 AM Subject: CoalSwam resources on coal plants To: pjgrunt(a)gmail.com Having trouble viewing this email? Click here <http://campaign.r20.constantcontact.com/render?llr=4zpfzucab&v=001UGlpv9WiH…> *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* *Some useful CoalSwarm coal plant wiki pages and compilation pages -- now with sortable tables and Google search * *~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~* Attention coal nerds! Below are some compilations for those doing research on existing and proposed coal plants. I'm happy to report that MediaWiki now allows us to have a sort button for CoalSwarm's wiki tables. This makes all of the tables more useful: for example, now you can sort coal plant retirements by plant name, state, or company. There are also individual profiles, including coordinates and Google maps, for 675 existing U.S. coal plants<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…>. Hopefully we'll soon have profiles for all Australian and Canadian plants as well. (For information on other topics such as mines, coal waste, and protests, see the CoalSwarm portal page.)<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> Another development with the site is that we now have a real Google search bar for CoalSwarm content <http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…>-- the most requested feature that was previously lacking. Yay! *Compilations on coal plants:* - Existing U.S. Coal Plants<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Coal plant retirements<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Campus coal plants<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Coal plant conversion projects<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Coal plants near residential areas<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - EPA coal plant settlements<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Scrubber retrofits at existing coal plants<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Proposed coal plants in the United States<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Proposed coal plants (international)<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Coal plant cancellations<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Proposed synfuels plants in the U.S.<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Existing coal plants in Canada<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> - Existing coal plants in Australia<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> *Many thanks** to Adrian Wilson, Bob Burton, Christine Shearer, Joshua Frank, and the experts at the Sierra Club for building this body of information.* *Contact Information* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ phone: 415-206-0906 *Research discussions and questions always welcome!* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ *Links...* ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ CoalSwarm website<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> CoalSwarm wiki portal page<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> Climate Hope website<http://r20.rs6.net/tn.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&et=1104392636319&s=250&e=0018qGY3yp…> Forward email<http://ui.constantcontact.com/sa/fwtf.jsp?llr=4zpfzucab&m=1102356594495&ea=…> <http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001vbp07uPGAQtP-ATgZtjcDg%3D%3…> <http://www.constantcontact.com/index.jsp?cc=news01> This email was sent to pjgrunt(a)gmail.com by ted(a)tednace.com | Update Profile/Email Address<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=oo&m=001vbp07uPGAQtP-ATgZtjcDg%3D%3…> | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe<http://visitor.constantcontact.com/do?p=un&m=001vbp07uPGAQtP-ATgZtjcDg%3D%3…>™ | Privacy Policy <http://ui.constantcontact.com/roving/CCPrivacyPolicy.jsp>. CoalSwarm | 1254 Utah Street | San Francisco | CA | 94110 -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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FW: [ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS] Fwd: Call with Michael Brune on Protecting Public Health and Building a Clean Energy Economy Tuesday Feb 1
by Grubb, Karen 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

-----Original Message----- From: National Hydrofracking Team [mailto:ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS@LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG] On Behalf Of Oliver Bernstein Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2011 10:30 AM To: ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Subject: [ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS] Fwd: Call with Michael Brune on Protecting Public Health and Building a Clean Energy Economy Tuesday Feb 1 FYI ---------- Forwarded message ---------- Subject: Call with Michael Brune on Protecting Public Health and Building a Clean Energy Economy Friends, Please join us for an activist call with Executive Director Michael Brune on Protecting Public Health and Building a Clean Energy Economy. This call is open to all Sierra Club volunteers. WHAT: Call to Action: Protecting Public Health and Building a Clean Energy Economy WHEN: Tuesday, February 1st at 8:30pm ET/5:30pm PT HOW: Dial (866) 501-6174; when prompted enter access code 223 9223 # AGENDA: 1.) Vision: Protecting Public Health and Building a Clean Energy Economy - Michael Brune, Sierra Club Executive Director 2.) Health Campaign Overview - Mary Anne Hitt, National Beyond Coal Campaign Director 3.) Defending the Clean Air Act - Melinda Pierce, Deputy Director of National Campaigns 4.) Questions and Answers 5.) Your Charge: Translating this Work to the Local Level 6.) Questions and Answers Please submit questions that you have for Michael Brune to energy.intern(a)sierraclub.org by 5:00pm ET on Tuesday with the subject line: "Question for Michael Brune." Hope you can make it. -- Oliver Bernstein Senior Communications Strategist Sierra Club Phone: 512.477.2152 Cell: 512.289.8618 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS list, send any message to: ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To subscribe to the ACTNET-FRAC-NEWS list, or one of the Sierra Club's other lists, visit us at http://lists.sierraclub.org

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Fwd: SNL Energy News interview with Deb Nardone
by Paul Wilson 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

in case you missed this.... paul w ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Oliver Bernstein <oliver.bernstein(a)sierraclub.org> Date: Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 2:36 PM Subject: SNL Energy News interview with Deb Nardone To: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS(a)lists.sierraclub.org FYI http://www.snl.com/InteractiveX/article.aspx?CDID=A-12249018-12850&KPLT=2 Wednesday, January 26, 2011 12:06 PM ET Sierra Club's natural gas reform campaign to focus on industry accountability By Bryan Schutt The newly appointed director of the Sierra Club's natural gas reform campaign said that the group will be focused on safeguarding communities from the potential hazards associated with shale gas development and that the campaign will strive to hold industry accountable for its actions. The campaign supports natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal and oil but advocates strong federal and state oversight of hydraulic fracturing to ensure that extraction of the fossil fuel does not come at the expense of land, water and community health. Deborah Nardone, whose appointment as director was announced on Jan. 25, said her role will be to advance that mission. "The overall goal is to protect our communities, our land, our air and our water," she said. "The strength of the Sierra Club is our members. They are well-informed, incredibly organized, and they are pushing to hold the industry accountable to higher standards." To increase accountability, the campaign will push a myriad of measures. First and foremost, Nardone said, the industry should be held to the same environmental laws all other industries are required to adhere to. "It's pretty unacceptable that they're exempt from [multiple] federal regulations," she said. Nardone said it will also be vital for adequate resources to be appropriated at all levels of government to provide for more thorough oversight and enforcement. Speaking of oversight, she noted that drilling should never be considered appropriate in certain areas, a point many in New York City have been adamant about. "Our more sensitive wild lands, our drinking water source watersheds ... and other significant natural resources should be left off limits to drilling," she said. The Sierra Club's overall mission of increasing energy efficiency and reliance on renewable energy will play a large part of the campaign, too. "As natural gas is being pushed to play a larger role on the scene, we're seeing that reliance on renewables and efficiency is starting to decline," Nardone said. "We should also be looking at pushing renewable energy sources." Nardone's comments about clean energy were echoed by President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address Jan. 25. Some in the fossil fuels industry pounced on the president's remarks, saying a focus on clean energy should not compromise the economic engine of the exploration and production industry. While the oil and gas industry is able to tout the economic benefits and jobs created by drilling, Nardone said, that boom cannot be used as an excuse to ignore environmental stewardship. "If we can't protect our communities and we can't protect our natural resources, than we shouldn't drill for gas," she said. "The argument of jobs versus the environment, they're not opposite each other. If you don't have a healthy community ... then you can't have jobs." Nardone joins the Sierra Club after working with the Pennsylvania Council of Trout Unlimited. With Trout Unlimited, Nardone served as a coldwater resource specialist developing conservation plans to protect the headwaters of streams. She has also worked on watershed protection for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area. Sierra Club Director of Conservation Sarah Hodgdon hailed the announcement. "Deb has been a leader in protecting watersheds throughout Pennsylvania from unsound development," she said in a statement. "We look forward to her bringing her wealth of experience and successful campaigns to this huge challenge on the national stage." -- Oliver Bernstein Senior Communications Strategist Sierra Club Phone: 512.477.2152 Cell: 512.289.8618 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To unsubscribe from the COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS list, send any message to: COAL-CAMPAIGN-ALERTS-signoff-request(a)LISTS.SIERRACLUB.ORG Check out our Listserv Lists support site for more information: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/faq.asp To view the Sierra Club List Terms & Conditions, see: http://www.sierraclub.org/lists/terms.asp -- Paul Wilson Sierra Club 504 Jefferson Ave Charles Town, WV 25414-1130 Phone: 304-725-4360 Cell: 304-279-1361 "There is no forward until you have gone back" ~Buddha "In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous" ~ Aristotle

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Fw: [WVFirstCongressionalOFA] Fwd: HB2025 Energy Efficiency
by Jim Sconyers 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

Jim Sconyers jim_scon(a)yahoo.com 304.698.9628 Remember: Mother Nature bats last. ----- Forwarded Message ---- From: Denise Binion <dbinion(a)gmail.com> To: WVFirstCongressionalOFA <WVFirstCongressionalOFA(a)groups.barackobama.com> Sent: Tue, February 1, 2011 9:53:03 AM Subject: [WVFirstCongressionalOFA] Fwd: HB2025 Energy Efficiency >From our friend Mike Harman. ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Mike Harman <mph1946(a)gmail.com> Date: Tue, Feb 1, 2011 at 9:42 AM Subject: Fwd: HB2025 Energy Efficiency To: Dear friends, Now is the time to take action in support of HB 2025, the Energy Efficiency bill introduced in the House of Delegates and referred to the Government Organization Committee. Sponsors are Mike Manypenny and Barbara Fleischauer. This bill establishes specific energy savings targets to be met by utilities over the next 15 years, with incentives as well as penalties, and an option for large industrial customers to achieve comparable savings under their own plans (a "self-direct" provision). Attached is everything you need to help get started. Feel free to spread the word by sharing this email! The attached "Fact Sheet" describes HB2025 and how it will help. Be sure your legislator gets a copy of it, along with a request to support the bill. The "Talking Points" is an outline of points for advocates to use in conversation with legislators. On the reverse is a roster of the Gov Org committee. We did not include email addresses in the roster, but you can easily obtain them by going to http://www.legis.state.wv.us/ The Government Organization Committee must take up the bill and vote to send it out to the floor for a vote. This is our top concern for now. We need for at least half the members to support the bill. If you have a representative on this committee, it is urgent that you connect with them ASAP. Note that home telephone numbers are included for most members. We have found that calls to their homes on the weekend are usually more productive than trying to reach them at the Capitol. Keep in mind that legislators are paid for 60 consecutive days! Most will welcome hearing from concerned citizens. Democracy only works when we all participate. Try to get specific feedback from your representative! Ask if they will support this bill. Will they vote to report it out? If not, then what specifically are their concerns? What information do they need about the bill? We need to have your feedback from your contacts. Please send any feedback, questions or concerns to John Christensen, WV Environmental Council, at 410-499-4873, email jbc329(a)earthlink.net. Many thanks to John for his help at the Capitol, and to Cathy Kunkel who has written our materials. Mike Harman ------------------------------------------------------------------------- This email was sent to 17 members of WVFirstCongressionalOFA This email was sent from Denise Binion dbinion(a)gmail.com Listserv email address: WVFirstCongressionalOFA(a)groups.barackobama.com Your reply will be sent to: WVFirstCongressionalOFA(a)groups.barackobama.com Unsubscribe or change your email settings: http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/WVFirstCongressionalOFA/listserv-unsub -------------------------------------------------------------------------

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USE OF DIESEL AS PART OF HYDRAULIC FRACTURING PROCESS SAID TO VIOLATE SAFE WATER DRINKING ACT
by William V. DePaulo, Esq. 01 Feb '11

01 Feb '11

Gas Drilling Technique Is Labeled Violation By TOM ZELLER Jr.<http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/reference/timestopics/people/z/tom_jr_zell…> Published: January 31, 2011 Oil and gas service companies injected tens of millions of gallons of diesel fuel into onshore wells in more than a dozen states from 2005 to 2009, Congressional investigators have charged. Those injections appear to have violated the Safe Water Drinking Act, the investigators said in a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/e/environ…>on Monday. The diesel fuel was used by drillers as part of a contentious process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which involves the high-pressure injection of a mixture of water, sand and chemical additives — including diesel fuel — into rock formations deep underground. The process, which has opened up vast new deposits of natural gas<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/natural-gas/…>to drilling, creates and props open fissures in the rock to ease the release of oil<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/energy-environment/oil-petroleu…>and gas. But concerns have been growing over the potential for fracking chemicals — particularly those found in diesel fuel — to contaminate underground sources of drinking water. “We learned that no oil and gas service companies have sought — and no state and federal regulators have issued — permits for diesel fuel use in hydraulic fracturing,” said Representative Henry A. Waxman<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/henry_a_waxman…>of California and two other Democratic members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, in the letter<http://democrats.energycommerce.house.gov/index.php?q=news/waxman-markey-an…>. “This appears to be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act.” Oil and gas companies acknowledged using diesel fuel in their fracking fluids, but they rejected the House Democrats’ assertion that it was illegal. They said that the E.P.A. had never properly developed rules and procedures to regulate the use of diesel in fracking, despite a clear grant of authority from Congress over the issue. “Everyone understands that E.P.A. is at least interested in regulating fracking,” said Matt Armstrong, a lawyer with the Washington firm Bracewell & Giuliani, which represents several oil and gas companies. “Whether the E.P.A. has the chutzpah to try to impose retroactive liability for use of diesel in fracking, well, everyone is in a wait-and-see mode. I suspect it will have a significant fight on its hands if it tried it do that.” Regardless of the legal outcome, the Waxman findings are certain to intensify an already contentious debate among legislators, natural gas companies and environmentalists over the safety of oil and gas development in general, and fracking in particular. Oil services companies had traditionally used diesel fuel as part of their fracturing cocktails because it helped to dissolve and disperse other chemicals suspended in the fluid. But some of the chemical components of diesel fuel, including toluene, xylene and benzene, a carcinogen, have alarmed both regulators and environmental groups. They argue that some of those chemicals could find their way out of a well bore — either because of migration through layers of rock or spills and sloppy handling — and into nearby sources of drinking water. An E.P.A. investigation in 2004 failed to find any threat to drinking water from fracking — a conclusion that was widely dismissed by critics as politically motivated. The agency has taken up the issue again in a new investigation started last year, although the results are not expected until 2012 at the earliest. The House committee began its own investigation in February last year, when Democrats were in the majority. In Monday’s letter, Mr. Waxman, along with Representatives Edward J. Markey<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/edward_j_marke…>of Massachusetts and Diana DeGette of Colorado, said that they were so far “unable to draw definitive conclusions about the potential impact of these injections on public health or the environment.” Still, the investigators said that three of the largest oil and gas services companies — Halliburton<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/halliburton_company/i…>, Schlumberger<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/schlumberger_ltd/inde…>and BJ Services — signed an agreement with the E.P.A. in 2003 intended to curtail the use of diesel in fracking in certain shallow formations. Two years later, when Congress amended the Safe Water Drinking Act to exclude regulation of hydraulic fracturing, it made an express exception that allowed regulation of diesel fuel used in fracking. The Congressional investigators sent letters to 14 companies requesting details on the type and volume of fracking chemicals they used. Although many companies said they had eliminated or were cutting back on use of diesel, 12 companies reported having used 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel, or fluids containing diesel fuel, in their fracking processes from 2005 to 2009. The diesel-laced fluids were used in a total of 19 states. Approximately half the total volume was deployed in Texas, but at least a million gallons of diesel-containing fluids were also used in Oklahoma (3.3 million gallons); North Dakota (3.1 million); Louisiana (2.9 million); Wyoming (2.9 million); and Colorado (1.3 million). Where this leaves the companies in relation to federal law is unclear. Mr. Waxman and his colleagues say that the Safe Drinking Water Act left diesel-based hydraulic fracturing under the auspices of E.P.A.’s “underground injection control program,” which requires companies to obtain permits, either from state or federal regulators, for a variety of activities that involve putting fluids underground. No permits for diesel-based fracking have been sought or granted since the Safe Drinking Water Act was amended in 2005. Lee Fuller, a vice president for government relations with the Independent Petroleum Association of America, said that was because the E.P.A. had never followed up by creating rules and procedures for obtaining such permits and submitting them for public comment. The agency did quietly update its Web site last summer with language suggesting that fracking with diesel was, indeed, covered as part of the underground injection program, which would suggest that permits should have been obtained. But Mr. Fuller’s organization, along with the U.S. Oil and Gas Association, has gone to court to challenge the Web posting, arguing that it amounted to new rule-making that circumvented administrative requirements for notice and public commentary. The E.P.A. said Monday that it was reviewing the accusations from the three House Democrats that the companies named were in violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. “Our goal is to put in place a clear framework for permitting so that fracturing operations using diesel receive the review required by law,” Betsaida Alcantara, an E.P.A. spokeswoman, said in an e-mail message. “We will provide further information about our plans as they develop.” -- William V. DePaulo, Esq. 179 Summers Street, Suite 232 Charleston, WV 25301-2163 Tel 304-342-5588 Fax 304-342-5505 william.depaulo(a)gmail.com www.passeggiata.com

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EC February 2011