Tag Archives: minerals

Energy: BLM eyes new rules for fracking on public lands

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Summit County Voice 5/16/2013
Excerpt:      “FRISCO — An updated set of draft rules for fracking on public and Indian lands includes several common-sense safeguards that will help protect the human health and safety, as well as the environment. For starters, the rule requires disclosure of the chemicals used for fracking, a key measure that ensures transparency and gives the public some assurance.

The proposed rule beefs up standards meant to insure well bore-integrity, which will help verify that fluids used during fracturing operations are not contaminating groundwater. Operators must also have a plan in place for handling fluids that flow back to the surface.   …”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/05/16/energy-blm-eyes-new-rules-for-fracking-on-public-lands/#more-57338

Gas industry lobbies for land

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Aspen Times 5/15/2013
Excerpt:         “The oil-and-gas industry is claiming that closures of land and increased regulations contemplated in the White River National Forest will make drilling “uncompetitive.”

Five organizations affiliated with the gas industry submitted comments last winter to the Forest Service as part of the agency’s effort to rewrite rules of where drilling will be allowed and under what circumstances. The federal agency is overhauling an outdated plan from 1993.  …”
Read entire story at http://www.aspentimes.com/news/6522733-113/gas-forest-oil-service

Colorado: Conservation group challenges BLM decision to ‘suspend’ Thompson Divide oil and gas leases

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Summit County Voice 5/8/2013
Excerpt:         “FRISCO — Conservation advocates are challenging a decision by the Bureau of Land Management to extend the life of several oil and gas leases in the Thompson Divide area of Colorado’s White River National Forest.

The leases have been unused for 10 years and were illegally sold to begin with, according to Earthjustice, which is filing the administrative appeal on behalf of Wilderness Workshop.  …”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/05/08/colorado-conservation-group-challenges-blm-decision-to-suspend-thompson-divide-oil-and-gas-leases/

Forest Service Inflamed By Brooklyn Anti-Fracking Artist’s Smokey the Bear

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Village Voice 5/7/2013
Excerpt:            “Brooklyn-based artist and environmental activist Lopi LaRoe sees Smokey the Bear as a friend. As a kid raised by environmentalists, she grew up with him, she says, and feels a particular connection to the affable, but informative cultural touchstone invented by the US Forest Service in 1944. “So I thought it was a perfect culture-jamming opportunity to take this very familiar conservationist and turn him into an anti-fracking activist,” she told the Voice.  …”
http://blogs.villagevoice.com/runninscared/2013/05/forest_service_smokey.php

Our View: Environmental questions get some answers

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Talladega Daily Home; 4/30/2013
Excerpt:         “It’s been a year since environmentalists first began protesting the possibility of a type of mining called fracking on public lands in our part of the state. That came about after it was learned that parcels of land in the Talladega National Forest were on the list of parcels to be offered in the federal Bureau of Land Management’s quarterly competitive sale of leases on federal land for persons or corporations interested in extracting minerals.  ….”
Read entire editorial at http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/22411203/article-Our-View–Environmental-questions-get-some-answers

Government considers allowing fracking in GW national forest

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Lynchburg News and Advance 4/28/2013
Excerpt:      “Apparently for the first time in America, the U.S. Forest Service is considering whether to allow horizontal drilling for natural gas, in the George Washington National Forest. Energy companies are saying “yes,” environmental activists are saying “no,” and governments are divided on whether roads, trucks and drilling equipment should be permitted in the national forest, a source of drinking water for 260,000 people.

More than 54,000 public comments have been made, and Virginians oppose the gas prospecting by at least a 2-1 margin, according to Kate Wofford of the Shenandoah Valley Network, an environmental advocacy group that analyzed the comments. …”
Read entire article at http://www.newsadvance.com/news/local/article_762f9d5c-af77-11e2-86f9-001a4bcf6878.html

Conservation groups oppose another round of Wyoming Range leases

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Casper Star Tribune 4/12/2013
Excerpt:        “Wyoming and out-of-state citizens and conservation groups rallied to buy out a series of oil and gas leases in the Wyoming Range late last year, but the fight to stop oil and gas exploration in the area is far from over.

The U.S. Forest Service could this fall release an environmental analysis of about 45,000 additional acres in the range and Bridger-Teton National Forest — this time near Cliff Creek — once sold for oil and gas leasing but later held up by appeals and calls for more study. The newest analysis could open the area to oil and gas development or pull the acres from the table forever.  ….”
Read entire article at http://trib.com/business/energy/conservation-groups-oppose-another-round-of-wyoming-range-leases/article_4f2bbdcf-da41-57a8-ae84-dd7d8f19d824.html

Ruling stalls Montana mining project

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Spokseman Review 4/11/2013
Excerpt:     “A Montana court ruling has added a legal roadblock to plans by a Spokane company to develop a large silver and copper mine in northwest Montana, including a portion that bores under the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Following a court process that began in 2007, a judge in Lincoln County, Mont., ruled that Mines Management Inc. and its Libby-based subsidiary, Montanore Minerals, cannot use sections of its existing mine entrance for its planned Montanore Project.  …”
Read entire article at http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2013/apr/11/ruling-stalls-montana-mining-project/

Audit shows gaps in USFS oil and gas leasing programs

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Summit County Voice 4/6/2013
Excerpt:       “FRISCO — The U.S. Forest Service needs to tighten up its oil and gas leasing program, including procedures for reporting spills and monitoring cleanups, according to a new report from the Department of Agriculture’s Office of Inspector General.

Along with illustrating weaknesses in the Forest Service’s oversight of oil and gas drilling on national forest lands, the report also noted that the agency needs to work more closely with the Bureau of Land Management to streamline the permitting process on national forest lands.  ….”
Read entire article at http://summitcountyvoice.com/2013/04/06/audit-shows-gaps-in-usfs-oil-and-gas-leasing-programs/

Officials: Finders isn’t keepers in treasure hunt

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El Paso Times 4/5/2013
Excerpt:         “

ALBUQUERQUE — A collection of gold and jewels that a retired Santa Fe art dealer says he stashed in the mountains north of Santa Fe has generated so much interest from amateur treasure hunters that some have put their lives in jeopardy or been cited for illegally digging on public lands.

But authorities are warning people about more than being careful and following the law. They also note finders may not be keepers.  “If this treasure is buried, you would need to dig for it. And you can’t dig anywhere in a national forest without a permit,” said Bruce Hill, spokesman for the Santa Fe National Forest. “Even if it is not buried and it is just placed somewhere, it becomes public domain.”    ….”
Read entire article at http://www.elpasotimes.com/news/ci_22956277/officials-finders-isnt-keepers-treasure-hunt?source=rss