Thursday, October 24, 2013

Fracking Fight Focuses on a New York Town’s Ban

Local Control:Keeping informed on legal maneuvers 
-- NY Times Article
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/nyregion/court-case-on-fracking-ban-in-dryden-ny-may-have-wide-implications.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1&hp&

Monday, October 21, 2013

Listening Sessions on Air Permit Process Improvements
The Air Management Program (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) invites you to attend one of four listening sessions on air permit process improvements scheduled for later this month. The Program is seeking public input and ideas on how the application, review and issuance process can be improved for air pollution operation and construction permits.
The meetings will be held as open houses where individuals can attend anytime during the two-hour session to make suggestions, ask questions and have informal conversations with staff. During the early part of the open house, staff will make a presentation on the air permit application process and discuss improvement ideas that the Program is already considering.
A meeting notice with more details including the dates, times and locations of these sessions is here:
http://links.govdelivery.com/track?type=click&enid=ZWFzPTEmbWFpbGluZ2lkPTIwMTMxMDExLjI0MDA3NjUxJm1lc3NhZ2VpZD1NREItUFJELUJVTC0yMDEzMTAxMS4yNDAwNzY1MSZkYXRhYmFzZWlkPTEwMDEmc2VyaWFsPTE3ODE3MzcyJmVtYWlsaWQ9c3VubnlkYXk1QGNoYXJ0ZXIubmV0JnVzZXJpZD1zdW5ueWRheTVAY2hhcnRlci5uZXQmZmw9JmV4dHJhPU11bHRpdmFyaWF0ZUlkPSYmJg==&&&100&&&http://dnr.wi.gov/topic/AirPermits/documents/AirPermitListeningTourPublicNotice.pdf
DNR Public Meeting Notice:
Listening Sessions on Air Permit Process Improvements
What is the topic of the meeting?
The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Air Management Program is seeking public input and ideas on how the application, review and issuance process can be improved for air pollution operation and construction permits. The Air Management Program is seeking the broadest range of input so that all permit program customers can have their input received and considered by the department.
Meeting times and locations
Monday, October 21, 2013 – Eau Claire
2:00-4:00 PM, Rooms 158 &185, DNR Eau Claire Service Center, 1300 W. Clairemont Avenue, Eau Claire, WI 54701
Tuesday, October 22, 2013 –Mosinee
1:30-3:30 PM, Mosinee Room, Mosinee Branch Library*, 123 Main Street, Mosinee, WI 54455
*This meeting is not sponsored by the Marathon County Public Library
Wednesday, October 23, 2013 – Milwaukee
1:00-3:00 PM, Rooms 140 & 141, DNR Southeast Region Headquarters, 2300 N. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, Milwaukee, WI 53212
Thursday, October 24, 2013 – Green Bay
1:30-3:30 PM, Lake Michigan Room, DNR Green Bay Service Center, 2984 Shawano Avenue, Green Bay, WI 54313
Format of meeting
The meeting will be held as an open house, including an open discussion with Air Program staff. Informal conversations and questions with staff and time for providing public input and comments will be the primary focus of the meeting. However, approximately 30 minutes after the start of the open house, Air Program staff will make a presentation on the air permit application process and discuss some process improvement ideas that the department is already considering
Other methods of providing input
If you are unable to make the meeting, you may also provide your input by sending your ideas to:
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Bureau of Air Management, PO Box 7921, Madison, WI 53707, Attn: Steve Dunn or by email to Steven.Dunn@wisconsin.gov
Reasonable accommodation, including the provision of informational material
AMSG Meeting Materials Posted

Air Management Study Group

The Air Management Study Group is a stakeholder working group formed in 2013 by the (WI) DNR Bureau of Air Management. The group serves as a forum for the bureau to receive input from and provide information to stakeholder organizations. The goal of the study group is to provide the bureau with constructive feedback on policy and technical issues and to work collaboratively with DNR staff to find workable solutions.
The study group identifies issues and topics of interest that can be addressed by ad hoc subgroups. Subgroup members are expected to research and develop recommendations on the selected topics for presentation to the full group.
The study group meets quarterly or semi-annually, with additional subgroup meetings scheduled as needed. Meetings are open to the public.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Frac Sand Mining in IA, w/Regional map of Jordon Sandstone Thickness - including MN

Introduction to a Huge Issue for Iowa

With newly located data, it can now be stated with certainty, that all citizens who value Iowa's rich landscapes and small remaining patches of wildlife habitat, will need to pay very close attention to what industrial strength strip mining for frac sand does to the land surface, and to what fracking does to subsurface resources including essential groundwater aquifers where more than 90% of Iowans obtain their drinking water.

There are no rules or regulations at the state level, nor within any county that we are aware of, which address: 1.) Test drilling deep into vital groundwater aquifers (Jordan and St. Peter Sandstone Formations); 2.) Removing entire landscapes during the strip mining process for frac sand; 3.) Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) of vital underground aquifers; 4.) Frac sand processing facilities that traditionally use a million gallons of water per day of operation; 5.) Transporting frac sand on small to large roads and highways; and 6.) Health concerns stemming from such new issues as carginogenic fugitive silica sand dust, spillage of chemicals directly into exposed groundwater aquifers, and other as yet unidentified issues.

Until now we (in Allamakee and Winneshiek Counties) thought we were essentially alone in seeking to prevent the destructiveness of frac sand mining (as Clayton County had already capitulated to the whims of these miners at a grandfathered in mine).  But with the data I will distribute tonight, it will become obvious that scores of county governments and the state legislature will have to become directly involved in entirely new ways of protecting the health of Iowans, our state's natural resource base, and the quality of life we cherish.

Please scroll to the bottom of this page for quick and obvious visual lessons on this topic.

This is the first of three brief emails.  Each covers specific aspects of this issue.

Thank you.
Ric 

Ric Zarwell, President
Allamakee County Protectors - Education Campaign
P.O. Box 299
210 North Third Street
Lansing, Iowa 52151-0299
Home/Office: 563-538-4991
Mobile: 563-419-4991
 
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, 
but because of the people who don't do anything about it.   Albert Einstein

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.   Dr. Martin Luther King

If not now, when?  If not us, who?   John F. Kennedy  


THE MAP near the bottom of this page reveals WAY MORE FRAC SAND in IOWA than had been expected before.  And thus, a lot more danger than previously realized!!
 
 
 
 
Frac sand production
This chart illustrates the spectacular rise in the production of frac sand in the United States. Data from the United States Geological Survey Minerals Yearbook, Silica, 2011.
simplified diagram of hydraulic fracturing
Simplified diagram of a natural gas well that has been constructed with horizontal drilling to increase the length of penetration through the Marcellus Shale. Hydraulic fracturing is typically done in the horizontal portion of the well to stimulate a flow of gas from the shale. This well configuration is used in shale plays of the United States.


A frac sand mine in Wisconsin
Aerial view of a frac sand mining operation in Wisconsin. Frac sand is a highly specialized product that can only be produced from a small number of sand deposits. Photo © BanksPhotos, iStockphoto.


frac sand processing facility
Aerial view of a frac sand processing facility in Wisconsin. Photo © BanksPhotos, iStockphoto.


St. Peter Sandstone
A photo of the St. Peter Sandstone capped by the Joachim Dolomite taken near Pacific, Missouri. Public domain image by Kbh3rd.





St. Peter Sandstone
Many of the rock units that are currently being mined for frac sand are also aquifers. This makes ground water research publications, such as the ground water atlas series of the United States Geological Survey, valuable prospecting documents for determining the presence, thickness and structure of sandstone rock units. This map is from the Ground Water Atlas of the United States for Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. It shows the geographic extent and thickness of the Jordan Sandstone in Minnesota and Iowa. Similar maps have been published in this series for other sandstone rock units and other geographic areas

Iowa currently has no regulations that address fracking

 
There are many definitions and explanations to be found at the links provided below.  Please educate yourself at EACH of these.

There is a company going around with lease offers for fracking in different counties in Iowa. 

Iowa currently has no regulations that address fracking.
 
According to the shale basin map, 1/3+ of Iowa sits atop the Forest City Shale Basin, which is ripe for fracking.
 
Iowa and fracking.
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Iowa_and_fracking 
 
       
On April 1, 2012, it was reported that Timothy Berge of Pangean Resources LLC of Denver, Colorado is hoping to persuade companies to drill new test wells into Iowa groundwater aquifers in the next few years. The wells would involve fracking. Berge has sent out lease offers for hundreds of thousands of acres to various Iowa counties. Liabilities are on the owner of the land.  This is why oil & gas companies want to use leases.  Iowa has no regulations that address fracking.
Please do not miss the many definitions and explanations at the links in the box to the right of these words . . . . . . . .    >>>>>>>>>>>
 
.


Ric 

Ric Zarwell, President
Allamakee County Protectors - Education Campaign
P.O. Box 299
210 North Third Street
Lansing, Iowa 52151-0299
Home/Office: 563-538-4991
Mobile: 563-419-4991
 
The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, 
but because of the people who don't do anything about it.   Albert Einstein
Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about the things that matter.   Dr. Martin Luther King

If not now, when?  If not us, who?  John F. Kennedy