Fema workers walked Town Branch neighborhood on May 19, 2011, to invite residents to apply for federal help if their property was damaged by recent storms and flooding

Please click on individual images to ENLARGE. And don't be shy about telling the FEMA folk as much as possible about any storm damage your property may have sustained. Your information also should be reported to city officials to help them plan for future similar disasters. See direct links to FEMA information site at bottom of this post.

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Fracking-good sites

stoparkansasfracking.orgFracking Web site

Louisiana fracking warriors

Louisiana Environmental Action Network

Waterkeepers

Sheffield Nelson to speak about effort to raise severance tax during annual meeting of League of Women voters in Fayetteville

To Those Interested in Natural Gas Issues:

There is a growing concern about environmental and health issues related to the development of natural gas.  In spite of the Arkansas Legislature's failure to strengthen regulations, which have successfully passed in other states, we now have an opportunity for the voters to take action.  An initiated act has been introduced to revise Arkansas's natural gas severance tax.  It would raise the current 5% to 7% and disallow the exemptions that were negotiated in the 2008 version. This action introduced by Sheffield Nelson will be on the 2012 general election ballot if a sufficient number of signatures are collected on petitions and if the electorate understands the issue when they go to vote.  These are two big if's!  That is why it is important to learn what this is about so that you can spread the word.  Volunteers are also needed to help with the petition drive.

Arkansas's taxpayers are faced with over $455 million dollars of highway damage from the heavy truck traffic operating in the Fayetteville Shale Play.  The current severance tax paid by the industry and royalty recipients has come nowhere close in covering this cost.  Nelson's initiated act would raise the rate to compare with those of adjoining states and provide more funding for these repairs.

Sheffield Nelson is the invited guest speaker at the League of Women Voters of Washington County annual meeting and dinner on Thursday, May 19.  He will also be presenting information at a press conference that same day.  The public is invited to both of these events, but reservations to the dinner are needed by May 13.  Here are the details:

Public Press Conference

When:  Thursday, May 19, 3:00 pm

Where:  Fayetteville Town Center - Mockingbird Room, 15 West Mountain, Fayetteville

Who:  Media representatives and members of the public interested in the natural gas severance tax petition

Reception for Sheffield Nelson

When:  Thursday, May 19, 5:15

Where:  Butterfield Trails Village - "The Lodge", 1923 Joyce Boulevard, Fayetteville

Who:  Anyone interested in meeting Sheffield Nelson from League members or public

Sheffield Nelson Guest Speaker at LWVWC Dinner

When:  Thursday, May 19, 5:45

Where: Butterfield Trails Village - "The Lodge", 1923 Joyce Boulevard, Fayetteville

Who:  Anyone interested in hearing Sheffield Nelson speak - League members or public

Cost:  $10.00 per person for dinner - Reservations required by May 13 to Joyce Hale 527-2777 or email joycehale43@gmail.com

Feel free to share this information and contact me if you have any questions.

Joyce Hale

Joyce Hale, President

League of Women Voters of Washington County

479-527-2777

April 16, 2011, report on Fracking pollutants

Committee Democrats Release New Report Detailing Hydraulic Fracturing Products

Apr 16, 2011

Today Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Henry A. Waxman, Natural Resources Committee Ranking Member Edward J. Markey, and Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Ranking Member Diana DeGette released a new report that summarizes the types, volumes, and chemical contents of the hydraulic fracturing products used by the 14 leading oil and gas service companies.  The report contains the first comprehensive national inventory of chemicals used by hydraulic fracturing companies during the drilling process.

“Hydraulic fracturing has helped to expand natural gas production in the United States, but we must ensure that these new resources don’t come at the expense of public health,” said Rep. Waxman. “This report shows that these companies are injecting millions of gallons of products that contain potentially hazardous chemicals, including known carcinogens.  I urge EPA and DOE to make certain that we have strong protections in place to prevent these chemicals from entering drinking water supplies.”

“With our river ways and drinking water at stake, it’s an absolute necessity that the American public knows what is in these fracking chemicals,” said Rep. Markey.  “This report is the most comprehensive look yet at the composition of the chemicals used in the fracking process, and should help the industry, the government, and the American public push for a safer way to extract natural gas.”

“It is deeply disturbing to discover the content and quantity of toxic chemicals, like benzene and lead, being injected into the ground without the knowledge of the communities whose health could be affected," said Rep. DeGette. “Of particular concern to me is that we learned that over the four-year period studied, over one and a half million gallons of carcinogens were injected into the ground in Colorado. Many companies were also unable to even identify some of the chemicals they were using in their own activities, unfortunately underscoring that voluntary industry disclosure is not enough to ensure the economic benefits of natural gas production do not come at the cost of our families' health.”

During the last Congress, the Committee launched an investigation into the practice of hydraulic fracturing in the United States, asking the leading oil and gas service companies to disclose information on the products used in this process between 2005 and 2009.

The Democratic Committee staff analyzed the data provided by the companies about their practices, finding that:

• The 14 leading oil and gas service companies used more than 780 million gallons of hydraulic fracturing products, not including water added at the well site. Overall, the companies used more than 2,500 hydraulic fracturing products containing 750 different chemicals and other components.
  
• The components used in the hydraulic fracturing products ranged from generally harmless and common substances, such as salt and citric acid, to extremely toxic substances, such as benzene and lead. Some companies even used instant coffee and walnut hulls in their fracturing fluids.
  
• Between 2005 and 2009, the oil and gas service companies used hydraulic fracturing products containing 29 chemicals that are known or possible human carcinogens, regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) for their risks to human health, or listed as hazardous air pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
  
• The BTEX compounds – benzene, toluene, xylene, and ethylbenzene – are SDWA contaminants and hazardous air pollutants. Benzene also is a known human carcinogen. The hydraulic fracturing companies injected 11.4 million gallons of products containing at least one BTEX chemical over the five-year period.
  
• Methanol, which was used in 342 hydraulic fracturing products, was the most widely used chemical between 2005 and 2009. The substance is a hazardous air pollutant and is on the candidate list for potential regulation under SDWA. Isopropyl alcohol, 2-butoxyethanol, and ethylene glycol were the other most widely used chemicals.
  
• Many of the hydraulic fracturing fluids contain chemical components that are listed as “proprietary” or “trade secret.” The companies used 94 million gallons of 279 products that contained at least one chemical or component that the manufacturers deemed proprietary or a trade secret. In many instances, the oil and gas service companies were unable to identify these “proprietary” chemicals, suggesting that the companies are injecting fluids containing chemicals that they themselves cannot identify.
  

Due to an embargo break, the committee is releasing the report this evening iead on Monday morning.

Related Documents: 

Hydraulic Fracturing Report, April 18, 2011.

Severance tax never enough to cover the damage

youtu.be/twM30MRavLI' Video from NY effort to ban fracking.