CBS Affiliate: Rendell: Marcellus Shale Incidents ‘A Warning’

June 9th, 2010 | Environment | | Leave a comment

During a visit in Pittsburgh Tuesday, Gov. Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania said the two recent Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling accidents in West Virginia and Clearfield County are warnings.

Rendell said that not everything is right with company practices and state regulations and that the drilling company in Clearfield County violated existing rules to notify state officials of an accident.

The governor commended the drilling company for taking responsibility for getting the blow-out under control but said, “One of the problems here is that the company violated existing regulations. They didn’t notify [the Department of Environmental Protection] and they didn’t notify PEMA.”

Rendell said that the company operating the Pennsylvania accident site will likely face substantial fines due to their failure to notify state officials of the accident.

READ THIS STORY AT KDKA.COM

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WSJ: Oil drilling should be resuming soon

June 8th, 2010 | Environment | | Leave a comment

The Obama administration announced yesterday that the Interior Department’s Minerals Management Service will be releasing new safety rules as early as Tuesday.

Since May, shallow water oil and gas drilling has been placed on hold pending the new regulations. There has been rising public outcry that delays in releasing the rules are impacting thousands of jobs.

The six-month moratorium on deep-water oil drilling that was placed following the April 20 Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion will remain.

READ THIS STORY AT WSJ.COM

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WaPo: FBI is sole Justice agency prepared for terror attack, report says

June 3rd, 2010 | National Security | | Leave a comment

According to an audit by Justice’s inspector general Glenn A. Fine released Tuesday, the FBI appears to be the only part of the Justice Department prepared for large scale terrorist attacks.

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CNN: Toxic town’s advocate sees victory ahead

June 3rd, 2010 | Environment | | Leave a comment

Environmental activists in Mossville, Louisiana tried for decades to convince state and federal governments that they live in a toxic town. They claim the 14 chemical plants surrounding the African-American community are making residents sick.

Government blood tests support their claim showing residents with three times the normal levels of dioxins in their blood. Dioxins are carcinogens, frequently called the most toxic substance known.

Health surveys in the town show many residents dying young from cancer. They also show widespread respiratory problems in addition to other ailments.

Both the Department of Environmental Quality and the local industry association say studies have shown the plants do not cause health problems for local residents.

The EPA agreed in January to test whether Mossville qualifies as a federal Superfund site. The results are expected by early August. In another victory for the town, an international human rights commission agreed to rule on a case brought by Mossville against the U.S. government. It should rule by the end of the year.

READ THIS STORY AT CNN.COM

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