UPDATED: Illegal Fracking Waste Dumping in Youngstown Prompts Anger From Reps & Residents

By -
UPDATE:

Two new articles from the Youngstown Vindicator share further developments on this story.

The amount of wastewater emptied into the sewer is now being reported as 40,000 to 50,000 gallons, rather than 20,000 gallons.  From the Vindicator:
Youngstown Fire Chief John J. O’Neill Jr. said he spoke Wednesday with Kurt Kollar, the on-scene coordinator for OEPA’s Division of Emergency and Remedial Response, who told him 40,000 to 50,000 gallons were dumped into a storm sewer that empties into the Mahoning River. 
“They plan on filing state and federal charges against the appropriate parties,” O’Neill said Kollar told him. “That’s why they’re being sketchy” with details. 
About 90 percent of the cleanup was done by Wednesday, O’Neill said. 
Initial reports estimated the amount of fracking waste to be about 20,000 gallons. But O’Neill said Kollar told him it was 40,000 to 50,000.
Read that whole article here. 

Another article reports that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources will revoke the permits of D&L Energy Group, whose CEO Ben Lupo ordered an employee to engage in the illegal dumping.  Read that article here.

This is a disgusting crime, and many are calling for a prosecutor to make an example of those behind it.

ORIGINAL POST:

More details are emerging about the 20,000 gallons of fracking wastewater that were illegally dumped into a storm sewer in Youngstown on January 31st.

From Timesonline.com:
“I’m outraged,” said Liberty Township Trustees Chairman Jodi Stoyak. “(But) I’m more upset that this occurred last week, and the ordinary public is just hearing about it today.”
Stoyak said she read about the incident — which occurred about 7:30 p.m. Jan. 31 — in the media Wednesday morning.
Other elected officials echoed Stoyak’s sentiments.
That whole article can be viewed here.

The Youngstown Vindicator has an excellent article updating the story.  An excerpt:
Both the Ohio Department of Natural Resources and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency received an anonymous tip late Thursday and were on the scene within three hours. They were able to obtain photographic evidence of the dumping taking place, a source inside ODNR told state Sen. Joe Schiavoni of Boardman, D-33rd. 
Emergency response teams from the OEPA, U.S. EPA and ODNR managed to collect samples of the dumped substance that are being analyzed. Workers continue to mitigate the effects of the spill, where the drain entered a Mahoning River tributary behind the Toys “R” Us Distribution Center on Geoffrey Trail just off Salt Springs Road and leaked an unknown amount of oil and brine into the river. 
However, the regulatory agencies have been reluctant to release further details as they plan to proceed with a criminal investigation, said Chris Abbruzzese, deputy director of communications for the OEPA.
Read that whole article here.

You can also view the Ohio EPA Notice of Violation:



And the Ohio EPA Initial Pollution Incident Report:



Image courtesy http://www.wkbn.com/media/lib/129/0/7/a/07a80d86-e762-4df6-8828-f11d98474bc8/Story.jpg

 Connect with us on Facebook and Twitter!

Popular posts from this blog

Fracktivist in Dimock Releases Carefully Edited Video, Refuses to Release the Rest

By -
Image
From Energy in Depth: There is something very strange going on along Carter Road, in Dimock, Pennsylvania, and I’m not speaking of natural gas, methane migration, contamination, litigation or even the extensive water testing there by the EPA and others.  No, I’m talking about a new “Watergate” conspiracy, complete with 18 minutes of missing tape (well, video, actually). It seems the ever-present Green Party member and  naturist   Vera Scroggins  (a/k/a  Vera Duerga ) has posted a video of Craig Sautner meeting with the EPA.  Mysteriously, the video is but 14 seconds in length, cutting off conversation in what is obviously mid-stream.  It raises a question Craig Sautner, like  Ronald Reagan in Kings Row , might have asked, “Where’s the rest of me?’  Carter Road, isn’t Kings Row, of course, (at least not until you arrive at  the mansion Scott Ely, one of the Dimock litigants, is building with his royalty money ), but there appears to be a whole lot of film editing going on there to fi
Read more

The Second Largest Oil and Gas Merger - Cabot and Cimarex

By -
Image
       Due to investor pressure, the U.S shale drillers are being pushed to improve financial and operational performance after a few years of poor returns. Even though the industry has improved its numbers, when compared to last year, investors still want more to be done for them to earn more money.      That's why two mid-tier shale drillers, Cabot and Climarex, have decided to merge in order to eliminate $100 million in annual costs, which means more money for the investors. This all-stock transaction is valued at about $7.4 billion, which is relatively high for the oil and gas sector.      The new entity will be renamed and the headquarters located in Houston, Texas. Cabot shareholders will own 49.5 percent of the new entity, and Climarex the rest.       The Cimarex-Cabot merger will address the investor's demand for a higher amount of returning cash. The initial plan is to pay a 50-cent-per-share special dividend on closing the deal while offering a quarterly variable div
Read more

Is a Strong Oil Demand Expected This Year?

By -
Image
  According to the world's largest oil traders, global oil demand is set for a rebound. Between now and the end of 2022, global consumption is expected to increase by up to 8 million barrels each day. Vitol Group, the world's largest oil trader, supports this statement.  In an interview with Bloomberg, Vitol's chief executive Russell Hardy said, "We'll need all eight cylinders to get through 2022". This, of course, is due to the lower than average demand for oil at the moment. Reopening economies and Asian markets will create a strong demand rebound by the end of this year and in 2022.  Although the demand for jet fuel will slowly increase, it will still be below average at the end of the year. Nevertheless, a surge in petrochemicals will offset the expected delay in jet fuel demand. Last year, the oil surplus reached a record of 1 billion barrels. This excess is already more than halfway drained, and experts believe it will be depleted by the third quarter th
Read more