A Texas state judge is promoting his recent decisions favoring a gas driller in its dispute with a local landowner as part of his election campaign, a move some legal scholars say may violate state judicial ethics rules. With aspects of the case still pending in his courtroom, Judge Trey Loftin sent fliers to voters saying he forced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to back down. Loftin, who is campaigning to keep his state judgeship in a county west of Dallas, also sent out materials with the image of talk show host Rush Limbaugh, who credited the judge’s ruling in favor of driller Range Resources Corp. (RRC), based in Fort Worth, Texas, for getting the EPA to reverse course. “The problem of having judges run ... Continue reading →

When in doubt, blame the EPA.That's becoming the mantra of some Texas coal plant operators, who have found the federal Environmental Protection Agency the legal and financial equivalent of a rented mule - an unpopular bureaucracy they can berate as the cause of all their problems.The latest example is the White Stallion Energy Center, a planned coal-fired power plant in Matagorda County, which claims it can't find the $2.5 billion in financing it needs because of stricter anti-pollution laws, the Chronicle's Matthew Tresaugue reported earlier this week. White Stallion claims the new EPA rules, which are designed to reduce mercury emissions, have an "unrealistic expectation."Whether the rules are unrealistic, though, has little to do with White Stallion's financing problems.What's really hobbled White Stallion are the ... Continue reading →

By Mitchell Schnurmanmschnurman@star-telegram.com If you're looking for an economy in full bloom, check out what's happening in West Texas.Many hotels in Midland and Odessa are filled during the week, and housing is so tight that four companies are bringing in man camps to accommodate thousands of laborers. In Midland, the city, community college, school district and hospital may jointly build an apartment complex so their new hires have a place to stay."It's a good problem to have, but it's still a problem," Midland City Manager Courtney Sharp said about Oil Boom 2.0.The technological revolution that created the shale gas boom in North Texas has migrated to the Permian Basin oil fields, and the Midland-Odessa economy may never be the same.While much of the country endures ... Continue reading →

LAFITTE, La. — Gloom infects the hard-working shrimp and crab docks of this gritty fishing town as the second full year of fishing since BP’s catastrophic oil spill kicks into high gear. Usually folks are upbeat and busy in May, when shrimpers get back to work in Louisiana’s rich waters. This spring, though, catches are down, docks are idle and anxiety is growing that the ill effects of the massive BP oil spill may be far from over. An Associated Press examination of catch data from last year’s commercial harvest along the Gulf — the first full year of fishing since the 2010 spill — reveals merit in the fishermen’s complaints. According to the analysis of figures obtained through public records requests, seafood crops hit ... Continue reading →

Posted on May 24, 2012 at 6:52 am by Vicki Vaughan in Fracking, Natural Gas A worker walks through pipes connecting storage tanks and pumps in the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa. The price of natural gas has dropped to US(Canadian) $2 for the first time in more than a decade. Gas briefly touched (Canadian) $2 before heading back up to (Canadian) $2.009 per 1,000 cubic feet in afternoon trading Wednesday, April 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic, File) Texas Railroad Commissioner David Porter said Wednesday the commission and some oil and gas companies may launch a program to use natural gas to operate on-site generators to power operations ... Continue reading →

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A Texas-based independent oil company has admitted that its negligence caused three oil spills in Jefferson Parish bayous. Cedyco Corp. of Houston agreed to pay a $557,000 fine and stop operating in Louisiana as part of a plea bargain signed Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Justice.The plea, reached in U.S. District Court in New Orleans, is based on spills between February and mid-May 2008 at three facilities: a tank battery south of the Barataria Waterway on Bayou St. Denis; an oil storage and production platform near the Plaquemines Parish line on Bayou Dupont; and a well near that platform.The fine will go into the Coast Guard's Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The Coast Guard spent $750,000 to clean up the ... Continue reading →

Hickory Aquifer project: Where we are Pilot tests on water treatment methods: finished. Water treatment type: Ion exchange chosen, to be completed in two years. Well field pipelines: completed. Booster pump station: The bid has been awarded. It is contracted to be finished in July. Transmission pipeline to San Angelo: Test pipe sections being laid; actual pipeline could begin being laid within a week. Contracted to finish in July. Source: Will Wilde, city water utilities director SAN ANGELO, Texas — The City Council has chosen a Hickory Aquifer water treatment option that is projected to be more pricey in the long run than another, but which could give the city more flexibility in treatment and keep radioactive waste away from San Angelo's sewers. The council ... Continue reading →

After listening to their findings about the BP accident and the safety of deepwater drilling, the president abruptly changed the subject. “Where are you coming out on the offshore Arctic?” he asked. William K. Reilly, a former chief of the Environmental Protection Agency and a commission co-chairman, was startled, as was Carol M. Browner, the president’s top adviser at the time on energy and climate change. Although a proposal by Shell to drill in the Arctic had been a source of dissension, it was not a major focus of the panel’s work. “It’s not deep water, right?” the president said, noting that Shell’s proposal involved low-pressure wells in 150 feet of water, nothing like BP’s 5,000-foot high-pressure well that blew out in the gulf. “What ... Continue reading →

Matt York/Associated Press Periodic flow increases at the Glen Canyon Dam, on the Colorado River, will help replenish sediment in ecosystems downstream. The Interior Department announced a plan on Wednesday to allow periodic increases in the flow of Colorado River water through the Grand Canyon, alleviating the environmental disruption caused by the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam in Arizona in the 1960s. The secretary of the interior, Ken Salazar, said the plan would allow the river’s managers to release excess water — more than twice as much as average flows — through and over the hydroelectric dam at will to help propel silt and sediment downstream into the canyon. By mimicking the river’s original dynamics, Interior Department officials said, the flows could help restore ... Continue reading →

You'd think the Texas Railroad Commission would be better attuned to its public image.Two of the three commission seats are up for election May 29. It's important what impression Texans have of the agency that is supposed to regulate the oil and gas industry (it has nothing to do with railroads, which makes even the name an image problem).Too many people in Texas see the commission as a servant of and beholden to the oil and gas industry, not as a regulator on behalf of the people of the state.Recently things took a step in the wrong direction. The commission's staff has restricted public access to key parts of the commission website.Even with full access, it's hard for most people to find information about a ... Continue reading →