Venango County Tea Party Patriots

A non-partisan, non-profit, non-member, association dedicated to educating the public and promoting the principles of fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free market economics, and all other lawful activities.

natural gas

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New Auditor General Launches Marcellus Water Safety Audit

As one of his first acts, new state Auditor General Eugene DePasquale has launched a performance audit to determine how well state environmental officials have monitored the impact of natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale formation on water quality and waste disposal.

Mr. DePasquale, who took office Tuesday, sent a letter the next day to Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer informing him of the audit covering activities from 2009 to 2012.

Mr. DePasquale, a former DEP deputy secretary in the Rendell administration and Democratic House lawmaker, pledged to make this audit a priority during his campaign.

He reaffirmed that goal in his inaugural address.

“One of my first official duties as auditor general will be to initiate a performance audit of the Department of Environmental Protection to make sure our constitutional right to pure water is not compromised by natural gas drilling,” said Mr. DePasquale.

In the letter to Mr. Krancer, the auditor general said one of the audit’s preliminary objectives would be to determine the adequacy and effectiveness of DEP’s testing and reporting of water samples from drilling operations and response to any evidence of water contamination.

Another objective is to determine how the agency has monitored the handling, treatment and disposal of wastes from drilling operations.

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“FrackNation”

The documentary, “FrackNation,” features freelance Irish journalist Phelim McAleer, directly challenging the anti-fracking documentary, “Gasland,” produced by Josh Fox. And in light of a recently released Hollywood movie, “The Promised Land,” starring Matt Damon, “FrackNation,” a refreshing and factual take on the issue of fracking, becomes all the more relevant.

Fracking, short for hydraulic fracturing, is a process used to extract natural gas or oil out of the earth after fracturing rocks beneath the surface of the earth using chemicals and other fluids injected through high pressure.

In “Gasland,” Josh Fox claims that fracking causes contamination of the groundwater, leading to increases in cancer in local residents, while causing earthquakes and bad air quality. McAleer effectively challenges each point in its entirety.

Fox, according to McAleer, has no basis for blaming fracking for contaminated groundwater. When local residents were interviewed in Dimock, Pennsylvania, they mostly agreed that they knew there were always some minerals, like flammable methane, in their water.

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Anti-Fracking “Promised Land” Produced With Abu Dhabi Oil Money

“Promised Land,” the anti-fracking film written and produced by Hollywood stars Matt Damon and John Krasinski, was made in part by a production company owned by the government of Arab oil emirate Abu Dhabi – a state in direct competition with American oil and gas producers.

The film is financed in part by Image Nation Abu Dhabi, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Media which is owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, one of 13 Arab emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and serves as that country’s capitol.

Abu Dhabi media was created by the Abu Dhabi government in 2007 with $27.3 million as part of that country’s effort to diversify its economy into new markets such as media production.

The film’s Abu Dhabi connection is significant, because the UAE is the world’s third largest oil exporter, according to 2011 figures from the U.S. Energy Information Agency. The country also holds the 7th largest proven reserves of crude oil and natural gas in the world. The UAE was ranked 17th in the world in natural gas production in 2010, according to EIA.

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