{"id":77,"date":"2015-02-16T19:33:00","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T00:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.aerendel.org\/CanadianNews\/?p=77"},"modified":"2015-02-16T19:33:00","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T00:33:00","slug":"monday-16-february-2015-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/aerendel.ca\/CanadianNews\/monday-16-february-2015-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Monday, 16 February, 2015 – News?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Monday, 16 February, 2015\u00a0 -( +4\u02daF \/ -16\u02daC\u00a0 & overcast @ 4:00 pm near Ithaca )-\u00a0\u00a0-( +12\u02daF \/ -11\u02daC \u00a0 & cloudy\u00a0 @ 5:00pm Closer to Halifax \u2014jim w\u2014)-\u00a0\u00a0 \u2014\u00a0 { Headlines compiled by douglas j otterson & jim wellington, with help from \u2014jda\u2014 } { Some things change, some articles remain. Do you know where your survival kit is?\u00a0 \u2014djo\u2014 }<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Web<\/a>
Between 4 and 4:05 pm – WebCam shot overlooking Ithaca from one of the towers at Cornell U.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"2015-feb-16-FredBridgeCam540pm\"<\/a>
Looking north from Fredericton’s Downtown side of the Westmorland Street Bridge @ 5:40 pm today.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

{ Weather News? Both New York State and New Brunswick have survived the latest major snow storm event. New Brunswick probably got hit harder than New York State did. }<\/span><\/em><\/h3>\n

 <\/p>\n

{ Today’s Birthdays : <\/em><\/span>— You can find all this and more at http:\/\/www.historyorb.com\/today\/birthdays.php<\/a>\u00a0 <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

February 16th: 1866-\u00a0<\/span>Johann Strauss, Austria, composer (Waltz King). 1884-\u00a0<\/span>Robert Flaherty, Mich, father of documentary film (Nanook of North). 1903-\u00a0<\/span>Edgar Bergen, ventriloquist (Charlie McCarthy), born in Chicago, Illinois.\u00a0 1909-\u00a0<\/span>Hugh Beaumont, Lawrence Ks, actor (Ward Cleaver-Leave it to Beaver) & \u00a0<\/span>Richard McDonald, American fast food pioneer (d. 1998). 1911 –<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Hal Porter, Australia, writer (Tilted Cross, Paper Chase). 1912 –<\/b>\u00a0<\/span>Machito “Frank Grillo”, Florida, bandleader (created salsa music). 1925 or 1926-\u00a0<\/span>John Schlesinger, director (Midnight Cowboy, Darling), born in London, England. 1935-\u00a0<\/span>Sonny Bono, vocalist (Sonny & Cher)\/(Rep-R-Ca, 1995-98), born in Detroit, Michigan. 1954 –\u00a0<\/span>Margaux Hemingway, Portland Or, actress (Lipstick, They Call Me Bruce). 1957 –\u00a0<\/span>LeVar Burton, Landstuhl Germany, (Roots, Star Trek Next Generation).\u00a0 1958-\u00a0<\/span>Ice-T [Tracy Marrow], Newark, New Jersey, American rapper and actor (New Jack City, Tank Girl, Crazy Six) & \u00a0<\/span>Lisa Loring, actress (As the World Turns, Wednesday-Addams Family) (The original Wednesday Addams on the TeeVee show). 1959 – John McEnroe,\u00a0<\/span>Wiesbaden, Germany, American tennis great (US Open 1979-81, 84 Wimb 1981, 83, 84). 1964 –\u00a0<\/span>Christopher Eccleston, English actor (Dr Who, Heroes). 1998 –\u00a0<\/span>Mr Jefferson, Virginia, 1st cloned calf.\u00a0 }<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

==============<\/span><\/p>\n

{ Canadian Headlines : From :\u00a0 http:\/\/www.cbc.ca\/news<\/a>\u00a0 <— Link }<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Ottawa drops back-to-work legislation as CP Rail, Union end strike<\/span> \u00a0 { * I capitalized “Union” cbc news didn’t.\u00a0 *\u00a0 —djo— }<\/p>\n

Student says U of T failed to help her avoid attacker<\/span> \u00a0 {* The University of Toronto is investigating the way it handled a report of sexual assault after a student says the school failed to help her avoid her attacker in classes she shared with him, CBC News has learned. * —djo— }<\/p>\n

Lesley Gore, singer of ‘It’s My Party’ and ‘You Don’t Own Me’, dead at 68<\/span> \u00a0 { * I remember seeing her on a local -New Jersey\/New York City area- Rock and Roll teevee program, after lip-syncing one of her hits – smile and give the host of the program a list of reasons why she would make the perfect girl friend for Paul McCartney. One of her reasons was that they were both left handed. * —djo— }<\/p>\n

RCMP accused of helping mother abduct baby to Australia<\/span> \u00a0 { * The father is suing the RCMP, alleging the force helped her commit a criminal offence.\u00a0 *\u00a0 —djo— }<\/p>\n

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\"Weird\"<\/a>
A Florida based artist has been told to stop selling miniature versions of the Super Bowl halftime ‘character’ sharks.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Offbeat News:<\/span><\/p>\n

RCMP find stranded seal near Highway 9 in Newtown, N.S.<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0 }<\/p>\n

Cocaine found in pocket of jacket at Value Village<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0 }<\/p>\n

Mark Critch locks lips with Danny Williams for IceCaps’s kiss cam<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0\u00a0 }<\/p>\n

Scorpion on a plane: Woman stung before flight takes off<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0 }<\/p>\n

==============<\/span><\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Brrrrrr\"<\/a>
-The Big Chill – Version 2015 – Hits the Maritimes-<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Local \/ New Brunswick \/ Maritime News:<\/span><\/p>\n

2 Moncton Times & Transcript editors out after ethics probe<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0\u00a0 }<\/p>\n

New Brunswick couple stranded in SUV in P.E.I. for 24 hours<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0 \u00a0 }<\/p>\n

Weekend storm blankets parts of Maritimes with 60 cm of snow<\/span> \u00a0 {\u00a0\u00a0 }<\/p>\n

Moncton’s Claude Gauthier loses Mars One bid<\/span> \u00a0 { * & Doug Otterson is singing “Mars Needs Ice-Holes, Lets Send Stephen Harper” *\u00a0 —jim w— }<\/p>\n

==============<\/span><\/h3>\n
\"2016<\/a>
Some of the most accurate ‘prognosticators’\/Futurists\/’psychics’ believe there won’t be an election in 2016. Some say there will be a Fascist regime which will have declared Martial Law in the USA. Others believe the USA will be paralyzed from strife and infrastructure collapse and won’t be able to function. —djo—<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Sunrise<\/a>
I thought I should pop something that isn’t completely negative in here before things get out of hand… —djo—<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Thunder<\/a>
Thunder snow Jim Cantore- the weather channel guy’s reaction in Boston, Mass.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Space<\/a>
Another non-negative thing, unless this is a galaxy some black ops group just blew up or something… wink —djo—<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Leaky<\/a>
I believe I will need to copy and paste this story below this Re-Tweet. One Comment reads, “Huge North Dakota fail and sell out to Big Oil!!”
<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

{\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 – http:\/\/www.grandforksherald.com\/news\/region\/3680221-leaky-saltwater-disposal-wells-allowed-inject-fluid-underground-anyway-review<\/a> :<\/p>\n

Leaky saltwater-disposal wells allowed to inject fluid underground anyway, review shows<\/h1>\n
By\u00a0<\/span>Andrew Brown, Forum News Service<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Today<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>at 3:27 p.m.<\/span><\/div>\n
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<\/div>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Email<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>News Alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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DICKINSON, N.D. \u2013 The North Dakota\u00a0<\/span>Department of Mineral Resources\u2019 Division of Oil and Gas<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>has allowed saltwater-disposal wells to continue injecting fluid underground even as mechanical integrity tests \u2013 meant to detect weaknesses in the well\u2019s construction \u2013 have indicated leaks in parts of the wells\u2019 multiple layers of casing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

—Adverisements deleted—<\/div>\n
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A review of 449 well files and more than 2,090 mechanical integrity test reports show how state officials conditionally approve disposal wells even after they don\u2019t meet widely accepted pressure testing standards.<\/p>\n

Like oil and gas wells, disposal wells consist of multiple layers of steel and concrete tubing that stretch past layers of soil, rock and aquifers, thousands of feet underground. But instead of carrying oil and gas to the surface, injection wells pressurize saltwater \u2013 commonly referred to as produced water \u2013 shooting it back underground into porous geological formations.<\/p>\n

GRAPHIC:\u00a0<\/span>Saltwater disposal wells<\/a><\/p>\n

While the records don\u2019t document any instances of groundwater contamination, they highlight how the agency has allowed wells with structural problems to operate, sometimes for years, even though guidance documents from the\u00a0<\/span>U.S. Environmental Protection Agency<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>recommend wells with significant pressure losses be repaired within 270 days and that wells with less than two viable layers of casing be shut down during that time.<\/p>\n

Officials with the Division of Oil and Gas said they have the authority to approve the wells for use because they were given primary enforcement responsibilities by the EPA, and that the conditional approval of wells are not considered test failures, suggesting the EPA guidance doesn\u2019t apply to those cases.<\/p>\n

Mark Bohrer, the agency\u2019s underground injection control manager, said decisions to conditionally approve wells that lose pressure during testing were based on geology and petroleum engineering, and that if there was any threat to drinking water, the wells would be shut down.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we had any inkling that there would be contamination of (U.S. drinking water), the well would be shut in,\u201d Bohrer said. \u201cThat is the last thing I want to do is contaminate somebody\u2019s freshwater well.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, a review of state and federal documents, as well as interviews with geologists, engineers, environmental policy experts and lawyers who have litigated under the\u00a0<\/span>Safe Drinking Water Act<\/a>, suggests the agency is loosely interpreting guidance and protocols that are meant to maintain the multiple layers of protection that separate aquifers from the toxic saltwater.<\/p>\n

In parts of North Dakota, rural landowners rely on underground aquifers as a source of drinking water for themselves and their livestock.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason well integrity is important is because if you develop some sort of leak then you could have fluid that moves, in the worst case, up to an aquifer,\u201d said William Fleckenstein, a professor of petroleum engineering at the\u00a0<\/span>Colorado School of Mines<\/a>. \u201cTypically, that is what you are trying to avoid with the variety of integrity tests that are done.\u201d<\/p>\n

While saltwater spills on the surface can contaminate soil, leaving behind withered crops and barren patches of land, scientists have found that saltwater contamination of an aquifer can last for decades, with no economically feasible way to clean it up.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t just flush out and disappear,\u201d said Joanna Thamke, a hydrologist with theU.S. Geological Survey<\/a>, who has studied saltwater contamination of aquifers in Montana and North Dakota.<\/p>\n

Saltwater is a mixture of hydraulic fracturing fluid \u2013 the water and proprietary chemicals that companies use to break apart shale deposits deep underground \u2013 and produced water \u2013 the briny solution trapped with oil and gas in those formations.<\/p>\n

The toxic mix often contains significant levels of arsenic, lead, ammonium, benzene, bromide, radioactive material and high concentrations of chlorides. In North Dakota, saltwater has been shown to have ammonium levels at 300 times the EPA-recommended limit and chloride levels high enough that if any more salt was added, it wouldn\u2019t be dissolved in the fluid.<\/p>\n

While medical researchers have only begun to analyze how low levels of continued exposure to these oil and gas contaminants through the environment can affect people, medical science has already shown that high concentrations of these elements can cause cancer, neurological disorders and birth defects.<\/p>\n

Bohrer said there are no reported cases of a saltwater disposal well contaminating an underground aquifer in North Dakota and at no point has the agency placed underground aquifers at risk to contamination.<\/p>\n

But energy and public health experts said the long-term impact saltwater can have on an aquifer and the danger the fluid can pose to public health emphasizes the importance of constantly maintaining the mechanical integrity of disposal wells.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a reason well bore integrity is tested,\u201d said Seth Shonkoff, the executive director of\u00a0<\/span>Physicians, Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy<\/a>, a think tank that aims to bring scientific transparency to energy and policy issues.<\/p>\n

State officials said the EPA guidance documents related to integrity testing don\u2019t hold the same standing as the administrative rules, and that the agency has the authority to choose which EPA guidelines to follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a big difference between guidance and having your own (underground injection control) program,\u201d said Alison Ritter, the public information specialist for the Division of Oil and Gas.<\/p>\n

But environmental lawyers who reviewed the guidance documents said the state\u2019s actions were legally questionable and could open the agency up to citizen lawsuits or a review by the EPA if enough people petitioned federal officials.<\/p>\n

Bohrer said EPA officials were fully aware of how the Division of Oil and Gas operates the injection control program in North Dakota, but federal reports and email responses from the EPA Region 8 office in Denver suggest the federal agency\u2019s oversight of state injection programs is limited due to staffing and budget constraints.<\/p>\n

The findings of a Forum News Service investigation come at a time when landowners and Democratic legislators have called for a performance review audit of the Division of Oil and Gas and as agency officials have resisted legislation that would separate their dual roles as the regulator and promoter of the state\u2019s oil industry.<\/p>\n

As large surface spills have flowed onto farmers\u2019 fields and into streams, grabbing public attention and causing lawmakers to rethink regulations over oil and saltwater pipelines, the documents highlight another, largely unseen but vital, part of the agency\u2019s regulatory responsibilities.<\/p>\n

The integrity reports raise questions about the agency\u2019s criteria for pressure testing and conditional approvals, as the number of operating disposal wells in the state increased from 293 to 486 in the past seven years and the amount of saltwater disposed of jumped from 94 million to 350 million barrels in 2014.<\/p>\n

Officials with the Division of Oil and Gas disagreed with the points raised by Forum News Service and in an email response said that if anyone is to fully understand the agency\u2019s underground injection control program they should have a strong background in petroleum engineering and geology.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UIC program is highly technical and complex, with regulatory development and implementation evolving over time,\u201d Ritter wrote in an email.<\/p>\n

Regulations covering underground injection control programs began in the early 1980s under the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974, after federal lawmakers recognized the threat that injection wells posed to underground aquifers.<\/p>\n

As part of the law, states could apply to take over primary enforcement responsibilities for injection wells, including Class II wells that handle saltwater and other liquid waste produced during the oil and gas drilling process.<\/p>\n

When a production well is hydraulically fractured, millions of gallons of saltwater surge back to the surface with the oil, and continue to flow throughout the lifespan of the well. This large influx of liquid waste requires companies to dispose of the toxic fluid as long as the well is in operation.<\/p>\n

While injecting saltwater underground has been shown to be a better option than attempting to treat the fluid or storing it in pits, environmental policy experts point out that the strict guidance regarding injection wells is in place to eliminate any chance of the steel and concrete tubing becoming pathways through which saltwater leaks into or near an underground source of drinking water.<\/p>\n

In order for the Division of Oil and Gas to take over the underground injection control program in 1983, the state had to adopt rules that met minimum standards for construction, permitting, monitoring, enforcement and plugging of the wells.<\/p>\n

But while those rules require wells to pass mechanical integrity tests every five years without a \u201csignificant leak,\u201d Bohrer said the agency doesn\u2019t have guidance to define what a significant leak is.<\/p>\n

The most common mechanical integrity test conducted is a standard annular pressure test (SAPT) where the annulus, the space between the casing and production tubing, is pressurized with liquid to see if it holds.<\/p>\n

Since the 1980s, at least 13 states and the EPA have adopted administrative rules or guidance defining the standards for pressure testing, including some of the country\u2019s largest oil producing states, like Montana, California, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas and Texas.<\/p>\n

In all of those cases, the rules and guidelines state that tests are considered failures if a well loses more than 5 to 10 percent of the pressure placed on the annulus over 15 to 30 minutes.<\/p>\n

Officials with the Division of Oil and Gas took issue with the comparison of rules and guidance in other parts of the country, because those states don\u2019t have the same geology as North Dakota, which they said is well suited for underground injection.<\/p>\n

During an interview, Bohrer said the accepted standard for a passing pressure test is less than a 10 percent drop over 15 minutes, but state records show the agency allows companies to continue injecting fluid underground even as wells lose 11, 30 or even 70 percent of the pressure during testing.<\/p>\n

Bohrer said the decision to conditionally approve a well is made on a case-by-case basis and that the companies have to accept certain operating rules, like yearly testing and extra pressure monitoring to make sure the production tubing \u2013 the innermost layer of steel piping that saltwater is injected through \u2013 isn\u2019t leaking. He said operators are ordered to immediately shut in the well if a leak in the production tubing is detected.<\/p>\n

During an interview, the Division of Oil and Gas\u2019 staff referenced an EPA guidance document from 1992 to show it had the authority to allow wells to continue operations after significant pressure losses, but when it was pointed out in follow-up emails that the guidance document calls for wells to be repaired or plugged within 270 days, the agency stated the document didn\u2019t apply because conditional approvals were not failures.<\/p>\n

That same document also states that if officials can\u2019t handle the \u201cadministrative burden\u201d of \u201cadditional inspections\u201d and data monitoring, they shouldn\u2019t allow wells to operate within those 270 days.<\/p>\n

When state inspectors conditionally approve an injection well for use in North Dakota, it requires integrity tests to be performed annually instead of every five years, and mandates that annulus pressure readings be checked monthly, like the wells\u2019 permitted surface injection pressure.<\/p>\n

But officials with the Division of Oil and Gas said they fully accept the extra inspection and monitoring burden and that the agency doesn\u2019t have any problems meeting its existing regulatory duties.<\/p>\n

When asked whether the Division of Oil and Gas collects the additional pressure readings from conditionally approved wells for monitoring purposes, Bohrer said that the agency does not and that it is up to field staff to check the readings during monthly inspections. He said companies are expected to keep those readings for several years, but the agency does not collect them as part of the well history.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese requirements are not considered burdensome to our regulatory program, as we already inspect all UIC wells at least monthly and witness all (mechanical integrity tests),\u201d Ritter wrote in an email response.<\/p>\n

According to a 2014 legislative audit, the Division of Oil and Gas agreed that agency-wide inspections were not being completed within the timeframes established, but said that around 75 percent of the injection wells in the state were being visited on a monthly basis, which it said was the best rate in the country.<\/p>\n

Ritter said the Division of Oil and Gas has 32 field inspectors and three staff members in the Bismarck office to oversee the operations of the 486 active disposal wells. The field inspectors also have other regulatory responsibilities, like rig and production well inspections.<\/p>\n

The Division has requested another 16 full time employees to handle the agency\u2019s permitting, monitoring and enforcement efforts.<\/p>\n

Officials with the Division of Oil and Gas said higher emphasis is placed on disposal wells that are conditionally approved and that the monthly inspection of pressure readings and the proper construction of the wells \u2013 usually with two outer layers of steel and cement running from the surface to below the aquifer \u2013 leaves little to no chance that saltwater can escape the well.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf your well is properly constructed, there is really no avenue available for that fluid to migrate,\u201d Bohrer said.<\/p>\n

\u2018The absence of adequate data\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

While the vast majority of the wells that were reviewed had a surface and production casing running past the aquifer, state records show the Division of Oil and Gas has conditionally approved wells that only have one external layer of casing next to underground sources of drinking water.<\/p>\n

Bohrer said there is no rule requiring injection wells to have two or more layers of external casing to operate, but according to the EPA guidance documents, wells that fail an annular pressure test and only have one external layer of casing should be shut in unless officials can verify that the leak isn\u2019t located near the underground source of drinking water.<\/p>\n