Environmental Geochemistry Issues Semi-Monthly

This is a continuation of the original blog post entitled, "Arvin Gas Leak Linked to Fracking?" dated May 6, 2014. Arvin Residents Want More Test Results Before Moving Home (James BURGER, Bakersfield Californian ; October 28, 2014) http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/local/x400518943/Arvin-residents-want-more-test-results-before-moving-home County Wants its Own Study on Arvin Gas Leak ( KBAK/KBFX BakersfieldNow.com ; October 14 2014) http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/County-wants-its-own-study-on-Arvin-gas-leak-279210892.html?tab=video&c=y Results Released from Arvin Gas Leak Tests  (Caitlin REARDEN, KBAK Eyewitness News ; May 9, 2014) http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/local/Results-released-from-Arvin-gas-leak-tests-258711331.html

What constitutes a "barge"? The following definitions provided are found on pages 3 and 4 of the July 2014 CRS Report 7-5700 (Report available below in blue ): River or Coastal Barges - These marine conveyances have the ability to transport between 20,000 - 300,000 barrels (i. e. , 840,000 - 12.6 million gallons ) of Crude oil per vessel.     Small to Medium-sized Tankers -  Ranging from a "Handysize product" to either an "Aframax or Suezmax" size,  these marine conveyance transport Crude oil shipments from 300,000 - 1.3 million barrels ( i. e. , 12.6 million - 54.6 million gallons ) per vessel . Shipping U. S. Crude Oil by Water:  Vessel Flag Requirements and Safety Issues  (John FRITELLI, Congressional Research Service; July 21, 2014) http://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/R43653.pdf   Selected News Articles (2013 - 2014) With Production on the Rise, Oil by Barge Traffic Sets off Greater Safety Concerns  (Jesse SNYDER. Al...

EXCLUSIVE - California Getting More Bakken Oil by Barge than by Rail (Rory CARROLL, Reuters ; October 23, 2014) http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/10/23/california-bakken-barge-idUKL2N0SC0VL20141023

Sacramento Crude Oil Transfers Halted by Lawsuit (Tony BIZJAK and Curtis TATE; Sacramento Bee ; October 22, 2014) http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/transportation/article3229042.html News Report Targets Fracking (John COX; Bakersfield Californian ; October 22, 2014) http://www.bakersfieldcalifornian.com/business/kern-gusher/x782602746/New-reports-target-fracking N. B.:  The two reports and the NRDC news release spoken about in the aforementioned article by John COX are available for perusal below. Reports Fracking's Toxic Loophole [Eric SCHAEFFER and Courtney BERNHARDT, Environmental Integrity Project   (EIP) ; October 22, 2014] http://environmentalintegrity.org/wp-content/uploads/FRACKINGS-TOXIC-LOOPHOLE.pdf Drilling in California:  Who's at Risk?  [Tanja SREBOTNJAK and Miriam ROTKIN-ELLMAN, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) ; October 2014] http://www.nrdc.org/health/files/california-fracking-risks-report.pdf NRDC News Release (Octob...

Mine Cited for Orange Sludge in Arizona Waterways (Brenna GOTH, azentral.com ; October 14, 2014) http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2014/10/14/arizona-mine-cited-orange-sludge-waterways/17268221/ Patagonia Residents on Alert after Abandoned Mines Found Leaking Sludge  (Sona WASU, Tucson News Now ; October 15, 2014) http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/26799656/patagonia-residents-on-alert-after-abandoned-mines-found-leaking-sludge Arizona Department of Water Quality - Water Quality Division Monitoring and Assessment:  Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) Program http://www.azdeq.gov/environ/water/assessment/tmdl.html U. S. Geological Survey (USGS) Lead Queen Mine (Pinal County, AZ) http://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10048321 Trench Mine (Santa Cruz County, AZ) http://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=10186789 Trench and Josephine Mine Group (Santa Cruz County, AZ) http://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/show-mrds.php?dep_id=100483...

Today's date ( October 9, 2014 ) marks the beginning of a 15-day Public comment period for proposed SB 4 revisions which will expire on October 24, 2015 at 5:00 pm PDT. Comments for SB 4 revision now being accepted - KernGoldenEmpire ( KernGoldenEmpire.com ; October 9, 2014) For your consideration :  California Senate Bill (SB)4 "Bill Status" http://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billAnalysisClient.xhtml California Department of Conservation  Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) "Well Stimulation:  2nd Revision of Proposed Regulations Released" http://www.conservation.ca.gov/dog/Pages/Index.aspx

Hold on!  This just in! Un petit bémol ... Board of Supervisors Faces Lawsuit Over Oil Refinery ( KernGoldenEmpire .com ; October 9, 2014) http:// www.kerngoldenempire.com /story/d/story/board-of-supervisors-faces-lawsuit-over-oil-refine/22758/t5s4ZJ5rl0S3H4iUCxAmWw Complaint Document filed: Association of Irritated Residents, Center for Biological Diversity, and Sierra Club vs. Kern County Board of Supervisors, Kern County Planning and Community Development Department (Respondents), Paramount Petroleum Corporation and Alon U. S.A. (Real Parties in Interes t) http:// earthjustice.org /sites/default/files/files/Final%20Complaint%20with%20Exhibits%20Kern%20County%20Alon.pdf Since 2014... County Supervisors declare end to moot oil project approved in 2014 (John COX,  Bakersfield Californian ; January 23, 2019) https://www.bakersfield.com/news/county-supervisors-declare-end-to-moot-oil-project-approved-in/article_a04cdf92-1dcf-11e9-ba00-6306560b76b...

Keystone Be Darned:  Canada Finds Oil Route Around Obama  (Rebecca PENTY, Hugo MILLER, Andrew MAYEDA, and Edward GREENSPON, Bloomberg News ; October 8, 2014) http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-10-08/keystone-be-darned-canada-finds-oil-route-around-obama.html Energy East Pipeline Project - A Pipeline from West to East (TransCanada.com) http://www.transcanada.com/energy-east-pipeline.html TransCanada Energy East Pipeline Website http://www.energyeastpipeline.com /

Toxic Exports Allowed:  EU Drops Labeling of Canadian Tar Sands as Highly Polluting ( RT.com ; October 8, 2014) http://rt.com/news/194048-eu-sand-oil-imports/ EU Scraps Plan to Label Canada's Tar Sands as Highly Polluting  (Barbara LEWIS and Scott HAGGETT, Reuters/Huffington Post ; October 7, 2014) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/10/07/eu-tar-sands-label_n_5944180.html?utm_hp_ref=green European Proposal Scraps Mandatory "Dirty" Label for Tar Sands   (Barbara LEWIS, Reuters ; June 5, 2015 ) http://uk.reuters.com/article/2014/06/05/eu-tarsands-idUKL6N0OC18M20140605 Proposal for a Council Directive on Laying Down Calculation Methods and Reporting Requirements to Directive 98/70/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council Relating to the Quality of Petrol and Diesel Fuels [Brussels, 6.10.2014, COM( 2014) 617 final, 2014/0286 (NLE)] http://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/transport/fuel/docs/com_2014_617_en.pdf

Settlement agreement reached with two oil firms - KernGoldenEmpire

This is a continuation of my original blog post dated September 10, 2014... Valero Refining Company and Benicia, CA California Officials Challenge Benicia Crude Oil Train Plan (Tony BIZJAK, Sacramento Bee ; September 24, 2014) http://www.sacbee.com/2014/09/24/6733887/california-officials-challenge.html County Makes Recommendations for Crude by Rail  (Barry EBERLING, Daily Republic ; September 21, 2014) http://www.dailyrepublic.com/news/solanocounty/county-makes-recommendations-for-crude-by-rail/ Final Valero Crude by Rail Environmental Impact Report (EIR) Comment Letter (Deb SELF, Executive Director San Francisco Baykeeper ; September 15, 2014) https://baykeeper.org/sites/default/files/blog_files/2014.9.15%20Final%20EIR%20Comment%20Letter%20w%20attachment.pdf Kinder Morgan Material Services LLC, Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP, and Tesoro Golden Eagle Refinery:  Richmond and Martinez, CA Richmond:  Judge Tosses Out Suit Seeking to Stop Crude Oil Sh...

Clarifications regarding the protection of Surface water systems ( i. e. , Rivers and Streams) under the Clean Water Act have been proposed by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers .  Information regarding the proposal's clarifications, as well as links to publicly comment, are available below:   Waters of the United States - Proposal to Protect Clean Water (U. S. EPA and U. S. Army Corps of Engineers, 2014) http://www2.epa.gov/uswaters Definition of "Waters of the United States" Under the Clean Water Act; Extension of Comment Period (Federal Register, 2014) https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/06/24/2014-14674/definition-of-waters-of-the-united-states-under-the-clean-water-act-extension-of-comment-period#addresses Summary of the Clean Water Act   - 33 U. S. C. §1251 et seq. (1972) [U. S. EPA] http://www2.epa.gov/laws-regulations/summary-clean-water-act N. B. :  The "Public Comment" period o...