STOCK MARKET WATCH - Friday, 3 February 2012

[Demeter]

15. Ohio Tries to Escape Fate as a Dumping Ground for Fracking Fluid

http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-02-02/ohio-tries-to-escape-fate-as-a-dumping-ground-for-fracking-fluid.html

The millions of gallons of chemical- laced wastewater that fracking produces must flow somewhere, and Ohio is trying not to be that place.

The oil and natural-gas drilling boom spurred more permits for disposal wells there during the past two years than during the previous decade combined. The volume injected into them was on a near-record pace last year, according to the Department of Natural Resources, and more than half was from out of state. That included 92.6 percent of the water sent to a Youngstown well closed last year after 11 nearby earthquakes.

“We have become in Ohio the dumping ground for contaminated brine,” state Representative Armond Budish, the House Democratic leader, said at a Jan. 26 forum in Columbus. “We didn’t prepare adequately for the potential for earthquakes and other environmental problems.”

Now, Ohio is considering tightening regulations governing wells in response to the temblors and seeking to stem out-of- state fluid shipments. It’s an example of the challenges U.S. states face as they try to enjoy hydraulic fracturing’s economic boost while avoiding its side effects....

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN POISONING THE EARTH WITH EVERLASTING RADIOACTIVITY, AND POISONING THE WATER TABLE OF THE CONTINENT....IS NO DIFFERENCE AT ALL.