ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A new report is the first of its kind to measure the footprint of fracking in New Mexico. Released by the Environment America Research and Policy Center, it reports fracking wells nationwide produced an estimated 280 billion gallons of wastewater last year.

Sanders Moore, director, Environment New Mexico/Environment New Mexico Research and Policy Center, pointed out that in New Mexico alone there were 3 billion gallons of toxic wastewater generated in 2012, enough to fill 4500 Olympic-size swimming pools with fracking waste. But that's only part of the picture.

"Over 9800 tons of air pollution was produced in one year," she said. "Since 2005, 1.7 million tons of global-warming pollution has been produced here in New Mexico, and that is the equivalent of pollution produced from more than 350,000 vehicles."

Moore said one of the obstacles to clean air in the Land of Enchantment is the watering-down of the very effective pit rule that called for lining waste pits to prevent leaching of toxic chemicals into the groundwater. Members of the oil and gas industry have opposed the liners, complaining that the cost to comply is at least $100,000 per well. Moore said she believes reinstating the full pit rule would protect air and water in New Mexico.

Vanessa Pesec, president of NEOGAP, the Network for Oil & Gas Accountability and Protection, isn't shocked by the findings, and said they only scratch the surface of the health threats of fracking. She said a moratorium is needed until safer ways to drill can be found.

"We need to find a safe way to dispose of the huge amount of waste that is being dumped into our state, or we need to clean it up, and we need to do that before drilling continues," Pesec declared.

Sanders Moore said fracking has strong ties to air pollutants that affect public health. Nitrogen oxide, silver oxide and particulate matter, as well as volatile organic compounds, are linked to health issues ranging from triggering asthma attacks to cancer. She talked about what is being done to respond to fracking practices.

"Environment New Mexico, along with concerned citizens and partners across the country, submitted more than one million comments urging President Obama to protect places like Chaco Canyon National Park and Otero Mesa from the threats of fracking," Moore reported.

At this point she believes people can increase regulation of fracking by getting their representatives to support H.R. 2825, nicknamed the "Cleaner Act." That bill, by Democratic Congressman Matt Cartwright of Pennsylvania, calls for regulation of wastes associated with production of crude oil, natural gas or geothermal energy. No New Mexicans are currently listed as co-sponsors.

The report is at bit.ly/GBvOWD. H. R. 2825 can be viewed at 1.usa.gov/GzZp2o.




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The Iowa Environmental Council has petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to invoke emergency powers to protect sensitive soil and groundwater in northeast Iowa.

The council is holding a public webinar today and wants the EPA to address groundwater contamination in northeast Iowa's so-called Driftless region. The groundwater there has a well-documented history of nitrate contamination.

Alicia Vasto, director of water program for the council, said the highly porous and soluble karst soil prevalent in the region is susceptible to contamination from centralized animal feeding operations.

"We did some analyses of private well data and public water systems and found that there was a lot of contamination of nitrate in those drinking water sources," Vasto reported. "The state has really failed to take action meaningfully that would address those problems."

The state has said it is constantly working to upgrade groundwater quality standards and is in the process of taking public input on creating yet another set of rules.

Vasto emphasized since the state has failed to address the water safety concerns for decades, the council and a coalition of other environmental groups have, in effect, gone above the state's head to the EPA, asking the agency to implement an emergency stop gap on nitrate pollution the way the agency did in neighboring Minnesota last year.

"We're asking that at, at minimum, the EPA would require the state of Iowa to do what they required the state of Minnesota to do under the same petition," Vasto explained. "Because the geology of northeast Iowa is the same as of southeast Minnesota."

The council's recommendations include calling on the EPA to create a communications plan with residents whose water could be at risk, create a drinking water sampling plan, and establishing a thorough permitting process for centralized animal feeding operations.


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A Knoxville-based environmental group is advocating for the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act expansion, currently awaiting House approval.

It would provide compensation to more states such as Tennessee for radiation exposure from U.S. government nuclear activities such as weapons testing and uranium mining.

Tanvi Kardile, coordinator for the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance, said the current act fails to compensate Tennesseans exposed to nuclear waste from the Y-12 weapons complex, a significant part of the Manhattan Project.

"This expansion bill does extend compensation to people in Tennessee," Kardile acknowledged. "It will directly affect us because it would allow people here to receive that compensation for being exposed to radiation from nuclear waste, which is a big issue here. "

Uranium miners, millers, and ore transporters may be eligible for a one-time payment of $100,000. The law would create a grant program for the study of epidemiological research. The research would focus on how uranium mining and milling affects the health of people directly involved, such as the families of miners and millers.

Kardile emphasized the importance of Tennesseans collaborating with lawmakers to work on expanding the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act since the existing program expires in less than sixty days.

"The Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has to bring up the vote in the House, and he hasn't done that yet," Kardile noted. "He has to bring it up by June, which is when RECA is set to expire. So we do want to urge people to call Speaker Mike Johnson."

Kardile added the U.S. Senate passed the reauthorization of The Radiation Exposure Compensation Act on March 7. However, current benefits are limited to specific regions, excluding areas affected by events such as the Trinity atomic test in New Mexico.

The State of Arizona has received $156 million to invest into solar systems for Arizona families.

Adrian Keller, Arizona program director for the nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, said the group is "thrilled" about the grant made available through the federal solar policy known as Solar For All. The policy sets out to expand or create new low-income solar programs, which the Environmental Protection Agency claims will enable more than 900,000 homes across the nation to benefit from.

Keller expects the funding will help between 10,000 and 11,000 Arizona families.

"These are all low- to middle-income families," Keller pointed out. "The state is projecting somewhere around 61 megawatts of new solar throughout the state of Arizona and there are a bunch of different funding pools and mechanisms to make sure that this funding is disbursed equitably and throughout communities in the state, not just hitting certain metro areas."

Despite Arizona ranking second for solar energy potential in the nation, Keller acknowledged there are still many in the Grand Canyon State who would like to transition to solar but cannot afford to do so. He stressed the federal funds are a step in the right direction. He added through the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, Solar for All will allocate $21 million to support clean-energy job creation and train workers.

Keller argued while there are significant federal dollars flowing into Arizona for solar systems and incentives, some of the state policies around solar energy are lackluster. Keller noted the Arizona Corporation Commission is in the process of determining how rooftop solar customers in the state will be compensated, but could end up lowering bill credits.

"We're kind of in this interesting place with the current landscape of solar in Arizona," Keller explained. "In some ways it's really good, because we've got these great federal policies, but at the same time the state is sending mixed signals, particularly the corporation commission about the value of solar in Arizona."

Keller considers Solar for All to be a "transformative opportunity" to change the narrative surrounding solar-energy accessibility and added his organization is eager to partner with the state to start rolling out the program later this year. He said 300 rural households will also benefit from solar plus battery systems for their homes, protecting them from electricity service disruption.