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Anti-fracking Groups Rally Outside NY Capitol
June 18, 2013 10:11 am | by MICHAEL VIRTANEN, Associated Press | CommentsAbout 2,000 opponents of a natural-gas drilling process that involves blasting chemical-laden water deep into the ground rallied outside New York's Capitol on Monday as a new statewide poll showed a slight increase among voters who are against it.
Cloud Peak Seeks 198M ton Coal Lease in Montana
June 18, 2013 9:56 am | by MATTHEW BROWN, Associated Press | CommentsFederal and state officials will weigh in this week on a Wyoming company's application to lease 198 million tons of coal adjacent to a southeastern Montana mine, amid an emerging debate over whether the government is undervaluing the coal from such projects. Cloud Peak Energy is seeking to expand its lease at the Spring Creek Mine near Decker by more than 1,600 acres.
Va. Agency Upholds Denial of Surface mine permit
June 18, 2013 9:46 am | CommentsState regulators have upheld the denial of a permit for a proposed mountaintop removal mine in Southwest Virginia. The Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy denied the permit for A&G Coal Corp.'s proposed 1,300-acre Ison Rock Ridge mine in February.
NRP to Buy Oil and Gas Interests for About $35.3M
June 17, 2013 10:53 am | CommentsNatural Resource Partners LP said Monday that it reached a deal to buy non-operated working interests in producing oil and gas properties in North Dakota and Montana from Abraxas Petroleum Corp. for about $35.3 million in cash. The acquisition consists of about 13,500 net acres with an estimated average working interest of 11 percent in the Bakken and Three Forks play.
2 Remain Hospitalized After Explosions in La.
June 17, 2013 10:43 am | CommentsFederal investigators are at two chemical plants that were the sites of fatal explosions last week, and two people remain hospitalized. CF Industries Holdings Inc. spokeswoman Blythe Lamonica says a team from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration was at the plant Sunday.
Nine Lawsuits Filed for Unpaid Work at Mines
June 17, 2013 10:34 am | by DYLAN LOVAN, Associated Press | CommentsJim Justice's coal operations in Appalachia are struggling as business owners have filed at least nine lawsuits since late 2011 claiming they are not being paid for work at Justice mines. Still others say they are owed money but haven't yet sued.
Nuclear Weapons Plant to Improve Fire Safety
June 17, 2013 10:00 am | CommentsPantex, the country's only nuclear weapons assembly and disassembly plant, has completed main construction on a $35 million project that is designed to improve fire protection at the facility. The new construction comes after the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board raised safety concerns earlier this year about more than a decade of delays in completing improvements to an aging fire protection system at the West Texas facility.
OSHA to Join La. Blast Investigation
June 17, 2013 9:53 am | CommentsFederal investigators are expected in south Louisiana over the weekend at the site of an explosion that killed one worker at chemical plant in Donaldsonville -- the second such blast in the area in as many days. State Police Trooper Jared Sandifer said Saturday officials from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration were coming to the CF Industries facility as soon as the site was safe.
Fracking Fuels Water Fights
June 17, 2013 9:30 am | by GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press | CommentsThe latest domestic energy boom is sweeping through some of the nation's driest pockets, drawing millions of gallons of water to unlock oil and gas reserves from beneath the Earth's surface. Hydraulic fracturing, or the drilling technique commonly known as fracking, has been used for decades to blast huge volumes of water, fine sand and chemicals into the ground to crack open valuable shale formations.
Hoboken, NJ Embraces Electric Grid Pilot Program
June 14, 2013 9:15 am | CommentsThe city of Hoboken has agreed to be the guinea pig for a federal and state program to fortify its electrical system against storms like Superstorm Sandy. Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced the agreement Thursday with the federal Department of Energy, state Board of Public Utilities, PSE&G and Sandia National Laboratories.
Blast at La. Plant kills 1, Injures More Than 70
June 14, 2013 9:12 am | by STACEY PLAISANCE, Associated Press | CommentsLouisiana's health department said 77 people were treated at hospitals and 51 of those had been released by Thursday evening following an explosion at a petrochemical plant in Geismar. Hospitals reported that workers mostly had burns, cardiac and respiratory issues, and bruises.
Grocers Allege Potato Group Inflated Spud Prices
June 14, 2013 9:04 am | by JOHN MILLER, Associated Press | CommentsA battle between grocers and potato growers has been silently hitting shoppers' pocketbooks, according to a U.S. wholesaler accusing America's spud farmers of driving up prices while spying on farmers with satellites and aircraft fly-overs to enforce strict limits on how many tubers they can grow.
Record $11M Fine for Illegal California Gold Mine
June 14, 2013 9:02 am | by DON THOMPSON, Associated Press | CommentsState regulators imposed a record $11 million fine Thursday on the operators of a renegade gold mine in the Sierra foothills east of Sacramento. The board also plans to seek a court injunction to halt mining while it sues over the property owners' repeated failure to correct regulatory violations.
Enerflex Closes Casper Gas Plant, Lays Off Workers
June 14, 2013 9:00 am | CommentsA Canadian company announced Thursday that it's closing a natural gas compression and processing plant in Casper and laying off dozens of workers. Enerflex Ltd., based in Calgary, Canada, announced Thursday it is closing its Casper plant because of shifting demand in the U.S. gas markets.
NRC Seeking Answers: Corrosion at NC Nuke Plant Missed During Inspection
June 14, 2013 8:54 am | by EMERY P. DALESIO, AP Business Writer | CommentsAn outside contractor hired to look for flaws in a Duke Energy nuclear reactor near Raleigh last year missed a quarter-inch spot of corrosion and cracking near the reactor core that forced a full shutdown last month after new eyes reviewing year-old data found the problem, federal regulators said Thursday.
