STOP the F/G Fracking in Kentucky! Send the message now!

 

Governor Beshear, the General Assembly and the Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) are seeking comments on how the Commonwealth should move forward with regulating the oil and gas industry — including fracking. Around the country, fracking has been known to create toxic air pollution, contaminate drinking water and lead to health problems in communities near fracking sites.

 

¹ Tell Governor Beshear’s administration that regulations won’t protect the people of Kentucky from the consequences of fracking.

 

Fracking, formally known as hydraulic fracturing, is the destructive process of extracting oil and gas from deep underground by injecting millions of gallons of fracking fluids — a mixture of chemicals, water and sand — into a well at high pressure to crack open underground rock formations and release oil and gas.

Since the early 2000s, fracking has been growing rapidly across the country, producing massive volumes of toxic waste, causing accidents, leaks and spills that threaten drinking water, and releasing hazardous air pollution. It has also created explosion risks in homes, marred landscapes and fragmented forests, damaged roads with heavy truck traffic, and lowered property values. Take a stand against fracking in Kentucky.
Over the last six months, New York and Maryland both rejected moving forward with fracking after damning health reports showed that the health risks posed by fracking were too high. If it’s not safe in those states, then it’s not safe here, either.

Send a message to your lawmakers: Kentuckians don’t want to be part of an uncontrolled public health experiment.

Fracking isn’t safe for our communities, and it only prolongs our destructive reliance on fossil fuels. We can meet our energy needs with clean, renewable resources. Instead of spending time trying to regulate a polluting industry, the Governor, the General Assembly and the EEC should put their efforts into energy solutions that don’t poison human health, damage local economies or trash the environment.

 

Speak out and submit your comment against fracking today.

 

Thanks for taking action,

Renée Maas
Senior Southern Region Organizer
Food & Water Watch
rmaas(at)fwwatch(dot)org

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1. Toward an understanding of the environmental and public health impacts of shale gas development: an analysis of the peer reviewed scientific literature, 2009-2014, PSE Health Energy, December 10, 2014.

Kentucky city to build discounted ‘socialist gas stations’

Greg Newkirk, Roadtrippers.com

6:02 PM, Jun 21, 2014

With gas prices steadily making their way into the $4 range this summer, it’s no surprise that people are getting fed up with how light their wallets feel after fueling up. One Kentucky town has decided to tackle the problem in an unexpected way:  with socialism.

Thanks to a pricing feud between fuel distributors and town officials, gas prices in Somerset, Kentucky, have been averaging about $3.74 a gallon, a price that residents are saying can be a solid fifty cents more expensive than most surrounding areas.

The city’s fueling depot, which is sourced from a local refinery and services all city vehicles, sells its gas for just $3.10. Now Somerset aims to pass their savings on to locals by creating a city-owned fuel depot in the middle of town.

Their goal? To undercut private sellers and drive down prices through heavy competition.

“We will have 10 different nozzles in a kiosk,” the town’s economic development business coordinator, George Wilson, told the Commonwealth Journal. “An attendant will be on duty, probably from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., maybe later, to allow customers to pay by cash or credit card. Gasoline will be available at the pumps 24 hours a day, seven days a week, using credit cards.”

Somerset is currently working on installing the new pumps, which will give buyers discounted gas calculated by averaging gas prices from towns within a 50-mile radius. Officials hope to have the new station up and running this summer.

If you’re going to pay a premium for your gasoline, you might as well enjoy fueling up. Check out the Roadtrippers.com guide to the coolest gas stations across America, where the photo ops are totally worth a little extra at the pump.

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Kentucky court overturns $24M royalty verdict against Dallas-based Atmos Energy

By BRETT BARROUQUERE

Published: 25 January 2013 09:16 AM

 

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky Court of Appeals has overturned a $24.7 million jury verdict against Dallas-based Atmos Energy stemming from a lawsuit by landowners who claimed they didn’t get their rightful royalties from an oil and gas project.

The appeals court on Friday ordered a new trial in the case of landowners who sued Atmos.

An Edmonson County jury in 2010 awarded about $7.7 million to the landowners, and the rest to a company owned by Robert Thorpe, which acted as a third-party producer in the project.

The jury initially awarded $31.35 million, but post-trial motions knocked $7 million off the final judgment.

The appeals court also dismissed claims against Atmos for fraud, conversion, negligence, “excessive fees,” and intentional interference with a contract.

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