John griffin michigan oil and gas

A five-year, multi-million dollar Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study confirms what 65 years of experience already tell us: hydraulic fracturing is safe.

Released in June, the study concluded that fracking has not led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water.

It’s not the first time the EPA has set the record straight about fracking.

In a 2011 congressional hearing, then-administrator Lisa Jackson made headlines bygd stating, “I’m not aware of any proven case where the fracking process itself has affected water.”

The study may not be new resultat, but its significance was not lost on the nation’s editorial boards. The Washington Post’s assessment that “the arguments for fracking bans continue to look very weak” is consistent with the reaction in multiple newsrooms across the nation.

Michigan voters should take note now that fracking opponents have launched a third petition drive to place a measure on the statewid

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Live Chat: Ask Michigan oil and gas industry spokespersons about 'fracking'

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Oil and gas exploration is generating new interest and controversy in West Michigan as environmental groups protest the industry’s increased activity thanks to horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.”

While oil companies are negotiating leases with landowners in hopes of finding new oil and gas deposits in West Michigan, the West Michigan Environmental Action Council is buying billboards calling for a moratorium on oil and gas drilling.

A Charlevoix based group will begin circulating petitions next week in hopes of getting a fracking ban on the 2014 statewide ballot.

Two spokespersons for the industry, Deb Muchmore of the Michigan Oil and Gas Association and John Griffin, executive director of Associated Petroleum Industries of Michigan, will join us at noon on Wednesday, April 10, for a “live chat” to respond to your questions about the current state of

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Corrosive Canadian oil raises pipeline concerns in Great Lakes region

By EMMA OGUTU

LANSING – Plans to increase the import of a raw form of oil piped from Canada through the Midwest are worrying environment groups that say the trend could pose health and environmental dangers in the Great Lakes Basin.

A new report highlights what the groups say are escalating risks of major pipeline spills of the oil, which is a potentially unstable blend of bitumen and natural gas.

“The problem is that this form of oil has a lot more corrosive elements and requires more operational heat and pressure to push through pipelines which are not built to handle these kinds of pressure,” said Josh Mogerman, senior media associate at the nonprofit Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Chicago office.

Also involved with the report are the Sierra Club, National Wildlife Federation and the Pipeline Safety Trust.

The crude oil contains up to 20 times more acid and is 70 times thicker than regular crude