Enviro’s Punk Big Oil Fracking Propaganda Event

Protesters Hold “2012 Fracky Award Ceremony”

Fracky Award Winner, American Petroleum Institute (R) - Jim Walsh, Food & Water Watch (L)

The day before legislation to ban fracking in NJ will be re-heard by the Senate Environment Committee (see S246), a coalition of environmental groups held  a stunt outside the Trenton Marriot  entitled “The 2012 Fracky Awards”.

The anti-fracking Coalition representatives attending the event included Food and Water Watch, Sierra Club, and Delaware Riverkeeper (Dave Pringle of NJEF was on the press release but failed to show up).

The Fracky Awards upstaged a similar stunt held inside a Marriot conference room by the American Petroleum Institute. The API event touted the oil and gas industry’s voluntary “Best Practices” (see below for more).

2012 Fracky Nominees included:

1) NJ Governor Chris Christie, for Conditionally vetoing last year’s fracking ban legislation; across the board support for fracking in the Energy Master Plan, gas pipeline subsidies and regulatory approvals; and support of pro-fracking DRBC regulations (and for telling protesters to frack off!)

2) El Paso Gas Pipeline Company, parent company of Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company for building environmentally destructive and dangerous gas pipelines through NJ’s most environmentally sensitive lands, including the Delaware Water Gap, Walkill National Wildlife Refuge, Pequannock watershed, and drilling under Monksville Reservoir;

3) Cabot Oil & Gas, for polluting water supplies in Dimock Pennsylvania and elsewhere;

4) Congressman Andy Harris for the arrest of noted documentary filmmaker Josh Fox for attempting to film a Congressional hearing on fracking; and

Jim Benton, NJ Petroleum Council state API rep responds to question about DRBC regulations

5) the American Petroleum Institue (API), for all around excellence in propaganda and corrupt lobbying practices.

The 2012 Fracky award went to API.

But API simultaneously was holding their own event inside the Marriot.

API was a graceful host. The event was open and their experts answered a questions I posed regarding the industry’s position with respect to how their voluntary, more costly, and environmentally protective Best Practices applied in cases where state and local regulations were weaker.

Of course, I got an honest – if impolitic – answer: the gas drillers will get away with whatever they can,  meet minimum legal local requirements, and maximize profits, Best Practices Be Damned.

I will write about tomorrow’s fracking ban legislation and the API Best Practices presentations in a separate post – below are photos:

Oil industry is projecting huge growth, in addition to 44% increase in gas production since 2006