The Illinois Department of Natural Resources finalized fracking rule in November after a nearly year-long process. The Chicago Tribune recently reported, however, that not a single company has filed for a fracking permit in the past three months.
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Army Corps of Engineers official withdrew a piece of the Waters of the U.S. rule. The interpretive rule sought to clarify farming exemptions under Section 404 of the Clean water Act.
As companies and landowners continue to settle on agreements to begin fracking, a handful of federal reports and studies have suggested fracking for gas and oil may present certain health risks.
Southern Illinois farmers and landowners have started leasing their land to major fracking companies to draw additional income. In just one southern Illinois county, Wayne County,property owners have signed more than 3,000 leases with oil and gas companies in the last two years, though some leases m
The public comment window for the controversial Waters of the U.S. rule is set to close on Friday, Nov. 14 – more than half a year after the regulation was introduced.
The public comment period for a proposed rule defining "Waters of the U.S." is set to close on Nov. 14, more than half a year sine the rule was first introduced. During that time, thousands of national lawmakers, state authorities and agriculture officials have criticized the rule.
Researchers say that food prices may double nearly every seven years as the world's population soars toward 9 billion people and demand sharply increases. Researchers covered food demand, along with other topics, at the iSEE Congress 2014 sustainability conference this week.
Feeding the world by 2050 will be challenging, as the world’s population is expected to peak at 9 billion by then. But today’s strategies of research, technology and education to meet that demand are facing challenges too, experts said.
A recent legal decision is likely to significantly change how Wisconsin manages its groundwater and will especially affect the state’s sandy counties where powerful wells are irrigating potato fields, servicing giant dairies, and providing water critical for the state's frac sand mining boom.
The EPA’s proposed “Waters of the United States” rule would add to the Clean Water Act by defining whether a water body is – or is not – protected by the act. The public has until Oct. 20 to formally comment on the proposed rule. So far, the rule has received nearly 6,000 comments. Hundreds of other
In March, the EPA issued a proposed rule to define what is considered a water body under its jurisdiction. Since then, farmers throughout the Midwest have expressed concern over the rule. Some have even claimed it could drastically change the way farmers run their businesses.
A group of northeast Iowans effectively has kept large frac sand mine companies from mining silica-rich sand in their county by building a consortium that set aside politics and focused on dealing with the matter locally, instead of with state intervention.
