October 27, 2010

Fall 2010 Newsletter Now Available

The Fall 2010 edition of Surface Owners' News is now available.  In this issue...

•    WV-SORO Win: Ruling in Well Spacing Case Favors Surface Owners   
•    SORO Member Wins Case Against Gas Company             
•    DOH Establishes New Bonding Policy for Drillers              
•    Wetzel County Residents Challenge Chesapeake Air Permits       
•    1st District Candidates on Marcellus Regulation          
•    Legislative Friends and Foes   
•    DEP Review of Drilling Regulations Continues              
•    SORO, Others Hosting Oil and Gas Summit, November 19-20  
•    EPA Studying Impact of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water   

...and more!  Click here to read the newsletter. 

Election Information Available at Many Websites
Early voting is already underway.  However, if you haven’t voted don’t forget to vote before Tuesday, November 2.  In addition to the links below please see the election related articles and information in the Fall 2010 Newsletter, as well as Thanks (and No Thanks) to Legislators in our Spring 2010 Newsletter. If you don’t see your legislator listed, give us a call at (304) 346-5891 or 866-WVB-FAIR or e-mail info@wvsoro.org.

WV Secretary of State (www.sos.wv.gov or www.wvsos.com) – Provides useful information on registering to vote, absentee ballots, early voting, finding your polling place, offices and issues on the ballot, campaign finance and election procedures.

www.Vote411.org – A League of Women Voters’ website that provides nonpartisan, general and state-specific information to the public. 

League of Women Voters (www.lwv.org) – Offers a variety of election-related tools. 

www.FactCheck.org – Is a project of the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, which checks the accuracy of political ads, debates, speeches, interviews, and press releases. 

Project Vote Smart (www.votesmart.org) – Provides information about candidates and their positions, issues and voting records. 

National Institute on Money in State Politics (www.followthemoney.org) — A resource for information on money in state politics.

www.OpenSecrets.org — A nonpartisan guide to money’s influence on U.S. elections and public policy.

Still Time to Register for People's Oil and Gas Summit ~ November 19-20, Pittsburgh, PA
Presented by the Oil and Gas Accountability Project (OGAP), WV-SORO and others.
The draft agenda is available here. Presentations and Discussions will include...

    * Natural gas and Public Health: Impacts of Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing and Drilling Waste
    * Landowner and Mineral Owner Rights ~ Strategic Options for Individuals and Communities
    * Beyond coal, oil and gas: What is our Energy Future?
    * Media: Reforming the industry one blog, story, movie and wiki at a time
    * Legislate, Litigate, Agitate: Strategies for Reducing Community and Environmental Impacts
Featured Speakers and Presenters...
Lois Gibbs – environmental justice advocate, Love Canal activist, Executive Director, Center for Health, Environment and Justice; Dr. Theo Colburn – world renowned scientist, co-author of Our Stolen Future, President of The Endocrine Disruption Exchange; Wilma Subra – MacArthur Genius Award Winner, chemist, environmental advocate, President of Subra Company; Tony Ingraffea - Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Cornell University (invited); Bill McKibben – author, journalist, environmentalist (invited) * Josh Fox – “GASLAND” filmmaker;  Chris Cziksentmihalyi – Director, MIT Center for Future Civic Media;  Abrahm Lustgarten – ProPublica investigative journalist (invited);  Activists and citizens  from Alaska, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, West Virginia, Wyoming, and Canada.
The cost of registration is $120 for citizens and non-profit or government representatives and includes meals for both days.