"Will Ohio River Carry Fracking Waste?"

"In coming weeks, the U.S. Coast Guard will decide whether to allow wastewater from the hydraulic fracturing industry to be shipped along federal waterways -- including the Ohio River -- and how strict those rules governing the shipments should be."



"The federal agency released its proposed guidelines in November after repeated requests from the oil and gas industry to move the waste by barge – evoking more than 1,000 public comments, many demanding stricter controls on the potential shipments, which could carry upwards of 75 tanker truckloads of the waste­water.

The briny, chemical-laced liquid comes out of the ground during hydraulic fracturing, known commonly as “fracking.” In the process, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals is forced into shale deposits in the earth to extract natural gas and oil."

Carrie Blackmore Smith reports for the Louisville Courier-Journal January 16, 2014.

Source: Louisville Courier-Journal, 01/17/2014