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Debate Over Natural Gas Drilling; U.S. Hiker in Iran Nears Freedom
Aired September 13, 2010 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: The safety debate over natural gas drilling will play out just two hours from now in a packed auditorium that's happening in upstate New York. Thousands of people expected at the EPA's fourth hearing on this issue as the federal government enters the fray over whether the drilling method called hydraulic fracturing or fracking is safe.
We're going to get a live report ahead of that hearing in just a moment. But first, let's take a closer look at why this is controversial. Keep in mind, half of all American homes use natural gas. It burns cleaner than oil and coal and it's cheap and it's abundant in the U.S.. All good things but here's the rub. One way to tap the gas involves blasting through rock, drilling down thousands of feet and perhaps spewing chemical laced water into the ground.
Back in 2004, the EPA deemed what that fracking was essentially safe, but a lot of people don't buy it and they say it is poisoning their ground water. Some people who live near fracking sites can literally light their running faucets on fire, others fill buckets with fizzing water straight from the hose, but gas companies say they don't think they're responsible for that.
Today's EPA public hearing doesn't start until noon but we our Sarah Hoye have been staking out the auditorium in Binghamton, New York. Sarah, I talked to you a couple of hours ago and people were already pouring in. Why? What's the point of the hearing?
SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the point of the hearing, Drew, is for the EPA to get a feel for what they should be studying when it comes to this hydraulic fracturing study. So they want to hear from stakeholders, gas and oil companies, residents, landowners, all to get a sense of what it is that they should be looking at when it comes to their study.
Should we be looking at the drinking water? Should we be looking at spills? Frac fluids? So they want to get a sense of what the people and what the other stakeholders need to know about the study.
GRIFFIN: Sarah, you know, I'm a person who does a lot of reporting on government agencies. So what you're basically telling me is the EPA is asking the public what the EPA should be studying about this so that the EPA could then get a study together and then report back eventually after they figure out what the study is?
HOYE: In a sense, Drew. The EPA has their own ideas of what they need to study but they want to hear from the public as well just to know what it is that they should also be looking for in case there's anything that they have missed or anything that's out there that they don't know about. So the EPA has their set of things that they want to look at but they also want to hear from the public.
GRIFFIN: OK. We'll be following this all morning and afternoon as you are reporting there live from Binghamton, New York.
We're going to stay on top of this issue too. Coming up in about 25 minutes, we're going to be talking to a documentary filmmaker about what he found out about natural gas while taping "Gas Land," including a flaming faucet and you'll have to see this and he's going to square off with a spokesperson for energy in depth which represents natural gas and oil producers. That will be coming up at the bottom of this hour.
Just outside San Francisco, people are returning to a bombed out landscape that had been their neighborhood. A natural gas explosion and sweeping wildfire killed at least four people, destroyed more than three dozen homes and, now we're learning there were serious safety concerns before that blast.
CNN's Ted Rowlands joins us from San Bruno with the very latest on this. Hi, Ted.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Drew. Yes, that piece of pipe that transmission line, is really the focus of this investigation. This morning, the NTSB, the lead agency in this, took a section of that pipe from the site behind me here and crated it up. It's going to Washington to be analyzed. There's a lot of focus on that.
Meanwhile, residents, yesterday, for the first time got back into this neighborhood. We went along with one family and they shared with us some amazing video taken just after this explosion.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Holy (bleep)! What the (bleep)!
ROWLANDS (voice-over): This incredible home video was captured moments after the explosion from a house balcony just behind the blown gas pipe.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is that? Is it a plane crash?
ROWLANDS: The voice you hear belongs to Walter McCaffrey. He had one hand on his video camera while the other on his phone, telling his wife not to come home with their three children.
This is the view from that deck now. Walter and his wife, Cherrie (ph) were allowed back Sunday afternoon to their house for the first time since the explosion.
WALTER MCCAFFREY, SAN BRUNO RESIDENT: Just looking at all this - I mean, I saw this from the news, but being here for the first time coming up here and looking at all of this, it was just - no words. I can't really explain.
ROWLANDS: Teams are still sifting through ash, searching for remains of people still listed as missing. As investigators try to learn what caused the explosion, questions had surfaced about the section of pipe that blew. A PG&E document outlining costs to replace the pipe says "the likelihood of a failure makes the risk of a failure at this location unacceptably high."
That doesn't mean PG&E thought there was a chance that the pipe could explode but Mark Toney, the executive director of consumer watchdog group, Utility Reform Network, says it's important that if reports that residents smelled gas before the explosion are true.
MARK TONEY, EXECUTIVE DIR., UTILITY REFORM NETWORK: Nobody, PG&E included, could have imagined something as horrible and terrible as the San Bruno blast and fire as happening, but the fact remains that when PG&E got the reports of gas leaks from several customers over several days, they should have realized that this was an area that was old, that was at high risk, that they identified as high risk.
ROWLANDS: Federal officials leading the investigation are looking into the reports about the smell of gas in the days before the explosion and how PG&E responded.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We would ask anybody who says that they smelled gas and called it in to let us know.
ROWLANDS: The McCaffreys plan to move back when they're sure it's safe to do so. While their home suffered only minor damage, their neighborhood will never be the same.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: And Drew, the people that lived in the areas, in those 37 homes that were completely flattened, they have not been able to get back onto their property to see if there are any mementos left because quite frankly, the coroner's office is still sifting through that dust and that ash looking for remains. There are still four people that are unaccounted for. Four dead and four unaccounted for. So those folks will find out later today when they can get back and at least look at what is left on their property.
GRIFFIN: Ted, I just want to follow up on that point because we had heard that the search had involved cadaver dogs which couldn't get in over the weekend, I guess because it was still too hot. Have the dogs been through the entire neighborhood now?
ROWLANDS: Yes. They got in yesterday and finished up that last 25 percent that they couldn't get into because of the heat. Now it is a matter of literally sifting the area in the spots where dogs may have alerted to look for human remains, what is left of them.
When you look at the explosion, you can see that they're just looking for any minuscule piece of evidence. That's what they're doing for the next few days, and then residents will be able to get back in. GRIFFIN: All right. Ted Rowlands live in San Bruno, California. Thanks, Ted. All weekend long on that story.
firefighters hope better weather will give them an edge on this fast-moving wildfire. It's near Loveland, Colorado. That fire grew from 40 to 700 acres in just hours. It destroyed two homes, 100 are threatened. So far no reports of injuries there, and some 40 miles to the south where another wildfire - well it's nearly contained, people are going back to their homes but not after that fire near Boulder destroyed 166 homes.
And, of course, your hurricane headquarters. We're watching Igor, it's now a dangerously sounding category 4 hurricane that's gathering strength. That's not all. Meteorologist Rob Marciano has the latest on Igor and a couple other troubling spots.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It sounds menacing. It's like a monster storm. I can tell you that. Look at the satellite image of Igor. Man oh man, this thing just blew up over the weekend. At this time on Friday, it was a little tropical storm. And bang, category 4 storm with winds of 150 miles an hour, it's almost cat 5.
You see the eye there? Last check was about 15 nautical miles. It looks like it's gotten even larger than that. Certainly showing no signs of weakening, and it doesn't have much more to go to as far as getting it to a category 5 status storm. That's not good, and we certainly don't want it to come in our direction, but it is heading in our general direction now. About 900 miles or so, a little under that from the Leeward Islands, and we expect it to continue to track west- northwest, continue its hurricane status and then get caught up into some weakness that keeps these things to the south and maybe make a right turn and stay out to sea.
But right now, certainly, Bermuda is going to be in the cross hairs this weekend. What it does after that, we have to wait and see. But hopefully we get this thing to stay out to sea. That will be ideal. Speed out to sea. There's Julia. We don't have a picture of that right now. She's even further away. I'm not too concerned about Julia.
I'm more concerned about this thing. Nothing right now as far as being a main storm or depression but this is close to home. There is Jamaica. It's going to bring some torrential rains in the whole Cayman islands and Cuba. National Hurricane Center is worried about this, potential becoming a little bit more than just a wave or disturbance and possibly the next storm, if what is named, upgraded to a depression here in the next few hours.
We'll certainly bring that to you but we're watching everything. It's primetime hurricane season. It's big right here, Drew. And Mother Nature certainly accommodating.
GRIFFIN: All right. Thanks, Rob.
And in Washington, common ground could be emerging in that partisan hurricane battle over tax cuts. President Obama has wanted to extend the Bush era tax cuts to everyone who makes less than $250,000 a year. Republicans say people making more than that should be included too because they help revive the economy but over the weekend, the top Republican in the House says he's going to support tax cuts for the middle class only if that is the only option he has.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R), MINORITY LEADER: If the only option I have is to vote for some of those tax reductions, I'll vote for them. But I've been making the point now for months that we need to extend all of the current rates for all Americans if we want to get our economy going again and we want to get jobs in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: That's Representative John Boehner. He says just because he's willing to compromise doesn't mean he's giving up. He vows to continue pushing for those tax cuts for people who make more than $250,000 right up until the Bush rules expire at the end of this year.
Well, Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, that man behind the proposed Islamic center and mosque near Ground Zero in New York is talking about negotiations, speaking this morning to the council on foreign relations. He didn't mention any specifics but he did say everything is on the table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
IMAM FEISAL ABDUL RAUF, FOUNDER, THE CORDOBA INITIATIVE: We are exploring all options as we speak right now. And we are working through what will be a solution, god willing, that will resolve this crisis, diffuse it, and not create any of the unforeseen or untoward circumstances that we do not want to see happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: We'll continue to follow this.
Meanwhile, the debate still heated on the streets of New York. Thousands of people taking part in dueling rallies Saturday. Police didn't report any major incidents. But arguments did break out. Donald Trump offering to buy the site of the planned Islamic center. He's already been turned down. But tonight he's going to tell us why he wanted to buy it. You can watch him on CNN's "Larry King Live" at 8:00 Eastern time.
An American hiker could be heading home soon after more than a year in an Iranian prison. Lawyers say Sara Shourd's freedom hinges on a half million dollars that needs to be paid to the Iranian government. We are monitoring all of these.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Checking today's "Morning Passport," an American hiker jailed in Iran for more than a year is on the verge of freedom. A lawyer for 32-year-old Sarah Shourd says she is all set to be freed once her half million dollar bond is paid to the Iranian government. She has to leave behind her fiancee, Shane Bauer and her friend, Josh Fattal. The three had been jailed since July 31s last year when they allegedly strayed across the Iraqi border into Iran during a hiking trip.
Reza Sayah tracking all the latest developments. He's in Pakistan. Reza, do we know the status of this bail payment yet?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Drew, based on the information we have, Sarah Shourd is still behind bars in a Tehran prison. We spoke to the lawyer representing all three hikers within the hour and he's telling us that half a million dollars bail money is yet to be posted.
So Sarah Shourd is still in Iranian custody but he says everything is in place for this release to take place. All they're waiting for is this bail money. The lawyer says he is in contact with officials, with Tehran's prosecutors' office as well as officials at the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
Because Tehran and Washington do not have diplomatic relations, it is the Swiss embassy in Tehran that is going to play the role of mediator in this case. When I asked the hiker's lawyer when he believes this will take place, he said it could take place tonight. It could happen tomorrow. Anything is possible, he says.
Of course, this entire process has been unpredictable and somewhat of a fiasco with how Iranian officials have handled it. Last week they came out and said Sarah Shourd would be released and they did an about face, saying she would not be released on Sunday, again a senior prosecutor came out and announced that Iran would be willing to release Sarah Shourd on the condition of $500,000 in bail money. The hiker's lawyer also telling me that he met with all three of his clients yesterday in Tehran's notorious (INAUDIBLE) Prison. And he says all three of them are okay. And Sarah Shourd is happy, Drew, although she is not happy about leaving behind her two fellow hikers, as you mentioned, one of them, her fiancee, Shaune Bauer.
GRIFFIN: All right. Reza, we'll stand by for word when and if she is released. Thanks so much.
Also in today's "Morning Passport," an international human rights group accusing Iraq of holding thousands of people without charges or trial and keeping them in secret prisons. It's a new report released this morning by Amnesty International. Amnesty officials say there is overwhelming evidence of torture taking place in these secret prisons, and the Iraqi government has failed to stop it.
Amnesty says many of those behind bars are being held without charges, no trials. In April, Iraqi's prime minister denied similar reports that Iraq is torturing prisoners.
Let's go to Mexico now to the state of Puebla, where one of that country's most wanted drug lords is now under arrest, and the Mexico government calls the seizure of Sergio Villareal, a major victory in its battle against powerful and violent drug cartels. His capture follows the arrest of that man there, alleged cartel leader, American born Edgar Valdez. He's known as "La Barbie." Sergio Villareal is known by Mexican Police as El Grande. He and Valdez are believed to high-ranking members of the deadly Beltran Leyva Cartel (ph).
On to Chile now, those miners trapped - well, one of their first requests after being trapped was "hey, we need some cigarettes." They were sent nicotine patches and chewing gum. Well now, a new compressor has improved circulation down there, so they are now getting smokes.
Fighting city hall and winning big, for the overtaxed residents of Bell, California. Some massive payback maybe in order, $3 million worth. We're live with an update. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Checking our top stories - Iran could release Sarah Shourd as early as today. The Iranian government wants $500,000 first though. Shourd's fellow hikers remain in jail.
Firefighters are going to hope that better weather is going to give them an edge on a fast-moving wildfire near Loveland, California. That fire grew from 40 to 700 acres in just hours. There it is there. It destroyed two homes, 100 others threatened.
Hurricane Igor could become a cat 5 storm today. Still pretty far off from land and there are no coastal warnings or watches attached to that storm.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Looking across the country now, some long overdue payback coming to the citizens of Bell, California. $3 million worth. KCAL and KCBS Kirk Hawkins has been keeping close tabs on this outrageous story about these government salaries. Kirk, the people said no more and now they're getting a little payback, right?
KIRK HAWKINS, KCAL, KCBS REPORTER: That's right, Drew. And at this point, we don't know exactly when these refunds are going to arrive in the mail. There were roughly $2.9 million worth of overcharges here in the city, 4,000 property owners affected. That breaks down to an average refund check that we're talking about, $725. Now that's a big deal in this city.
17,000 people in this city here live below the poverty line. They really struggle just to get by here, and so that was a big deal and one of the many ways that city officials here were trying to pad their six-figure salaries. They were also inflating sewer rates in addition to what they were doing here, and just to underscore the point, every month just a few hundred feet from where I'm standing, they have basically a soup kitchen, where they give residents here free food just so they can get by over a period of just a few weeks. GRIFFIN: I know the town well, and I know that's why people were outraged about this, Kirk. You know, a lot of people wanted money but they also wanted city officials to be held accountable. What's going on with the investigations and whether or not any of these fat cats, if you will, are going to get some (INAUDIBLE) for this?
HAWKINS: Well, Drew, right now there's a recall effort that's under way here in the city. There are two groups of activists that are gathering signatures. They have to gather roughly more than 2,000 signatures over the next few weeks so that they can get this on the ballot and what they're hoping to do is recall four of the part-time city council members who were making close to $100,000 a year.
Just over the past couple of weeks, the city also issued subpoenas for the personal e-mail records of the former chief administrative officer Robert Rizzo. He was making $1.5 million in salary and benefits. He is the focus as well as the former police chief and his assistant of an investigation that now is under way by the attorney general of the California attorney general, and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jerry Brown.
He is investigating this as well as the L.A. County district attorney. So this is really just the beginning of some of the relief that residents here are going to receive.
GRIFFIN: All right. Kirk Hawkins, KCAL, KCBS reporter, a place I know well, Kirk. Thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate the update on that.
Drilling down on natural gas production.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the dirty side of natural gas. It's clean to burn but it's not clean to get.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: She is talking about a drilling method called fracking. The EPA had said it's safe so have gas companies but a lot of people say they aren't so sure, and they are talking about it, today, live in Binghamton, New York, where there is a debate under way.
A lot of people waiting to get in to tell the EPA what they think about fracking. We're going to dig down on this debate, right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Let's take a look at live pictures now. This is Binghamton, New York, where the EPA is about to hold a hearing on a drilling process for natural gas called hydrofracturing. It's called fracking, for short.
The fourth public hearing about this controversial method and it's really about this gas that can be tapped that can reach millions and millions of homes. Again, the process called fracking, involving blasting through rock, drilling thousands of feet down and shooting in a chemical/sand/water mixture to release that gas. Some people say it poisons their drinking water and the gas companies deny it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I saw it go off for a second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Just give it a second.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoa! Jesus Christ! That's the best I got! I smell hair.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, damn!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: That's a scene from a documentary on this called "Gas Land." Doubt you want to take a swig of that. "Gas Land" will take you behind the scenes of what is going on the ground there. It was filmed by - the man behind the film in just a second, we're going to have him. But first - oh, we're also going to have a spokesperson from energy in-depth. That's the group that is behind the fracking or fracturing process, but today's fracking hearing is in Binghamton, New York. It's part of a lucrative Marcellus Shale region we're talking about, where gas drillers are swarming.
We're going to get an explanation of this from Josh Levs to get a better idea, Josh - because a lot of people don't know what we are talking about and how big an area we're talking about and how much gas we're talking about.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The stakes here are huge, and this is just the way to set it up. Because people need to understand the economic consequences and just geographic consequences.
Let's zoom in on the map behind me. See all of this yellow right here? This whole thing is the Marcellus Shale. Experts say this is the largest natural gas deposit in North America. There's a Penn State study that says 489 trillion cubic feet of recoverable gas are in this region; that's more than 20 times what we use in the United States every year. There's a layer of deep sedimentary rock, basically, deposited by this ancient river delta. With the remains of it actually form the Catskill Mountains up in New York. And this vast Marcellus Shale that extends from Tennessee, through most of West Virginia, across Pennsylvania, easter Ohio. I mean, you can see it. It's all over here.
Let's do this. Let's go to the video now from the Marcellus Shale Coalition. Just shows you a little bit of the gas deposit could be worth - listen to this figure -- $2 trillion in today's prices.
Shale gas production already accounts for about one-fifth of the country's gas consumption, according to a study at MIT. And the current rate is expected to provide more than half of the nation's gas by 2030.
I also want to mention something. We're hearing about environmental concerns. Here you go. This was in June, we got this report from our affiliate WJAC out of Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. There was a leak and polluted drilling water pouring out for 16 hours. Officials said there was no one who lived right nearby, and no one was injured. No homes within a mile of that.
Still, these are the stakes, Drew. We're talking about massive economic consequences at a time when we are moving more in the direction of natural gas and looking for ways to be energy independent inside the U.S., Drew.
GRIFFIN: Yes, Josh, I guess the big question is whether or not this process is safe. The answer, of course, depends on whom you ask.
Chris Tucker is a spokesman for Energy In Depth, which represents natural gas producers. He is live in D.C. Thanks for joining us. And Josh Fox, a filmmaker behind "Gas Land." You are live, sir, in Binghamton.
Tell us why you made this documentary, Josh, and what you found.
Are we --
JOSH FOX, FILMMAKER, "GAS LAND": This provides water -- can you hear me?
GRIFFIN: Josh, Josh, hold on one second. We lost the first part of that. I'm going to ask you again, your mike was potted down.
FOX: All right.
GRIFFIN: But tell us why you made this film and what did you find?
FOX: Well, I made "Gas Land" because I was asked to lease my land in the Upper Delaware River Basin of New York/Pennsylvania. I live in Pennsylvania. That's part of an interconnected water system that provides water to 16 million people. I looked into the process, and I found across the country rampant water contamination, air pollution, health problems on behalf of citizens because toxic chemicals are injected under the ground and vented off into the air during the process.
The process, I found out (INAUDIBLE). The Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act -- and it was completely deregulated under the Bush administration, and that this is a scandal.
And "GasLand" is opening this month across the nation; it's in New York this week. I've seen a movement of people like I have never seen in my life across this country against fracking because there are so many people who are outraged, who feel have been overrun by this industry. I responded to that crisis, and put it in the film. It opened at Sundance, it won at Sundance. And it has been an unbelievable thing that changed my life, simply because I was sent a gas lease in the mail and decided to investigate. I went all across the country, and those are the things I found.
GRIFFIN: And Chris Tucker -- I want to bring you in, Chris. As we're looking at some of the video again - this fireball coming out of this man's faucet.
But Chris, obviously you have a different view on this. Let me just ask you straight out: would you drink water coming from these peoples' homes?
CHRIS TUCKER, SPOKESMAN, ENERGY IN DEPTH: I don't know that I would, frankly. I think the issue is when you are speaking directly about the gentleman in your last video, you know, he was featured in the film "GasLand," and Colorado regulators actually took a look at his water and did the survey on it.
And came back and found that that gas had nothing to do with hydraulic fracturing, with -- I'm sorry. I'm getting feedback here. I can't --
GRIFFIN: Oh, you're getting feedback? Guys, can we fix that? He was saying, if I can just repeat him, he was saying that that scene from "GasLand," there was no reason to believe -- I believe if I'm saying this correctly, Chris -- that the gas coming out of that man's faucet had anything to do with the gas exploration that was going on in his area. Is that what you're saying?
TUCKER: That's right, yes, and it was actually confirmed by the Colorado Oil and Gas Regulatory Commission. And they went in there, took a look at the water well, and determined that was biogenic in nature and actually had nothing do with oil and gas development in the area. That's the same situation you are seeing a lot in Pennsylvania and New York.
A producer out there recently - a major producer, actually -- did a baseline study of water quality in the area and came back and actually found that of the prior (ph) water wells that they were testing, a third of them had methane in them already. It had nothing to do with drilling at all.
GRIFFIN: Well, Chris, let me ask you, because I just got back from Dimmick, Pennsylvania where the oil company there has now been forced to truck in water so these people can drink it. They say the wells were clear. One man had been drinking well water at his home for 50 years, and then they started doing this hydraulic fracturing, and suddenly, he has bubbling gas coming out of his faucets. A coincidence?
TUCKER: Well, listen, the PA Department of Environmental Protection did the work up there, went up there, tried to figure out what was happening in Dimmick. Came back and found hydraulic fracturing had nothing do with that incident. And you can find that study and that report on its Web site.
But I'm actually from that area. I was raised in northeast Pennsylvania, and shallow methane has been an issue there for an awful long time. Long before oil and gas production was even considered. Fossil fuel in that area with coal, with natural gas, deposits of oil has been very much a part of that geological situation there for a millennia.
So, I think there has to be - certainly, something needs to be done to handle that situation. But also I think when you apply science to it, you sort of come to a different conclusion than what Josh --
GRIFFIN: Josh, do you buy that argument that this is all coincidental, that the gas coming out of these people's faucets and the fact that there is hydraulic fracturing going on in the area is, just, hey, bad luck?
FOX: No, not at all. I mean, what's surprising -- the Energy In Depth is a smear campaign. They obviously - the natural gas industry obviously doesn't want people to see "GasLand." But the natural gas in the water, which has been confirmed as thermogenic (ph), it's only coming from those deep shale layers in Colorado and Pennsylvania in contradiction to what Chris Tucker is saying is very clear, but that's not the only problem.
The problem also is that the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing, which are not naturally occurring, no way they could exist in nature, are turning up in people's water wells. Those are drilling fluids, drilling muds. And yes, water replacement is happening all over America.
And when the gas company settles with a family whose been injured, they often include in the settlement a nondisclosure agreement, which means all across America, people are trading their silence for water and for compensation. That is something that is utterly despicable.
Energy In Depth is not only attacking the film. They're also attacking ordinary Americans who are coming forward and saying, "Our water wells have been poisoned. Our children are getting sick." -
GRIFFIN: Chris -
FOX: They just came out --
GRIFFIN: Josh, thank you so much.
Chris, let me ask you a question. The EPA did a study in 2004 and found this to be an okay source of getting natural gas out of the ground. But based on all of the concerns now and the concerns of people who are actually having to live with this, should the industry just hold off until the EPA does a more extensive study? Takes a look at this thing and find out, if, indeed, this is safe, so we're not going back years from now and trying to fix what essentially is being broken at the moment?
TUCKER: I think the only way that makes sense is if you accept the premise that Josh and others have put forward, and that is that hydraulic fracturing is new and is unregulated and is sort of exotic. And none of that is actually true. Hydraulic fracturing as a technology - by the way, has nothing to do with drilling. It is post- drilling. Over the 40-year life of a well, we are talking about something that takes place 72 hours and a week.
And essentially, it's something that's been around for 60 years, been done 1.1 million times, and the EPA has looked at this thing about a half dozen times over the past several decades. Including in 2004, including in the late '90s, including as recently as January 2010 when EPA folks came to the Senate and were asked a direct question: are you familiar with a single incidence in which it hydraulic fracturing was proven to contaminate groundwater? And right on down the road, they said no, no, no.
And so, EPA has taken a look at this thing. We actually accept - we support the idea of a new study. We think that if it is science- based and peer-reviewed, it's going to return a lot of the same conclusions that we've seen over the past several decades. And that's that it's a safe process.
GRIFFIN: All right, Chris, thanks a lot for joining us. You have a tough uphill battle, I'm telling you, when you see people lighting their faucets on fire. And I myself have witnessed it. It is remarkable to think there is no link between the two, but you're saying there's not. Let's see what the EPA says.
(CROSSTALK) .
Josh, thank you so much for joining us with your documentary "GasLand" that has certainly got people talking about this all over the country. We will stay with this and see what the EPA hears this afternoon as they listen to the people's concerns there in Binghamton, New York. Thanks both of you for joining us.
Well, banks going under, massive government bailouts, frozen credit markets. These are the painful memories of two years ago. Now global officials say they have a plan to prevent it from happening again. Alison Kosik joins us next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Two years ago this week, the Wall Street titan Lehman Brothers collapsed. And in the months that followed, bailout became an everyday word, an unemployment shot up. Well, fast forward to the present. Global regulators are taking steps to prevent a repeat of that.
Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with details on this. Alison, what is the plan?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Drew, think of it this way. Around the globe, banks sort of have new marching orders. They're going to have to keep more cash on hand, a bigger reserve cushion than they had to have in the past, because if they get hit with another wave of defaults, they'll be ready.
Remember the big bank meltdown of 2008, where that led to the credit crunch and recession? That's why this is being put into place, to avoid that. It's going to help keep banks afloat. It's going to limit the need for more of the government bailouts we've seen lately, and this is really a global effort. So, everything is interconnected, and each helps the other.
The new regulations are called Basil 3. And bankers met in Basil, Switerland, over the weekend, from 27 countries. By the way, Drew, in the U.S., the Fed is going to be responsible for enforcing these rules.
As for wall Street, Wall Street is liking this a lot. Shares of Bank of America, JP Morgan, Wells Fargo all up more than three percent. The Dow is up in the triple digits. Drew.
GRIFFIN: And Alison, I don't understand that because a lot of these rules would basically dampen profits. Why are the bank stocks going up?
KOSIK: The way investors are looking at this, the way banks are looking at this, is that they're not going to have to stash too much cash too soon, because what's going to happen is this plan is going to be phased in very slowly. Also, banks were expecting even tougher regulations, so these regulations weren't nearly as bad as they thought they would be.
By the way, the new rules will be kicking in 2013, just to give you an idea of how far along these banks have to come into compliance. And full compliance, by the way, Drew, won't have to happen until 2019, and I'll tell you what.
Many banks, Drew, have already been boosting their reserves. They have learned their lesson from the recession, and they're really been expecting it to happen. They didn't know how strict the rules were going to be, and they're really overall -- they're relieved they aren't as bad as they thought they would be. Drew.
GRIFFIN: All right. Alison Kosik in New York. Thanks, Alison. Thanks, Alison.
Checking top stories now. One of the U.S. hikers held in Iran could be released sometime today if her family can cough up the half million dollars in bail money to the Iranian government. Sarah Shourd has developed health problems during her year in captivity. Her two companions will remain in custody. One of them her fiance. All three indicted on spying charges.
Meanwhile, the U.S. appears to be finalizing its largest sale of arms to a foreign government ever. According to "The Wall Street Journal," President Obama will soon tell Congress of a $60 billion deal with the Saudis. If approved, that sale would cover advanced aircraft, but it could be expanded to include naval and missile defense upgrades.
This hour at the White House, President Obama recognizing black colleges and universities of our country. The nation's first African- American president recognizing the 30th anniversary of a week set aside to honor the mission of schools. Seven weeks from tomorrow, U.S. voters go to the polls for the all-important midterms. We're going to show you how one bus tour is trying to make roadkill of Nancy Pelosi's career.
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GRIFFIN: Time now for a report from The Best Political Team on Television. Mark Preston in Washington, where he serves as our senior political editor. Mark, what's the latest on CNNpolitics.com?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Drew. How are you?
Drew, good morning to you. Big, big day, of course, big week in politics this week. Of course, we're focusing on Wednesday. You teased it right at the top before we headed into commercial. The Republican National Committee, drew. Let's take a look at this. The RNC is starting a six-week bus tour going across the country, 48 states - sorry, Alaska; sorry, Hawaii, they can't make it there. But they're going to go across and they're calling this the "Fire Pelosi" bus tour, Drew. What they want to do is try to take back the House of Representatives, so there is a good chance this bus will be coming to a corner in your neck of the woods over the next six weeks.
Moving on, let's go down, Drew, to New Hampshire, where -- look at this, the front page editorial in the "New Hampshire Union Leader" criticizes outsider influence in that Senate race up there. In fact, Joseph McQuaid, the publisher of that conservative newspaper, Drew, comes out and says, basically, you can come in and say what you want to New Hampshire voters, but they know who the true conservative is in that race.
Of course, the establishment has gotten behind Kelly Ayotte. McQuaid's paper has gotten behind a gentleman by the name of Ovide Lamontagne. The problem for Ovide Lamontagne is that Kelly Ayotte, Drew, is leading in the polls.
And in closing this out, look down in Texas. This is a race you expect the current governor, Rick Perry, to win. But right now, a new poll out of Texas shows that Bill White, the Democrat has a chance of knocking off Perry down in Texas right now. Drew, a very big race. Right now, that race is about six points apart, and, Drew, CNN actually has invited Rick Perry, the governor, and Bill White to debate the race at the Bush Library in College Station, Texas. Mr. White has said he will be there. We're hoping Mr. Perry agrees as well. Drew.
GRIFFIN: All right. Well, we have the phone lines open, Mr. Perry, if you want to call in and accept. We'll make a little news this morning. Mark, thanks a lot.
We're going to have an update. Next political update is in one hour, and a reminder. For all of the latest political news, go to our Web site, CNNpolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) GRIFFIN: President Obama plans to award the medal of honor to 25-year-old Staff Sergeant Salvatore Jenta of Hiawatha, Iowa. The president called Giunta to tell him about the upcoming ceremony. Facing enemy fire in Afghanistan, Giunta brought two wounded soldiers to safety. One of the men was being dragged away by Taliban fighters. Giunta's mother says other service members should also give thanks.
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ROSE GIUNTA, SON TO RECEIVE MEDAL OF HONOR: As much as we're here because of what Sal did, there are parents out there that will not know - they'll never know what this feels like and yet their sons and daughters deserve this, too.
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GRIFFIN: A humble mom there. Giunta's Medal of Honor will be given for the third time to someone who fought in the Afghan war. The other two awarded posthumously.
That brings us to "Home and Away," our daily tribute to our men and women in uniform who have made that ultimate sacrifice in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Today, we're lifting up we are lifting up Petty Officer Second Class Justin Jacob McNeley. He is from Wheat Ridge, Colorado. Killed in Logar (ph) province in Afghanistan in July of this year. Here is Justin with his sister at a Mother's Day picnic just two months before. Justin came home to surprise his family, including his two sons. He was so excited that his tour of duty was scheduled to end soon.
Justin's Uncle Brad hopes Justin will be remember for his smile and charm. We will certainly do that here.
And if you have a loved one you'd like to honor, here's all you have to do. Go to CNN.com/homeandaway, type in your service member's name in the upper right search field, pull up the profile. Send us your thoughts, pictures and we'll keep the memory of your hero alive.
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GRIFFIN: Belgian tennis star Kim Clijsters celebrating her second U.S. Open title in a row, third since 2005. Clijsters dominated Vera Zvonareva 6-2, 6-1, winning in just 59 minutes. A record for U.S. Open finals for women's. Clijsters returned to the tour last year after having a baby. Last hour, she told me she gets a lot of support away from the game.
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KIM CLIJSTERS, 2010 U.S. OPEN WINNER: I'm not doing it all by myself. Obviously, when I'm out on court, I'm playing by myself. But there's a lot of work with the team around me, and we travel with a nanny that kind of makes me feel a lot more comfortable knowing that Jada is in good hands when I'm on court, whether it's practicing or training. And my husband is there for support, no matter what, whether it's tennis or just anything off-court. I mean, he's there for support. And that's something that just kind of keeps me just kind of, yes, just very happy and healthy as well. And my mindset stays -- you know, I know what to do and, and I know whether I'm done playing tennis, I have now family. And it's nice to have that combination.
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GRIFFIN: Talk about pressure. Clijsters says she sometimes hears her daughter Jada calling her during a match.
Tony, can you imagine that? Jada's learning there are times, she says, when you need to stay quiet when watching tennis. Jada's two- and-a-half.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, my kids call me: "Dad, can you send over more money?" That's the call I get. She's married to Brian Leach, double specialist from the United States in his playing days. And she is actually, Drew, better than before she had her daughter.
She's a better player now. She's terrific.
GRIFFIN: I bet Jada is going to be a big tennis player, too.
HARRIS: I would imagine. I would imagine so.
You have a great day, sir. Good to see you.
