Could Leasing Water Rights Provide a Way Out of the Drought for California?
The state’s cities need water. Its farmers have it. Maybe leasing rights to it could solve the crisis responsibly.
Abrahm Lustgarten
Abrahm Lustgarten writes about energy, water, climate change, and anything else having to do with the environment. Before coming to ProPublica in 2008, he was a staff writer and contributor for Fortune, and has written for Wired, Salon, Esquire, the Washington Post, and the New York Times.
Use It or Lose It: Across the West, Exercising One's Right to Waste Water
“Use it or lose it” clauses give farmers, ranchers, and governments holding water rights a powerful incentive to use more water than they need.
Progress and Controversy Arrive With New Rules for Fracking on Public Lands
An initial review of rules issued by the Interior Department shows the federal government has taken important steps to protect drinking water resources, while not adopting the strictest regulations in place in some states.
Why New York State Just Banned Fracking
After years of delays and debate, Governor Andrew Cuomo decides that the risks outweigh the rewards.
Chesapeake Energy Faces Subpoena on Royalty Payments
The Justice Department’s inquiry comes after an investigation and years of complaints from landowners who say they have been underpaid for leasing land to the energy giant for drilling.
California's Lax Policing of the Fracking Industry
The state’s drought has forced farmers to rely on groundwater, even as aquifers have been intentionally polluted due to exemptions for the oil industry.
Chesapeake Energy’s $5 Billion Shuffle
The energy giant raised the cash it needed to survive by slashing royalties it paid property owners to drill on their land.
How Oil and Gas Drillers Avoid Paying Royalties to Landowners
Income from oil and gas production doesn’t always trickle down to landowners, as companies find ways to minimize the share they pay in royalties.
Has the EPA Given Up on Trying to Monitor Fracking?
When the Environmental Protection Agency abruptly retreated on its investigation into water contamination in a central Wyoming natural gas field recently, it shocked environmentalists and energy industry supporters alike.