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BySethBorenstein The Associated Press WASHINGTON In Pennsyl- vania's gas drilling boom, newer and unconventional wells leak far more often than older and traditional ones, according to a study of state inspection reports for 41,000 wells. The results suggest that leaks of methane could be a problem for drilling across the nation, said study lead author Cornell University en- gineering professor Anthony Ingraffea, who heads an en- vironmental activist group that helped pay for the study. The research was criti- cized by the energy indus- try. Marcellus Shale Co- alition spokesman Travis Windle said it reflects In- graffea's "clear pattern of playing fast and loose with the facts." The Marcellus shale for- mation of plentiful but previously hard-to-ex- tract trapped natural gas stretches over Pennsylva- nia, West Virginia and New York. The study was published Monday by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. A team of four scientists analyzed more than 75,000 state inspections of gas wells done in Pennsylvania since 2000. Overall, older wells — those drilled before 2009 — had a leak rate of about 1 percent. Most were tradi- tional wells, drilling straight down. Unconventional wells — those drilled horizontally and commonly referred to as fracking — didn't come on the scene until 2006 and quickly took over. Newer traditional wells drilled after 2009 had a leak rate of about 2 percent; the rate for unconventional wells was about 6 percent, the study found. The leak rate reached as high as nearly 10 percent horizontally drilled wells for before and after 2009 in the northeastern part of the state, where drilling is hot and heavy. The researchers don't know where the leaky meth- ane goes — into the water or the air, where it could be a problem worsening man- made global warming. The scientists don't know the size of the leaks or even their causes and industry officials deny that they are actual leaks. The study calls it "casing and cement im- pairment," but the study's lead author says that is when methane is flowing outside the pipe. "Something is coming out of it that shouldn't, in a place that it shouldn't," said Ingraffea, who has been part of a team of Cornell researchers finding prob- lems with fracking. Also, Ingraffea heads a group of scientists and engineers that has criticized fracking and two of his co-authors are part of the group. The study didn't discuss why the leak rate spiked. In- graffea said it could be be- cause corners are being cut as drilling booms, better in- spections or the way the gas is trapped in the rock for- mation. Pennsylvania regulatory officials said their records show that gas leaks peaked in 2010 and are on the way down again, reflecting their efforts to stress proper ce- menting practices. Further in 2011, the state focused more on unconventional wells to make leak protec- tion efforts "more strin- gent," wrote Morgan Wag- ner, a spokesman for the state environmental agency. Energy industry officials attacked the study and In- graffea. Chris Tucker, spokes- man for industry-supported group Energy In Depth, said what they measured may not be leaks but state inspectors detecting pres- sure buildup. "The trick these research- ers are pulling here is con- flating pressure with leak- age, trying to convince folks that the mere existence of the former is evidence of the latter," Tucker wrote in an email. But outside scientists, even pro-drilling ones, praised the study. Tony Engelder of Penn- sylvania State University, a pioneering supporter of the Marcellus fracking boom, said it shows there is plenty of room for improving drill- ing safety. "It clearly indicates that there is a problem with the production" of the wells, said University of California Santa Barbara engineering professor and methane ex- pert Ira Leifer, who wasn't part of the study. SCIENCE Frackingstudyfindsnewgaswellsleakmore KEITHSRAKOCIC—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS This 2011photo shows a farmhouse in the background framed by pipes connecting pumps where the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa. DMITRY LOVETSKY — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS A fireman tries to extinguish a burning house a er shelling in the city of Slovyansk, Donetsk Region, eastern Ukraine, on Monday. By David Mchugh The Associated Press KIEV, UKRAINE Separatist rebels have not handed back border posts, laid down their weapons or fulfilled other conditions, Ukraine's president said Monday in a phone call with the lead- ers of Russia, Germany and France. The call between Pres- ident Petro Poroshenko, Russia's Vladimir Putin, Germany's Chancellor An- gela Merkel and France's Francois Hollande took place before a deadline ex- pired for Ukraine's shaky, unilateral cease-fire. Poroshenko had al- ready extended the cease- fire from seven days to 10 as part of a plan to end the conflict that has killed more than 400 people since April. The cease-fire has been con- tinuously broken, however, and the pro-Russia rebels have not disarmed as Poro- shenko has demanded. As the deadline passed, there was no immediate ac- tion by the president to ex- tend the cease-fire. European leaders have urged Russia to use its influ- ence with the rebels to de-es- calatetheconflictandwarned that they could impose an- otherroundofeconomicsanc- tions against Russia if condi- tionsforcontinuingthecease- fire were not met. Those included a demand that the separatists hand back three checkpoints they seized on the border with Russia. French officials said Mon- day's phone call touched on establishing a full cease-fire by both sides, having inter- national monitors on the border between Russia and Ukraine, freeing prisoners and holding substantial talks with the rebels. Rebel leader Alexander Borodai on Monday wel- comed having observers monitor the situation any- where in the separatist re- gion but rejected the de- mand to hand back the checkpoints. Stymied by the rebels' re- fusal, Russian Foreign Min- ister Sergey Lavrov said Pu- tin suggested to Poroshenko that both Ukrainian moni- tors and observers from the Organization for the Secu- rity and Cooperation in Eu- rope deploy to checkpoints on the Russian side of the border to ensure "they aren't used for illegal means." "We expect that direct and detailed consulta- tions between Russian and Ukrainian border guards will start shortly to agree on details of the monitors' presence," Lavrov said in televised remarks. A Kremlin statement said foreign ministers from the four countries would quickly hold four-way talks to discuss the issues raised by the leaders — a distinct cold shoulder to further ef- forts from the United States or the full European Union to be involved in Ukraine's protracted crisis. White House spokes- man Josh Earnest said the U.S. welcomes encourag- ing words from Putin but is looking for the Russian leader to take "tangible ac- tions" rather than just issue positive sentiments to avoid additional sanctions. "We are still in a situa- tion where those actions do not indicate a seriousness of purpose when it comes to deescalating the situation in Ukraine," Earnest said. Sporadic fighting flared early Monday despite the cease-fire. Shelling killed at least two people and ru- ined several apartments in the rebel-held city of Slovy- ansk. Cease-fire expires, no extension yet UKRAINE By Ryan Lucas The Associated Press BAGHDAD A militant ex- tremist group's unilateral declaration of an Islamic state is threatening to un- dermine its already-ten- uous alliance with other Sunnis who helped it over- run much of northern and western Iraq. One uneasy ally has vowed to resist if the mil- itants try to impose their strict interpretation of Sha- riah law. Fighters from the al-Qa- ida breakaway group Is- lamic State of Iraq and the Levant have spearheaded the offensive in recent weeks that has plunged Iraq into its deepest crisis since the last U.S. troops left in 2011. The group's lightning advance has brought under its control territory stretching from northern Syria as far as the outskirts of Baghdad in central Iraq. In a bold move Sunday, the group announced the establishment of its own state, or caliphate, gov- erned by Islamic law. It pro- claimed its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, a highly am- bitious Iraqi militant with a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head, to be the ca- liph, and it demanded that Muslims around the world pledge allegiance to him. Through brute force and meticulous planning, the Sunni extremist group — which said it was chang- ing its name to simply the Islamic State, dropping the reference to Iraq and the Levant — has man- aged to effectively erase the Syria-Iraq border and lay the foundations of its proto-state. Along the way, it has battled Syrian rebels, Kurdish militias and the Syrian and Iraqi militaries. Now, the group's decla- ration risks straining its loose alliances with other Sunnis who share the mil- itants' hopes of bringing down Iraq's Shiite-led gov- ernment but not necessar- ily its ambitions of carving out a transnational caliph- ate. Iraq's minority Sunnis complain they have been treated as second-class cit- izens and unfairly targeted by security forces. Topping the list of un- easy allies is the Army of the Men of the Naqsha- bandi Order, a Sunni mili- tant organization with ties to Saddam Hussein's now- outlawed Baath Party. The group depicts itself as a na- tionalist force that defends Iraq's Sunnis from Shiite rule. A senior Naqshabandi commander in Diyala prov- ince northeast of Baghdad said that his group has "no intention" of joining the Is- lamic State or working un- der it. He said that "would be a difficult thing to do be- cause our ideology is differ- ent from the Islamic State's extremist ideology." "Till now, the Islamic State fighters are avoiding any friction with us in the areas we control in Diyala, but if they are to change their approach toward our fighters and people living in our areas, we expect rounds of fighting with the Islamic State's people," said the commander who goes by the nom de guerre of Abu Fatima. A second Naqshabandi leader in Diyala, in the Sunni town of Qara Tap- pah, also dismissed the notion of submitting to the militants' vision. "We reject the caliphate rule presented by them. We are totally different from the Islamic State," said the commander, who goes by the name of Abu Abid. He too said that so far re- lations have been friendly enough, but that residents are wary of what the future may hold. "Their number is small but we are afraid of the fu- ture when their number in the town becomes big," he said. "We know that these militants are treacherous and they plan to eliminate any competition, but we are ready to stop them." If history is any guide, they have reason to worry. In Syria, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant also cooperated with many rebel groups after initially pushing into the country in spring 2013. Over time, however, it moved against its erstwhile allies and eventually crushed them. ISLAMIC STATE De cl ar at io n co ul d le ad t o Ir aq s ch is m THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Iraqi security forces hold up a flag of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant they captured during an operation to regain control of Dallah Abbas north of Baqouba, the capital of Iraq's Diyala province, on Saturday. By Kimberly Hefling The Associated Press WASHINGTON Interest rates go up Tuesday for stu- dents taking out new fed- eral loans. This hike is rel- atively minimal but could foreshadow more increases to come. The change stems from a high-profile, bipartisan deal brokered last year by Congress and signed by President Barack Obama that ties the rates to the fi- nancial markets. Interest rates go from 3.86 to 4.66 percent on un- dergraduate Stafford loans. Graduate student loans go from 5.41 percent to 6.21 percent. Interest rates on Plus loans for parents go from 6.41 percent to 7.21 percent. For every $10,000 bor- rowed, the average bor- rower under the hike will pay back about $4 more ev- ery month when they begin paying back the money — about the price of a fancy latte. If the economy continues to improve, however, these kinds of rate hikes could continue. Congress stipu- lated that the rates for new loans be reset annually, but that borrowers keep the rate they were given for the life of the loan. The compromise in Con- gress was reached after rates doubled last July. Students take out new loans each year, so by the time they graduate they could be repaying loans that have different inter- est rates. Mark Kantrowitz, pub- lisher of edvisors.com, es- timates that today's fresh- man could potentially see rates the same or higher than they were when Con- gress acted by the time they graduate. When Con- gress acted, rates for un- dergraduate students were at 6.8 percent. "The real concern is that the interest rates have no- where to go but up," Kan- trowitz said. The deal did include some caps. Interest rates will not top 8.25 per- cent for undergraduates. Graduate students will not pay rates higher than 9.5 percent, and parents' rates top out at 10.5 percent. 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