Casey slips ‘fracking’ rules into energy bill
http://citizensvoice.com/news/casey-slips-fracking-rules-into-energy-bill-1.908306
Casey slips ‘fracking’ rules into energy bill
BY BORYS KRAWCZENIUK (STAFF WRITER)
Published: July 29, 2010
A provision to require disclosure of all chemicals used in fracturing Marcellus Shale to extract natural gas could wind up as part of the scaled-down national energy bill the U.S. Senate might consider soon.
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey said he convinced Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to fold disclosure provisions of his Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act into the energy bill.
“It’s a great breakthrough,” he said. “It’s a substantial step forward. It gives people information they wouldn’t have otherwise about what’s happening underneath their property.”
Senate leaders are hoping to pass the bill before the summer recess Aug. 6 after realizing they did not have the votes to pass a more comprehensive energy bill. Even if the smaller energy bill gets through the Senate, the House would have to pass it before President Barack Obama can sign it. Neither is assured.
Industry groups said the fracturing chemicals are already well-known to the public and state regulators and further disclosure would harm the development of natural gas.
“We fundamentally believe that regulation of hydraulic fracturing is best addressed at the state level, and we have been unable to reach a consensus with congressional advocates on how this program would be overseen by the federal government,” America’s Natural Gas Alliance said in a statement.
Congress and the federal Environmental Protection Agency are studying whether the chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing of shale contaminate drinking water.
Energy In Depth, an industry group, argues regulation should be left to states, which “have effectively regulated hydraulic fracturing for over 40 years with no confirmed incidents of groundwater contamination associated with (fracturing) activities.”
At public meetings on gas drilling, local residents regularly dispute the claim.
Though the industry argues the chemicals it uses are well known, a Times-Shamrock newspapers investigation determined that DEP scientists who analyzed spilled fracturing chemicals at a Susquehanna County well site in September found 10 compounds never disclosed on the drilling contractor’s material safety data sheet.
None of the 10 was included in a state Department of Environmental Protection list of chemicals used in fracturing, a list developed by the industry. When DEP posted a new list earlier this month, none of the 10 was on it.
Casey dismissed the industry criticism.
“That’s why I called it a substantial step forward if they’re attacking it,” he said. “If they’re feeling that this is giving information to people that they are reluctant to disclose, that’s why I think it’s an important change, and it’s progress on an issue that some would have thought would have taken years to get done.”
Casey’s legislation would amend the federal Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which requires employers to disclose what hazardous chemicals they use.
The amendments would require:
> Well-drilling operators to disclose to state regulators and the public a list of chemicals used in fracturing, commonly known as fracking. The requirement would cover chemical constituents but not chemical formulas whose manufacturers are allowed by law to keep the formulas secret, according to Casey’s office.
> Disclosure to be specific to each well.
> Disclosure of secret formulas or chemical constituents to doctors or nurses treating a contamination victim in an emergency.
> An end to thresholds for reporting chemicals normally required by law so all amounts of chemicals are reported.
In an analysis of the legislation, Energy In Depth said it would “chill” investment in innovations in fracturing and place “unrealistic burdens” on natural gas producers by requiring them to disclose secret chemical compounds whose composition they legally can know nothing about.
In an interview, DEP Secretary John Hanger said he welcomed the federal legislation, argued Pennsylvania already requires more disclosure than his bill and believes companies should disclose the volume and mix of chemicals they use in fracking.
bkrawczeniuk@timesshamrock.com
Wastewater tracking bill introduced
http://citizensvoice.com/news/wastewater-tracking-bill-introduced-1.908232
Wastewater tracking bill introduced
BY ELIZABETH SKRAPITS (STAFF WRITER)
Published: July 29, 2010
State Rep. Phyllis Mundy, D-Kingston, said Wednesday she is introducing legislation that would create a system for tracking and reporting the disposal of the polluted water that is a byproduct of natural gas drilling.
“My legislation would allow the public to track wastewater produced by this quickly growing industry from cradle to grave,” Mundy said in a prepared statement. “It would help promote public confidence that natural gas well operators are following the law on the treatment and disposal of wastewater, which can contain brine and chemicals.”
Companies with natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale already have to make semi-annual production reports to the state Department of Environmental Protection. Mundy’s proposed legislation would expand that to include the wastewater from hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells, and DEP would make the information available on its website.
Hydraulic fracturing, also called “fracking,” involves blasting millions of gallons of chemical-treated water thousands of feet underground to break up the shale and release natural gas.
Mundy explained the bill, which she worked on with Penn Future, is to ensure the chemical and salt-laden wastewater isn’t dumped where it’s not supposed to be.
“I think that’s a concern people have: where’s the water coming from, and where are they disposing of it?” she said. “Because it’s toxic and it’s polluting. We want to know where it’s going.”
Mundy previously introduced House Resolution 864, which urges Congress to pass U.S. Sen. Bob Casey’s Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act.
The FRAC Act is intended to close the “Halliburton Loophole” in the federal Safe Drinking Water Act, which exempts oil and gas companies from restrictions on hydraulic fracturing near drinking water sources. The FRAC Act would also require oil and gas companies to disclose all the chemicals in their hydraulic fracturing solutions.
Casey announced Wednesday provisions from the FRAC Act have been included in the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act, which will be considered ion the Senate floor.
“This is great. The more activity the better,” Mundy said when told about the new development. However, she noted, “There’s many a slip between introducing the legislation and getting it passed into law, at any level.”
If the Clean Energy Jobs and Oil Company Accountability Act doesn’t pass by the time the state legislature reconvenes in September, Mundy said she will urge leaders to bring her resolution up for vote, to show support for Casey’s efforts.
Mundy also sponsored two other pieces of natural gas drilling-related legislation. One is House Bill 2609, which would establish a one-year moratorium on issuing of new natural gas well drilling permits to give state officials more time to put appropriate regulations in place.
The other is House Bill 2608, which would prohibit natural gas companies from drilling horizontal wells or doing hydraulic fracturing within 2,500 feet of a drinking water source, instead of the current restriction of 100 feet.
eskrapits@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2072
Complete coverage of natural gas drilling in Northeast Pennsylvania
http://republicanherald.com/news/gas-drilling
Gas Drilling Headlines
Let tax help responders
A fire last week at a natural gas drilling site in Susquehanna County was handled quickly and correctly by driller Chesapeake Energy and local volunteer firefighters, according to state regulators. No one was injured, there was no detectable contamination.
• Opinions differ on fiscal bill provision
• State rule targets chloride levels
• Rights drown in forced pool
• State puts natural gas drillers on notice
• DEP gas drilling violations database
• Natural gas companies aim to acquire all of Wyoming County’s mineral rights
• DEP shale chemical lists at odds over inclusion of above ground substances
Natural gas, unnatural risk: Hydrofracking endangers our water
http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2010/07/25/2010-07-25_natural_gas_unnatural_risk.html
Sunday, July 25th 2010
Natural gas, unnatural risk: Hydrofracking endangers our water
There is no higher priority for New York’s state and federal legislators than to put the brakes on the idea of opening areas upstate to the controversial form of natural gas drilling called hydraulic fracturing – “fracking,” for short.
While the technique has been around for 60 years, critics say the modern version of fracking is unsound, leaving broad swaths of land poisoned and polluted.
“Gasland,” an award-winning documentary that airs tonight on HBO (gaslandthemovie.com), shows communities in Pennsylvania, Colorado and elsewhere rife with sick people, animals that have lost their fur, and water so polluted that it actually ignites when a match is held near a kitchen tap.
The problem is a byproduct of modern fracking, which involves shooting millions of gallons of water and a cocktail of extraction chemicals deep underground – on average, 8,000 feet below the surface. The pressurized water and chemicals shake loose natural gas that is then captured and piped away.
Remnants of the chemicals and half of the millions of gallons of water, however, stay behind and begin rising. The tainted water can end up polluting fresh drinking water, which tends to be only 1,000 feet below the surface.
Worst of all, a mysterious process called methane migration can leak combustible gas into the water table as well. That gives some residents in fracking areas tap water that explodes on contact with an open flame.
“It’s really quite shocking and strange and, and weirdly kind of thrilling when you see it,” the director of “Gasland,” Josh Fox, told me when describing the polluted water that turns to fire. “And then all of a sudden it hits: It’s really a huge problem.”
The film shows people assembling complicated 500-gallon bottled water systems, bemoaning lost property values and complaining of brain lesions, exhaustion and other health issues.
Fox blames the problem on the so-called Halliburton loophole of 2005, provisions in that year’s Energy Policy Act that exempted gas drilling companies from the Safe Water Drinking Act of 1974 and allowed them to not disclose the 500-plus chemicals that get shot underground during fracking.
Passage of the law set off a wave of fracking that has reached 34 states. Fox himself became aware of the trend when a gas company offered him $4,000 per acre to let them frack on land he owns near Delaware – an offer that would have brought him $100,000. After studying the process and its effects around the country, Fox rejected the money outright.
His land, like all of upstate New York, sits atop a vast underground deposit of natural gas, the Marcellus Shale, that stretches from New York to West Virginia and could be a veritable Saudi Arabia of natural gas.
Hopes of exploiting these and other major gas reserves are the reason energy magnate T. Boone Pickens made TV ads advocating more extraction of “clean, natural gas” to wean America off of foreign oil. Pickens was persuasive, patriotic and profit-driven. I just hope he plans more commercials to explain the potential of frack-induced pollution.
A growing number of people are already saying: Not so fast. The New York City Department of Environmental Protection has warned that fracking near the upstate watershed could pollute the drinking water for the 16 million people who live in or near our city.
Environmental groups are calling for a moratorium on leasing any land in New York for fracking, and Albany is considering a law imposing a one-year moratorium on fracking. A federal bill would give the federal Environmental Protection Agency the power to regulate fracking.
These are all good starts at what must be a top priority for elected officials: saving New York from environmental horrors that have already shown much of America the false promise of fracking.
elouis@nydailynews.com
Shale drilling, what is it?
http://www.tnonline.com/node/118669
Shale drilling, what is it?
Reported on Friday, July 23, 2010
By MICHAEL NEWTON TN Correspondent tneditor@tnonline.com
A lack of knowledge among citizens of Carbon County about the issue of shale drilling is seen as a major problem by the Kidder Township Environmental Advisory Committee. < http://www.americantowns.com/pa/lakeharmony/events/environmental-advisory-council >
“People have no idea,” said committee member Bob Dobosh at the EAC’s meeting this week.
This lack of knowledge is seen as a problem because choices made about shale drilling will have an immense impact on the future of both the state and the nation. Debate has raged between proponents, who view it as a vital part of the nation’s energy plan, and detractors who fear that the environmental impacts are not properly understood.
Shale drilling is a complex process and the technological advances that have made it possible have outpaced research into its consequences.
“Nobody is asking the question of what happens 10 years from now when we’re out of water,” said EAC member Hank George.
It is currently believed that there is more than 363 trillion cubic feet of harvestable gas in the Marcellus shale bloom. That is enough to supply all of the nation’s energy needs for 15 years. A typical well located on an 80-acre space, is expected to produce around 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas over the course of its operations. The gas is found in small cracks and fissures running through the porous rock.
The process of extracting the gas is complicated and relies primarily on two techniques hydrofracing and horizontal drilling. Hydrofracing is a process where a ‘mud’ made out of water and chemicals, is shot down into the well in order to break up the shale and allow the gases in between cracks in the rock to flow to the surface. Horizontal drilling is a process whereby the well is slowly turned at a 90 degree angle. Using horizontal drilling, a typical well can extract gas in a radius of over a mile.
According to a report issued by the United States Geological Society, shale drilling presents three main areas of concern over water quality. The first is the massive amount of water needed to perform hydrofracing. Each round of hydrofracing can use up to 3 million gallons of water. Thus, concerns have risen among local municipal water authorities as to where all that water will come from. If too much is used from local water sources, they can be damaged or depleted, leading to unnatural drought conditions.
The shipment of water and materials in extremely heavy trucks over small mountain roads may lead to erosion, which could further damage water tables. In addition, there is no way to know exactly how much material and chemicals will leak out of the trucks over time.
Once the hydrofracing solutions have been used they must be properly disposed. A typical 3-million gallon hydrofracing job can be expected to produce at least 15,000 gallons of contaminated water. Not only is the solution full of chemicals, many of which are guarded company secrets, but being in contact with rock formations means that when the solution comes to the surface, it brings along large amounts of silt and possibly harmful minerals. This presents difficulties because water treatment plants are not able to adequately remove these contaminants. Several alternative solutions have been proposed, such as reinjecting the hydrofracing solutions into shallow pits, but there is no clear consensus or across the board standard.
Knowledge about the process of shale drilling and the issues that go along with it can help citizens make informed decisions about the future of the state. Toward that end, the Kidder EAC is going to prepare informational newsletters and distribute them to the various homeowners’ associations in the websites.
Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
With Pennsylvania’s Marcellus shale-gas epoch still in its infancy, some experts doubt we have seen one-tenth of what is yet to come and recommend that municipalities brace themselves for rapid change. “People who are not in the Marcellus areas have no clue how big this is going to be,” said Kurt Hausammann Jr., planning director for Lycoming County. “This has the possibility to change our whole way of life.”
Read the full story on Live: http://live.psu.edu/story/47431/nw69
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Local zoning is perhaps best control over Marcellus play, planner says
Safe Drinking Water workshop
http://www.americantowns.com/pa/hawley/events/safe-drinking-water-workshop
Safe Drinking Water workshop
Penn State Cooperative Extension will present a Safe Drinking Water workshop on July 13, 7:00 – 9:00 PM, Pike County Conservation District office, 556 Route 402, Blooming Grove. The cost is $7.00 per person or couple. Pre-registration, including payment, is required by July 9.
If you depend on your own well or spring for your drinking water, it is your responsibility to have your water tested periodically at a certified water testing lab. Water testing will be available for participants at a discounted fee through Prosser Labs.
For a printable flyer go to http://tinyurl.com/yycbns3
For more information contact Penn State Cooperative Extension in Pike County by phone at 570-296-3400, by fax at 570-296-3406, or send an e-mail message to PikeExt@psu.edu. Please be sure to include your full name and surface mail address.
Pennsylvania nat gas well capped after blowout
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN0414919620100604
Fri Jun 4, 2010 5:36pm EDT
Pennsylvania nat gas well capped after blowout
* No one injured, no homes evacuated
* Well was being drilled in the Marcellus Shale
* Lawmaker renews call for tighter regulation on fracking
* EOG Resources is “investigating everything” -spokeswoman
By Jon Hurdle
PHILADELPHIA, June 4 (Reuters) – Workers capped a natural gas well in central Pennsylvania on Friday after it ruptured during drilling, spewing gas and drilling fluid 75 feet (23 meters) in the air, officials said.
The well, operated by EOG Resources Inc (EOG.N) in a remote area of Clearfield County, blew out at about 8 p.m. EDT (midnight GMT) on Thursday when a drilling team “lost control” of the well while preparing to extract gas, according to a statement from the state Department of Environmental Protection.
No one was killed or injured, and there were no evacuations because there are no homes within a mile (1.6 km) of the drill site but nearby roads were closed, and emergency management officials declared a no-fly zone around the site. Read more
Baker proposes bills on gas drilling, drinking water
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Baker_proposes_bills_on_gas_drilling__drinking_water_05-24-2010.html
Baker proposes bills on gas drilling, drinking water
Pa. senator says protection needed to ensure drilling doesn’t contaminate water.
By Steve Mocarsky smocarsky@timesleader.com
Staff Writer
May 25, 2010
The state senator representing the Back Mountain is proposing a series of bills to protect drinking water sources from contamination associated with natural gas drilling.
Sen. Lisa Baker, R-Lehman Township, said on Monday that the chances of water contamination grow as drilling into the Marcellus Shale increases in Pennsylvania, and the proposed bills are in response to citizen and community concerns about the safety of water resources.
“Prevention and protection are preferable to crisis management and emergency response,” Baker said.
EnCana Oil & Gas plans to drill two natural gas wells in the Back Mountain – one each in Lehman and Lake townships – and a third in the Red Rock area in Fairmount Township, not far from Ricketts Glen State Park.
The well site in Lehman Township is less than two miles from the Huntsville Reservoir.
Although there are proposed water protection regulations moving through the approval process, Baker said state law has “more force.”
And as drilling proceeds on a larger scale, “area residents want answers that show responsibility being assured, rather than risks being assumed,” Baker said.
“Reasonable environmental protections will not discourage the development of this industry; they will help to make sure that unreasonable costs are not imposed on local communities and homeowners,” she said.
In order to protect aquifers and determine any adverse consequences attributable to drilling, one bill would require testing at three times – before drilling, at the completion of drilling, and six months afterwards – at three different depths.
A second bill would rule out drilling at sites too close to drinking water sources such as reservoirs.
A third bill would require the state Department of Environmental Protection to ensure that operators of wastewater treatment facilities are properly trained and sufficiently monitored to lessen the chances of human error creating a major problem.
Baker said some of the costs would be borne by the gas companies.
Oversight costs could be paid for through a severance tax, which is expected to be debated in the coming weeks.
She reiterated her opposition to any severance tax plan that would devote the revenue generated to filling a hole in the state budget rather than providing for community protection in drilling areas.
“The environmental and economic catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico underscores the crucial nature of taking all reasonable precautions and for being prepared for dealing with extreme situations when things go horribly wrong,” Baker said.
Steve Mocarsky, a Times Leader staff writer, may be reached at 970-7311.
Marcellus Shale natural gas fever is here, but are you ready?
http://www.farmanddairy.com/news/marcellus-shale-natural-gas-fever-is-here-but-are-you-ready/14991.html
Marcellus Shale natural gas fever is here, but are you ready?
Posted By Kristy Foster On May 25, 2010 @ 8:49 am
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — The time is not to wonder if it will happen, the time is to get prepared for when the Marcellus shale gas drilling will begin.
In western Pa., drilling has already commenced in just about every county from the southern border to the New York state line, and permits have been issued in Beaver and Butler counties. There are no permits issued in Lawrence or Mercer counties yet, but many expect it won’t be long until that happens.
Ask questions first
The public crowded into the Lawrence County Community Action Partnership Building May 20 to learn more about Marcellus shale drilling at an event coordinated by Penn State Cooperative Extension.
Everyone who made a presentation at the workshop had one common statement: Hire an attorney before signing any type of agreement or lease with a gas company.
Drilling increase
The Pa. Department of Environmental Protection, Bureau of Oil and Gas Management, is reporting a tremendous growth in Marcellus wells across the state.
In 2008, 196 wells were drilled, and 519 wells were permitted.
In 2009, 763 wells were drilled; 1,985 were permitted.
So far in 2010, 280 wells have been drilled and 584 have been permitted.
The state of New York quit issuing permits for drilling there and that has contributed to the boom of drilling in Pennsylvania.
Marcellus shale
Jon Laughner, an educator with Penn State Extension, said the Marcellus shale is a very thin layer of earth and in most cases if the Marcellus shale is present then so is gas trapped in it.
There are now more than 60 gas companies in Pennsylvania, and some wells have began production in Washington County, the site of the first producing Marcellus well.
One thing to consider is a no surface drilling lease, the presenters said. This is especially important to keep in mind if the property is less than five acres.
A recommendation given was to have the lease stated that there will be no surface drilling and only horizontal drilling, although if the property is greater than 50 acres, it is almost impossible to get a gas company to agree to this stipulation.
Marcellus shale may not be the only thing gas companies are interested in on a property. Studies are finding that if a property has a layer of Utica, which is several thousand feet lower than the Marcellus shale, the gas companies are probably interested in that as well. Under the Utica layer is also natural gas.
Water resources
Bryan Swistock, Penn State water resources specialist, is studying connections between brine water, water used for the drilling process and drinking water supplies.
One thing he recommends is that property owners get it stated in their lease that the drill site has to be at least 500 feet from a water supply. He added Pennsylvania law states it only has to be 200 feet, but that may not be enough.
After the permit is issued, the only notice given about the commencement of drilling will be to anyone with their drinking water supply within 1,000 feet of the drilling location. They will be notified within 24 hours of the drilling to begin.
Another tip he gives homeowners is to get their water tested by a state certified water testing lab prior to drilling, even if the site is not on their property and even if they are outside of the 500-feet zone. He said that will be the only way to prove something happened to the supply during the drilling.
After the drilling is complete, get another sample taken and tested.
Brine water disposal. Swistock also talked about the use of brine water at the drilling site and storage of the liquid on the property. He said it is very important to keep it away from drinking water areas.
He said millions of gallons of water will be needed for the drilling process and it is important to plan ahead and find out where the company plans to store the fluids.
Swistock added only 30 percent of what the company uses to drill will resurface within a couple of months and not enough studies have been completed to find out when and where the remaining water will resurface in the future.
Legal issues
Kris Vanderman, farmer and an attorney in Washington County specializing in working with property owners and natural gas issues, emphasized how important it is to contact an attorney before signing anything, rather than contacting one after a problem emerges with the gas company.
His legal tips included:
• Ensure the lease states arbitration will be used to determine issues between the land owner and the gas company.
• The lease should state how the property tax dealing with agricultural use will be handled. For example, who will pay the difference if gas is found on the property, when the farm loses its CAUV, or similar ag use valuation.
• Get the lease to state what will happen to the crops that are planted on the property and how much will be given for them if they are destroyed.
• The lease should also state that the property owner gets the right to have final say on where drilling sites will be and where brine tanks will be situated on the property.
He also told the group to make sure the lease does not state “owner has reasonable” anything. He recommends removing the phrase from any clause because in a court the gas company will hire professionals to state why you are unreasonable in not wanting the drilling site to be in a particular position on the property.
He said, simply, no matter what it comes down to, the gas company will say you are unreasonable and will have a good chance at winning the argument.
Financial planning
An average property with gas lease is getting between $200 and $300 an acre. If drilling begins, the price could increase to $2,000 an acre and if gas is found then the property owner could receive as much as an 18 percent royalty and storage fees.
Ted Feitt, of Washington Financial, said he couldn’t stress enough that property owners must plan ahead. He added it is not enough to wait until the gas is found to plan.
Feitt said he has seen some property owners already go broke because they didn’t plan ahead. He compared the financial windfall for some property owners to lottery winners who have gone broke five years after the good fortune.
He said the best thing to do is to establish a plan of action and an estate plan. One thing to consider is the taxes that will need to be paid when the checks begin to roll in once gas is found.
Feitt’s advice is simple: Pay taxes and then invest, otherwise it won’t be long before the farm will be foreclosed on and the property will be sold.
Another important item to remember is for your estate. He said if money is not set aside for the estate taxes, heirs could be forced to sell the property unless a cash reserve is available or another plan is established.
One thing was made clear by the workshop: There is a host of items to consider when thinking about leasing your property to any company. But if you remember only one thing, it should be this: Consult an attorney before signing anything.
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