EPA Chief Says Fracking Not Proven to Harm Water
http://www.care2.com/greenliving/epa-chief-says-fracking-not-proven-to-harm-water.html
posted by Jake Richardson May 27, 2011 2:03 pm
A recent article on the news site, The Oklahoman, reported that EPA Chief Lisa Jackson said she did not know of any proven case where hydraulic fracking had affected drinking water. She must have missed the news two weeks ago that a research study conducted by Duke University scientists found methane contamination of drinking water wells in areas where shale drilling is taking place. The peer-reviewed study was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
They tested water from 68 drinking water wells in southeastern Pennsylvania and southern New York state. The researchers said, “Our results show evidence for methane contamination of shallow drinking water systems in at least three areas of the region and suggest important environmental risks accompanying shale gas exploration worldwide.” (Source: Huffington Post)
Congressman Maurice Hinchey, D-NY said, “This study provides eye-opening scientific evidence about methane contamination and the risks that irresponsible natural gas drilling poses for drinking water supplies.” (Source: Huffington Post)
Potentially as bad, or even worse, were the results of a Congressional investigation that revealed 32 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel had been injected into wells in 19 states from 2005 to 2009. Diesel fuel contains toxins such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes. Benzene is known to cause cancer.
A news article from the San Antonio Express-News stated that water has been affected by the fracking process, “Surface spills of the fracking fluids have killed livestock and fouled waterways.” Also, a US energy company is facing a lawsuit for allegedly turning a drinking water well into a gas well due to their fracking, “The water well next door to their house began to spew methane. So much so that they ended up putting a flare in the person’s backyard,” said the lead lawyer on the case. (Source: CBC.ca)
Fracking fluids are used during the process of drilling and extracting natural gas. They are exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act due to the Halliburton loophole. Some of the chemicals used in fracking could be cancer-causing.
Lisa Jackson is an Obama appointee, along with Ken Salazaar, who has disappointed many environmentalists and progressives. You have to wonder if the Chief of the EPA actually is that unaware of such an important research study and how it relates to the fracking controversy, or if she simply was dodging the issue of how dangerous fracking can be, due to the pressure of the oil and gas industry and the current administration. The EPA is currently conducting its own study of fracking, with a report due sometime in 2012.
EPA acknowledges Barletta’s concerns about cancer in Pittston
http://citizensvoice.com/news/epa-acknowledges-barletta-s-concerns-about-pittston-1.1153049#axzz1NN3RonoJ
By Andrew Staub (Staff Writer)
Published: May 27, 2011
A day after U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta penned a terse letter urging further investigation into a rash of cancer cases in Pittston, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency acknowledged it received the congressman’s request and said it will review the letter and consider an appropriate response.
As for any other comment, that will likely be reserved for another day, EPA spokesman Roy Seneca said Thursday, two days after dozens of Pittston residents gathered at a city middle school to discuss the cause of numerous cases of cancer on Mill and Carroll streets.
At that meeting, the EPA and the state Department of Health discounted the residents’ theory that the nearby Butler Mine Tunnel, once an illegal dumping ground for millions of gallons of oil waste and other chemicals, contributed to the rash of cancer.
On Wednesday, though, Barletta urged the EPA to further investigate whether any hazardous substance has contaminated the ground, air or water around the streets in question. He wrote that he was “deeply concerned that EPA seems to be ignoring the residents of the Carroll/Mill neighborhood, and the people of Pittston in general.”
“If there is a cancer cluster in this area, what is the cause of it? If the Butler Mine Tunnel is not the cause, is there an environmental cause? And if there is an environmental cause, can it be remediated?” Barletta wrote. “These are all very serious questions, and the EPA is the federal agency that should provide the answers.”
As of Thursday, the EPA kept its response to Barletta’s letter succinct and offered no timetable for further action.
“I really don’t have anything to say to that,” Seneca said of Barletta’s accusation the EPA is ignoring Pittston. “We received a letter, and we’re reviewing it. We’ll be responding appropriately.”
Barletta, R-Hazleton, wrote his letter to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson, latching onto the frustration many residents expressed at Tuesday’s open house at Martin L. Mattei Middle School. They asked the EPA and the state Department of Health to focus their investigation of the cancer cases on Mill and Carroll streets, where some residents say between 60 to 80 people have cancer.
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, director of the state’s bureau of epidemiology, said analyzing the number of cancer diagnoses of such a small area would not provide adequate data to conclude a cancer cluster exists.
Mitch Cron, the EPA’s remedial project manager for the Butler Mine Tunnel Superfund Site, repeatedly told residents that they are not exposed to contaminants from the mine tunnel and that the water running through it is “generally very clean.”
When Cron told residents no further testing would be done in the affected area, one man walked out of the meeting and concluded the EPA had “wasted all of our time.”
astaub@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052
Barletta asks EPA for further investigation of ‘cancer cluster’ in Pittston neighborhood
http://citizensvoice.com/news/barletta-asks-epa-for-further-investigation-of-cancer-cluster-1.1152465#axzz1NN3RonoJ
By Andrew Staub (Staff Writer)
Published: May 26, 2011
In a sharply worded letter sent to the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta requested further investigation into a Pittston neighborhood where residents say dozens of people have been diagnosed with or died of cancer.
Barletta, R-Hazleton, wants additional testing for hazardous materials in the soil, air and water around Mill and Carroll streets, located near the mouth of the Butler Mine Tunnel. Residents have wondered if the rash of cancer stems from the mine drainage tunnel, once illegally filled with millions of gallons of oil waste and chemicals.
“The residents of the Carroll/Mill neighborhood of Pittston, Pennsylvania, are scared,” Barletta wrote to EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “They are concerned that they and their children are exposed to something in the environment that is causing an unusual rise in cancer rates.”
Barletta’s request came a day after EPA officials told dozens of residents gathered at Martin L. Mattei Middle School in Pittston that the agency would not consider additional testing around Mill and Carroll streets. One man, disgusted by the response, stormed from the room and said, “You wasted all of our time.”
Mitch Cron, the EPA’s remedial project manager for the Butler Mine Tunnel Superfund Site, repeatedly told residents that they are not exposed to contaminants from the mine tunnel and that the water running through it is “generally very clean.”
Residents didn’t buy his explanation, nor a state Department of Health official’s conclusion that the dozens of cases of cancer do not qualify as a cancer cluster.
Residents complained that the Department of Health based its conclusion upon too wide a swath of residents. Dr. Stephen Ostroff, director of the state’s bureau of epidemiology, bolstered his argument with data culled from the entire 18640 area code, while residents argued the investigation should focus just on Mill and Carroll streets in Pittston.
Chris Meninchini, whose father Chuck lives on Carroll Street and has been diagnosed with lymphoma and colon cancer, suggested someone from EPA canvas the affected neighborhood.
“Someone from your department has to get up and do the job and go door to door,” he told Cron.
Focusing on a specific neighborhood would not provide enough data for an adequate conclusion, Ostroff said, equating it to judging a baseball player’s ability by his batting average only a few games into the season.
Barletta and state Sen. John Yudichak have both said that if the cause of the cancer is not the Butler Mine Tunnel, alternate causes must be investigated. The EPA’s refusal to conduct more testing in the neighborhood in question specifically irked Barletta.
“Frankly, this is unacceptable,” he wrote in his letter. “The EPA’s own website indicates that one of the agency’s primary reasons for existence is to ensure that ‘all Americans are protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn and work.'”
Barletta’s office released the letter late Wednesday afternoon. EPA officials could not be reached for comment.
astaub@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052
Learn what You Can Do To Protect Drinking Water
WREN OFFERS TWO FREE WORKSHOPS IN JUNE
Communities undergoing natural gas development have expressed a keen interest in protecting the purity of public water supplies. To help communities, planners, and public water systems learn more about available tools and management options to protect drinking water now and for future generations, WREN and PA DEP are bringing a pair of free workshops to Ridgway, Elk County, on June 21st and June 22nd at the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning & Development Commission facilities.
On June 21st , the “Protecting Public Drinking Water: Source Water Protection Solutions” Workshop will cover the basics of source water protection, outline roles and responsibilities, and introduce tools like DEP’s Source Water Protection Technical Assistance Program and PA Rural Water’s assistance program that provide protection plans that focus on prevention, before contamination happens. WREN’s Julie Kollar, and Mark Stephens, P.G. at DEP North Central Region will present. The workshop will run from 1 pm – 4:45 pm and is approved by DEP for 3.5 contact hours for water operators.
On June 22nd, WREN will offer “Source Water Protection through Planning & Leadership,” featuring advanced source water protection training with a “train the trainer” workshop for planners, local governments, water systems, and interested citizens who want to learn more about source water protection strategies. WREN’s Julie Kollar and DEP’s Mark Stephens will be joined by PMPEI-certified planning instructor D. Jeffrey Pierce, Director of Community Planning at Olsen and Associates, LLC who will present “Planning Tools for Municipalities, along with Professor Ross H. Pifer, Director, Agricultural Law and Reference Center, Penn State Law who will present “State Pre-Emption of a Municipality’s Authority to Regulate Oil and Gas Operations.” Mark Szybist, Staff Attorney at PennFuture will wrap up with a session covering “What Municipalities Can Do Now.” The workshop will be conducted from 10 am – 2:15 pm, also at the North Central PA Regional Planning & development Commission in Ridgeway.
To learn more, download a flyer and register online, go to www.sourcewaterpa.org
No common ground found on cancer ‘cluster’
http://citizensvoice.com/news/no-common-ground-found-on-cancer-cluster-1.1152060#axzz1NN3RonoJ
By Andrew Staub (Staff Writer)
Published: May 25, 2011
PITTSTON – To prove the existence of a cancer cluster near the Butler Mine Tunnel, residents arrived at a city school on Tuesday armed with anecdotal evidence – exhibits like a bald head hidden under a ball cap, scars from medical treatments and stories of friends and family who succumbed to cancer.
To discount the existence of a cancer cluster near the Butler Mine Tunnel, scientists from the state Department of Health and officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency arrived to the school with empirical evidence – 17 year’s worth of data, literature and detailed presentations.
The two sides, meeting in the Martin L. Mattei Middle School’s cafeteria, never quite reached a common ground. Instead, residents lobbed questions – and frustrated grumbles – toward officials from the EPA and Department of Health when told the 60 or more cases of cancer that have accumulated on Mill and Carroll streets do not qualify as a cancer cluster.
Such an assertion, residents said, is hard to believe considering the Butler Mine Tunnel looms beneath portions of the city. The tunnel, designed as a drainage outlet for a maze of abandoned mines, served as an illegal dumping ground for oil waste in the late 1970s and twice spewed its sludge into the Susquehanna River.
“Who shot Kennedy?” said Chuck Meninchini, a Carroll Street resident diagnosed with lymphoma in February.
While allusions to a cover-up at worst and a lack of answers at best filtered through the room, the EPA’s remedial project manager for the Butler Mine Tunnel Superfund Site, Mitch Cron, tried to assure residents the mine tunnel posed no present danger to them.
“The public is not exposed to contamination from the Butler Mine Tunnel Superfund Site,” Cron said, uttering a line he would repeat several times throughout the night.
The EPA has found oil and grease residue near a borehole at the Hi-Way Auto Services Station, the business that allowed the waste to be dumped into the ground from 1977-79, Cron said. And though one hazardous chemical was detected in amounts above drinking water standards, Cron said that the mine water is not used for drinking and that the water running through the tunnel now is “generally very clean.”
Dr. Stephen Ostroff, director of the state’s bureau of epidemiology, presented data that showed Pittston’s cancer rate outpaces the state average by 11 percent, with an excess of lung, colon and thyroid cancer diagnoses from 1992 to 2008.
Still, Ostroff couldn’t confirm the presence of a cancer cluster, defined by the EPA as an “occurrence of a greater than expected number of cases of a particular disease within a group of people, a geographic area or a period of time.”
City residents suffered from a wide range of cancers, while cancer clusters generally involve a large number of one type of cancer or a rare cancer, Ostroff said. The types of cancers found in excess in Pittston, Ostroff said, usually are not caused by exposure to chemicals.
“That’s the bottom line,” he said.
Most residents disagreed with Ostroff.
Some questioned why the Department of Health examined the entire 18640 zip code instead of limiting its examination of Pittston to just Mill and Carroll streets, where most residents say they’ve noticed inflated numbers of cancers. A small sample size, Ostroff said, would not provide sufficient data.
Others discounted the data from the state cancer registry, and one resident even suggested to “delete” it. Another man walked out when Cron said the EPA had no plans to test soil samples from homes on Mill and Carroll streets.
Edward Appel lives on Mill Street and came to the school with his wife, Helen. She sat in a wheelchair beside Edward, who described his wife’s past battle with breast cancer, then brain tumors. He believes the mine tunnel must be connected to Helen’s trip through “hell.”
“It’s easy to say nothing’s happening – by the people that don’t have the cancer,” Edward Appel said.
Another Mill Street resident, George Boone, collected some of the pamphlets at the open house. A heavy white bandage wrapped around his left arm told the story of the kidney dialysis he endures three times a week, while his shirt hid the scar left when surgeons removed his right kidney about 11 years ago at the outset of his battle with kidney cancer.
Boone’s friend, Phyllis Hadley, said cancer claimed in-laws and her husband. Then she rattled off surnames of several city families who have lost someone to cancer.
“You know what,” Hadley said, “if you stopped to think ⦠” “⦠You’ll count forever,” Boone said, finishing her thought.
The anecdotal evidence hasn’t changed the mind of the EPA or the Department of Health, both of which stood by past research and observations.
Area elected officials such as state Sen. John Yudichak and U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta, though, left residents with a vow to continue the search for clarity about Pittston’s high rate of cancer. Barletta would like to see additional testing to find out if there’s a root cause, said his spokesman, Shawn Kelly.
“Even if it’s not the Butler Mine Tunnel, we want to make sure it’s not something,” Kelly said. “The people here deserve answers.”
astaub@citizensvoice.com, 570-821-2052
Shale drillers eye mine drainage for fluid
http://www.waterworld.com/index/display/news_display/1422301945.html
Timothy Puko
Pittsburgh Tribune Review
May 22, 2011
A growing energy industry that comes with its own pollution concerns could help clean up one of the oldest pollution problems in Pennsylvania.
Shale gas drilling uses billions of gallons of water every year to break into rocks one mile underground. Drillers put chemicals such as methanol, benzene and 2-butoxyethanol into that water to help their equipment work and coax gas forth, but that angers environmentalists and landowners who worry about the water spilling or seeping into public drinking water sources.
One solution could be to use water that’s even dirtier.
University of Pittsburgh professor Radisav D. Vidic is studying how drillers could make use of mine drainage water, since thousands of gallons flow untreated into waterways statewide every day. It would keep that toxic drainage out of water supplies and stop drillers from using tanker trucks that burn gasoline and crush roads while hauling water to well sites, Vidic said.
“I was completely blown away by the fact that they were willing to truck water around,” said Vidic, a civil and environmental engineer.
He’s in the middle of a three-year, federally funded research project and is focusing on how to use mine water.
“Not only do you reduce the traffic and opportunities for spilling, but you clean up some of the legacy issues (left by coal),” he said.
Drilling companies are taking notice.
‘Every little bit counts’
Read more
Doctors raise questions about health impacts of drilling
http://citizensvoice.com/news/doctors-raise-questions-about-health-impacts-of-drilling-1.1151308#axzz1NGoFQInA
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: May 24, 2011
Area physicians brought their questions about the potential health impacts of natural gas drilling to a symposium on the issue Monday night and learned how much about those impacts has yet to be studied.
The Lackawanna County Medical Society sponsored the forum as an introduction to the gas drilling process and its relative risks to drinking and surface water.
Kim Scandale, executive director of the society, said the hope is to address at future sessions some of the unanswered questions raised by the doctors – everything from where to report symptoms potentially related to the drilling to whether there have been epidemiological studies in other gas-drilling states.
Bryan Swistock, water resources extension specialist for Penn State Cooperative Extension and a presenter at the symposium, emphasized the importance of pre- and post-drilling water tests of residential wells. The tests can document any changes to water supplies that might help doctors understand symptoms, he said.
He also detailed the lack of state standards for drinking water wells, which can lead to poor construction and unsafe health conditions even before gas drilling begins.
Doctors in the audience raised concerns about how to determine if symptoms can be connected to nearby drilling, especially since patients’ complaints tend to be “very nebulous, like numbness and joint pain.”
The Northeast Regional Cancer Institute is in the early stages of planning a study of baseline health conditions in the Northern Tier to help measure any health impacts from drilling if they do occur, the center’s medical director and director of research Samuel Lesko, M.D., said.
“At least it will give us some baseline data that might be useful five years or six months from now,” he said.
llegere@timesshamrock.com
Panelists will discuss Marcellus Shale development at Wilkes forum
http://citizensvoice.com/news/panelists-will-discuss-marcellus-shale-development-at-wilkes-forum-1.1150635#axzz1NGoFQInA
Published: May 23, 2011
Wilkes University will host a forum, “Consensus on Marcellus development: What would it look like, and how do we get there?” at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the Dorothy Dickson Darte Center for the Performing Arts.
The event, sponsored by the Wilkes University Alumni Association and the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research of Northeastern Pennsylvania, will feature a panel of participants with different perspectives.
Panelists include:
> Kenneth Klemow, Wilkes professor of biology and associate director of the Institute for Energy and Environmental Research of Northeastern Pennsylvania.
> Brian Redmond, Wilkes professor of earth science.
> Clayton Bubeck, environmental engineer with Rettew Associates and a 1997 Wilkes graduate.
> Steve Brokenshire, environmental scientist with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and a 1992 Wilkes graduate.
> Nancy Dolan, a community activist with the Gas Drilling Awareness Coalition and a 1996 Wilkes graduate.
> State Rep. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, a state legislator and a 1967 Wilkes graduate.
> Teri Ooms, executive director of the Institute for Public Policy and Economic Development.
Admission is free and the forum is open to the public. Advance registration is encouraged; pre-register at [ http://community.wilkes.edu/s/344/index.aspx?sid=344&pgid=1115&gid=1&cid=2245&ecid=2245 ]
Study suggests businesses benefiting from Marcellus Shale development
http://live.psu.edu/story/53511#nw69
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Marcellus Shale development is likely to affect local businesses across Pennsylvania, according to Timothy Kelsey, professor of agricultural economics.
University Park, Pa. — A survey of businesses in two Pennsylvania counties where natural-gas drilling is occurring suggests that the Marcellus Shale boom is having a positive net effect on business activity.
Summarized in a fact sheet, “Local Business Impacts of Marcellus Shale Development: The Experience in Bradford and Washington Counties, 2010,” the survey was part of a larger economic impact study being done by the Marcellus Shale Education and Training Center, a partnership between Penn State Extension and the Pennsylvania College of Technology in Williamsport.
Partial funding for the study came from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development.
“The Marcellus Shale gas boom clearly has the potential to affect local businesses across Pennsylvania,” said Timothy Kelsey, professor of agricultural economics in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences and a lead author of the publication.
“The survey results provide insights into what occurred in two of Pennsylvania’s most active Marcellus Shale counties during 2010 and what other counties could experience as drilling activity increases,” added Kelsey, who also serves as Penn State Extension state program leader for economic and community development.
Researchers surveyed 1,000 randomly selected businesses in each of the counties. Responses were received from 619 businesses — 360 from Bradford County and 259 from Washington County. “The types of businesses responding generally were consistent with the actual business composition of each county’s economy, making the survey fairly representative of actual conditions,” Kelsey said.
Approximately 22 percent of businesses in Bradford County and 9 percent in Washington County reported changes due to Marcellus Shale development.
Nearly a third of Bradford County businesses and 23 percent of Washington County businesses reported increases in sales due to natural-gas drilling. Three percent of Bradford County respondents and 2 percent of Washington County respondents reported a drop in sales.
In regards to employment trends, about 90 percent of survey respondents said that natural-gas drilling has not changed their number of employees. Most of those reporting a change said that they have more employees due to natural-gas development.
A similar percentage reported that their ability to find and hire qualified employees has not changed, although this varied by county. About 13 percent of Bradford County businesses reported trouble attracting workers, compared to only 2 percent in Washington County. About 9 percent of Bradford County businesses reported greater employee turnover due to Marcellus activity.
Kelsey noted that differences in Marcellus-related sales and employment trends in the two counties likely were due mostly to the relative size of their populations and economies. Bradford County is largely rural with a population of about 60,000, while Washington County is much more urbanized and is home to more than 200,000 residents.
“The results suggest that the size of the host county is an important factor affecting the scope and visibility of impacts on businesses due to natural-gas drilling,” he said. “The relative impacts likely will be greater in smaller counties, but this also means greater risk of a ‘bust’ when drilling activity slows.”
The survey also showed that changes in business activity differed across business types. For instance, 80 percent of hotels and campgrounds in Bradford County reported changes due to gas-drilling activity, and 100 percent reported higher sales.
Higher sales also were reported by half of that county’s financial businesses, 44 percent of retailers, 38 percent of eating and drinking establishments, and 33 percent of wholesale trade and business services firms.
Despite concerns about the possible negative effects of Marcellus gas drilling on tourism, tour operators, souvenir stores, tourist attractions and other tourism-related businesses did not appear to be affected. Twenty-nine percent of such businesses reported increased sales due to natural-gas drilling activity, while 71 percent reported no change. None reported difficulties in finding or retaining employees.
“However, the long-term impact on tourism still is unknown, since additional new well pads, pipelines and access roads have the potential to change communities enough to affect tourism,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey cautioned that the survey offers just a snapshot, taken very early in the long-term development of the Marcellus Shale.
“The impacts on businesses may change over time due to the cumulative effects of drilling,” he said. “It’s also important to note that higher local business sales do not directly affect local tax collections by counties or most municipalities and school districts. This study does not change the need for continuous, long-term monitoring of how natural-gas development is affecting businesses, residents, communities and the environment.”
“Local Business Impacts of Marcellus Shale Development: The Experience in Bradford and Washington Counties, 2010” can be found at http://pubs.cas.psu.edu/freepubs/pdfs/ee0005.pdf online. Alternatively, one free copy of this publication can be obtained by Pennsylvania residents from the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Publication Distribution Center, The Pennsylvania State University, 112 Agricultural Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-2602; telephone: 814-865-6713; fax: 814-863-5560; or email, at AgPubsDist@psu.edu.
For out-of-state or bulk orders, contact the Publication Distribution Center.
Susquehanna River Basin Commission faces difficult balancing act
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/05/susquehanna_river_basin_commis.html
Published: Sunday, May 22, 2011, 4:00 AM
By Patriot-News Op-Ed
While news that a modern-day gold rush is in full bloom this spring in the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale region would surprise only a hermit, the question remains: Is hydraulic fracturing — a method of extracting natural gas from the shale — turning into yet another rape of the landscape?
Are Pennsylvania’s environmental guardians up to the task or, as some critics claim, are they just a hapless 21st-century band of Keystone Kops?
I believe the Susquehanna River Basin Commission is tackling the issue head-on. Its executive director through nearly half the agency’s 40-year history, Paul O. Swartz, and regulators are protecting our water resources, striking a reasonable balance between environmental needs and the state’s booming natural gas industry.
Just last week the SRBC came out strongly against some findings in a report by American Rivers, a national environmental group. The commission disagrees, for many reasons, with American Rivers’ call for the commission to impose a moratorium on water withdrawals and use approvals for gas drilling. SRBC believes the state’s regulatory improvements, including well casing, impoundments and other safety standards, will adequately protect water quality and their use and enjoyment by the 4 million-plus residents of the river basin.
“Accidents can still happen,” Swartz allows, “but the improvements are intended to make the industry abide by a higher standard.”
Read more