Gas well blowout: Operator suspends fracking in state
Chesapeake: Flow from leak in Bradford County well stopped. Cause of breach still unknown.
LEROY TWP. – As a natural gas well in Bradford County continued to leak super-salty flow-back water after a blowout Wednesday, well operator Chesapeake Energy suspended all hydraulic fracturing operations in Pennsylvania on Thursday.
The leak, which began in an accident Tuesday night, produced water and natural gas until about 10 p.m. Thursday, when Chesapeake said it had stopped the flow.
Chesapeake’s Atgas H2 gas well in LeRoy Township, near Canton, suffered a blowout when a piece of equipment failed during hydraulic fracturing just before midnight Tuesday into Wednesday, sending a reported 30,000 gallons of water spilling from the well pad, some of it reaching a tributary of Towanda Creek.
The creek flows into the Susquehanna River.
Chesapeake said fluids still seeping from the leaking piece of equipment had been contained by midday Wednesday, and a secondary containment mechanism was diverting the flow of fluids away from Towanda Creek.
Equipment was removed from the well head, and crews worked to plug the leak and seal the well. Chesapeake said after 10 p.m. Thursday that workers had successfully stemmed the flow of the leak, and that they would continue to monitor it overnight.
Chesapeake spokesman Brian Grove said the exact cause of the breach remained unknown Thursday, but that it took place in a wellhead connection.
“Chesapeake has voluntarily suspended all completion operations in Pennsylvania as we evaluate this incident,” Grove said in a statement Thursday, later adding, “a full investigation will be conducted to determine the root cause of the failure, evaluate best management practices and make any and all necessary corrections before returning to normal operations.”Seven families living near the well were temporarily evacuated Wednesday morning but returned later in the day.
Chesapeake spokesman Rory Sweeney said fluid injected into the well during fracking contained chemical additives that aid the process, including corrosion and bacteria inhibitors, but the main environmental concern is with brine, naturally occurring underground salt water now back-flowing from the well with the frack fluid.
“Highly briny liquid can have some effects,” Sweeney said. “That’s why we’ve been very diligent and worked very hard to mitigate and minimize the effects to the environment.”
The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency’s daily summary report Thursday stated approximately 30,000 gallons of water leaked from the well. Chesapeake and the state Department of Environmental Protection could not confirm that figure.
DEP spokesman Daniel Spadoni said Thursday that well-containment specialist Boots and Coots International Well Control Inc., of Texas, pumped ground up tires, plastic bits and other rubber material into the well to plug the leak, and will then pump heavy mud into the hole to kill the well.
Spadoni said DEP sampled seven private wells Wednesday and eight surface water locations but had not received the results.
A field test of water from Towanda Creek entering the Susquehanna River did not indicate an impact, Spadoni added.
Grove said the well also began emitting limited amounts of natural gas early Thursday morning, and that Chesapeake and the Bradford County Emergency Management Agency performed gas-plume modeling and found that any natural-gas releases will not pose a risk to the area’s public safety.
MATT HUGHES mhughes@timesleader.com
April 22, 2011
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Operator_suspends_fracking_in_state_04-21-2011.html
More News About the Blowout:
Chesapeake suspends well completion operations
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/chesapeake-suspends-well-completion-operations-1.1136178#axzz1Jb4OFfes
Chesapeake stops fluid leak
http://citizensvoice.com/news/chesapeake-stops-fluid-leak-1.1136067#axzz1K40icpUb
After gas well leak in northern Pa., company suspends some operations
http://republicanherald.com/news/after-gas-well-leak-in-northern-pa-company-suspends-some-operations-1.1136148
Additional News on Gas Well Blowout in Bradford County
Accident at gas well in Northern Tier near creek that enters Susquehanna
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Blowout_in_Bradford_County_04-20-2011.html
Gas well blowout spills frack fluids onto farm, streams in Bradford County
http://citizensvoice.com/news/drilling/gas-well-blowout-spills-frack-fluids-onto-farm-streams-in-bradford-county-1.1135482#axzz1K40icpUb
Drilling fluid gushes from gas well
http://standardspeaker.com/news/drilling-fluid-gushes-from-gas-well-1.1135492
Natural gas well blows out, releasing fluids in Bradford County
http://republicanherald.com/news/natural-gas-well-blows-out-releasing-fluids-in-bradford-countyspill-at-well-drilling-site-causes-evacuation-1.1135593
Gas Well Spews Polluted Water
Natural gas well suffers blowout, releasing fluids in Bradford County
Thousands of gallons of natural gas drilling waste fluids spilled onto a farm and streams for more than 12 hours Wednesday after a driller in Bradford County lost control of a well late Tuesday.
The Atgas 2H well operated by Chesapeake Energy Corp. in LeRoy Twp. blew out during the hydraulic fracturing process at around 11:45 p.m., swamping the lined well pad and overflowing into a field, a small tributary and Towanda Creek, state environmental regulators said
Seven families were asked to evacuate the area until the well could be brought back under control, Chesapeake said in a statement, adding that no one was injured in the incident and no gas was emitted into the atmosphere.
The identities of those evacuated from the area were unknown late Wednesday. However, Canton Fire Chief Kim Jennings reported that the evacuees were placed in local motels.
Chief Jennings said that Canton firefighters as well as Western Alliance Ambulance personnel were on the scene throughout the day, standing by and making certain that any equipment needs were met. Chief Jennings said the Canton Fire Department left the scene late Wednesday.
Chesapeake described the problem as “an equipment failure.” Neither the company nor regulators with the state Department of Environmental Protection could provide a precise estimate of how much fluid was spilled.
Emergency crews were able to stop the fluid from flowing into Towanda Creek by Wednesday afternoon, but crews struggled to regain control of the well into Wednesday evening. The-well control specialty firm Boots and Coots was brought to the site from Texas, Department of Environmental Protection spokeswoman Katy Gresh said.
It was unclear Wednesday where exactly the well was leaking or why, but officials on site described the leak as originating from below the frack valve stack, an above-ground piece of equipment that controls pressure during the fracking process.
“Evidently the crack is in the top part of the well below the blowout preventer,” Skip Roupp, the deputy director of the Bradford County Emergency Management Agency said Wednesday afternoon, referring to a device used in emergency situations to choke off flow from a well. “They don’t really know what happened yet because they don’t have it controlled yet.”
At least eight DEP personnel were on scene sampling the unnamed tributary and Towanda Creek as well as eight private water supplies, Ms. Gresh said. There was no evidence the spill killed fish, she said.
The Atgas 2H well is part of a six-well pad in a remote area on LeRoy Mountain about 13 miles west of Towanda.
The hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, stage of well development takes place after a well is drilled and involves injecting millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals underground at high pressures to crack the rock and release the gas trapped there.
A portion of that fluid returns to the surface laden with salts, metals and radioactivity that occurs naturally in the shale formation and is mobilized by the fracturing process. The wastewater, called flowback water, spewed from the Atgas well on Wednesday. The exact composition of the spilled fluid had not been determined.
Chesapeake Energy, one of the state’s most active Marcellus Shale drillers, has been issued 30 notices of violations from the DEP for its operations in the state this year. The company has been cited 284 times for violations since the start of 2008 and has been subject to 58 enforcement actions by environmental regulators, according to DEP records.
Unlike a blowout at a Clearfield County gas well in June – the most serious well control incident in the state’s Marcellus Shale to date – the blowout in LeRoy Twp. never spewed a geyser of waste fluid into the air, Ms. Gresh said.
In the June incident, at a well owned by EOG Resources, natural gas and wastewater shot 75 feet into the air after drillers hit unexpectedly high pressures underground.
Ms. Gresh reported around 9 p.m. that DEP representatives were still at the scene and she had not yet been informed that the situation was under control.
When asked at the site if Chesapeake will later resume drilling the well, Brian Grove, director of corporate development for Chesapeake Energy, said he could not say until the situation is brought under control, allowing the company to make that determination.
BY LAURA LEGERE (STAFF WRITER)Published: April 21, 2011
Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com
http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/gas-drilling/natural-gas-well-suffers-blowout-releasing-fluids-in-bradford-county-1.1135253#axzz1KA1cXuZt
Spill at Marcellus Shale drilling site in Bradford County prompts evacuation
Seven families in Bradford County have been asked to evacuate following a large spill during fracking operations in the Marcellus Shale at a Chesapeake Energy well west of Towanda, Pa. Earlier reports that there was a blow-out were inaccurate, according to company officials.
A local Emergency Management official said he didn’t believe the families had gone anywhere.
“It’s literally on top of a mountain,” said Francis “Skip” Roupp, deputy director of the Bradford County Emergency Management Agency.
According to Chesapeake spokesman Brian Grove, “At approximately 11:45 p.m. on April 19, an equipment failure occurred during well-completion activities, allowing the release of completion fluids from a well at a location in Leroy Township, Bradford County, Pa.”
He said, “there have been no injuries or natural gas emissions to the atmosphere.”
Local news sources are reporting that thousands of gallons of fracking fluid have spewed over and beyond the well pad, but an official on the scene told the Patriot-News that is not accurate. “It wasn’t spewed in the air,” he said.
An equipment failure allowed flowback fluids to wash onto the well pad in volumes that overwhelmed the multiple containment precautions in place. The official noted those containment features were already at least partially full because of several days of rain in the northern tier.
“The theory right now is it’s a cracked well casing,” said Roupp at the Bradford County EMA. But no-one knows for sure, he said, because “they don’t have it under control yet.”
Roupp said Chesapeake had attempted to get the flowback under control by pumping drilling mud down the well, but the mud “wasn’t heavy enough.”
“They’re bringing in heavier mud,” he said.
A creek that feeds into the Susquehanna River has reportedly been contaminated.
In a prepared statement, Grove said “An undetermined amount of water has flowed off the location. Crews are working to minimize any impacts to the nearby Towanda Creek.”
Roupp said as of about noon, there were “no adverse effects” observed in the creek. “It’s helpful there’s high water,” he said.
According to Grove, “Crews are on location working to control the leak and contain the fluid flow. All relevant emergency agencies have been notified and are either on location or en route. Well-control specialists Boots and Coots have been mobilized and are prepared to respond if necessary. All non-essential vehicles have been removed from the location.”
The fracking process occurs after the well has been drilled. Millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals and sand are pumped at high pressure deep into the ground to fracture the shale and release the natural gas trapped inside. Some of those fluids return to the surface with the gas.
The Chesapeake website says “We always strive for excellence and are satisfied with nothing less. We will move quickly to rectify any environmental problem associated with our operations and address any issue that might arise.”
DEP spokeswoman Katy Gresh said the agency has at least eight staffers on scene and that the fluids are no longer flowing into the stream. She said there is no evidence of aquatic life killed, but “that’s something we’re actively seeking out.”
Gresh said DEP is working with Chesapeake to get the well under control.
Published: Wednesday, April 20, 2011, 1:00 PM Updated: Wednesday, April 20, 2011, 3:08 PM
By DONALD GILLILAND, The Patriot-News
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/04/fracking_spill_in_bradford_cou.html
Workshop offered to train private well owners
The Penn State Master Well Owner Network is hosting a free workshop for private well owners in and around Tioga County, Pa., according to Stephanie S. Clemens with the Master Well Owner Network.
Natural gas drilling and its impacts on the local private wells will be addressed during the workshop, she noted.
According to a news release:
This workshop is offered as part of the Master Well Owner Network, a program intended to teach volunteers from across the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania about proper management of their own private water system. In return, the volunteers must go out into their local community to educate others about the importance of proper management of private drinking water supplies.
Resource professionals such as Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Ground Water Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, and the United States Environmental Protection Agency will offer this training from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 14, at the Tokishi Training Center in Wellsboro.
To become part of this network or for more information, please contact Stephanie Clemens at 814-865-2250 or by e-mail at mwon@psu.edu. Information and a volunteer application can be found at http://extension.psu.edu/water/mwon. Space is limited and applications need to be received by April 27 or until all spots are filled.
By the Review)
Published: April 20, 2011
http://thedailyreview.com/news/workshop-offered-to-train-private-well-owners-1.1134910
State calls for halt to shale wastewater treatment at 15 plants
State environmental regulators called Tuesday for Marcellus Shale natural gas drillers to voluntarily stop taking wastewater to 15 treatment plants that do not have to meet strict discharge standards that went into effect last year.
Citing concerns about high levels of bromides in western Pennsylvania rivers, acting Department of Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer gave the drillers until May 19 to stop taking the waste to treatment facilities that were grandfathered into state rules that curb how much salt can be discharged into streams.
The request – which does not have the legal weight of an order – comes after federal environmental regulators, scientists and drinking water suppliers raised concerns about the drilling wastewater, which is laden with salts, metals and naturally occurring radioactive material that cannot be completely removed by conventional treatment plants.
The request came on the same day that the Marcellus Shale Coalition, an industry group, acknowledged that drilling wastewater is contributing to elevated bromide levels in the Allegheny and Beaver rivers.
Reducing the amount of salts, or total dissolved solids, in the wastewater also reduces bromides, which are nontoxic but can turn into cancer-causing compounds called brominated trihalomethanes when combined with chlorine at drinking water treatment facilities.
“Now is the time to take action to end this practice,” Krancer said, citing “more definitive scientific data, improved technology and increased voluntary wastewater recycling by industry” since the facilities were given special exemptions to the state total dissolved solids standards when they were implemented last year.
Krancer said there are other possible sources for the elevated bromides in waterways, but the agency believes that bromide concentrations “would quickly and significantly decrease” if Marcellus drillers stopped taking the water to the grandfathered plants.
Citing research by Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority that suggests the gas industry is contributing to the river bromide levels, Marcellus Shale Coalition President Kathryn Klaber said the industry “supports the appropriate action taken by DEP today” and is “committed to leading efforts, and working alongside DEP and other stakeholders, to address these issues quickly and straightforwardly.”
The majority of Marcellus Shale wastewater generated in the state is either recycled by drillers, taken to out-of-state disposal wells or treated at plants that meet the new standards, but a significant amount of the waste is still taken to plants that are not designed to treat it. That has raised concerns about toxins allowed to enter waterways upstream from drinking water intakes, especially in western Pennsylvania.
The 15 grandfathered plants are located in Allegheny, Cambria, Elk, Greene, Indiana, Jefferson, Lawrence, Snyder, Venango, Warren and Westmoreland counties. There are no grandfathered treatment plants in or upstream of Lackawanna County.
State environmental groups praised the DEP action on Tuesday, but some also expressed reservations about the voluntary nature of the request.
“It is very hard for the public to be assured that their drinking water will be protected if there is only a voluntary requirement,” Pennsylvania State Director for Clean Water Action Myron Arnowitt said.
“While DEP is taking a first step here, we hope that they will order a full stop to all Marcellus wastewater discharges to our rivers.”
By Laura Legere (Staff Writer)
Published: April 20, 2011
http://standardspeaker.com/news/state-calls-for-halt-to-shale-wastewater-treatment-at-15-plants-1.1134958
Congressional Democrats issue caution on fracking
Pennsylvania appeared on one list of dubious distinction in a Democratic congressional committee’s new report that looks at chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.
The state recorded the sixth-highest volume over a 5-year period of hydraulic fracturing fluids containing 2-butoxyethanol, or 2-BE, a substance that can cause destruction of red blood cells and damage to internal organs and bone marrow, according to the report.
Between 2005 and 2009, 14 leading oil and gas service companies surveyed by minority staff of the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Energy and Commerce injected 21.9 million gallons of products containing 2-BE, more than half of which was in Texas, the committee reported.
In Pennsylvania, 747,416 gallons of product containing the compound were injected into wells, the report said.
However, the study did not identify how much of the actual chemical itself was used or in what concentrations.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is the process of injecting water, sand and chemical additives at high pressure into a well to crack rock to produce natural gas. It is used in all Marcellus Shale wells.
Amid concerns over possible groundwater contamination, congressional Democrats sought information about the chemicals used in fracking and found more than 2,500 products containing 750 chemicals and other components, some of which are toxic or carcinogenic.
The report also found that fracking companies used more than 650 products with chemical components of concern. Of them, 95 products with 13 carcinogens were identified.
The state with the highest volume of fracking fluids containing a carcinogen — 3.9 million gallons — was Texas. Utah was ranked 10th with 382,338 gallons
Pennsylvania, with 51,787 gallons, did not crack the list.
Hydraulic Fracturing Report 4.18.11
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11109/1140234-503.stm
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Corbett refuses to budge on gas tax policy
Pennsylvania’s governor tells township supervisors he will protect the state’s water from dangers posed by drilling.
HERSHEY — Gov. Tom Corbett told a crowd of local-government officials Monday that he would oppose a new state tax on natural gas extraction even if the industry had not contributed nearly $1 million to his election campaign, and he vowed to protect the state’s water supplies from drilling-related degradation.
“I will not let them poison the water,” Corbett said, drawing applause from many of the more than 1,500 people who turned out to hear him speak at the annual conference of the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors.
Gas drilling on the Marcellus Shale formation that stretches beneath much of western and northern Pennsylvania is proliferating rapidly, and the response to the governor’s speech underscored the importance of drilling to the local officials who deal with its benefits and dangers on a daily basis.
Of particular concern is the drilling wastewater, some of which is taken to treatment plants that discharge into waterways that are used as sources of drinking water. Locally, the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority is considering conducting a feasibility study on constructing a plant to treat the water mixed with chemicals used in the hydraulic fracturing process to extract natural gas.
Earlier this month, the Corbett administration said it was widening the scope of water tests to screen for radioactive pollutants and other contaminants from drilling and adding more water-quality testing stations on the state’s rivers.
“We need to protect the water,” said the governor, a Republican, “but we must do it based on science, not emotion.”
Corbett has come under fire for proposing deep cuts in state aid to higher education and public schools in his state budget plan for the year that starts July 1, while refusing to tax the natural gas that multinational energy companies and others are extracting from shale deep underneath land leased from public and private owners.
The former state attorney general, who was sworn in as governor in January, said a new tax would be detrimental to job creation at this early stage of the state’s gas industry.
“Everywhere I go in the Marcellus region, we’re starting to see development,” he said. “It’s the only industry that’s really growing in Pennsylvania.”
Pennsylvania is the only major state that produces natural gas but does not tax it. But Corbett warned the township officials that state-to-state comparisons are tricky because each state has a different tax mix. He cited Texas, where he went to law school, as an example.
“Texas doesn’t have a personal income tax. Texas doesn’t have a property tax. So when we’re talking about taxes, don’t you think we ought to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges?” he asked. Pennsylvania has a state income tax and local property taxes.
Corbett, who pledged in his campaign not to increase taxes or fees if elected, said the generous industry contributions he received were not a factor in his opposition to a tax.
“Had they not given me a dime, I would still be in this position, saying we need to grow jobs in Pennsylvania,” he said.
The governor said he remains open to a proposal that would allow counties or municipalities to impose local impact fees on drilling operations to help finance repairs to local roads damaged by heavy truck traffic and other consequences of the activity.
PETER JACKSON
April 19, 2011
http://www.timesleader.com/news/Corbett_refuses_to_budge_on_gas_tax_policy_04-18-2011.html
New Jersey Seeks to Limit Number of Fracking Sites
http://www.njspotlight.com/stories/11/0417/2245/
State Department of Environmental Protection wants no more than 300 wells in Delaware River watershed once moratorium is lifted
New Jersey wants to limit the number of natural gas wells drilled in the Delaware River Basin when a moratorium is lifted on hydraulic fracturing, a drilling technique that involves injecting huge volumes of water to extract the fuel from shale.
The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection urged the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) to limit the number of production wells to no more than 300 once it adopts regulations governing the drilling for natural gas in Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania and New York.
The tough stance was welcomed by critics of the practice, dubbed “fracking,” because they fear widespread drilling might end up polluting the drinking water of 15 million people who rely on the Delaware River, including 3 million in New Jersey. But they questioned why the state did not demand that its 300-well limit be included in regulations being adopted by the commission.
Formal Comments
DEP Commissioner Bob Martin sent his formal comments to the interstate agency Friday, the day after the public comment period on DRBC regulations governing fracking closed. The timing frustrated environmentalists who want to retain the moratorium until more exhaustive studies assessing the impact of the technology are completed.
“If they vote to adopt the rules as proposed, these things will never happen,” said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Sierra Club. “They need to repropose the rules with the recommended protections. Otherwise it is just a publicity stunt.”
“Any drilling in the Delaware River watershed is too much drilling,” said David Pringle, campaign director for the New Jersey Environmental Federation. Still, he said the call for limits on drilling was “moving in the right direction.”
Maya von Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, agreed. “The push for more science and more analysis is positive,” she said, but she questioned if the DRBC should move ahead with its regulations before lifting the moratorium. “We can get the science done without damaging our river and water quality.”
Carcinogenic Chemicals
Martin’s comments also came a day before an investigation by congressional Democrats found oil and gas companies had injected hundreds of millions of gallons of hazardous or carcinogenic chemicals into wells in more than 13 states over a four-year period.
In its proposal, New Jersey wants the DRBC to stage the approval of well sites, or pads. It should allow no more than 30 production well pads, not to exceed 300 production wells in total, in the two years immediately following adoption of its proposed regulations. The DRBC then should conduct an extensive study to assess the impact of the initial wells and the effectiveness of its regulations before any further drilling could occur.
The DRBC projects that between 15,000 and 18,000 natural gas wells will be drilled within the basin after the proposal expires.
New Jersey also would require proper management and disposal of the waste material derived from fracking, and conclusive evidence that diverting water from the basin does not adversely affect other water users and the environment. Critics of fracking have argued that wastewater treatment facilities in the region cannot adequately handle byproducts generated by the practice.
“Without these conditions in place, natural gas development activities in the Delaware River Basin will be unacceptable,” Martin wrote.
Asked why Martin had not insisted on incorporating the New Jersey changes into the proposed rules, Larry Hajna, a spokesman for the DEP, said the commissioner was seeking a “reasoned approach” to overseeing natural gas development. “It’s a sound and reasonable way to proceed,” he said.
Questioned what would happen if the DRBC ignores New Jersey’s proposed changes, Hajna replied, “We certainly hope that would not be the case.”
The five-member commission consists of representatives from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, New York and the federal government, which could wind up having a deeply divided commission adopt the rules. Because of the economic boom caused by the discovery of deep deposits of natural gas, Pennsylvania favors lifting the moratorium, as does the federal government, said Pringle.
New Jersey could still block the rules if it is joined by New York and Delaware in not lifting the moratorium.
Gas issue is money, only money
http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Gas-issue-is-money-only-money-1340434.php
Fred LeBrun Commentary
Monday, April 18, 2011
Tapping into the King Midas riches embedded in New York’s share of the Marcellus Shale will be front and center in the political arena before long. I’m afraid there’s just too much money at stake for politicians to leave it alone.
At which time World War III will break out over whether we should say yes or no to using horizontal hydrofracking to drill for gas, and on what terms.
There is no middle ground. You’re either for it or against it, although my inclination is to try to find accommodation. The problem is, the issue is money, and only money. Lots of it.
It is not about saving the natural world with cleaner energy. Emerging research is refuting that notion. Nor is the argument about decreasing dependence on foreign oil. We easily could let other states that also sit on Marcellus Shale deposits extract enough for this nation for the next 50 years.
No, it’s about money, and making money, and who will benefit and who will not. It is about the costs, known and feared, associated with the benefit, because nothing’s for nothing. And the stickiest part of all is that it pits those few who stand to make a lot of money against the many who will bear the brunt of the cost. And what are the costs?
If I had to make a decision right now on this, the most important environmental and public policy issue facing this generation of New Yorkers, I’d do exactly what the state is doing. That is, nothing. I’d wait. Beyond the end of the state moratorium on drilling in June and into next year. Too much is at stake.
Last week, Bob Perciasepe, deputy administrator of the federal Environmental Protection Agency, told U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer’s environment committee that initial results of an independent, peer-reviewed study “to understand the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water” should be publicly available by late 2012. That is guidance critical to establishing true costs.
Predictably, the gas extraction industry will claim that is just another needless delay. Well, frankly, the industry has brought this on itself, notably by what happened in Pennsylvania. Nor is the gas going anywhere in the meantime.
Boxer’s committee was explicitly looking into “Natural Gas Drilling: Public Health and Environment Impacts,” indicative of how ignorant we all our of the consequences. Boxer referenced an eyepopping series of stories that ran in The New York Times in February on how Pennsylvania has suffered from sloppy state and federal regulation of hydraulic hydrofracking and the state’s own greed. It seems the industry mantra that there are no documented cases anywhere of drinking water contamination because of hydraulic fracturing may be true only if you consider just the narrow physical process. The billions of gallons of highly contaminated water laced with chemicals needed for the process, and the briny, radioactive wastewater still laced with the chemicals that comes back up are a different matter.
While the industry may have made great strides in engineering to get at gas a mile or more below the surface, the technology lags considerably for confidently processing that wastewater. Sort of like the nuclear waste problem associated with another energy source.
Probably the most damning testimony before Boxer’s committee came from Conrad Volz of the University of Pittsburgh’s graduate school of public health. He said that much of this toxic wastewater in Pennsylvania was being processed in municipal sewage treatment plants not designed for it. When it comes out of those plants, the wastewater is still highly contaminated, he said, and winds up in streams and rivers that become water supplies. The long-term potential damage to the environment and human health is staggering.
No, I am not anti-drilling, just a cautious citizen. The industry can give us all sorts of assurances, but what’s happening one state away with the same industry players using the same technology in the same Marcellus Shale tells a different tale. Until those stories are the same, we should be skeptical and issue no permits.
We have more than a friend in Pennsylvania, we have a guinea pig. Let’s be taught by example.
So what is a reasonable expectation for New York? Ultimately, I do believe there can be accommodation. Some drilling, tightly controlled and limited. None whatsoever in the Catskill watershed and a wide buffer zone around it, for example, because there is too great a risk for New York City’s water supply. None on state lands, so that in the future people can glimpse the golden age, when the horizon wasn’t dotted with wells.
Conrad Volz testified that in his view, these highly industrialized drilling operations should not be sited in areas of high population density, or near schools or critical infrastructure. A catastrophic blowout, with ensuing explosions and fires, is a risk. Ah, yes, that old tussle between risk and benefit. It comes back to bite us again.
And before any well starts pumping, a wastewater treatment plant has to be up and running in New York, with sufficient numbers of inspectors in the field. No plant, no deal. That we’ve already learned, and I’m sure there’s more.
Contact Fred LeBrun at 454-5453 or flebrun@timesunion.com.