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By arimoore, on September 3rd, 2009%
Gas drilling companies such as Halliburton say the gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” is safe, but opponents contend it pollutes groundwater with dangerous substances. Now, new evidence has emerged possibly linking natural gas drilling to groundwater contamination. ProPublica journalist Abrahm Lustgarten reports federal officials in Wyoming have found that at least three water wells contain chemicals used in hydraulic fracturing.
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By arimoore, on September 3rd, 2009%
EPA: Chemicals Found in Wyo. Drinking Water Might Be From Fracking by Abrahm Lustgarten, for ProPublica:
Federal environment officials investigating drinking water contamination near the ranching town of Pavillion, Wyo., have found that at least three water wells contain a chemical used in the natural gas drilling process of hydraulic fracturing. Scientists also found traces of other contaminants, including oil, gas or metals, in 11 of 39 wells tested there since March.
The study, which is being conducted under the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund program, is the first time the EPA has undertaken its own water analysis in response to complaints of contamination in drilling areas, and it could be pivotal in the national debate over the role of natural gas in America’s energy policy. (Read more)
By arimoore, on August 26th, 2009%
Gas shale drilling tech under scrutiny (Alaska Dispatch):
According to a long feature in the Ithaca Journal, people are wondering about just what’s in the waste liquid that results from horizontal high-pressure hydro-fracture drilling, and what’s the best way to handle it. As full-scale horizontal development of Marcellus Shale gas kicks in, the quantity of waste fluid will increase because horizontal wells require more of the fluid than vertical wells. The high volume of waste fluid will need to be dealt with. But because the industry is exempt from the federal rules that require full disclosure, no one is really sure about what threat the fluid poses to workers or groundwater. The DEC hasn’t issued any permits yet for full-scale development with horizontal hydro-fracture wells in the Marcellus because it is reviewing environmental impact statements, but it has already allowed the technology to be used in traditional vertical wells there. (Read more)
By arimoore, on August 25th, 2009%
Read Ithaca council raises natural gas-drilling concerns by Krisy Gashler:
Raising concerns about drinking water, roads and safety for emergency responders, Ithaca’s Common Council is getting involved in the discussion about gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale.
The majority of the city’s watershed for its Six Mile Creek drinking water source is outside the city in the Towns of Ithaca and Caroline. Roughly 38 percent of the total land area in Tompkins County has already been leased for oil and gas drilling, including 12 percent in the Town of Ithaca and 49 percent in Caroline, according to gas lease deed information compiled by the citizen’s action group Shaleshock.
Common Council Planning Committee Chairwoman Jennifer Dotson, I-1st, said city officials have concerns in four major areas: water use and wastewater disposal; impact on roads and infrastructure; safety, especially for firefighters who may have to respond to fires or accidents at drilling sites; and the tax structure for oil and gas revenue.
The planning committee this week discussed strategies they could use to protect the city, including identifying critical natural areas, adopting road preservation laws, and demanding disclosure of all chemicals in hydro-fracturing (fracking) fluid before considering whether to accept it at the wastewater treatment plant, which discharges into Cayuga Lake. (Read more)
By arimoore, on August 25th, 2009%
By arimoore, on August 17th, 2009%
Three experts will be present at a public forum in Dryden to give taxpayers, landowners, and other residents the opportunity to ask questions about natural-gas drilling in New York’s Marcellus Shale formation, and to consider their rights in the land leasing process. The event is being held on Thursday, August 20, from 7:00 – 9:30 pm in the Dryden Fire House Community Room (26 North Street, Route 13; next to Dunkin’ Donuts). Addressing those present will be NY State Assistant Attorneys General Michael Danaher and Roberto Barbosa, from the Binghamton Regional Office; they will speak about citizens rights in the leasing process. Their fifty-minute talk will be followed by a thirty-minute presentation by Andrew Byers, a Shaleshock organization leader, who will speak about gas drilling’s potential impacts to our community and the specific drilling technique planned for Tompkins County. There will be an opportunity to ask questions after the two presentations. Admission is free and refreshments will be served.
The forum is designed to address residents’ concerns about the pros and cons of signing a lease with a gas company, what options are available to landowners who choose not to sign a lease, and how industrial-scale gas-drilling might affect the county’s water resources, farm land, property values, tax base, truck-traffic volume, and recreational activities like tourism, hunting, birding, hiking, and biking.
The Dryden public forum is sponsored by Dryden Resource Awareness Coalition (DRAC). DRAC, which was formed by a group of concerned Dryden residents in June 2009, seeks to learn the truth about the hydrofracking process, and to determine the effects it will have on local homes, roads, communities, and recreation areas, as well as the local economy. All concerned citizens are welcome to join. For additional information, contact: Marie McRae at 607-280-9250 or mmmcrae@juno.com, Martha Fischer at mf26@frontier.com, or Hilary Lambert at hilary_lambert@yahoo.com.
By arimoore, on August 17th, 2009%
Read Gas-drilling companies keep chemical formulas a secret by Tom Wilber:
They have catchy names like Flomax 50, SandWedge WF and Bio Clear, but you won’t find them at the drug store, in the pro shop or among your household cleaners.
They are, in fact, trade names for caustic and flammable industrial agents used by crews drilling for natural gas. Mixed with millions of gallons of water and blasted into the ground under high pressure, they fracture bedrock and stimulate the flow of natural gas.
The process, called hydro-fracturing, is at the center of a debate over environmental risks associated with tapping the Marcellus Shale, a massive gas field running beneath the Southern Tier and throughout the Appalachian Basin.
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About Us Shaleshock is an information hub connecting people to regional groups and projects working to stop exploitative drilling in the Marcellus Shale.(more)
2009 Signs of Sustainability
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