Hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale: How a Pressure Bulb is Created
When you apply pressure to soil or rock, the pressure doesn’t just stop at the surface you are pushing on; the pressure spreads and dissipates through the surrounding soil or rock. In hydro-fracking, the pressure applied is enormous. In order to crack the rock down deep, the injected pressure has to be in the same ballpark as the weight of the soil and rock overhead.
Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Waste Records Are Incomplete
On May 12, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent Pennsylvania DEP Secretary Michael Krancer a letter asking “Pennsylvania to do a better job sampling, monitoring and regulating Marcellus Shale wastewater discharges near public drinking water sources.” Specific requests from the EPA included using “stricter public drinking water standards” and enacting “legally enforceable wastewater disposal regulations instead of relying on voluntary actions.” Brine Treatment Corporation in Franklin County, Pa. has not stopped receiving Marcellus waste altogether but is now limiting the amount of Marcellus wastewater it accepts, treats, and discharges into waterways.
The Hype of Natural Gas Reserves Challenged by New York Times Article
President Obama said recently, referencing an estimate that the United States has enough gas to supply the country for more than a century. That’s a contention that’s being challenged by a series of New York Times articles over the past few days that show some U.S. Energy Department officials and energy market analysts questioning whether the much-ballyhooed “natural gas boom” is overhyped, or even a “giant Ponzi scheme.”
Gas Companies Ongoing Quest to Keep Fracking Chemicals Confidential
While state regulators and the drilling industry say the rules should help resolve concerns about the safety of drilling, critics and some toxicologists say the requirements fall short of what’s needed to fully understand the risks to public health and the environment. The regulations allow companies to keep proprietary chemicals secret from the public and, in some states, from regulators. Though most of the states require companies to report the volume and concentration of different drilling products, no state asks for the amounts of all the ingredients…
VIDEO: Ohio Senate Approves Bill to Allow Fracking in State Parklands
After citing the rise of gas prices, dependence to dictatorial regimes, and the great recession; Sen. Jordan proclaimed “Let’s use facts, not fear to make our decision” going on to record that the process of fracturing has been active for 60yrs, while failing to mention that recent chemical solutions and horizontal drilling practices have changed the face of drilling for the 21st century. These changes mark the points for interest groups concerned about the drilling. Certain environmental groups have spoken in favor for responsible drilling, but quickly shun current fracking methods; asking for the industry to provide safer alternatives.
EWG Sponsors California Bill to Disclose Fracking Fluid Solution
The California State Assembly has passed legislation sponsored by Environmental Working Group and Earthworks to require oil and natural gas drillers to make public a complete list of chemicals they use in oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) operations. The fracking issue has raised alarms in communities nationwide because some chemicals injected into the earth to break up rock formations and free oil and gas are known human carcinogens such as benzene, xylene, toluene and diesel fuel.
Property Owner Loses Land to Gas Driller on ‘Split Estate’
Barndt resides in Richlandtown, Pennsylvania but owns 150 acres of family land in Hebron Township, Pennsylvania, five hours northwest from his home. He does not own his mineral rights, which were severed from the land in Hebron before his grandfather purchased it about 50 years ago. Triana Energy, LLC, a natural gas company from Charleston, West Virginia, leased the minerals under Barndt’s land in 2010. Now, even though Barndt has never signed anything or come to any agreement with Triana, over a dozen acres of his forest land has been cut, cleared, and drilled without his consent.
Natural Gas Industry Claims Lack of Baseline Data Disproves Duke Study on Water Quality
Ever since high-profile water contamination cases were linked to drilling in Dimock, Pa., in late 2008, drilling companies themselves have been diligently collecting water samples from private wells before they drill, according to several industry consultants who have been working with the data. While Pennsylvania regulations now suggest pre-testing water wells within 1,000 feet of a planned gas well, companies including Chesapeake Energy, Shell and Atlas have been compiling samples from a much larger radius—up to 4,000 feet from every well.
DEP Fines Chesapeake Energy $1M for Water Contamination on Private Property from Hydraulic Fracturing Methods
Under a Consent Order and Agreement, or COA, Chesapeake will pay DEP $900,000 for contaminating private water supplies in Bradford County, of which $200,000 must be dedicated to DEP’s well-plugging fund. Under a second COA, Chesapeake will pay $188,000 for a Feb. 23 tank fire at its drilling site in Avella, Washington County.“It is important to me and to this administration that natural gas drillers are stewards of the environment, take very seriously their responsibilities to comply with our regulations,…
Obama Panel to Study Energy Independence Favors Oil & Gas According to the Environmental Working Group
The Obama administration panel named May 5 to study hydraulic fracturing, a natural gas drilling technique that injects thousands of gallons of chemical-laced water into the ground, is dominated by oil and gas industry professionals. Notably, the panel does not include citizens from communities concerned about the damage to health, water and private property posed by the surge in natural gas drilling and hydraulic fracturing.
*Accepting cases in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
