VIDEO INVESTIGATION: Gas Well Flaring in the Marcellus Shale
“Flaring” is a term used to describe the burning of natural gas from a well that has not yet been linked to a pipeline. When a well is “flared,”a huge flame lights up the sky, reaching higher than tree tops, accompanied by a noise similar to a 757 jet engine. The sight and sound of a flaring well are quite intimidating, but the practice is not a risk to public health according to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, or DEP.
Air Pollution from Gas Drilling a ‘Huge Problem’
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) issued a press release in May regarding an “air quality study near Marcellus Shale natural gas operations in Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, and Tioga counties.” Eight sites were sampled over three five-day periods to determine if specific pollutants were a threat to anyones air quality in acute amounts.
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.
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.
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,…
EPA Finds a Way to Regulate Hydraulic Fracturing
Lisa P. Jackson, the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), announced Tuesday that new regulations are coming for hydraulic fracturing companies who use diesel fuel as part of the injection solution to fracture rock and recover natural gas. The EPA has regulated the injection of fluids underground, but current law exempts fracturing fluids from EPA regulations.
Chesapeake Energy Hydraulic Fracturing Spill @ Towanda Creek
Eleven hours after giving Galeton the check, a Chesapeake Marcellus well site two hours east had so much ‘flowback’ from hydraulic fracturing that the toxic fluids could not be contained, spilling over into a tributary of the Susquehanna River and leading to the evacuation of seven families. The well leaked fluids, and then natural gas, for over two days before Chesapeake gained control.
Interview for Hydraulic Fracturing Investigation: Resident/Business Owner Jack Krafft Discusses Bradford County, PA
In Jack’s previous work he retired as the director of public safety for the state of Maryland, and before that served as a military intelligence operative traveling worldwide for the armed forces. Recently, Linda retired from the Culinary Department of Gettysburg College and now takes care of the Lodge full-time with her husband. Jack’s story about Bradford County is a necessary piece of information when connecting the pieces to what’s happening with Natural Gas Drilling in that area.
Biomass: Earth Friend or Foe
Many communities, already wary of earlier industrial growth that fouled their water and air, are pushing back, even as Washington opts to aggressively promote the industry. The growing controversy underscores challenges facing renewable technology that is being pushed by the Obama administration.
New Documentary: Living Downstream
Several experts in the fields of toxicology and cancer research make important cameo appearances in the film, highlighting their own findings on two pervasive chemicals: atrazine, one of the most widely used herbicides in the world, and the industrial compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Their work further illuminates the significant connection between a healthy environment and human health.
*Accepting cases in Pennsylvania and Ohio.
