A Good Decision Is Reversed: Cabot Oil Is Given An Undeserved Thumbs Up By Judge

I feel a personal connection to my dear friends in Dimock, PA, because I became friends with quite a few residents of Susquehanna County in 2009 when I had my epiphany about the natural gas industry and the destruction it was causing, especially in Dimock which was hit so hard early on when hydrofracking started tearing up everything underground, causing water contamination and illness.  This weekend a judge vacated a case against Cabot Oil, taking away a $4 billion award to two families who have suffered so much in the last 8 years or more since Cabot ruined their perfectly good water.  Now the judge says a new trial would be required.  Read about the devastating news here.

This is the first post I have posted since September 2015.  I am so angry about this decision that I was compelled to return to my blog and write about it. 

Frac Sand Mines: Are they contaminating water?

We have been inundated with the word "fracking."  Most people now recognize that word and know a little bit about it.  But the gas industry would love to distract us with that word, and in some cases, use truthiness to claim that fracking is safe, which, of course, it really isn't, and never will be.  So we have to spread the word that fracking is only a small part of what is wrong with fossil fuel extraction.  We now know about pipelines, spills on well sites, air pollution, noise pollution, truck traffic, and, perhaps the newest worry which has actually been around all along: frac sand mines.  We are starting to notice the ill effects of silica sand and possible water contamination at frac sand mines. 

Here is a news report and article about this issue from Trempealeau County, Wisconsin.

To investigate further, check out this link which discusses the detrimental health effects of acrylamide.  The news report referred to above states:

"Polyacrylamide is used to wash frac sand. It contains the chemical acrylamide, which studies have linked to cancer. The Guza mine in Trempealeau County is allowed to use polyacrylamide in its settling ponds, but the pond must be lined with concrete. During an investigation last week at the mine, Trempealeau County officials discovered two ponds did not have that concrete. Now the mine's neighbors are concerned their drinking water is contaminated."

One of my questions is this: Isn't concrete permeable?  I think it is.  The same kind of problem happens with fracking wastewater ponds which are supposed to be lined with plastic.  I have personally seen with my own eyes these plastic liners falling in on themselves, allowing contaminated frackwaste to seep into the soil.  And several years ago I saw a video showing a bulldozer pushing a liner under the dirt as a well pad was being closed down.  The point is that there are many examples of procedures going awry.  And there is little oversight. 

PA DEP says wastewater from gas drilling ruined drinking water

State determines wastewater from gas drilling contaminated drinking water in Westmoreland County

August 27, 2014 12:00 AM

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By Don Hopey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

 

The state Department of Environmental Protection has officially determined that drinking water at a third residence is contaminated by WPX Appalachia LLC’s leaky Marcellus Shale gas drilling wastewater impoundment near Stahlstown, Westmoreland County.

Whether that gets any of the three families living along rural Route 711 south of Ligonier any closer to a permanent replacement water supply is another matter.

 

The DEP last week ordered WPX to restore or replace the water supply at the home of Ken and Mildred Geary, both in their 80s, who first complained that their water had a foul, chemical smell and taste a year ago. The order came down two years after the DEP first received a complaint about possible ground water contamination from the  impoundment at WPX’s Kelp shale gas drilling pad.

The DEP made the contamination determination based on tests done in June, that showed the well water contained higher concentrations of chloride, barium, calcium, magnesium, manganese, strontium and total dissolved solids than it did prior to November 2011 when WPX drilled the Kelp well.

“In February, I believe the data was already there to show contamination,” said Nick Kennedy, an attorney with the Mountain Watershed Association, a local environmental advocacy group that has worked with the families. “This determination and order should have been made months ago.”

That’s when the DEP issued a determination that the water well used by Joseph and Sonja Latin, who live next door to the Gearys, had been contaminated by WPX and ordered the company to start the process of permanently replacing their water.

WPX appealed that order to the state Environmental Hearing Board. It has 30 days to appeal the Geary's order.

The third family, the Browns, filed a water quality complaint with the DEP in September 2012 and in July of last year the department ordered the company to permanently replace their water supply. A year later, the Browns are still drawing water from a 2,500-gallon plastic water tank, and have filed a lawsuit against the company and its subcontractors alleging damages to their property value.

Susan Oliver, A WPX spokeswoman, said she doesn’t know if the company plans to appeal the DEP order to replace the Geary’s water, but added that water tests are continuing and “until that’s done and finalized a determination on replacing the supplies can’t be made.”

John Poister, a DEP spokesman, said the process of permanently restoring water supplies for the families, though delayed by legal appeals and complications, is moving forward.

“DEP has determined that WPX’s activity has impacted these water supplies and have issued a unilateral order to permanently replace the three water supplies,” he said in a written response to questions. “We realize that this is a serious issue for these homeowners. If WPX fails to comply with this order it will result in enforcement actions, which could include an immediate permitting freeze until the issue is addressed.”

Mr. Poister said that while WPX has provided the affected families with bottled water and other temporary water sources, “it’s not a replacement for clean running water in the home.”

Don Hopey: dho...@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1983.

 

http://powersource.post-gazette.com/powersource/companies-powersource/2014/08/26/MarkWest-to-further-expand-Butler-County-natural-gas-processing-complex/stories/201408260240

  

 

California Halts Injection of Fracking Waste, Warning it May Be Contaminating Aquifers

"California officials have ordered an emergency shut-down of 11 oil and gas waste injection sites and a review more than 100 others in the state's drought-wracked Central Valley out of fear that companies may have been pumping fracking fluids and other toxic waste into drinking water aquifers there.

The state's Division of Oil and Gas and Geothermal Resources on July 7 issued cease and desist orders to seven energy companies warning that they may be injecting their waste into aquifers that could be a source of drinking water, and stating that their waste disposal "poses danger to life, health, property, and natural resources." The orders were first reported by the Bakersfield Californian, and the state has confirmed with ProPublica that its investigation is expanding to look at additional wells."


Read the article by Abrahm Lustgarten (ProPublica) here.

My comment (Peacegirl):  First gas wells were being drilled (still are), and we didn't know for sure what harm would done to humans, animals, soil, air, and water (still don't know everything).  Next there were the pipelines and compressor stations, and we didn't know (still don't) what the negative effects would be on our daily lives.  Now we have earthquakes and injection wells, and we really have absolutely no clue about what is (or can) really happen as a result of these practices.  But we have all this frack waste.  We have to put it somewhere.  So I think we are really in a terrible bind.  One thing leads to another, and now we are in over our brilliant little heads.  Some people are getting filthy rich, and the rest of us are wondering what kind of world we will leave to our children and grandchildren, if indeed there will be a liveable planet for them.

Max Chilson's Water Well Went Bad: French Azilum, PA

Max Chilson, eighty years old, living in French Azilum and surrounded by gas wells, cannot use his water any longer. It went bad in 2010- black solids turned up. The PA DEP and the gas company Chief Oil and Gas do not know what is in this black stuff. Public officials, including Gene Yaw, Tina Pickett, and the three Bradford County Commissioners, have been no help. Chilson has given up on them. He spends a lot of time trying to get good water to live. He's got a bad back and a bad knee. It's hard to get around. He doesn't trust his water to cook with or do laundry. Max Chilson lives just up the hill from my family farm we call "Hutchinson Camp." We use a spring for our water source. But Chilson's water and our water come from the same watershed, the same aquifer. I conclude that our water is also polluted. We only go there in the summer. I wonder if our water has been tested recently.

Fracking Ground Zero Tour- Part 2

Rick Roles worked in the oil fields of Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado in the 1970's and 80's. He moved to his father's ranch in Garfield County (CO) in 1993 and developed serious health problems soon thereafter.

Chip Northrup Speaks On Gas Industry Impacts (Vestal, NY)

Taped 6-6-12. Chip talks about the Gas Industry Impacts. Former Atlantic Richfield planning manager and oil and gas investor for thirty years. Fracking Aquifers and Well Failures and why the DEC can't protect you from this threat to Vestal's drinking water. Taped at Calvary United Methodist Church, Vestal, NY..

Thank you, Vera Scroggins, for taping this talk!  New Yorkers, listen up!  (I'm one of you!)

Untested Science: Fracking Natural Gas Controversy

Published on Apr 13, 2012 by 16x9onglobal A new frontier of natural gas production is making controversial headlines. Hydraulic Fracturing or "fracking" is becoming more common in Canada. But experts say "fracking" can cause contaminated ground water, earthquakes and pollute our land with toxic chemicals.

Unearthed: The Fracking Facade

Published on May 4, 2012 by uneartheddocumentary Un•earthed: Setting the track record straight - A video exposing a flawed claim often abused in the sales pitch for promoting shale gas development across the world: "With a history of 60 years, after nearly a million wells drilled, there are no documented cases that hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') has lead to the contamination of groundwater." Brought to you by the team behind the upcoming South African feature documentary, Un•earthed, that is investigating natural gas development and the controversial method of extraction known as "fracking" from a global perspective. Should South Africa and other countries drill down?

https://www.un-earthed.com https://www.facebook.com/uneartheddocumentary