Gas Wells Drilled Near Schools, Hospitals

Today's Towanda Daily Review reports on a study by PennEnvironment which found that Marcellus Shale gas wells have been permitted or drilled within two miles of 320 day care centers, 67 schools, and 9 hospitals in Pennsylvania.  State law restricts drilling within 200 feet of an occupied building, but local and state officials have introduced bills and ordinances to expand that buffer.

The study found that one day care is 400 feet from a permitted well site and one school is 9 feet away.  The closest hospital to a gas well is ½ mile.  Proximity to gas processing plants and compressor stations was not included in the study.

The recent gas well accident in Bradford County, during which thousands of gallons of flowback spilled out into farm lands, streams, and Towanda Creek,  points to the danger of anything living, plant, animal, or human,  being near a well site.  Basic brain work would tell us that putting wells next to schools and other facilities where people are is wrong.

Read the article from the Towanda Daily Review here.

Natural Gas Drilling: Another Truck Overturns

Photo Credit:  Jason Fox, The Leader

What is toxic drilling waste doing being transported from Pennsylvania to New York State anyway?  As a NYS resident, I do not want PA toxic waste dumped in NYS.  For that matter, I do not want toxic drilling waste dumped anywhere.

Early in the afternoon of August 30th, a dump truck carrying gas well drill cuttings bound for a landfill crashed, spilling its toxic cargo over an embankment to the edge of a stream which feeds into the Conhocton River near where it meets the Chemung River.  The load of drilling mud was mixed with sawdust, as is the custom, to solidify the "stuff."  What ended up where it shouldn't have- these drill cuttings- is the mess that comes up out of the wellbore during drilling, some of it consisting of materials from deep within the earth.  This very gross-looking stuff contains radioactive materials and a lot of toxic chemicals as they are mixed in the drilling process.  This is a very serious accident.  Sadly these kinds of accidents are becoming more and more numerous. 

Read the story here.

Photo credit:  Jason Fox

Marcellus Shale: Another Leak in PA Forces Evacuation At Campground

A well rupture in Clearfield County, PA, spewed drilling fluids for 16 hours before emergency officials could stop it.  EOG Resources runs the well.  They capped the well.  The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction in the immediate area which remains in effect until further notice, according to ThePittsburghChannel.com report. According to a PEMA news release, the well which was in the frack process ruptured, spilling water and unignited wet gas.  [The water referred to here would typically contain toxic chemicals.  It is NOT "just water."]   No one was injured.

Readers, if you have a few minutes, be sure to watch the video from Pittsburgh Channel 4 Action News here.  I think the usually compliant media is beginning to report more negative news about gas drilling.  This video includes how actual people view the gas drilling industry.  Highly recommended.

The PA DEP report from today is here.

Here is an update on the accident.

A one-mile radius of Moshannon State Forest was evacuated Friday morning after a gas well ruptured near the Punxsutawney Hunting Club. The leak happened at a Marcellus drilling operation on McGeorge Road in the forest. The gas well is owned by EOG Resources Inc., officials said.

Around 10:30 a.m., officials were checking camps to make sure all campers were evacuated around the site of the leak. Officials said they were dealing with gas leaking into the air.

According to state Rep. Bud George's office, initial reports from Process Equipment Manufacturers' Association said three of four wells were secured. The other well was releasing frack water and unignited wet gas, which caused the evacuation. Officials said an estimated 1 million gallons of frack water was uncontrolled as of 11 a.m. in the area of exit 111 on Interstate 80.

Amy Mall of Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) offers even more vital information about this disaster here. Check this out!  It is really important in regard to the chemicals that were released in this state forest. For example, Amy explains what wet gas is, and it is probably not what you think.

Fumes Ignite at Gas Well: More On the Fire in Washington County, PA

The Observer-Reporter, a Washington County, PA, newspaper, has published a report (4/1/2010), giving further details about the serious fire which occurred on March 31st at a well site in Hopewell Township, Washington County, PA.  The land owner, George Zimmerman, does not own the mineral rights beneath his property.  Consequently, he has had absolutely no say in what has happened on his property since a gas well was placed there.

Mr. Zimmerman looked out his bedroom window Wednesday morning and saw flames shooting 100 feet in the air from the fire.  A state police fire marshal said the blaze was an accident caused by a malfunction which ignited fumes and caused $375,000 in damages.  The DEP said both the tank and pit used to store fluid used for hydrofracking caught fire.  A storage trailer also burned.  Firefighters did not immediately take action to extinguish the fire because they had to assess what was actually on fire.  The fire in the tank was the last thing to be put out.  The pit fire burned itself out. The fire chief from West Middletown said the fire might have been caused by vandals.  [This is speculation.] Fire crews from four towns responded. 

Mr. Zimmerman has had problems before. In early December a spill went into a pond feeding a stream.  The spill was from a pit filled with fresh water mixed with recycled water. Also three water wells Zimmerman had dried up.  Atlas has recently been fined $85,000 by the DEP for violations at 13 of its well sites.

Read the whole article.
Here is another article from Amy Mall of NRDC. She tells of previous problems the land owner had with Altas Energy.

News from WBNG Binghamton: Dimock's Plight Worsens

Citizens for Clean Water protested this week in Dimock, Pennsylvania.

One group is taking its contamination concerns to the streets.
Protesters are concerned about possible spills and leaks contaminating the area's water supply. They say the State of Pennsylvania needs to re-evaluate the drilling laws and make stricter regulations to protect the water. The Department of Environmental Protection says it is actively investigating possible spills in the area, and are waiting for results. Every morning, Ronald Carter and his wife wake up to the sights and sounds of a hydro-fracking site next door. He says he's concerned about contamination.

"The stuff that's leaking on the ground is the biggest concern, we don't know what's in it," says Carter.

Protesters from the Citizens for Clean Water came out to voice their fears of water contamination. They say Pennsylvania needs more safety measures put in place.

"We're protesting continual allowing of the gas drilling despite all of the pollutions and problems that we've had." says Vera Scroggins, Citizens for Clean Water.

Representatives from Cabot Gas Drilling say they've taken samples from nearby streams and haven't found any contamination. The DEP says the company has conducted some precautionary measures this week. It used a large vacuum truck, like this one seen here, to collect a grayish colored liquid discharge here on Route 29. Protesters say they if the water was really safe from hydrofracking, why would they need measures like this in place?

"What price can we put on health and the environment? We can't. It's priceless," says Rebecca Roter from Brooklyn, PA.

The DEP collected samples from the site last week. It expects to have the results later this week. It's also awaiting results from Cabot's tests as well.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

The Latest From Dimock, Pennsylvania

The latest news about the spill in Dimock, the residents of Carter Road whose water has been ruined, and concerned citzens who protested this week.

FOX 40 WICZ TV - News, Sports, Weather, Contests and More - Binghamton, NY

Amy Goodman Interviews Walter Hang of Toxics Targeting

Walter Hang, President of Toxics Targeting, an environmental database firm in Ithaca, New York, talks to Amy Goodman in this riveting video. Toxics Targeting went through the Department of Environmental Conservation’s own database of hazardous substances spills over the past thirty years. They found 270 cases documenting fires, explosions, wastewater spills, well contamination and ecological damage related to gas drilling. Many of the cases remain unresolved. The findings are contrary to repeated government assurances that existing natural gas well regulations are sufficient to safeguard the environment and public health. New York State is considering allowing for gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale watershed, the source of drinking water for 15 million people, including nine million New Yorkers. Mr. Hang is calling on Gov. Paterson, who has embraced natural gas drilling as New York's best hope for economic recovery, to reject the Draft Supplemental Geologic Environmental Impact Statement just issued in October on the grounds that it is deeply flawed and does not adequately address the documented accidents and incidences which have occurred due to gas drilling activity.

The SGEIS was done because the gas drilling industry needed further review under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA). A Generic Environmental Impact Statement was finalized in 1992. However, new technology, referred to as slick water hydrofracking, now being used to drill in tight gas reservoirs such as the Barnett Shale (TX) and the Marcellus Shale (PA,NY,WV,OH), is causing a great deal of concern amongst environmentalists and residents who live atop these shale formations. Public hearings are now in progress for the Draft SGEIS. The public comment period has been extended to December 31, 2009. After considering public inputs, the state will decide on additional parameters to be applied to gas drilling and will then issue well permits for gas well development.

To read the testimony of John Hanger, Acting Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection, speaking before the Senate Majority Policy Committee about the Marcellus Shale formation, go here.

After the findings of Toxics Targeting, will the State of New York take seriously the possible, and perhaps probable, costs of drilling on the environment, the public health, and quality of life in New York State?

Does it make sense to destroy essential resources such as water and soil in order to extract one resource- natural gas? Are we to drill first and ask questions later?

*Thinking about buying a home? Check out this free internet map, compliments of Toxics Targeting, to see if there are any toxic problems nearby.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

Gas Drilling, Wildlife Don't Often Mix

The effects of natural gas drilling can have both indirect effects leading to population declines and direct mortality in wildlife. So claim the Colorado Division of Wildlife officials in an article published in the Valley-Journal last December (2008). Click here to read the original piece. John Broderick, DOW senior terrestrial bioloigist said,

...if and when intensive drilling comes to the Thompson Creek area where several gas leases have been sold, the impacts will be unmistakable.

Waterfowl suffer the greatest direct mortality rate. Ducks land in reserve pits or production pits and are coated with oily substances. Sometimes these birds can be cleaned by hand and saved. However, usually they die of respiratory failure, according to Broderick. Elk calves and deer also get into these pits to drink. But unless the animals keel over and die right in or near a pit, it is difficult to establish the cause of death in animals.

The less obvious effects of gas drilling on animal populations is more significant. The drilling and road construction that goes along with it disturb animal habitat and fragment the areas where animals live and breed. In the long term, this results in significant population declines. Raptors- hawks, owls, and eagles- are particularly vulnerable to this stress. Raptor pairs will often not mate, or they abandon eggs or even their young.

Roads are a big factor, too. They cut through unbroken habitat and expose ground areas which provided cover for the animals. This interferes with the temperature and with shelter from wind and cold. The animals, such as deer and elk, are left with less hiding cover. Roads and gravel well platforms increase runoff. Less water goes into the soil, and toxic chemicals end up in nearby streams. Roads upset the native vegetation, allowing weeds to establish themselves, thus reducing the forage for the animals. People, who would never have had access to pristine forest areas, now have easy ways to drive around. Roadkill is on the rise. With this problem of humans entering the animal habitat, poaching and other illegal activities become more common.

It is hard to come up with scientific evidence that will hold up when confronting regulatory agencies. However, Colorado officials concerned about these issues are looking to Wyoming for data. Scientists in Wyoming have discovered that, while one well per square mile may have minimal effects on mule deer populations, multiply that by 16 wells per square mile, and the detrimental effects can be measured more convincingly.

Fish can also be affected. In the Colorado River, cutthroat trout are common. Trout streams can become inhospitable to fish when sediment gets into the water, sinks to the bottom, and fills in the spaces between gravel stones. These areas provide habitat for aquatic insects which the trout love to eat. Sediment from drilling operations buries and smothers the insect larvae which normally develop and grow among the stones. Spawning is also affected. Trout lay their eggs in hallowed out places in the gravel. When the eggs are fertilized, the female sweeps the eggs into the spaces between the stones where they remain until hatched. After the baby trout are hatched, they stay in the gravel until they are old enough to feed. Ken Neubecker, president of Trout Unlimited, said,

If sediment coats the stream bottom during this time, the brood will be smothered.

Spills are another threat to fish. There are a number of ways in which industrial materials or toxic chemicals can end up where they shouldn't be. Spills from tanker trucks and leakage from holding ponds are common. Depending on where the spills originate, they can contain hydrocarbon chemicals, bentonite, and other harmful substances. Neubecker describes the result:

You get a bunch of that in a stream and it would be like lining a pond with concrete.

Some toxic hydrocarbon substances would be even worse, especially in smaller streams with low water.

It'll sterilize a stream for a long distance. A small stream would take a lifetime to recover.

Some gas leases in the Thompson Creek area in Colorado have stipulations that no roads or well pads can be placed within 350 feet of streams. While that may seem like a good thing, the gas companies can and do ask for waivers. The Bureau of Land Management often allows the gas industry to skip the restriction. Enforcement is also problematic. If a spill is reported, if it is not investigated in a timely way, the volatile chemicals evaporate before any testing is done.

Since human beings are equipped with abilities that presumably far exceed those of other animals, it behooves us to use care when extracting natural gas from the shale beneath us and to proceed in a manner that does not hurt wildlife and the habitat they depend on for their existence.

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

PROTECT OUR WILDLIFE