Federal Agency Cancels Water Delivery to Pa. Town

ABC:  "The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency abruptly changed its mind Saturday about delivering fresh water to residents of a northeastern Pennsylvania village where residential wells were found to be tainted by a natural gas drilling operation.

Only 24 hours after promising them water, EPA officials informed residents of Dimock that a tanker truck wouldn't be coming after all. The about-face left residents furious, confused and let down — and, once again, scrambling for water for bathing, washing dishes and flushing toilets.

Agency officials would not explain why they reneged on their promise, or say whether water would be delivered at some point.

'We are actively filling information gaps and determining next steps in Dimock. We have made no decision at this time to provide water,' EPA spokeswoman Betsaida Alcantara said in an email to The Associated Press.

It's not clear how many wells in the rural community of Dimock Township were affected by the drilling. The state has found that at least 18 residential water wells were polluted.

Eleven families who sued Houston-based Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. expected water from the EPA to arrive either Friday or Saturday. They say they have been without a reliable source of water since Cabot won permission from state environmental regulators to halt deliveries more than a month ago.

Read the remainder of the article...

EPA: Dimock water supplies 'merit further investigation'

CITIZENS VOICE--Federal environmental regulators are reopening their review of Dimock Township water supplies after recently released tests of the water wells taken by a natural gas drilling contractor were found to "merit further investigation."

Officials with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency were in Dimock Thursday and Friday to visit residents whose water supplies were found by state regulators to have been tainted with methane from Cabot Oil and Gas Corp.'s Marcellus Shale drilling operations.

After a preliminary review of results from water tests taken earlier by the state, Cabot and other outside firms, the EPA wrote to the residents on Dec. 2 to say the information they had gathered "does not indicate that the well water presents an immediate health threat to users."

But in an information sheet provided to residents during visits this week, the EPA wrote that it "has recently received additional Cabot data from residents that merit further investigation." The EPA is now "concerned about" potential gaps in water sampling and test results, the number of water supplies potentially affected, if residents that need them have alternate sources of fresh drinking water, and if residents have any more data to share.

Read the remainder of the article...

Fracking cracks the public consciousness in 2011

PROPUBLICA-- This was the year that "fracking" became a household word.

It wasn't just that environmental concerns about the underground drilling process finally struck a mainstream chord -- after three years of reporting and more than 125 stories. For the first time, independent scientific investigations linked the drilling technique with water pollution, and a variety of federal and state agencies responded to the growing apprehension about water contamination with more studies and more regulation.

The most important development -- and perhaps a crucial turning point -- was in December. In a landmark finding, the Environmental Protection Agency concluded that hydraulic fracturing was the likely culprit in a spate of groundwater contamination that had forced residents to stop using their water in dozens of homes in central Wyoming. The agency had been investigating since 2008.

Read the remainder of the article...

Landowners turn against leasing for 'fracking'

The Independent-- "Nearly half of the landowners who have leased their ground to shale gas developers in the north-east of America regret doing it, despite the money, according to a new report by Deloitte.

In findings that will intensify opposition to the controversial process of hydraulic fracturing, some 47 per cent of respondents in the 'new shale' states of Pennsylvania and New York, who have rented out their land, said they wouldn't repeat the experience."

Read the remainder of the article...

Top House Democrat outraged over admissions in today's NYTimes.

The front page story in today's New York Times caught the eye--and the ire--of Massachusetts Representative Ed Markey who promptly fired off a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson demanding immediate action.  As referenced in our previous post, the NYTimes investigative report discloses information from internal reports and studies by not only the EPA, but the drilling industry itself.  Read all about it--including portions of Markey's letter, by clicking HERE.  To read the previous post from this blog--which includes the link to the New York Times article--click HERE.

NYT uncovers confidential gas industry, EPA reports.

The New York Times published a lengthy story online yesterday (appearing on the front page of today's newspaper) detailing just how inadequate the existing regulations are when it comes to fracking for natural gas.  Of particular note: the revelation in a gas industry report that "treated" fracking water released back into our streams and rivers still contains amounts of radioactivity that cannot be diluted.  Seems like a no-brainer to me but it's the first time I've heard an industry insider admit it.  Of course the admission takes place in a confidential report that is only now seeing the light of day.  Furthermore, EPA scientists express concern in their own study--also never made public--that water treatment plants are incapable of removing certain contaminants and are in all likelihood violating the law.

Here's an excerpt:

"...While the existence of the toxic wastes has been reported, thousands of internal documents obtained by The New York Times from the Environmental Protection Agency, state regulators and drillers show that the dangers to the environment and health are greater than previously understood.

The documents reveal that the wastewater, which is sometimes hauled to sewage plants not designed to treat it and then discharged into rivers that supply drinking water, contains radioactivity at levels higher than previously known, and far higher than the level that federal regulators say is safe for these treatment plants to handle.

The Times also found never-reported studies by the E.P.A. and a confidential study by the drilling industry that all concluded that radioactivity in drilling waste cannot be fully diluted in rivers and other waterways...."

To read the entire article in full, click HERE.

Should you have a right to know?

The American Gas Association, Gas Processors Association and Chesapeake Energy Corporation have all filed suit against the EPA that would undermine the public's right-to-know laws.  At issue: inventorying and disclosure requirements for all oil and gas discharges into the environment.  Click HERE to read the recent press release issued by the Environmental Defense Fund.

EPA goes after Halliburton on hydrofracturing

[As posted on Innovation Trail by Zack Seward 11/9/20]

The Wall Street Journal and other news organizations are reporting that the EPA and Halliburton are butting heads over hydrofracking.

On Tuesday the EPA said it had subpoenaed Halliburton after the energy giant refused to disclose the chemicals it uses in the controversial drilling technique.

Hydrofracking relies on injecting a slurry of water, sand and chemicals into underground rock formations. The millions of gallons of slurry are used to force open channels in the earth's crust, thereby allowing oil and natural gas to flow upward.

Of nine major energy companies contacted by the EPA, Halliburton was the only one to refuse the agency's request for its chemical formulas.

Through a company spokesperson, Halliburton told the Wall Street Journal they were disappointed by today's move:

In a written statement, Houston-based Halliburton said the EPA made "unreasonable demands" that would potentially require the company to prepare approximately 50,000 spreadsheets of data. The company said it had been working with the agency "in good faith" and has turned over nearly 5,000 pages of documents as recently as last Friday.

Drilling companies have long sought to protect their chemical formulas, calling them proprietary.

The EPA is studying whether hydrofracking affects drinking water and the public health. As we've been reporting, the study comes as natural gas companies stand poised to expand Marcellus Shale development into New York state.

Today's announcement from the EPA is especially interesting, considering President Obama's recent indication that natural gas would be one of his lead olive branches to newly-empowered Republicans in Congress.

To read the original article, including photos, please click HERE.

Farmers take up camera against fracking practice

"They’ve been labeled “farmers turned filmmakers,” but it’s what Jeff and Jodi Andrysick felt they had to do with their $10,000.

The couple, native Pennsylvanians, set aside the money for a multi-vendor farm market where they live in Keuka Lake, N.Y., in Finger Lakes country. But the fight against fracking became more pressing, so the money went to a high-definition camcorder.

This led to “All Fracked Up,” a documentary they made to rally people against fracking and what it could do to their areas. The couple was in Pennsylvania on Friday promoting the film, which will debut at the BTE Theatre in Bloomsburg, at 4:30 p.m. Oct. 2. Admission is $5, and they’ll host a discussion after the movie.

It all began when “a predatory gas corporation” — the Andrysicks’ lawyer advised them against using the name — tried to dump what is believed to be three-quarters of a billion gallons of toxic waste into an abandoned gas well in Pulteney, N.Y. The waste came from a drill site in Pennsylvania.

“We figured if Pennsylvania doesn’t want it there, why should we take it?” Jeff Andrysick said.

The people of the region successfully fought it back, and the Andrysicks want Pennsylvanians to know they can do the same.

“The gas corporations prey on ignorance,” said Jeff Andrysick, saying they play a smoke-and-mirrors game to get people and towns to buy into what they do."

Read the remaining text of Evamarie Socha's article by clicking here:  THE DAILY ITEM (as it appeared 9.24.2010).

Yet another shale gas summit bites the dust.

First it was on, then it was relocated, then it was off.  Now it may be on again, but who knows where.  I'm talking about the EPA's public fracking meeting--the last of 4 held across the country.  First it was to be in Binghamtom, but was cancelled only days before--this after a large number of protestors (some traveling long distances) promised to make their presence known.  The EPA cited logistical & contract issues.  One would think these would have been worked out months ago rather than left to mere days before the event.  At any rate, it was relocated to Syracuse and now Syracuse, too, has pulled the plug.  Now there's talk of it being back in Binghamton, but the EPA is keeping their options open.  You can read more about the ongoing saga HERE.

Now it seems the massive gas shale summit scheduled for October 1st in Pittsburgh (it would have included Pennsylvania politicians in addition to gas company executives) has not only been cancelled--it's as if the thing was never even scheduled in the first place.  Again, a large contingent of protesters were planning to attend; the event was mentioned just a few weeks ago on our blog. As journalist Chris Potter writes, the event hasn't just been cancelled, "it's as if the summit was never scheduled at all."  On August 18th, Potter posted the following article on the Pittsburgh City Paper's website.

(Thanks to one of our FB fans for the "heads up" on this!)

Marcellus Shale Coalition cancels summit where protest was planned

The Marcellus Shale Coaltion has quietly cancelled a "shale gas summit" originally planned for Oct.1.

And by "quietly," I mean that for all appearances, it's as if the summit was never scheduled at all. The coalition Web page that once touted the summit now produces a 404 error. (Though a cached version of it can be found here.) No other mention of it appears on the site.

The summit was billed as a chance for "key stakeholders to showcase and highlight the Marcellus Shale’s economic and energy production potential." It was said to be attracting CEOs from big gas producers like Chesapeake Energy and Range Resources. It was also, however, likely to attract a sizable protest from people opposed to natural-gas drilling in the state.

Travis Windle, a spokesman for the coaltion, confirms that the event has been cancelled. What role did the protest play in that decision? "None whatsoever, actually," he says.

Instead, he says, the event was called off due to "a host of logistical issues" including several competing events. Chief among them is the "DUG East" convention being held in Pittsburgh just over a month later. That event is slated to include at least one of the same keynote speakers -- Range Resources CEO John Pinkerton -- and Windle says the events would "be pulling from the same pool of attendees" as well. Another shale event is slated for a few days before the DUG conference.

This still raises the question about why the event was not so much cancelled as "disappeared." You might expect the Coalition to notify people that their event had been called off -- rather than, you know, simply scrubbing the website and acting as if it never happened.

Windle says that those who were interested in the event were notified, but "we didn't think it was necessary to issue a statement" beyond taking the web page down.

So if I'm a protester, I guess, I'm sending out "change the date" cards and planning my activities on Nov. 3-4 instead. And I'm hoping that gas wells are as easily dispensed with as the Oct. 1 conference was.

HERE.

PA fracking documented in Vanity Fair magazine

Vanity Fair magazine recently featured an online story detailing the concerns and fears of residents in PA--and in other areas in the country--regarding the fracking process.  The article includes documentation of fracking gone wrong and the subsequent consequences including environmental destruction, property devaluation, livestock deaths, and serious health problems for people and their pets.  Click here to read A Colossal Fracking Mess by Christopher Bateman.

"Gas Pains"--Audubon Magazine features the Marcellus Mess in PA

[Excerpt]: "It’s not just native ecosystems that are being violated, it’s Pennsylvania’s constitution, which states: “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and to the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come. As trustee of these resources, the Commonwealth shall conserve and maintain them for the benefit of all the people.” What most alarms and outrages fish and wildlife advocates is that the state’s equally alarmed and outraged professional resource managers have been sidelined by big-money politics."

Read the article in its entirety HERE.

Congress Launches Investigation into Drilling Practices

Can I get a "woot-woot?!"  If you would like to send kudos, share information or your thoughts with the House Committee on Energy & Commerce, click HERE to email them.  


CONGRESS LAUNCHES INVESTIGATION INTO  DRILLING PRACTICES
By S Shankman & A. Lustgarten for ProPublica.org
2.19.2010
"Two of the largest companies involved in natural gas drilling have acknowledged pumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of diesel-based fluids into the ground in the process of hydraulic fracturing, raising further concerns that existing state and federal regulations don't adequately protect drinking water from drilling.  Rep. Henry A. Waxman, D-Calif., who released the information in a statement Thursday, announced that the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, which he chairs, is launching an investigation into potential environmental impacts from hydraulic fracturing."  To read the rest of this article in its entirety, click HERE.

EPA Official: State regulators doing fine on hydrofracturing

Seriously?  

Another shocker detailed below:  the EPA is *not* currently investigating any possible links between fracking & water contamination.  Why not?  How many wells have to be contaminated immediately following fracking operations before they launch a formal investigation?  At least they're asking for money in next year's budget to study the environmental effects of fracking;  Unfortunately, measures should have been put in place *before* the drilling started.

Source: The Wall Street Journal, 2.15.2010

By Ian Talley
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--State regulators are doing a good job overseeing a key natural gas production technique called hydrofracking and there is no evidence the process causes water contamination, a senior federal environment official said Monday.

Environmentalists and some lawmakers are pressing to give the Environmental Protection Agency federal oversight of the process, concerned that the drilling technique is contaminating water supplies.

State regulators and the natural gas industry have been fighting against federal regulation, saying it could prevent or delay development of trillions of cubic feet of new resources.

The process, which injects water, sand and a small amount of chemicals into natural gas reservoirs under high pressure, has opened new deposits to development, dramatically expanding estimates for domestic production.

"I have no information that states aren’t doing a good job already," Steve Heare, director of EPA’s Drinking Water Protection Division said on the sidelines of a state regulators conference here. He also said despite claims by environmental organizations, he hadn’t seen any documented cases that the hydro-fracking process was contaminating water supplies.

In its 2011 budget, the EPA is seeking to spend $4 million to study the environmental impacts of the process.

Bill Kappel, a U.S. Geological Survey official, said contamination of water supplies is more likely to happen as companies process the waste water from hydrofracking. In some instances, municipal water systems that treat the water have reported higher levels of heavy metals and radioactivity.  "Treatment of the [waste] water hasn’t caught up with the hydro-fracking technology," Kappel said.

But both re-injection of that waste water and water treatment at the surface is already regulated by the federal government under the Safe Drinking Water and Clean Water Acts.

Although legislation in the House and Senate to bring greater federal oversight of the hydro-fracking process has gained momentum, Heare said even if such proposals are approved, it wouldn’t likely have a dramatic affect on regulation. States would still have the right under the Safe Drinking Water Act to use their own regulatory standards.  The National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners has pushed to maintain state primacy in oversight of oil and gas activities.

Contrary to some press reports, Heare also noted that the EPA wasn’t conducting any current investigations linking hydrofracking to water contaminations.

Companies such as Range Resources Corp. (RRC), EOG Resources Inc. (EOG), Devon Energy Corp. (DVN), Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDSA) and Chesapeake Energy Corp. (CHK) say the process is multiplying their reserves. For example, the Marcellus deposit that lies under Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio and New York is estimated to hold more than 500 trillion cubic feet, compared to total conventional natural-gas resource estimates in the U.S. of around 378 trillion cubic feet, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

EPA unveils toll free hotline to report suspicious oil & gas well activity

"Concerned about the environmental effects of well drilling and pipeline construction in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York and West Virginia, EPA has announced the start of its "Eyes on Drilling" line at 1-877-919-4372 (toll free), and an e-mail address eyesondrilling@epa.gov where citizens can report non-emergency well development actions that appear to be illegal. These may include the drawing of water from water courses, the illegal disposal of well wastewater or other questionable activity."  According to EPA spokesperson David Sternberg, the EPA has "definitely received reports of improper disposal of drilling wastes." 

For emergencies related to a well drilling operation, the EPA advises individuals to call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802. Individuals may leave anonymously tips.


If possible, reports should include the location, time and date of the suspicious activity, as well as the materials, equipment and vehicles involved and any observable environmental impacts.


The information gathered from the tipline may be shared with the state agencies that regulate drilling - in Pennsylvania, it is the Department of Environmental Protection - and may be used by the EPA in investigating the practices of the industry, he said.  

For full article, click HERE.