Fracking endangers Susquehanna, group says
The rush to tap natural gas reserves in Pennsylvania prompted the environmental group American Rivers today to name the Susquehanna River the most endangered water way in the country. One of the nation's longest rivers, The Susquehanna supplies drinking water to six million people. It's also the chief tributary of the Chesapeake Bay.
The designation comes as national environmental groups press for a crackdown on the gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, which involves pumping millions of gallons of water laced with chemicals and other substances deep into the ground to extract methane from layers of rock.
American Rivers points to the rash of spills, leaks and contaminated drinking-water wells in Pennsylania that have been linked to fracking, which is being used to get at gas locked in vast Marcellus shale deposits underlying much of Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia and western Maryland.
The group is calling for Pennsylvania, New York, and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission need to impose a "complete moratorium" on water withdrawals and "fracking" until there are comprehensive regulations in place to safeguard drinking water and the environment.
"The potential for future environmental and public health catastrophes along the Susquehanna will only increase, considering the number of new wells projected and the amount of toxic wastewater produced," the group says in a release.
New York already has temporarily halted fracturing to study the issue. Maryland has had a de facto moratorium for more than a year now, holding up permits sought by a pair of companies to drill exploratory wells in Garrett County near the Pennsylvania border. A bill that would have placed a two-year moratorium in drilling in Maryland while more study is done died, but state officials say they don't intend to issue permits unless and until they're sure adequate safeguards are in place - a process that could take close to two years anyway.
In a related development, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection today announced it has levied more than $1 million in fines against Chesapeake Energy, one of the companies drilling for gas there, for contaminating wells in one county and for a fire in February at one of its wells.
Paul Swartz, executive director of the Susquehanna basin commission, called American Rivers' demand for a moratorium "misguided."
The commission has only a 'limited' role in the regulation of natural gas development, he said, in overseeing water withdrawals and consumptive water uses. Concerns about water contamination need to be addressed by state and federal governments, he said.
Swartz also contended that American Rivers exaggerrates how much of the Susquehanna's flow would be needed to provide drilling fluid for the hundreds of thousands of wells that could be drilled. The group said 1.5 times the river's annual flow would be used to sustain drilling operations. But Swartz countered that with 18 million gallons of freshwater flow per minute, the river's flow would be minimally affected - less than 3 percent of the flow, he said, even in dry spells.
Other rivers making American Rivers' annual "most endangered" list include Briston Bay rivers in Alaska and Roanoke River in Virginia and North Carolina, which the group says are threatened by mining operations. To see all the rivers on the list, go here.
(Baltimore Sun photos: Top, Susquehanna River at Conowingo Dam, 2005 by David Hobby; natural gas well in Pennsylvania, by Doug Kapustin)
Comments
Natural gas occurs far far far below the water table and as such fracking takes place thousands of feet below well depths.
All this is just more fear mongering by the environazis who want us all living in caves.
Posted by: Anonymous | May 17, 2011 4:50 PM
Yes, but the produced fluid does come up to the surface and around the annulus where poor cementing occurs. No cement job is foolproof. Leaks can and do occur anywhere along the drill column, which does include the water table. I'd say you're in denial about the reality of the situation.
Posted by: yo | May 17, 2011 5:28 PM
Umm... really 'anonymous'??? Water, laced with chemicals and "other substances" forced into the ground (where ground-water is) won't have an adverse effect on our waterways and drinking water??? Where do you suppose that cocktail ends up? You need to wake up and look around you... how 'bout as close as W.Virginia and PA where wells are poisoned, streams and creeks are so full of runoff chemicals that the fish are deformed, etc. etc. etc...... Facts, not 'fear mongering'!
Posted by: Patty S. | May 17, 2011 5:54 PM
Thank you for highlighting this important issue on the Susquehanna River. American Rivers believes that there are numerous possible pathways of contamination beyond migration from fractures in the rock. Water may become contaminated by explosions, spills, cracked well casings, overturned trucks, wastewater disposal, and possibly even though existing natural fractures in the ground. Also, to clarify, the estimates for the potential number of wells to be constructed in this formation (400,000+) lead to questions of what the overall impact of all of those wells will be collectively. Our conservative estimate is that to frack 400,000 wells ten times, with each well using 3 million gallons of water per frack, that would equal around 1.5 years of flow from the Susquehanna River. All of the sudden, the numbers add up. None of the federal, state, or river basin commission regulations for natural gas water withdrawals or fracking related activities factor into account the collective impact of widespread Marcellus development. That approach has to change in order to ensure adequate supplies of clean water for people throughout the region. To see how you can help, please visit http://bit.ly/endangeredrivers
Posted by: Jessie Thomas-Blate | May 17, 2011 6:51 PM
Hydraulic Fracture is the single most dangerous threat to domestic freshwater sources. You have to understand that these well shafts are made of earth, both the fluid pumped down and the gas coming back up seep into the surrounding earth. Since the natural gas is below the water table, the fracking well goes through the water table. The problem is the glycol ethers, benzene toluene, and literally hundreds of other volatile organic substances are leaking into freshwater supplies. In 2005, Bush and cheyney amended the safe drinking water act, the superfund law, and over a dozen other laws removing EPA oversights for domestic natural gas extraction. This also allowed halliburton (Cheney's former employer) to drill domestically on BMI public lands. Josh Fox made a documentary called "Gasland" that takes an objective view on the practice of hydraulic fracturing. Watch it and elevate your knowledge on the subject.
Posted by: Joshua Daniels | May 17, 2011 10:00 PM
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/newsroom/14287?id=17405&typeid=1
The link is the PA DEP news release about the fines levied on Chesapeake Energy.
"DEP determined that because of improper well casing and cementing in shallow zones, natural gas from non-shale shallow gas formations had experienced localized migration into groundwater and contaminated 16 families’ drinking water supplies."
I would hardly call "Gasland" objective, but it makes some good points.
The reality is that you can't count on the industry to police themselves where there is so much money to be made by cutting corners. Regulations need to be in place ensuring proper techniques and engineering controls are used and the people need to be watched to make sure drilling and fracking is being done in a safe fashion and that frack water is being properly treated and disposed. It (Natural Gas) can be a boon for this state and country, but if we're not careful it could be a bane.
Posted by: Gabe C. | May 19, 2011 1:48 PM
Already starting to look like the ecnomics were overpromised, another bubble to burst and leave economy reeling. NY Times did story citing how fracking history in Texas shows wells depleted far quicker than expected, actual reserves far lower than their PR to investors was promising. Most wells are dry holes or very low amounts that are very expensive busts.The economics of making gas primary energy source in US depends on taxpayer subsidies--if so good, why does it need subsidizing, can;t stand on its own?
Add to mix once the infrastructure is in place so US is very dependent on gas, Russia and Iran have enormous reserves to undercut US market--then what? Damage to water supplies in eastern US remain unremedied like the logging and coal mining industries that once came and went?
The economics are what make fracking a bad choice, going deeper is far more costly and unproductive than developing other technology with less externatiies shoved upon the public trough.
Posted by: Steve | June 26, 2011 1:51 PM