Waterless Fracking Method Could Sidestep NY Gas Drilling Ban

A plan to extract shale gas and oil from 135,000 acres in Tioga County, N.Y., could break through the state's hydraulic fracturing moratorium, because the wells would be fracked not with water but with liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, a mixture of mostly propane.

A relatively new technology, LPG fracking doesn't fall under New York's current hydraulic fracturing moratorium. Instead it could be permitted under the New York Department of Environmental Conservation's 1992 Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement, according to Emily DeSantis, the DEC's director of public information.

DeSantis said LPG fracking would also require an additional assessment under the state'sEnvironmental Quality Review Act, or even a separate environmental impact statement "if the proposed activity may result in significant adverse environmental impacts not previously or adequately addressed."

New York placed a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in 2010, after environmentalists and some residents began worrying that hydraulic fracturing might contaminate the watershed that supplies water to New York City and other parts of the East Coast.

The moratorium won't be lifted until a new Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement is complete. The DEC expects to finish the work on that document by the end of the year.

The Tioga County Landowners Association announced in March that the 2,000 families it represents will lease 135,000 acres to Houston-based eCorp International. The fracking will be done by Calgary-based GasFrac Energy Services, which pioneered the LPG process.

InsideClimate News and the Albany Times Union reported in November that while LPG fracking still faces skepticism and comes with its own risks, it has several environmental benefits. By forgoing the use of water, it eliminates an entire waste stream—the toxic "flowback" water. GasFrac also claims that LPG requires 75 percent fewer truck trips and a smaller well-pad than hydraulic fracturing.

Details of the Tioga County contract are still being worked out, but under the tentative plan the landowners will form a Limited Liability Company and will essentially be given stock in the venture, in addition to royalty payments of 12.5 percent of the value of the oil or gas that is retrieved. eCorp will provide financing and GasFrac will frack the wells, which could extract natural gas from the Marcellus Shale and also oil from the less-explored Utica Shale. eCorp estimates that each well will be about three to five acres large and will drill under roughly 3,200 acres of surrounding land.

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City Council amendment would ban oil-gas activity in water-protection area

Measure introduced despite state law that reserves oil and gas regulation to the ODNR

By David DeWitt

In an act of defiance of state law for the sake of protecting the city's drinking water, Athens City Council introduced an ordinance Monday night that bans oil and gas drilling within its wellhead protection zone.

The likelihood of companies attempting to bring the controversial horizontal hydraulic fracturing drilling technique to the wellhead protection zone is slim. Nevertheless, Ohio Revised Code relegates all oil and gas drilling and wastewater disposal regulatory authority to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources' Division of Mineral Resources Management.

In introducing revisions to its wellhead protection plan in the form of an ordinance Monday night, City Council chose to include provisions banning fracking in that area anyway.

The ordinance was originally introduced with two provisions banning oil and gas drilling in the protection zone. They were then struck out. During the meeting, Third Ward member Michele Papai moved to once again include that language. It was seconded by Second Ward member Jeff Risner.

The first provision bans "drilling, mining, exploration and extraction operations, including but not limited to, petroleum gas and minerals," while the second bans "the storage and/or disposal of wastewater and other byproducts associated with drilling, mining, exploration and extraction operations."

At-large member Chris Knisely said that she has spoken to several citizens who expressed concerns about adding the provisions back in.

"It's a difficult situation, but I also know that we have a ruling from our law director from the city, who has stated that the Ohio Department of Natural Resources has the jurisdiction in this area," she said.

Lang said Monday that local government has no bigger responsibility as far as he concerned than working to do everything in its power to protect the drinking water.

"That said, the position of law director is not a policy-making position; I'm an adviser, and it is you, the members of council, that have the legislative authority vested in you," he said. "It is not the duty of a law director to tell you what you can or can not do. But I do feel it is appropriate to make sure that you are aware of the relevant laws, and I feel I've done everything I can to do that."

He distributed a copy of Ohio Revised Code to council members with the relevant passages highlighted, reading from that the division "has the sole and exclusive authority to regulate the permitting, location and spacing of oil and gas production operations in the state."

When questioned about whether the language in the ordinance is "not defensible," Lang said he wouldn't use those words, simply because he'd be obliged to defend the language if push came to shove.

"I will say that I think that certain portions of the wellhead protection ordinance are more problematic, potentially, than others," he said.

Fourth Ward member Christine Fahl expressed concern that if the questionable provisions are put forth, and a court case results, that other aspects of the ordinance will be held under injunction until the court proceedings come to a conclusion, thereby making the wellhead protection area vulnerable during that time.

The city has requested an opinion from the ODNR on whether they would ever approve a drilling request within a municipality's wellhead protection area in the first place, but Athens Mayor Paul Wiehl said Monday that the city has not yet heard back from them.

Risner said that he does not see the ODNR taking the city of Athens to court if this ordinance is passed.

"It's more likely if a company came to town and decided, 'I want to put a well here,' and they read the ordinance, then they would take us to court," he said. "The problem I would have is that if I were a company looking to drill a well, I would want to make money. Lawsuits cost money. They take time. Two-year injunctions means for two years I can't do anything. I'm injuncted, too."

He said that it doesn't seem worthwhile for a company to pursue that avenue.

"I think if we put this tool in our toolbox it's just something else that will prevent someone from coming in and (drilling)," he said. "If we don't do it, then there's really nothing."

At-large member Elahu Gosney said that his view is that the state law contradicts the city's responsibility to protect the city's water supply.

"If this is passed, the amendments may be difficult to defend it in court, but it may not," he said. "But that being said, my opinion is that we have to do an all-of-the-above when protecting our water supply."

The motion to re-include the language banning drilling activity passed 5-2 with Fahl and Knisely casting the dissenting votes.

Recent state geology reports suggest that Athens County may not see a big boom in oil and gas drilling.

http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2012/04/dont_stifle_ohio_energy_produc.html

Fracking Companies Make Top Bids For Water Alongside Colorado Farmers

While there has always been competition for water in Colorado, today's contenders no longer just include farmers, but the oil and gas industry too.

The Denver Post reports that an auction hosted by the Northern Water Conservancy District for unallocated water diverted from the Colorado River Basin saw top bids from hydraulic fracturing companies.

Hydraulic fracturing or "fracking" is a process of extracting gas from the earth's shale rock layers using first vertical and then horizontal drilling methods, so that the pipe makes a deep "L" shape underground. Through that pipe, a mixture of water, sand and chemicals (also known as fracking fluid) is pumped down into the shale to break up the rock and extract natural gas.

A concern raised by Gary Wockner, director of the Save the Poudre Coalition, is that water first used for agriculture can stay in the hydrological cycle longer, but water contaminated by fracking is generally removed completely.

"Any transfer of water from rivers and farms to drilling and fracking will negatively impact Colorado's environment and wildlife," Wockner said.

Last month Congresswoman Diana DeGette and Congressman Jared Polis asked President Obama to support stronger environmental and public health standards.

DeGette stated in a press release:

In Colorado, our public lands are central to our recreation economy, and I couldn’t be more supportive of President Obama and Secretary Salazar’s move to require drilling chemical disclosure on public lands. However, with drilling in Colorado increasingly happening next to suburban homes and schools, it’s essential to disclose fracking chemicals anywhere they’re used in order to protect the public’s health in populated areas where those chemicals are most likely to affect our air, water and health.

In 2010, Wyoming became the first state to require that energy companies disclose chemicals injected into the ground, though not chemicals identified as trade secret.Environmental groups are currently seeking to force a more full requirement of disclosure in state court.

(A website in support of the Fracturing Responsibility and Awareness of Chemicals Act (FRAC) features an interactive walk-through of the dangers and controversy surrounding fracking. The bill was introduced to Congress in 2009 but did not pass.)

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/02/fracking-bidders_n_1398786.html

To Protect Americans' Health, Oppose Expanded Fracking Until Stronger Safeguards Are in Place

The Department of the Interior issued more than 2,000 violations to oil and gas companies drilling on public lands between 1998 and 2011 -- some for extremely dangerous actions like failing to install blowout preventers or building unsafe wells. And yet only 6 percent of violators had to pay a fine, and all together, those fines totaled just $273,875.

NRDC opposes expanded fracking until more effective safeguards are put in place.

The American people want stronger protections. A recent survey conducted by a Bloomberg News National Poll found that 65 percent of people said we need more regulations for fracking, while only 18 percent said there should be less regulation.

The support cuts across region and political affiliation. Kelly Gant, a mother from Bartonville, Texas, put it this way: "I'm not an activist, an alarmist, a Democrat, environmentalist or anything like that. I'm just a person who isn't able to manage the health of my family because of all this drilling."

Families like Kelly Gant's shouldn't have to suffer because energy companies have not been held accountable. While no energy development can be completely safe, drilling and fracking can be made safer than current operations. But this is only possible if the state and federal governments adopt and enforce much stronger laws and standards.

NRDC supports establishing a fully effective system of safeguards for hydraulic fracturing to protect our health and environment and is committed to working with the federal government, states, communities and industry to put these safeguards into place right away.

These safeguards include:

1. Putting the most sensitive lands, including critical watersheds, completely off limits to fracking;

2. Not allowing leaky systems by setting clean air standards that ensure methane leaks are well under one percent of production to reduce global warming pollution, and requiring green completions and other techniques to reduce air pollution;

3. Mandating sound well drilling and construction standards by requiring the strongest well siting, casing and cementing and other drilling best practices;

4. Protecting the landscape, air, and water from pollution by closing Clean Air, Clean Water and Safe Drinking Water loopholes, reducing toxic waste, and holding toxic oil and gas waste to the same standards as other types of hazardous waste, funding robust inspection and enforcement programs, and disclosing fully all chemicals;

5. Using gas to replace dirtier fossil fuels like coal by prioritizing renewables and efficiency, implementing recently established mercury, sulfur and other clean air standards, and setting strong power plant carbon pollution standards; and

6. Allowing communities to protect themselves and their future by restricting fracking through comprehensive zoning and planning.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frances-beinecke/to-protect-americans-heal_b_1397555.html?ref=green

From fracking-heavy region, women bring warnings

On Saturday, two dairy farmers from Pennsylvania shared some real-life horror stories from their experience with natural gas “fracking,” during a presentation in Athens.

Some of the roughly 50 people who came to hear Carol French and Carolyn Knapp, however, said they’re hopeful that a recent state geologist’s report, indicating that Athens County may lie outside the part of the Utica shale that’s expected to most oil and gas development, means this county won’t have to undergo a lot of fracking.

“It’s a tremendous relief; I think it’s a reprieve,” said Nancy Pierce of Guysville.

Natalie Kruse, an Ohio University environmental studies professor, said she was not surprised by the report’s findings.

“It’s nothing new,” Kruse suggested. “We’ve always known that we were less mature.” (The “maturity” of organic carbon intermixed with shale – basically its age, organic composition and how much pressure it’s undergone – largely determines its prospective value.)

Travis Milliken of Athens said he was “pleased” to read about the report, and added that he’s been leery from the beginning about the glowing claims of what a “fracking” boom will do for Athens County and the United States.

“I think this quest for ‘energy independence’ is driven by a lust for money, at the expense of many, many things,” he said. “

Knapp and French, who spoke at OU’s Morton Hall, both signed leases with energy companies to have their land in Bradford County, Pa., drilled for gas using the horizontal hydraulic fracturing method to extract the resource from underground shale beds. Both suggested that signing was a bad decision for them, and warned locals of things they need to think about before leasing.

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How Fracking in the Northeast Could Impact Farmland in Oklahoma

The federal government issues mortgages and loan guarantees to low-income Americans living in rural areas.

But the U.S. Department of Agriculture is considering requiring environmental studies before issuing money to those leasing their land for oil and natural gas production.

Why is this happening? U.S. Rep. Dan Boren says it’s because the USDA is bowing to political pressure exerted by opponents of hydraulic fracturing — particularly those in the Northeast, reports the Tulsa World.

 The USDA’s Rural Housing Service generally doesn’t require a down payment, and has been especially popular in the wake of tight credit markets, writes New York Timesreporter Ian Urbina:

… the program’s loans have roughly quadrupled since 2004.

Much of the money has gone to states like Pennsylvania, Texas and Louisiana, which are booming with oil and natural gas drilling.

The National Environmental Review Policy Act — NEPA — requires environmental reviews before federal money is spent, but home and rural business loans are generally excluded.

The rural housing decision might also impact the department’s Rural Business and Cooperative Program, which issues grants and loans to rural businesses.

Hydraulic fracturing is an increasingly common drilling technique, and it’s has had a big economic impact in Oklahoma and a lot of states. But there are environmental concerns about water contamination, spills and air pollution.

Over the last year, some banks and federal agencies have started revisiting their lending policies to account for the potential impact of drilling on property values, reports the Times.

One Agriculture Department office in New York said they were no longer financing homes with gas leases because, in part, of the expensive environmental studies.

It’s not clear if this is happening yet in Oklahoma, reports the World, but Boren isn’t waiting for confirmation.

“… taking away this loan option would only discourage economic development in rural communities like the many located in my eastern Oklahoma district,” Boren wrote Monday in a letter he sent to Agriculture Secretary Thomas J. Vilsack.

“Not only would an environmental review harm the individuals that need the loans the most, it would also be detrimental to our nation’s progress towards energy independence,” Boren wrote. “If we make potential home owners choose between getting a home loan to keep their house or maintaining a mineral lease, viable sources of oil and gas may become less accessible.”

http://stateimpact.npr.org/oklahoma/2012/03/20/how-fracking-in-the-northeast-could-impact-farmland-in-oklahoma/

FRACKING, FAIRNESS AND THE FUTURE

Excerpts:

"In New York, a memo from the New York Department of Transportation revealed that “Pavement structural damage done by the passage of a single large truck is equivalent to that done by about 9,000 automobiles.”xi Areas with heavy drilling are expecting 1.5 million heavy truck trips annually and could see an increase in peak hour trips by 36,000 trips per hour. A similar impact can be expected in Ohio. This type of traffic—on rural roads that aren’t designed for such loads— will quickly result in expensive maintenance costs In New York, a memo from the New York Department of Transportation revealed that “Pavement structural damage done by the passage of a single large truck is equivalent to that done by about 9,000 automobiles.”xi Areas with heavy drilling are expecting 1.5 million heavy truck trips annually and could see an increase in peak hour trips by 36,000 trips per hour. A similar impact can be expected in Ohio. This type of traffic—on rural roads that aren’tdesigned for such loads— will quickly result in expensive maintenance costs."

"The increased demand for housing has driven up rent in rural areas, which, in turn, has displaced many long-time residents. Areas that saw few homeless people have experienced a sudden increase in family homelessness and in families doubling or tripling up in their living quartersThe increased demand for housing has driven up rent in rural areas, which, in turn, has displaced many long-time residents. Areas that saw few homeless people have experienced a sudden increase in family homelessness and in families doubling or tripling up in their living quarters."

"In addition to being associated with possible health consequences, hydraulic fracturing is connected to multiple environmental concerns, such as increased air pollution and a probable contamination of local water supplies."

Read more at: http://innovationohio.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Fracking-Fairness-and-the-Future-Full-Report.pdf