Fracking gets its own "Occupy" movement

This is a story about water, the land surrounding it, and the lives it sustains. Clean water should be a right: there is no life without it. New York is what you might call a “water state.” Its rivers and their tributaries only start with the St. Lawrence, the Hudson, the Delaware, and the Susquehanna. The best known of its lakes are Great Lakes Erie and Ontario, Lake George, and the Finger Lakes. Its brooks, creeks, and trout streams are fishermen’s lore.

Far below this rippling wealth there’s a vast, rocky netherworld called the Marcellus Shale. Stretching through southern New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, the shale contains bubbles of methane, the remains of life that died 400 million years ago. Gas corporations have lusted for the methane in the Marcellus since at least 1967 when one of them plotted with the Atomic Energy Agency to explode a nuclear bomb to unleash it. That idea died, but it’s been reborn in the form of a technology invented by Halliburton Corporation: high-volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing -- “fracking” for short.

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Dozens protest gas drilling method of fracking in Columbus

Columbus -- Jamie Frederick held up a pair of heavy-duty ear protectors that she used in an attempt to block out the sounds of oil and gas drilling near her home.

They didn't work.

"Living through the drilling and fracking phase of the most recent well was a truly terrifying experience," Frederick said.

"... Twenty-four-seven, nonstop, we were subjected to such unbelievable levels of noise that you could only understand if you heard if for yourself. It would have been more peaceful to live on an airport runway."

At an anti-fracking rally Jan. 10 at the Statehouse, she recounted health problems, contaminated water, property damage and other issues that have affected her and her husband since they moved to the Youngtown area.

"I have a message for you, Gov. Kasich, and to you, Mr. Gasman," she said. "You may have taken my safety and my property value. You may have taken my gallbladder and you may have taken my ability to have children, but you will not take my voice. And I will not stop until you stop."

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New Study: Severe Health Impact of Fracking

By Bernhard Debatin

A new study on the Impacts of Gas Drilling on Human and Animal Health (*)shows that fracking fluids, methane gas exposure, and other gas-drilling related contamination can have a serious impact on the health of both humans and animals. The study, conducted by private practice veterinarian Michelle Bamberger and Robert E. Oswald of the Department of Molecular Medicine at Cornell University, investigated 24 different sites with gas wells, 18 of which were horizontal hydro-fractured wells. The researchers observed and documented severe changes in health of both humans and animals living close to these sites. The majority of the observed animals were cows; other animals included horses, goats, llamas, chickens, dogs, cats, and koi.

Bamberger and Oswald interviewed animal owners affected by gas drilling in six different states (Colorado, Louisiana, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Texas). In addition, they obtained lab test results and data from drilling companies and state regulatory agencies. The most striking finding of the study is the death of over 100 cows, caused by their exposure to fracking fluids or drinking of fracking wastewater that was dumped or leaked into freshwater sources. The researchers also frequently found reproductive problems, particularly lack of breeding and stillborn animals, often with congenital deformations. Other health effects on both animals and humans encompassed a wide range of symptoms, such as upper respiratory symptoms and burning of the eyes,  vomiting and diarrhea, rashes, nosebleeds, headaches, and neurological problems.

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Fracking Moratorium Urged as Doctors Call for Health Study

The U.S. should declare a moratorium on hydraulic
fracturing for natural gas in populated areas until the health effects are
better understood, doctors said at a conference on the drilling process.

Gas producers should set up a foundation to finance studies on fracking
and independent research is also needed, said Jerome Paulson, a
pediatrician at George Washington University School of Medicine in
Washington.

 Top independent producers include Chesapeake Energy Corp. and
Devon Energy Corp., both of Oklahoma City, and Encana Corp. of Calgary,
according to Bloomberg Industries.

 "We've got to push the pause button,
and maybe we've got to push the stop button" on fracking, said Adam Law,
an endocrinologist at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, in an
interview at a conference in Arlington, Virginia that's the first to
examine criteria for studying the process.

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Burton tells state to halt 'fracking'

Burton Village Council called on state officials Monday to halt a gas-well drilling process that is just now making its way into Geauga County.

Council unanimously passed a resolution in support of a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finishes a study on the process.

The legislation was introduced in October and came up for a final reading Monday.

"The village of Burton, Ohio, calls on the governor and the Ohio state legislature to place a moratorium (or enact a ban) on hyrdraulic fracturing until an adequate environmental study is completed, showing that hydraulic fracturing can be done safely and without impacting local water supplies within the state," the resolution states.

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Ohio lawmakers should impose fracking moratorium until impact on ground water can be determined

Last week, many news agencies reported on the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency'sconclusion that contamination of water wells around the town of Pavillion, Wyo., was the result of natural gas drilling. The contaminants recovered from the aquifer included an assortment of carbon-based compounds, among them the carcinogens benzene, phenol and 2-butoxyethanol. These and hundreds of other chemicals are known to be used where gas extraction is accomplished using horizontal drilling and hydraulical fracturing -- the two procedures commonly and simply referred to as "fracking."

Fracking had been done extensively in the Pavillion area for more than a decade, and, indeed, local residents had been complaining of smelly, oddly-colored water for about as long. They are not alone. According to the nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy group Common Cause, at least 1,000 complaints of water contamination connected to fracking have been reported across the country from the Rocky Mountains to our neighbors in Pennsylvania (most famously around the town of Dimock). The industry continues to reject concerns and fight allegations with a substantial public relations campaign and lobbying effort estimated to have cost the industry $747 million over the past 10 years, with over $20 million of that going to current members of Congress from both parties. Their expenditures have paid off . . . for the gas industry. With tens of thousands of wells across the country, the industry has been exempt from much regulation, including parts of the Clean Water Act, and to date no independent and comprehensive study of the safety of fracking has been conducted.

Meanwhile in Ohio, as gas lease brokers -- with the lure of fast, easy money -- descend on rural areas across the state, two bills that advocate precaution are stalled in the Ohio state legislature.House bill 345 and Senate bill 213 are easy to understand: Pause natural gas extraction by fracking in the state until the U.S. EPA concludes a study -- the first of its kind -- on the safety of fracking with regard to water resources. (This study is expected to be done by 2014). Then require the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to alter Ohio's regulation and oversight of fracking to address the safety concerns identified by the EPA's research.

Simple and common sense, right? It's like making sure your kid knows how to drive before handing him the keys. I'm not sure our state politicians think that protecting the state's water resources is of particular importance, requiring urgent passage of these bills. Instead, I've heard grumblings by many proponents of the moratorium that the bills will be killed in committee.

To contrast, let's look to Nebraska, where, over the course of weeks, Republican Gov. Dave Heineman, with a unanimous bipartisan vote from the legislature, took control of the proposed TransCanada tar sands oil pipeline (the Keystone XL pipeline), re-routing its Nebraska pathway to avoid the Ogallala aquifer -- a major source of water for that and surrounding states. While admittedly I'm no fan of the XL pipeline, I applaud the Nebraska state government for its recognition of the importance of ground water to the residents of that state and its quick action to protect it.

No one likes to believe that their representatives in government, especially state government, would hold moneyed interests above those of ordinary constituents. That's why I am ignoring thereport and accompanying impressive spreadsheet called "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets," published last month by Common Cause, showing Ohio leaders and committees received over $2.8 million in gas industry money over the past 10 years. At the top of the list of state-level recipients were Gov. John Kasich ($213,519), the Republican Senate Campaign Committee ($114,750) and the Ohio House Republican Organizational Committee ($95,500). (To be fair, former Democratic Gov. Ted Strickland was No. 4).

Instead, I'm going to urge lawmakers to apply common-sense precaution and pass the bills to impose a moratorium on fracking until we know how it can be done safely. Other states have done it -- New York, Maryland, even New Jersey. Utilizing domestic, even local, energy resources should be a priority for the country and the state. But it's foolish -- even unpatriotic -- to destroy our drinking water in the pursuit of a buck. And with this last sentence, I'm talking to everyone from federal and state politicians to my neighbors signing gas leases.

Steven Corso Chardon

http://blog.cleveland.com/letters/2011/12/ohio_lawmakers_should_impose_f.html

EPA criticizes state for shale air pollution rules

Tuesday, December 06, 2011

By Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has strongly criticized Pennsylvania's new policy guidelines for regulating air pollutants emitted by Marcellus Shale gas wells and development sites located in close proximity to one another.

According to the EPA, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection's Oct. 12 draft policy differs from established federal law and the state's own air pollution control plan by imposing new limitations on the aggregation of air emissions from multiple shale gas industry sources such as gas wells, compressor pumping stations and pipelines.

That state policy, which amended a policy adopted by the Rendell administration in December 2010, uses the physical distance of one quarter mile between the shale gas facilities as a major qualifying criteria for determining if they should be considered as individual minor sources or a single, major source of air pollutants.

A broader geographic policy of aggregation consistent with the federal Clean Air Act would result in multiple gas development activities being treated as a single major source, and as such it would require them to meet stricter emissions standards to prevent deterioration of existing air quality.

"The [DEP] draft guidance appears to alter the conventional way in which aggregation determinations have been made federally and by PADEP," said Diana Esher, EPA Region III air protection division director, in an agency comment letter dated Nov. 21. "For example the guidance imposes new terms and requirements when considering the 'contiguous or adjacent' nature of two or more sources and provides a bright line test of distance between sources when making aggregation determinations."

She said in her letter and in comments attached to the letter that the EPA will review and comment on the DEP's air pollution source aggregation determinations.

The DEP did not respond Monday afternoon to several requests for comment about the EPA's criticism or the agency's plans to review DEP decision making. When the new policy, which de-emphasizes the inter-relatedness of oil and gas facilities, was announced, DEP Secretary Michael Krancer characterized it as a "practical, common-sense and legally required approach to air aggregation issues."

The DEP's air staff began implementing the new policy on an interim basis on Oct. 12, and they took public comments until Nov. 21.

Kathryn Klaber, president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, said the industry supports the state policy's "prescriptive definition of proximity" because it "gives predictability for development" while still allowing regulators to consider other factors depending on the specific site.

"That gives predictability for development," she said. "It's a good compromise."

The Clean Air Council, one of several environmental organizations that criticized the DEP policy when it was issued, applauded the EPA review and called on the federal agency to "ensure that the [state] guidance is repealed and public health and the environment is protected in Pennsylvania."

Jan Jarrett, president and chief executive officer for Citizens for Pennsylvania's Future, a statewide environmental organization active on Marcellus Shale issues, said the DEP "thumbed its nose at the EPA" by rejecting established federal aggregation policy guidelines.

"What we need in Pennsylvania, and deserve in Pennsylvania, are world-class standards for controlling drilling pollution," Ms. Jarrett said. "The EPA's standards are better. And you would think, given the state's long history of bad air and the cost of bringing it into compliance, that the DEP would be eager on economic grounds to restrict emissions."

Thomas Au, conservation chair of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter, said the EPA should closely monitor the DEP's permitting of Marcellus Shale development to ensure it is consistent with federal policies.

"If many gas industry sources of air pollution escape strict air pollution controls," Mr. Au said, "the regional air quality would degrade. Eventually, whole counties would not attain the national ambient air quality standards."

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

First published on December 6, 2011 at 12:00 am