FollowUp 3: "FRAC! Baby FRAC!"

Wow! Great lyrics, popular style, and a nuanced take on a real problem. I'm impressed with the students of Studio 20 NYU and their follow-up to ProPublica's ongoing research.

Thanks to The Young Turks for the heads up.

13 November 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.
10 December 2011, FollowUp 1.
2 January 2012, FollowUp 2.

FollowUp 2: "FRAC! Baby FRAC!"

U.S. Geological Survey map of earthquake Saturday 31 December 2011 at 3:05 PM at epicenter

New Years Eve in NorthEast Ohio featured a magnitude 4 earthquake.  The likely cause of the quake is the supposedly safe extraction of oil and natural gas by means of hydraulic fracturing.  CNN has more details.

State leaders have ordered that four fluid-injection wells in eastern Ohio will be "indefinitely" prohibited from opening in the aftermath of heightened seismic activity in the area, an official said.

Ohio Department of Natural Resources Director James Zehringer had announced on Friday that one such well -- which injects "fluid deep underground into porous rock formations, such as sandstone or limestone, or into or below the shallow soil layer," the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency explains -- was closed after a series of small earthquakes in and around Youngstown.

Then on Saturday, a magnitude 4.0 earthquake struck that released at least 40 times more energy than any of the previous 10 or more tremors that had rattled the region in 2011.

The dangers of fracking are well known.  Still, it is part of the theme of reducing regulations that Republicans are sounding.  Tainted water tables, earthquakes, and loss of surface vegetation are topics that I have covered in my earlier posts.  The companies that are drilling down to access the otherwise inaccessible petroleum are in full denial of any problems.

Ben Lupo -- CEO of D&L Energy, an independent natural gas and oil exploration, production and marketing group that is affiliated with the first well that was closed -- recently told CNN affiliate WKBN that there's full cooperation with experts, though he expressed grave doubts that the injection wells were to blame for the quakes.

"We have approximately 1,000 wells between Ohio and Pennsylvania and we've never had a problem ... with an earthquake or spill," Lupo said.

It is apparent that Mr. Lupo is a liar.  Fracking is not safe.  It must stop!

13 November 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.
10 December 2011, FollowUp 1.

26 May 2012, FollowUp 3.

FollowUp 1: "FRAC! Baby FRAC!"

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to release otherwise inaccessible oil and natural gas sounds, at first, like a good way to get at large quantities of domestic energy expediently.  In fact, if it could be done with assurance that fresh water aquifers would not be endangered, I would be supporting fracking.  Exceptions to the Safe Water Drinking Act for fracking have me concerned.  News this week from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have increased that concern.

A 121 page draft report, Investigation of Ground Water Contamination near Pavillion, Wyoming, links fracking to that contamination.  Both of the following two quotes are from the extended abstract.  The EPA was called in due to complaints in the area.

In response to complaints by domestic well owners regarding objectionable taste and odor problems in well water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency initiated a ground water investigation near the town of Pavillion, Wyoming under authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The Wind River Formation is the principal source of domestic, municipal, and stock (ranch, agricultural) water in the area of Pavillion and meets the Agency's definition of an Underground Source of Drinking Water. Domestic wells in the area of investigation overlie the Pavillion gas field which consists of 169 production wells which extract gas from the lower Wind River Formation and underlying Fort Union Formation. Hydraulic fracturing in gas production wells occurred as shallow as 372 meters below ground surface with associated surface casing as shallow as 110 meters below ground surface. Domestic and stock wells in the area are screened as deep as 244 meters below ground surface. With the exception of two production wells, surface casing of gas production wells do not extend below the maximum depth of domestic wells in the area of investigation. At least 33 surface pits previously used for the storage/disposal of drilling wastes and produced and flowback waters are present in the area. The objective of the Agency's investigation was to determine the presence, not extent, of ground water contamination in the formation and if possible to differentiate shallow source terms (pits, septic systems, agricultural and domestic practices) from deeper source terms (gas production wells).

Much of the next paragraphs detail the specific chemicals and wells in which those chemicals were found.  The likely source was fracking.  An EPA report must consider all possibilities.

Alternative explanations were carefully considered to explain individual sets of data. However, when considered together with other lines of evidence, the data indicates likely impact to ground water that can be explained by hydraulic fracturing. A review of well completion reports and cement bond/variable density logs in the area around MW01 and MW02 indicates instances of sporadic bonding outside production casing directly above intervals of hydraulic fracturing. Also, there is little lateral and vertical continuity of hydraulically fractured tight sandstones and no lithologic barrier (laterally continuous shale units) to stop upward vertical migration of aqueous constituents of hydraulic fracturing in the event of excursion from fractures. In the event of excursion from sandstone units, vertical migration of fluids could also occur via nearby wellbores. For instance, at one production well, the cement bond/variable density log indicates no cement until 671 m below ground surface. Hydraulic fracturing occurred above this depth at nearby production wells.

The extended abstract continues with exploration of gas well and comes to the same conclusion.  Fracking is causing contamination of local water and local gas wells.  This is not a safe endeavor.  It needs to stop until we know how to proceed without harm to the environment and harm to people's drinking water.

The National Memo ran an article by Pro Publica reporters that included an interview with a spokesman for the company that is doing the fracking.

A spokesman for EnCana, the gas company that owns the Pavillion wells, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In an email exchange after the EPA released preliminary water test data two weeks ago , the spokesman, Doug Hock, denied that the company's actions were to blame for the pollution and suggested it was naturally caused.

"Nothing EPA presented suggests anything has changed since August of last year -- the science remains inconclusive in terms of data, impact, and source," Hock wrote. "It is also important to recognize the importance of hydrology and geology with regard to the sampling results in the Pavillion Field. The field consists of gas-bearing zones in the near subsurface, poor general water quality parameters and discontinuous water-bearing zones."

Since the EPA report is a draft version, to be finalized Spring 2012, it is by definition inconclusive at this time.  The data, however, indicates that Mr. Hock is wrong.

13 November 2011, Original Pedantic Political Ponderings post.

2 January 2012, FollowUp 2.
26 May 2012, FollowUp 3.

Repudiation: "FRAC! Baby FRAC!"

Hydraulic Fracturing is the use of high-pressure fluids with particulate matter to break up underground rock and shale formations to release oil and natural gas.  The positive side to doing this is that it allows access to fuel that had been otherwise impossible to reach.  The down side is that there are risks to fresh water aquifers, risks to surface vegetation, risks of greenhouse gas emissions, and risks to the stability of natural faults.

In 2005, Congress exempted hydraulic fracturing from being covered by the Safe Water Drinking Act.  This was, in my opinion, a huge mistake.  We have seen numerous questions raised about the side effects of hydraulic fracturing since then.  Early this year we learned of reports of tremendous amounts of wastewater produced in hydraulic fracturing.  In the middle of the year we learned of surface devastation to part of the Monongahela National Forest.  In August Public Citizen called for consideration of all pertinent data before allowing further hydraulic fracturing.  The industry says that the risks can all be easily managed.

The National Academy of Sciences calls for greater regulation and monitoring because of methane getting into drinking water.  We have recently learned of hydraulic fracturing causing small earthquakes in England.  France is the first country to ban hydraulic fracturing outright.  And now Bette Grande, GOP Congressional hopeful from North Dakota, says "FRAC! Baby FRAC!" and offers a Halloween treat of a video in opposition to the Environmental Protection Agency.  As with the Republican Denial of Climate Change, Ms. Grande is looking to her political base and not to the facts.  We may all suffer as a result.

10 December 2011, FollowUp 1.
2 January 2012, FollowUp 2.
26 May 2012, FollowUp 3.