Archive for the ‘fresh water pollution’ Category

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Energy Advisory Board Natural Gas Subcommittee Holds Public Meeting #1 in DC Today

June 28, 2011

The Energy Advisory Board Natural Gas Subcommittee on Fracking Issues didn’t foresee the flaring passions of Pennsylvanians when they convened a meeting at Jefferson College in Washington, Pa. a few weeks ago. Well, now they know, and they’ve taken the proactive step of scheduling two more, longer meetings at their DC offices. While the Committee is heavy on industry insiders, the meetings are open to the public. The first one is today, and the second will be held on Wednesday, July 13, 2011 at 10am. The Committee is also accepting emails and written comments. Let’s bombard them! Feel free to paste in the letter below. Take a moment to get your two cents in and you’ll be glad you did, promise. Thanks for speaking up!

email: shalegas@hq.doe.gov

or write: (more…)

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Posted in Energy, Environment, epa, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, shale gas pollution, Stop Fracking PA! | Leave a Comment »

“My Marcellus tale: Would the gas companies steal our stream?”

June 13, 2011

SOURCE: Patriot-News Op-Ed by Ann Whitner Pinca, Sunday, June 12, 2011

Clean water was something we took for granted whenever we traveled to Sullivan County. Whether it was swimming in the clear waters at Worlds End State Park, splashing in the Loyalsock Creek among the giant sandstone boulders of the Haystacks or just poking around for frogs in Bear Wallow Pond, water was always a big draw. (more…)

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Posted in Environment, fresh water pollution, Pennsylvania Watersheds | Leave a Comment »

“Darn Close to Zero” Wastewater In PA Treatment Facilities, Says Secretary Krancer

June 9, 2011

Yesterday evening, DEP Secretary Michael Krancer joined a four member panel at The Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. The panel included University of Pennsylvania Professor Richard Pepino, Rep. P. Michael Sturla (D., Lancaster) and ANS Senior Scientist, David Velinsky, who has studied the deleterious effects of industrial shale gas drilling on water supplies.

It was a full, but not packed, auditorium and heckling was – for the most part – polite. It was by design a calm conversation about why we have to frack for shale gas (cuz we like air-conditioning) and why we gotta “get it right” right now (cuz it’s coming, ready or not). It was generally agreed among all panelists, save Krancer, that the Delaware River Watershed is particularly appealing to drillers and Governor Corbett’s Office is basically a fact-free zone. Tom Corbett was the invisible boogie man in the room. (more…)

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Tracking Frack Wastewater “Cradle to Grave”

June 6, 2011

“Tracking Fracking Water Goes High-Tech”

ARTICLE by Bill Toland, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
A worker connects a hose to a truck to collect foam from a drill pit used in a Rice Energy Marcellus Shale drilling rig in Lone Pine, Washington County. The foam is created by combining soap, air and water, and is used to flush out drill cuttings to the surface. Once in the drill pit, it breaks down again into soap and water. The water is then taken to a disposal facility for treatment.

Water, as much as natural gas, is the lifeblood of the Marcellus Shale play. Drillers need millions of gallons of water to flush the gas out of its hiding spot, deep below ground. Water is hauled by truck, imported by pipeline, collected on-site by retention impoundments and spirited away to a treatment or disposal facility once the fracking fluid has been spent. Not only do drillers need a lot of water, they also need a very specific amount of water — per week, per day, even per hour.
So how do they track all that water? (more…)

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Marcellus Advisory Commission Daytrips Through Gasland

June 3, 2011

Lt. Governor Jim Cawley, Chairman of the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission, took members on a tour of Lycoming County recently. They visited several Anadarko drilling sites, spoke with residents who have gas wells on their properties, and met a plastic liners manufacturer who, like so many business owners is seeing his gas-drilling related sales and services explode. The Commission is comprised of “key stakeholders” including experts from the environmental community, natural gas industry, local government representatives and state government officials. The trip was arranged by the Lycoming County Chamber of Commerce. (more…)

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Frack Flowback in the Schuylkill River Basin?

June 1, 2011

Bryn Mawr-based AquaAmerica, Inc., one of the nation’s largest and fastest growing water utilities, is vastly expanding its waste management services in the Schuylkill River Basin, source of drinking water for 1.5 million residents of Montgomery, Chester and Delaware Counties. Since 2005, Aqua Wastewater Management, Inc., a solely owned Pennsylvania subsidiary, has been systematically building their portfolio of non-regulated waste-hauling ventures including Leary and Higgins waste hauling business in Chester County and Concord Wastewater Services, Inc. in Delaware County.

In July, 2006, Aqua Wastewater Management, Inc, acquired Perna Wastewater Management in Souderton, the largest residential septage hauling operator in the Schuylkill basin for $5.1 million. The purchase represents Aqua’s strategy to expand its waste hauling and treatment business in the region, which the company hopes will come to represent approximately two percent of annual sales. (more…)

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Posted in fracking accidents fraccidents, fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Ever Hear of Radium 226? (Hint: It’s the stuff that causes Radon in basements)

May 18, 2011

“Two Landfills in South Central PA Approved by DEP to Accept Marcellus Shale Drill Cuttings”
In Februray of this year, two landfills in South Central Pennsylvania—the Cumberland County Landfill and IESI Blue Ridge Landfill—have state approval to accept drill cuttings from Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations. Drill cuttings are the leftover dirt, rock, mud and lubricants that come out of the bore hole. (more…)

Posted in fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, Pennsylvania Watersheds | Leave a Comment »

“EPA Releases Searchable Website for Drinking Water Violations”

May 17, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 


EPA hosts webinar to show how to use the public health data

CONTACT: 
Stacy Kika 
kika.stacy@epa.gov

May 16, 2011,
 WASHINGTON — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced improvements to the availability and usability of drinking water data in the Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) tool. ECHO now allows the public to search to see whether drinking water in their community met the standards required under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA), which is designed to safeguard the nation’s drinking water and protect people’s health. (more…)

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PA DEP Says Its Job Is To “Get Gas Done”

May 9, 2011

“At the end of the day, my job is to make sure gas is done and gas is done right,” said Michael Krancer upon his appointment to Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection.

Really? I thought the PA DEP mission was to “protect Pennsylvania’s air, land and water from pollution and to provide for the health and safety of its citizens through a cleaner environment,” and to “work as partners with individuals, organizations, governments and businesses to prevent pollution and restore our natural resources.” [SOURCE: http://www.depweb.state.pa.us]

Krancer may dismiss his critics for using “bad” science and having alternate agendas, like solar and wind, but it seems to me, an average interested citizen, that if the PA DEP was truly protecting our drinking water resources, they would wait until further “good” science is concluded before approving so many new gas drilling permits!

The PA DEP would also support the FRAC ACT because it would help them do their job more effectively. If drillers were required by law to publicly disclose fracking chemicals, the agency would have already known what chemicals were exploding from Chesapeake’s LeRoy, Bradford County well blowout on April 19. They would not have had to ask the company for it on April 22.  As of May 5, 2011, neither Chesapeake nor the PA DEP has made this information available to the public.

In all fairness, according to PA Environment Digest, Krancer also said his main job in regulating Marcellus Shale drilling is to protect the water. “There will be significant changes in the way the state’s energy policy is done. In the past, the DEP Secretary was the be-all and end-all for energy policy. ‘You’re not going to see that anymore,’ Krancer said. He said he will be part of a team, working with the Governor’s Energy Executive Patrick Henderson, to address energy issues.
 He noted Pennsylvania needs a diversified energy portfolio– nuclear, coal, natural gas, solar and wind– for the future.'”

“I want to leave a legacy as a good enforcer,” Krancer said.

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Posted in fresh water pollution, hydraulic fracturing, PA DEP, Politics | 3 Comments »

Obama Forms Panel To Improve Fracking Safety

May 9, 2011

WASHINGTON | Thu May 5, 2011 6:24pm EDT

(Reuters) – After a series of high-profile natural gas drilling spills, the Energy Department named a panel to recommend ways to improve the safety of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a technique that has expanded the country’s potential to extract the fuel.

President Barack Obama asked the DOE to form the panel of academic and environmental experts to identify any immediate steps that can be taken to improve the safety and environmental performance of fracking, the DOE said on Thursday.

The panel, which includes John Deutch, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Daniel Yergin, the chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, will report those steps within 90 days of beginning their work. (more…)

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Fracking is Bad for Business

April 27, 2011

An Open Letter to Mayor Michael Nutter:

April 27, 2011

Hon.  Michael A. Nutter
Mayor of Philadelphia
215 City Hall
Philadelphia, PA 19107 686-2181

Dear Mayor Nutter:

We are writing in regards to the potential NEGATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS of Natural Gas drilling in the Delaware River Watershed Region on businesses operating “downstream” in Southeastern Pennsylvania. I hope you will join the growing number of concerned citizens who are alarmed by this serious threat to the water supply of over 15.6 million people and numerous regional industries.

The idea that Natural Gas will be a unilateral boon to our state economy is mostly a perception, and it remains largely unchallenged. Loss of tax revenue from businesses and industries who would be adversely affected by water and air pollution amounts to a very large sum. And, certainly, cleaning up after a major industrial gas accident could drain much of our state’s fiscal resources in one fell swoop.

Just like humans do, many types of businesses need a reliable source of fresh, unpolluted water. It’s a vital element in their supply chain. They include: Agriculture, Healthcare, Food & Beverages, Breweries, Recreation: Waterfront Attractions & Outdoor, Restaurants, Scientific Research, Tourism & Hotels, and many more. Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” also uses massive volumes of water (4.5 – 6 million gallons of fresh water per gas well). With global water shortages a reality, Philadelphia residents and business owners are lucky to have the Special Protection Waters of the Delaware River. The Natural Gas Boom in Pennsylvania poses a serious threat to our municipal Fresh Water Security. We simply cannot let the profit motives of a single industry jeopardize the wellbeing and profitability of so many.

Of course, jobs are vital right now, however, history demonstrates how cities with abundant clean fresh water thrive while those with polluted or diminished supplies decline. So do we want jobs in filthy, dangerous natural gas extraction services? Or groovy green ones? Raising the knowledge base will raise the tax base, too. Philadelphia Is the birthplace of American Independence, and we think, if we play our cards right, it has the potential to be the Seat of our National Independence from Fossil Fuel, too.

Please consider supporting the Fracturing  Responsibility  and  Awareness  of  Chemicals  Act  (FRAC  Act)  of  2011  (HR  1084)  in  the  House  and  the  Fracturing  Responsibility  and   Awareness  of  Chemicals  Act  of  2011  (S.  587)  in  the  Senate  to  remove  the  Safe  Drinking  Water   Act  exemption  granted  in  2005; also, the Bringing Reductions to Energy’s Airborne Toxic Health Effects Act (BREATHE Act, H.R. 1204). Every voice matters at this critical time for our river, and your support would be particularly welcome!

Sincerely,
KeepTapWaterSafe.org

Posted in Energy, Environment, fracking accidents fraccidents, fresh water pollution, Pennsylvania Watersheds, Stop Fracking PA!, Uncategorized | Leave a Comment »

Fracking Terminology: Glossary of Problems

April 23, 2011

Fracking for Natural Gas in the Delaware River Watershed Region, which is sitting on top of a concentration of sweet spots in the Marcellus Shale formation, brings a host of issues and problems. Most notable is the way fracking seems to be ‘fracturing’ otherwise quiet, if economically stressed, communities by pitting neighbors’ divergent interests against one another. NG is creating serious strife. Here’s a list of some of the largest problems confronting communities in Pennsylvania, and what they mean: (more…)

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Record Number of Letters Delivered to the DRBC

April 16, 2011

Over 35,000 letters were delivered by Environmental and Citizen Action Groups who are opposed to Fracking in the Delaware River Watershed. That number greatly exceeds any Public Comment Period in the Delaware River Basin Commission’s history. I, for one, am holding my breath to see what happens next.

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A Single Sane Voice In The Lamestream Media?

April 4, 2011

To Rachel Maddow, The Rachel Maddow Show, MSNBC TV:

Dear Rachel:

The waste water produced by hydraulic fracturing, which many on the MSNBC network now refer to with the innocuous industry term “flowback,” is not merely toxic, it’s radioactive. Disposing of the massive volumes of this carcinogenic, endocrine-disrupting “flowback” has become a major industrial dilemma.

In Southeastern Pennsylvania, gas companies have been illegally dumping frack waste water in our rivers and streams.

With 2,755 frack wells in Pennsylvania in 2010, there were 2,486 documented violations including illegal discharges into streams and tributaries, explosions, frack water spills and toxic air pollution. The source of the drinking water for the 15.6 million people living in Philadelphia and the Lower Delaware Region is at serious risk. I’m a resident, a parent and an environmental blogger, and I don’t want to raise my children in a Disease Cluster.

We need viable solutions, and we need them now!

Of course, this issue is not limited to pollution. The average single frack well pulls nearly 4.5 million gallons of water from an aquifer. We might have hundreds of years’ worth of gas trapped in the Marcellus Shale but we’ll run out of fresh water long before we burn through it all. Also, we’re not seeing the landscape merely “change,” we’re seeing it destroyed.

Sincerely,
Liz R.
KeepTapWaterSafe.org
Don’t Frack With The Delaware River Watershed!

Posted in fresh water pollution, Pennsylvania Watersheds | Leave a Comment »

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