It’s the Drilling Giants vs. the PA “Team Players” in the biggest Industrial-Environmental League match-up of all time! While the Drillers are known for their massive salaries and star gas-letes like T. Boon Pickens, the Team Players have the ability to play a really smart game with a deep bench including PA DEP Secretary Michael Krancer, Rookie energy executive Patrick Henderson, and All State Geologist George Love… It’s going to be a power-packed contest of brains and brawn under the big lights tonight!
…It’s the bottom of the ninth, runs are tied, and Science is on the mound. The Drillers are at bat. Read the rest of this entry »
Philly Hosts The World Series of Energy
May 10, 2011Governor Corbett “Proposes” Fracking To Cover State University Funding Shortfalls
May 10, 2011Governor Tom Corbett’s 2012 budget includes steep cuts to education and a 50 percent reduction in aid to colleges and universities. Corbett suggests our state schools alleviate their fiscal shortfalls by fracking for gas on their campuses. Mansfield University, Lock Haven University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and California University of Pennsylvania all sit atop the gas-producing Marcellus Shale. Two others, Clarion University and Slippery Rock are “within range.”
On May 13, 2011, Penn State University President Graham Spanier announced tentative plans to create a new Center for Natural Gas Engineering, Read the rest of this entry »
Marcellus Shale Coalition Dismisses Duke Study, Science
May 10, 2011According to a Duke University study to be published in the journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, scientists have documented the first systematic link between methane gas from deep Marcellus and Utica shales and contamination of drinking water wells near active gas wells in northeastern Pennsylvania and New York. The study found that methane levels in private drinking water wells was 17 times higher on average in wells within 1,000 feet of a deep natural gas well, based on water sampling done at 68 wells. Methane was found in 85 percent of the wells. SOURCE: post-gazette.com Read the rest of this entry »
Tracking Frack Water “Cradle to Grave”
May 10, 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. Read the rest of this entry »
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.
Obama Forms Panel To Improve Fracking Safety
May 9, 2011WASHINGTON | 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. Read the rest of this entry »
PennEnvironment Report: Gas Development Endangers Vulnerable Populations
May 9, 2011PennEnvironment is a statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization. They’re been around for over 30 years, and their work has directly resulted in some of Pennsylvania’s best environmental protections. In their own words, they combine “independent research, practical ideas and tough-minded advocacy to overcome the opposition of powerful special interests and win real results for Pennsylvania’s environment.” Sometimes, their student volunteers knock on your door. Last week, PennEnvironment released a report on Gas Drilling in Pennsylvania: “In The Shadow of the Marcellus Boom: How Shale Gas Extraction Puts Vulnerable Pennsylvanians at Risk.”
Among the alarming conclusions: Read the rest of this entry »
DRBC Tables Permit for Major XTO Water Withdrawal from The Upper Delaware – For Now
May 6, 2011Update: Encouragingly, the DRBC voted to table the permit until further hearings! Victory – Our Voices Really Do Add Up!! Congratulations to the Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Protecting Our Waters, PennEnvironment and all the other groups whose vigilance and hard work hard paid off. More on this important issue to follow.
XTO Energy, Inc., a gas subsidiary of ExxonMobile Corp., would like to pull 250,000 gallons of water PER DAY from the ecologically sensitive cold water flows of the Upper Delaware River Region in Oquaga and Broome Counties, NY for hydraulic fracturing. That’s 100 million gallons A YEAR, for free. The ensuing environmental impact to nature and wildlife in this widely used recreation area would be indelibly damaged.
If the DRBC approves this permit, they will be acting in contradiction to their own mandate. Read the rest of this entry »
Gas Drillers Sweet On Upper Delaware Region, Origin of Lower Merion Drinking Water
May 5, 2011Our watershed, in the upper reaches of the Delaware River, is home to the highest concentration of gas drilling sweet spots in the Marcellus Shale. Geologists at Penn State call it “the fairway.” It means drillers have a far greater chance of striking a large, shallow methane deposit. To date, 895 wells have been fracked in Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania, with the heaviest drilling occurring in Bradford, Tioga, Susquehanna and Wyoming counties. Drilling closest to Philadelphia is occurring in Lucerne and Columbia counties. Those in denial about the dangers of fracking refer to this part of Pennsylvania as “up there.”
In December 2010, 2,083 permits were pending approval in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Since January 2011, the PA DEP has approved 956 permits. A large majority of the new wells are in the Upper Delaware River Watershed Region.
A remarkable pace, indeed! In fact, by their own estimate, PA DEP spends a scant 32 minutes on average deliberating each permit, not a lot of time to access environmental impacts.
According to EarthJustice.org’s “Fraccidents Map”, there were over 1,200 violations in Pennsylvania in 2010. That’s many, many times more accidents than all other states in the US combined. Read the rest of this entry »
Victory or Red Herring?
May 4, 2011DEP Rolls Back Approval Process for Shale Violations
Tuesday, May 03, 2011
SOURCE: Don Hopey, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The state Department of Environmental Protection has completely rolled back a controversial, 5-week-old procedural change that required all field enforcement actions involving Marcellus Shale gas drilling operations be pre-approved by political appointees in Harrisburg.
Read more: http://post-gazette.com/pg/11123/1143606-503-0.stm#ixzz1LQ5pXGM9
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Certainly this is good news, since we had a right to the information the PA DEP would have withheld in the first place. We pay for it with our tax dollars. But is it really a victory to have something rightfully restored when it was wrongfully taken in the first place?
Here’s a statistic worth considering: Since January 1, 2011, the PA DEP has approved a whopping 956 permits, with a large majority in the Upper Delaware Watershed Region. Makes one wonder if their primary function is regulating threats to the environment or issuing permits? They don’t really care about NOVs. They’re gonna slap wrists and fines, either way. It’s a RED HERRING. It seems like their first interest is creating a profitable disposal route for recycled (distilled) flowback, and mitigating environmental impacts or protecting the public wellfare from the drilling itself comes second.
Fracking is Bad for Business
April 27, 2011An 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
PA DEP Asks Drillers To Pretty Please Stop Dumping Waste Into Waterways
April 23, 2011For those of us who are pro-water, this is good news indeed. Frack waste is radioactive. But let’s not get carried away. It’s not a law. Heck, it isn’t even a regulation. Is it the first step in the PA DEP’s effort to rigorously regulate? Or it is a red herring put forth to ease public concern while drilling moves forward at an increased pace?
Recycling flowback, even injecting the frack water back into new wells, is hardly an answer to a very serious problem: tons and tons of toxic, carcinogenic chemicals, along with massive volumes of fresh water pulled from our Special Protection Waters aquifers, are being blasted into the bedrock beneath our feet. Along with all the other dangerous compounds brought up, they are spewing forth, bubbling up and floating on the breeze. They are radioactive, and the state can’t handle it. The fact remains, the only way to completely mitigate adverse environmental and health effects is to NOT FRACK.
Fracking Terminology: Glossary of Problems
April 23, 2011Fracking 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: Read the rest of this entry »
River to River Walk in Philly on Saturday, April 23
April 23, 2011Is it just me or do we need more than one day to celebrate the Earth? More and more people are organizing to protest Fracking in the Delaware River watershed, and many of them are walking together from the Schuylkill River to the Delaware River today. Here’s a list of the citizen action groups who sponsored the event. For a list of the largest groups working in our state, and their mission statements, check out the page at right. Consider lending your support to these hard-working grassroots movements.
Yo, Philly, these are the people fightin’ to keep our tap water safe!
Delaware Riverkeeper Network
delawareriverkeeper.org
Drexel Student Sierra Club
http://www.drexelsierra.org
Food and Water Watch
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org
Protecting Our Waters
protectingourwaters.com
Temple Students for Environmental Action *
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Temple-University-SEA-Students-for-Environmental-Action
Lawsuits are Piling Up Against Drilllers & Complacent Commissions
April 19, 2011NY Attorney General Prepares to Sue DRBC; Maryland AG Sues Chesapeake O&G; PA’s Croton Watershed Commission Sues New York State DEP
Posted April 18, 2011, Updated May 11, 2011 Read the rest of this entry »
Concern Over Fracking is Bi-Partisan
April 19, 2011In a Rodale Institute survey concluded in 2010, among Pennsylvanians who say they are very or somewhat aware of fracking, 40% are “very concerned” and nearly 30% are “somewhat concerned” about its effect on water quality. Concerns about fracking and water quality are bipartisan, including 57% of Republicans, 74% ofIndependents, and 86% of Democrats.* SOURCE: Survey: Red State or Blue, Most People Are Concerned About Fracking’s Effect On H2O, Article by Leah Zerbe, Rodale.com
Nationally, the Energy issue seems to divide democrats and republicans. Fracking, however, which is negatively impacting another more valuable resource – water – seems to spill over party lines in Pennsylvania. Yet, with all the discussion about Energy these days, there is a disproportionately small amount of attention paid to the Fresh Water Security of the 15.6 million people who rely on the Delaware River Watershed. Regardless of political affiliation, we need to wake up to the fact that we’ll run out of fresh water long before we burn up all the fracked natural gas in Pennsylvania.
Fracking depletes and pollutes water supplies in many ways, and we cannot have a truly logical discussion about ENERGY in our state without discussing WATER. If further privatization of water utilities is the future for Pennsylvania, then I’d like to know who is protecting our fresh water resources upstream, as well as down the line? We need to direct our thrust investment spending in the direction of Renewables, Conservation and Efficiency Standards, not on polluting, dangerous natural gas. And given that Republicans and Democrats appear to agree on this issue, doesn’t it truly “stink” that our governor continues to resist implementing a PA Natural Gas Drilling tax?
Record Number of Letters Delivered to the DRBC
April 16, 2011Over 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.
Recycling Frack Flowback: A Reality Check
April 13, 2011It takes 4.5 to 6 million gallons of fresh water to hydrofrack a single natural gas well. There are more than 30,000 permits awaiting approval in Pennsylvania over the next 10 years. In addition to the 6,755 frack wells currently operating, that equals 165 BILLION GALLONS OF FRESH WATER FROM PENNSYLVANIA largely from the Special Protection Waters of the Delaware River Watershed Region, destined to become toxic, often radioactive, frack “flowback.” And, by the way, that’s much more water than we actually have.
Our municipal water treatment facilities, which were designed to handle the bio solids of sewage not the RADIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS contained in frack flowback, cannot handle the current volume of frack waste produced in the state. Philadelphia Water Department Chairperson, Chris Crockett, is worried about his intakes. Read the rest of this entry »
PA DEP Secretary Pushes Back
April 12, 2011In a strongly worded reply to Federal EPA Regional Administrator, Shawn M. Garvin, Acting Secretary of the PA Department of Environmental Protection, Hon. Michael Krancer, stands behind the agency’s current regulatory approach. He states:
“Unfortunately, your letter, along with the recent New York Times articles, overlooks DEP’s strong and ongoing efforts to protect the environment and public health. More specifically, the radionuclides and other pollutants of concern (barium and strontium) that were highlighted in your letter had all been previously identified by DEP and targeted in regulation, guidance, the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting process, in-stream sampling, and public drinking water sampling.”
There’s nothing wrong with a strong stance from the PA Department of Environmental Protection! If we’re to have timely, effective, common sense regulations created and enforced, now more than ever, we need a DEP that will serve as a model to other states. Go Team Go! I only hope Mr. Krancer’s words and policies deliver the same measure of push-back to the pro-drilling interests and those who say they favor research and regulation, as long as they can keep drilling in our state.
For the complete text of Krancer’s letter: http://marcellusdrilling.com/2011/04/pa-dep-sec-krancer-continues-to-push-back-against-the-federal-epa-tells-them-in-april-6-letter-that-pa-is-doing-just-fine-thanks/
The “Bridge Fuel” Fantasy
April 7, 2011Is Large-Scale Fracking for Natural Gas Inevitable in Pennsylvania?
Yes, it’s already begun. And we’re the only state that allows frack waste water to be dumped in our rivers and streams. New York State has wisely placed a Moratorium on new frack wells until more science is concluded. New Jersey is considering one, too, though they don’t have much gas there. Nevertheless, realistically, there are more than 10,000 lucrative permits poised to be approved in Pennsylvania. The clock is ticking, and many people downstream, in the Philadelphia area, are decidedly alarmed. Strict regulation may be our only salvation, yet these same powerful commercial interests are also working to de-fund the EPA and The PA Department of Environmental Protection. Even President Obama seems pretty keen to frack away at our poor, beautiful state.
One is left to wonder, then, how exactly will Natural Gas serve as a bridge fuel?
If Natural Gas is truly a bridge to renewable alternatives, and a panacea for our ailing economy, then what’s the whole strategy? Better cement jobs? Politically appointed state oversight commissions? Taxation? It seems like a new chapter in the same old ugly fossil fuel story. Nothing that is happening in Harrisburg indicates that being a bridge fuel is the end-goal here. We cannot allow the profit motives of a handful of large corporations to leave us with a legacy of pollution and disease. Over a million residents in PA share my concerns, and that number is growing every day as this critical issue continues to come to the fore. What will it take for leaders in America to realize that there is indeed a link between our health and pollution in our environment?
Keep Tap Water Safe 