HIGH-VOLUME HYDRAULIC FRACTURING

How Many Tanker Trucks Does It Take To Supply Water To,
And Remove Waste From, A Horizontally Drilled And Hydrofracked Wellsite?
Let’s Do The Math! un-naturalgas.org

ProPublica.org: Is New York’s Marcellus Shale Too Hot [radioactive] to Handle?

The DEC has yet to address any of these questions. But New York's Health Department raised concerns about the amount of radioactive materials in the wastewater in a confidential letter to the DEC's oil and gas regulators in July.

"Handling and disposal of this wastewater could be a public health concern," DOH officials said in the letter, which was obtained by ProPublica.

PBS Congressional Report Targets Fracking http://video.pbs.org/video/1801426857 

PBS video on Fracking http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/science/jan-june11/fracking_06-15.html

Media: EPA Finds Compound Used in Fracking in Wyoming Aquifer propublica.org

NYTimes: EPA to Study Chemicals Used to Tap Natural Gas nytimes.com

Uranium in Groundwater? 'Fracking' Mobilizes Uranium in Marcellus Shale

Steven writes: The important information is that uranium should be added to the list of compounds to be tested (by a PA DEP certified lab) in preparation before the gas drilling occurs. This would apply to wells and to streams. See my article in Upper Bucks Future 2009 issue pdf

NY Times: The Fracturing of Pennsylvania http://nyti.ms/twa0PX
 
Snip: “Popular concerns about natural-gas drilling have centered on what chemicals companies are putting into the earth, not least because this list is a proprietary secret.

Environmental Sciences - Methane contamination of drinking water accompanying gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing http://1.usa.gov/tqXDxy

Science media:  Natural Gas from Shale Contributes to Global Warming, Researchers Find Sciencedaily.com

Media: Radiation in Fracking fluid is a New Concern
Hopey and Malloy, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Some Marcellus Shale drilling put on hold philly.com

Marcellus misstep: House GOP seems to want to protect natural gas drillers, not Pennsylvanians

Monday, November 14, 2011, 6:05 AM By Patriot-News Editorial Board

That’s the only way to describe House Bill 1950, the House Republicans’ attempt at a Marcellus Shale package.  GOP leaders say they are for “responsible drilling,” but they might as well let the drillers write their own laws.

http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2011/11/marcellus_welfare_house_gop_ca.html

Citing ACT 13:

"(3) If the vendor, service provider or operator claims that the specific identity of a chemical or the concentration of a chemical, or both, are a trade secret or confidential proprietary information, the operator of the well must indicate that on the chemical disclosure registry form, and the vendor, service provider or operator shall submit a signed written statement that the record contains a trade secret or confidential proprietary information. If a chemical is a trade secret, the operator shall include in the chemical registry disclosure form the chemical family or similar description associated with the chemical.

(What allows the company to withhold information based on the vendor or operator's claim that it's a trade secret.  

QUESTIONS:  Isn't it the proprietary information that would be most useful for tracing who is responsible for contamination?  

Why can't this information be disclosed to the DEP in help monitor for groundwater contamination?

Methane Found in Well Water Near Fracking Sites
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3222989/ 
Source: Environ Health Perspect. 2011 July 1; 119(7): a289.

David C. Holzman writes on science, medicine, energy, economics, and cars from Lexington and Wellfleet, MA. His work has appeared in Smithsonian, The Atlantic Monthly, and the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

"Just how likely are leaks? Based on a non-peer-reviewed survey of the five states that systematically report incidents at wells where fracking occurs and where complaints have spurred inspections, Ronald E. Bishop, a lecturer in chemistry and biochemistry at the State University of New York, Oneonta, estimates nearly 2% of such gas wells may end up contaminating groundwater with fracking fluids.3 Bishop says 50% of new natural gas wells recently inspected in Quebec leaked methane.4"
 

NY DEC Takes on Fracking http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3262000/ 
Source: Environ Health Perspect. 2011 December; 119(12): a513.

Charles W. Schmidt, MS, an award-winning science writer from Portland, ME, has written for Discover Magazine, Science, and Nature Medicine.

"New York is one of a handful of states (others include New Jersey, Maryland, and North Carolina) that have banned hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” pending further study and scientific review. A key element of New York’s review is the Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS), a 1,537-page document drafted by the state’s Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).1"

"DeSantis says fracking’s public health impacts were “fully considered” in the draft SGEIS. But a letter sent to New York governor Andrew Cuomo on October 5 and signed by more than 250 health and environmental professionals and groups claims otherwise.2 “The SGEIS contains no human health assessment at all,” says Sandra Steingraber, a distinguished scholar in environmental studies and sciences at Ithaca College. In the letter, signatories including Steingraber asked the DEC to conduct a supplemental analysis of baseline human health status in New York, a systematic identification and review of direct and indirect health effects of fracking, a cumulative health impacts analysis, and potential measures to eliminate those impacts."

MINING: EPA Tackles Fracking http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2866701/ 
Source: Environ Health Perspect. 2010 May; 118(5): A199.

"Recent evidence suggests fracking may have contributed to groundwater contamination with methane in some instances and that proprietary chemicals used in the procedure could theoretically pose a public health threat. However, because groundwater supplies and natural gas deposits are often separated by thousands of feet of rock and earth, and groundwater can be contaminated by many sources, it is difficult to establish a definitive connection between contaminated drinking water and fracking."

New York State DEC. Revised Draft. Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement on the Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Regulatory Program. Albany, NY:New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (7 Sep 2011). Available: http://tinyurl.com/bqc3zo2 

“The revised analysis of high-volume hydraulic fracturing operations in the revised dSGEIS concludes that the proposed high-volume hydraulic fracturing activity is not consistent with the preservation of these watersheds as an unfiltered drinking water supply. Even with all of the criteria and conditions identified in this dSGEIS, a risk remains that significant high-volume hydraulic fracturing activities in these areas could result in a degradation of drinking water supplies from accidents, surface spills, etc. Moreover, such large scale industrial activity in these areas, even without spills, could imperil EPA’s Filtration Avoidance Determinations and result in the affected municipalities incurring substantial costs to filter their drinking water supply.  Accordingly, this dSGEIS supports a finding that site disturbance relating to high-volume hydraulic fracturing operations not be permitted in the Syracuse and New York City watersheds or in a protective 4,000 foot buffer area around those watersheds.”

Video: Cornell Professor discusses natural gas development and impacts txsharon.blogspot.com

Hydraulic Fracturing 101

"Not only does the injection of these [fracturing] chemicals pose a short-term threat to ..."

8.1.3 AIR QUALITY ISSUES
Source: Governor’s Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission Report

Marcellus Shale development, including drilling, gas collection and processing, pose challenges with respect to air emissions. Generally, pollutants of concern include nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), particulate matter, hazardous air pollutants (HAP) such as benzene, and toluene, other volatile organic compounds (VOC) and particulate matter.

Radionuclides such as radium, thorium, and radon from the wastewater treatment of fluids, malodors and methane are additional sources of air pollution.

Methane, the major component of natural gas and a green-house gas pollutant, is released into the atmosphere as fugitive emissions through leaks from processing equipment and pneumatic devices. Fugitive emissions including dust from truck traffic and fugitive VOC emissions from leaking valves and pipes are also pollutants of concern.

Volatile Organic Compounds which are also hazardous air pollutants e.g., benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylenes (BTEX) are emitted in low quantities. Formaldehyde is emitted from the compressor engines burning natural gas. Typically the engines are controlled by oxidizers to minimize organic emissions including formaldehyde. A small quantity of ethylene glycol is also emitted from gas dehydration operations at compressor stations.

VOC and BTEX emissions may also be released from the condensate tanks which are typically controlled by vapor recovery units. However, very low concentrations of BTEX compounds have been detected during Marcellus Shale activities.  Generally, the emissions of NOx and VOCs during the drilling phase are largely from truck-mounted internal combustion engines, which are considered non-road engines.

Natural gas compressor stations mainly emit pollutants such as NOx, VOCs, and COundefinedthe formaldehyde emissions are controlled by oxidation catalysts. Compressor stations include compressor engines, gas dehydration units and condensate tanks. To date DEP has issued approximately 370 authorizations to use General Plan Approval and General Operating Permit for Natural Gas, Coal Bed Methane or Gob Gas Production or Recovery Facilities (GP-5); compressor stations operating in the Commonwealth including the Marcellus Shale Region. Hazardous air pollutants including formaldehyde, ethylene glycol, mixed xylenes, n-hexane, benzene, toluene and ethyl benzene, may be emitted from certain sources at natural gas production facilities.

Facilities which emit at least 10 tons per year of a single HAP or 25 tons per major sources of HAP emissions are considered “major” sources, which are subject to maximum achievable control technology requirements.

The utilization of natural gas, particularly as a transportation fuel, contains the potential for significant air quality benefits as well. For example, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles emit significantly less CO, CO2, NOx, VOC, SO2 and Particulate Matter than conventional fuel sources and can assist in addressing air quality nonattainment obligations, especially in larger, urban locales.