On Water... The Red Herring

I thought I would take time this week to discuss the red herrings that have been used to divert our attention from the important things going on in the Marcellus Shale and hydraulic fracturing in particular. As you know, the definition of "red herring" is something used to divert attention from a person or organization's actual goals.

The Gasland fiction that premiered last week was effectively debunked here and on a number of web sites YET I did not see this once in the mainstream media or significant electronic media outlets. I submitted a Letter to the Editor to the WSJ that I have yet to hear back on regarding these issues.

I will be the first to admit that the water issues related to natural gas development are ones that are complex and require professional attentional to ameliorate. But, the fact that the industry is deluged with a range of false accusations make it nearly impossible to get actual facts in front of the public and stakeholders. So in no particular order, my favorite Marcellus shale red herrings:

- My water well is contaminated with natural gas only after fraccing was done in our area.

Sorry but the PA DEP has studied this extensively and have noted that biogenic natural gas occurs in over 300 private wells throughout the state PRIOR to any Marcellus shale development. This is a non-issue but continues to gain credibility. The wells are thousands of feet below drinking water wells and the gas follows the path of least resistance which will be the well itself. Migration of the gas through the earth into shallow drinking water wells has not been documented in any Marcellus shale drillings.

- My water well is contaminated with frac chemicals.

Again, sorry but the chances of this route of exposure is nearly impossible. First of all, frac fluids are nearly 99.5% water and sand, so any chemicals are in low concentrations. Next the flowback is closely monitored and the water flows into lined pits or frac tanks. The water is then either shipped off-site for disposal OR reused in fracing. In PA and WV it is illegal to land apply frac water thus there can be no 'willful' contamination of drinking water. Accidents do happen but since drilling has begun in PA and WV, there have been only a handful of accounts of frac water accidents and NONE of those cases are currently showing water contamination in the local wells. Further, the contamination found in wells blamed for the frac water are typical industrial pollutants found in wells throughout the region PRIOR to hydraulic fracturing. Items like benzene, toluene, xylene and other organics are often found from leaking underground storage tanks (fuels) and from industrial degreasers.

- Drillers use over 800 chemicals in their frac fluid.

Okay this is where things start getting ridiculous. Over the last 10 years of work in both the Barnett Shale and Marcellus, we have seen no more than a handful of specific compounds in typical frac water, most of them available to anyone (items like salt, polymers and corrosion inhibitors are typically added at low concentrations). The PA DEP in their zeal for disclosure recently sent out an itemized list of compounds that COULD be in frac water but as it turns out this list was a list of any chemical that can be on a drilling site, not really the same. You have heard the saying before, "you are entitled to your own opinion but not your own facts." Due to the cost and volume, it actually behooves the driller to minimize chemical use.

- Drilling is using all of our fresh water... we are going to run out.

The last one is my favorite one, in that hydraulic fracturing as an industry type uses less water per day than most large coal fired power plants (for cooling). Further, a city with a population base of 50,000 people actually use more water per day and create more pollution per day than ALL of the drilling in all of the Marcellus states.

As I have stated many times in the past, there are serious water issues related to drilling but there exists a multi-billion dollar industry ready and capable of handling this challenge. Clear and fair regulations are important but the solutions will not come from "blue ribbon panels" or government officials, rather they will come from the industrial water treatment marketplace. It has served you for the last 100 years, and it will continue in the Marcellus Shale.

Until next time...

Views: 608

Comment

You need to be a member of GoMarcellusShale.com to add comments!

Join GoMarcellusShale.com

Comment by Denny D on July 13, 2010 at 4:53am
ChrisD,
you have distilled Micheals comments down to something he did not say ("Don't get your water tested). I've challenged Micheals side of this discussion to stick with an approach of respectful conversation, one in which neither side should be dismissive of a reasoned concern. I hope you will do the same. You, I fear, will set yourself up to be dismissed when you respond with conjecture and accusation instead of challenging the author intelligently and advancing the conversation. If you in fact beleive that there is only "right and wrong" then I hope you are on the wrong website. If what you find here is only "right and wrong" then I am on the wrong website. Looking forward to seeing your detailed concerns.
Comment by Chris D on July 13, 2010 at 4:24am
Michael, So what your saying is not to have your water tested but put your full trust in the gas companies. thanks for all your advice? Micheal you are a bit naive
Comment by Michael Havelka on July 11, 2010 at 3:19am
Denny

Thanks for the thoughtful post. You and I agree on the double and triple fail-safe issue. That is why I encourage this dialogue as well as one within the industry. No single person has all of the answers thus an open conversation with idea sharing often yields the very best results for industry AND we stakeholders. Note that I am a life long resident of this area and obviously do not want the environment spoiled for the now or future generations.

As far as Gasland questions, the key problem was that it was not a two sided presentation of facts about hydraulic fracturing (and yes I think there are two sides). Rather it was filled with half truths and sometimes out and out fabrications. Thus, any questions will be spun. I was at a showing in Eastern PA and the Q&A was a disaster... if someone asked even a remotely challenging question the panel went on the attack. My advice is to stay clear of the movie and the Q&A. If you must, I suggest asking about his funding sources as well as the fine people at Propublica. They derive their backing directly from those who would benefit if the domestic gas industry is killed... now that my friends is a conflict of interest!
Comment by rcarpenter on July 11, 2010 at 2:19am
does anyone relize the amount of money being donated to the political canidates, from these drilling companies? it is unreal !!!!! that is all about the money be carful whom you vote in this time.
Comment by paleface on July 11, 2010 at 12:42am
Mike thank you for taking the time for righting an honest factual post,I can't wait to see what the left wing comes back with,the whole world wants natural gas except obama?
Comment by Denny D on July 9, 2010 at 8:32am
Micheal, Thanks again for an educational post. As an "environmental pragmatist" I've come to understand much better the water issues in no small part to your posts and the research topics they generate. I'm was starting to sense a calming influence in the dialogue and then the events of Gasland + Deepwater explosion + Clearfield County blowout combined to ratchet things up again. I continue to beleive that the "rhetoric" gets in the way of learning. One cannot not learn when they never stop talking. I'm finding myself less worried (but not completely comfortable) about the fracing operations and potential (however low) for well contaimination and more concerned about the actual regulation of drawn water, transportation of produced water, and safety mechanisms at the wellhead (Deepwater and Clearfied fail-safes failed). On the fail-safes, as a former submarine guy (double and triple fail-safes) I find a single fail-safe in this operation inexcuseable. I understand that Gasland will be presented in the area and Josh Fox will be present to answer questions. In the interest of getting him to address concerns on an "informed" level and (as is my interest in all participants on both sides of the discussion) to properly gage his knowledge of the issues, what questions would you suggest attendees ask? In the spirit of my "respectful communication leads to learning" mantra, I don't mean "gotcha" questions but if they expose a weakness so be it. We need to know from whom we are getting our "facts" as you say. Thanks again for the info and for maintaining the professional, calming demeanor that will be needed to get all to listen/learn.
Dennis
Comment by Michael Havelka on July 7, 2010 at 9:35am
Tom ...

Thanks for the input and I agree with the taxonomy completely. Also note that I do not find myself in the "drill at any cost" crowd either. I am for sound science first, and responsible actions later. I will check out your wikimarcellus site, it sounds interesting!
Thanks
Mike
Comment by Tom Copley on July 6, 2010 at 7:36am
Michael-- What you said is very helpful. I agree that the debate over water issues has been endless, and often sheds far more heat than light. Here is a partial taxonomy that I came across about differing viewpoints towards drilling, hydraulic fracturing, etc.:
  • Environmental Absolutists – no drilling ever
  • Environmental Pragmatists – recognize energy and economic benefits, but want assurance technology is safe
  • “Responsible Drilling” Advocates – landowners and local officials in favor of drilling provided environmental safeguards are in place
  • Economic Development Activists – we’ve already missed the boat and should start drilling immediately
  • Industry – need to make business decisions involving billions of dollars based upon regulatory climate
While these groupings were attributed to a conference of utility regulators regarding development in New York State, they could just as well apply anywhere else.

It'd be great to get more folks talking across these group boundaries more and better understanding one another's points of view. One of the reasons that I started WikiMarcellus a couple of years ago was to help get this kind of discussion going. It helps to have a common base of information about what's happening in the Marcellus shale. Here are the two latest updates:
  • Company planning 3 Marcellus shale wells in the Allegheny National ... (East Res.)
  • Citrus brings in four successful Marcellus shale wells in Wyoming County
This resource is free with no advertising. Please use it!

--Tom

© 2024   Created by Keith Mauck (Site Publisher).   Powered by

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Terms of Service