NYS Assembly Hearings on Health Effects of Hydrofracking

Scott Kline Testimony–Comment/Questions

The notion of an hermetically sealed layer by virtue of capillary blockage is also one that I heard made by a proponent of propane fracking in answer to my question, what about old gas wells or vertical faults near the fracking operation?

Theoretical knowlege has a place.  Without it, we’d have no progress.  But it can be wrong, and in this case the consequences are so bad, the precautionary principle needs to be operative.

In any case, Kline’s explanations did not pass muster with Richard Gottfried, chair of the Assembly Health Committee.

As I was recording the exchange, I got a sense of how difficult it must be for politicians, at least good ones, to deal with technical testimony.

Has this issue of ‘capillary blocking’ been adequately addressed in a scientific debate or exchange?

We keep talking about the risk of old gas wells and vertical faults.  The industry’s experts keep talking about how safe and sequestered it is in the shale layer.

We continue to make the point that the industry narrowly focuses on the fracking operation at depth when it makes the claim, repeated I believe by Kline, that no drinking water aquifer has been contaminated by hydro-fracking.

I know that I am not alone in being concerned with the long term consequences –long after the gas has been extracted.  The integrity of the well casing is often cited.  But when I here from Kline that the fracturing actually does extends above and below the shale layer, I am concerned.

As is Richard Gottfried, chair of the Assembly Health Committee, who responds to Kline’s assertion of capillary blockage with a question of capillary action transporting the liquid.  To which Kline responds, it all would go toward the well bore regardless, because of the pressure gradient.

That is the problem the theoretical knowledge.  There are coherent views, but we really don’t know what processes may unfold over time.

Though maybe it is not productive for activists to get involve with this sort of question over all else we need to focus on, certainly, some more expert scientific opinion countering the industry claims articulated by Kline would help those who in the legislature who support, or are leaning toward, and extended moratorium.

Some might say this is already out there, but I have no as yet read anything that directly addresses the industry/technical assertion that capillary blockage makes everything safe and contained.

It was a long exchange between Kline and the panel.  The assertion that the thermogenic methane that has contaminated water wells near drilling operations comes from shallow layers apparently is disputed by the Duke study.

Early, Sandra Steingrabber made the point that there are really only two studies –the ecent Duke study and the Ingraffea/Howarth/Santoro study.

On 5/27/11 9:13 PM, KatyaBelousBoyle@aol.com wrote:

 
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