Video of Vestal GasCapades June 22, 2011

June 24, 2011

Thanks to Jeff and Jodi Andrysick, Weston Wilson, Tara Meixsell, and Rick Roles for travelling a long way to present their personal experiences and knowledge of the impact of hydraulic fracturing, and to Don Glauber for calming things down when some of the audience started to get rowdy.  Videos are now online of the entire event, including the at-times confrontational question-and-answer session.  Links to the videos are below.

-Ben

GasCapades – Introduction and Jeff and Jodi Andrysick

GasCapades – Weston Wilson

GasCapades – Tara Meixsell

GasCapades – Rick Roles

GasCapades – Conclusion with Jeff and Jodi Andrysick

GasCapades – Question and Answer Session

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EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan 6/11

June 23, 2011

Hydraulic Fracturing | Hydraulic Fracturing | US EPA.

Case Study Location announced.

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Ark. considers ban on injection wells (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)

June 22, 2011

An E&E Publishing Service

OIL AND GAS: Ark. considers ban on injection wells  (Wednesday, June 22, 2011)

State regulators recommended yesterday that the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission implement a permanent ban on deep wells that are used to dispose of natural gas drilling fluids in an area north of Little Rock that has seen a swarm of recent earthquakes.
Two wells were shut down in February under an agreement between the well owners and the commission. Two others will have to stop operating if the commission approves the regulation at a July 26 hearing.
The ban would not stop natural gas drilling in central Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale. Hydraulic fracturing can continue, but the millions of gallons of fracking fluid used in the 1,150-square-mile region would have to be trucked to injection wells elsewhere in Arkansas, or in Oklahoma or Texas, Commission Deputy Director Shane Khoury said.
Khoury said the commission worked with the Arkansas Geological Survey and the Center for Earthquake Research and Information at the University of Arkansas, Little Rock, before making the recommendation.
“This is similar to pending litigation — I can’t go into a lot of details. But based on our analysis … this is the correct and warranted regulatory response,” Khoury said.
Before the two wells stopped operating this spring, there were 85 earthquakes with a magnitude 2.5 or higher. Since then, there have been fewer quakes — 20 in the 18 days following the shutdown, according to the state Geological Survey.
Mickey Thompson, a partner in Clarita Operating LLC of Little Rock, said yesterday that earthquake swarms are a natural occurrence and that there is no reason to support the ban.
“We feel like the decision has been made and that we’ve been denied our due process,” said Thompson, whose oil and gas service company operates a well in the zone under the proposed ban. “We were believing there was actually going to be a scientific study and a scientific presentation, not a hunt for a political scapegoat.”
The commission will also recommend rules that would require setbacks from fault zones in other areas of the state, spacing between disposal wells, and the installation of seismic instruments near new or existing injection wells in the Fayetteville Shale region (Chuck Bartels, AP/FuelFix <http://fuelfix.com/blog/2011/06/22/arkansas-regulators-seek-ban-on-injection-wells-in-fayetteville-shale/> , June 22). — AS

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PA Health Secretary Wants Tracking of Resident’s Health near Natural Gas Wells | InjuryBoard New York City

June 21, 2011

PA Health Secretary Wants Tracking of Resident’s Health near Natural Gas Wells | InjuryBoard New York City.

PA Health Secretary Wants Tracking of Resident’s Health near Natural Gas Wells

Visit Paul Napoli on Facebook

Posted by Paul NapoliJune 20, 2011 11:59 PM

June 20, 2011

Pennsylvania’s top health official says the state needs to create a health registry to track illnesses caused by natural gas drilling.

In response to growing concern and public outcry about the way natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale affects the health of residents, Secretary of Health Eli Avila told Lieutenant Governor Cawley and the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission the state needs to take steps to address those concerns.

“In order to refute or verify claims that public health is being impacted by drilling in the Marcellus Shale, there must be a comprehensive and scientific approach to evaluating over time health conditions of individuals who live in close proximity to a drilling site or are occupationally exposed,” Avila told the Commission.

Avila, a doctor and attorney with experience in environmental remediation, says the Department of Health needs:

  • The power to investigate complaints by citizens, health care providers and public officials in a timely and thorough manner.
  • To routinely evaluate and assess environmental and clinical data, including the sampling of water, air, wildlife and other indicators of environmental health.
  • To educate health care providers about signs and symptoms of environmental related heath conditions and about proper testing for such illnesses, including chemical and radiation testing.
  • To have health care providers share patient testing with the Department of Health.
  • To educate the public about the chemicals used in the drilling process and any potential to cause illnesses.
  • To create a health registry to track drilling related health conditions.

“While it is critical that the Department investigates concerns, collects and assesses environmental and clinical data and educates health care providers and the general public, the most timely and important initiative that the Department can undertake is the creation of a population-based health registry,” Avila said.

Tags: Marcellus Shale, Natural Gas, Drilling, Health, Illness, Pennsylvania, PA, Department of Health, Registry, Hydraulic Fracturing, Fracking

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LWVNYS Calls for Senate Action on Protective Legislation on Hydrofracking

June 19, 2011

 

Sunday June 19, 2011

Happy Father’s Day

Dear Members of the League of Women Voters and Friends-For the Benefit of us and our Children, Please read and act on the following:

Nassau County based Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos has not brought to the New York Senate floor for a Vote any protective legislation relating to the unconventional-horizontal hydraulic fracturing. Monday, June 20, 2011 is the last day of the Legislative Session. Please place a call Monday to Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos’ office: (518) 455-3171 to confirm you support the following proposed legislation (by Bill Number), which is supported by the New York State League of Women Voters. Tell Senator Skelos’ aide that it is not acceptable for the Senate Leader to refuse to act on any of these bills which State Voters want addressed. Every call makes a difference.

A.7400 Sweeney/S.5592 Carlucci — One Year Moratorium on Hydrofracking:  As we reported last week, the New York State Assembly has already passed a bill that would suspend all permitting for hydraulic fracturing until June 1, 2012. But this bill will go nowhere unless the Senate passes their own version and the governor signs it.

A.7013 Sweeney/S.4616 Avella — Classifying Fracking Waste as Hazardous: Toxic drill cuttings and fluid wastes are coming over the border from Pennsylvanian gas wells into ill-equipped New York landfills and treatment centers, endangering the drinking water of millions. Even though fracking chemicals arrive at the drilling site as regulated hazardous materials, federal and state exemptions allow drillers to treat the same drilling wastes leaving the site as standard industrial waste. This bill will update current regulations so that all resulting waste from natural gas drilling meets the definition of hazardous waste under New York State law.

A.3245 Lifton/S.3472 Oppenheimer — Restoring Local Protections Over Natural Gas Development (Home Rule): This bill will clarify a local government’s right to enact and enforce zoning laws within their jurisdiction to protect them from the negative impacts of oil and gas development. The burden of oil and gas development is an unfunded mandate on upstate communities if they are not allowed to use the most basic land-use planning tools to protect unique local assets.

“The public is increasingly ready to commit to change in its energy use patterns, invest in its children’s energy futures, and is no longer willing to accept the notion that a corporate business plan is the same as a national strategic energy plan.” –Anthony Ingraffea, Professor of Engineering, Cornell University

 

Thank you for taking the time to act in the best interests of the economic and environmental future of our great state.

Elisabeth Radow

Chair Hydraulic Fracturing Committee

For the New York State League of Women Voters

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Bradford Co. PA Map of Compromised Water & Gas Wells

June 17, 2011 1 Comment

I created an earlier draft of this map in Dec ’10 because when I called the DEP Williamsport office, they said they did not keep systematic records of this data; indeed, at the time (the regs have since been changed, in part due to the story Laura Legere of Scranton TimesTrib did when I explained the situation to her), the gas companies did not even have to report if they could resolve the complaint privately with the landowner. So, as of this date, none of the data is from the DEP.

I suspect that there are many more than I have here whose silence has been bought, who don’t know, or who don’t want to know, in addition to the ones I just don’t yet know about but are known to some, and I would like to ask everyone in Bradford County to help me keep this map as accurate and up-to-date as possible by writing to me at this address with any information they may have.

I will be updating the map approximately every two weeks.

Thank you,

Michael Lebron
NYSESS | DCS

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Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board

June 13, 2011

Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board.

“Setting the Bar for Safety & Responsibility”

Gray bar

Homepage photoOn May 5, 2011, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu charged the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board (SEAB) Natural Gas Subcommittee to make recommendations to improve the safety and environmental performance of natural gas hydraulic fracturing from shale formations. Secretary Chu extended the Subcommittee membership beyond SEAB members to include the natural gas industry, states, and environmental experts. The Subcommittee is supported by the Departments of Energy and Interior, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

President Obama directed Secretary Chu to form the Natural Gas Subcommittee as part of the President’s “Blueprint for a Secure Energy Future” – a comprehensive plan to reduce America’s oil dependence, save consumers money, and make our country the leader in clean energy industries.

The Subcommittee will conduct a review, and will work to identify any immediate steps that can be taken to improve the safety and environmental performance of hydraulic fracturing. They will also develop advice for the agencies on shale extraction practices that ensure protection of public health and the environment.

Notice of Public Meeting

The SEAB Natural Gas Subcommittee will hold a public meeting on Monday, June 13, 2011, at Washington Jefferson College in Washington, Pennsylvania.

View the event live via webcast beginning at 7PM EDT.

On a Party Line Vote, Committee Rejects Lowey-Hinchey
Amendment to Make Shale Gas Panel Unbiased and Impartial

***NEWS RELEASE***

 

For Immediate Release

June 15, 2010

Mike Morosi (Hinchey) – (202) 225-6335

Matt Dennis (Lowey) – (202) 225-6506
 

Appropriations Committee Republicans Block Lowey-Hinchey Amendment

to Prevent Increased Financial Conflicts of Interest on
U.S. Department Of Energy-Sponsored Fracking Panel

On a Party Line Vote, Committee Rejects Lowey-Hinchey
Amendment to Make Shale Gas Panel Unbiased and Impartial

 

    Washington, DC – House Appropriations Committee Republicans today rejected an amendment offered by Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY) and Congressman Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) that would have prevented natural gas industry executives from serving on what is supposed to be a neutral federal advisory panel on shale gas drilling.  The Lowey-Hinchey amendment would have eliminated report language authored by House Republicans that would force the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to have at least one-third of the members on the newly-created Natural Gas Subcommittee of the Secretary of Energy Advisory Board be shale gas industry representatives.

 

The Lowey-Hinchey amendment was offered during a markup of the Fiscal Year 2012 Energy and Water Appropriations bill and was rejected by the Republican majority on the Appropriations Committee in a party line vote.  Currently, the DOE has filled six of the seven panel slots, including the chairman position, with individuals who have financial ties to companies involved with hydraulic fracturing operations.  The Republican measure, which Lowey and Hinchey were unable to overcome, would require the DOE to replace or add panel members with individuals who are employed by the very shale gas industry the panel is supposed to independently assess.

 

“It is outrageous that the Republican majority opposed our common-sense effort to ensure members of federal advisory boards are unbiased and without conflicts of interest,” said Lowey.  “Allowing the shale gas industry to put a thumb on the scale of this board makes it more likely that the decisions it makes will focus more on profits and less on the safety of our water sources, Americans’ health, and environmental preservation.”

 

“Federal advisory boards are supposed to be unbiased, impartial bodies that advise our agencies, but almost everyone who currently serves on the shale gas advisory panel has direct financial ties to the oil and shale gas industry,” said Hinchey.  “Now the Republican majority is calling for an even greater bias by requiring that one-third of the panel work directly on behalf of the shale gas industries. This isn’t an honest effort to give industry a seat at the table. Instead, it’s a blatant attempt to rig the decisions of  the panel in favor of industry and against the safety and security of our environment, drinking water and public health.”

 

A number of recent reports and incidents are raising serious concerns about hydraulic fracturing. A study by researchers at Duke University found a statistically significant correlation between methane contamination of drinking water wells and their proximity to shale gas drilling sites. On April 20th of this year thousands of gallons of hydraulic fracturing fluid spilled into the Susquehanna River watershed, following a major fracking well blowout in Leroy Township, PA.

 

The text of the amendment, which was rejected on a party line vote follows:

 

Pages 99 and 100, strike ‘‘The Committee is concerned that the selected panel members will not adequately represent industry perspectives, and therefore will not foster a spirit of partnership among industry, environmental, and governmental parties. In order to strengthen these partnerships and industry support for any subsequent recommendations, no less than one-third of panel members should be industry representatives who actively work in the shale gas industry. Further, the’’ and insert ‘‘The’’.

 

Filed under Energy Independence?, Environment Tagged with , , , , ,

Methodists call for new drilling moratorium – News – The Times-Tribune

June 11, 2011

Methodists call for new drilling moratorium – News – The Times-Tribune.

Methodists call for new drilling moratorium

BY ROBERT L. BAKER (Staff Writer)
Published: June 11, 2011

 

GRANTHAM – United Methodists representing 950 churches across central and Northeast Pennsylvania passed a resolution calling for a temporary halt in gas well drilling in the Marcellus Shale as well as an impact tax on those places where drilling already has taken hold.

The issue dominated about an hour of discussion Thursday at the Susquehanna Annual Conference meeting, which runs through today at Messiah College near Harrisburg.

Karen Weiss, a lay member from St. Paul’s Church in State College, who is also an environmental engineer, said she had a hand in being part of a design team for a pair of wastewater treatment plants that took fracked water.

She said she was surprised that what chemical compounds some companies said they used in fracking often understated what was actually used.

“We were discovering that the water at the end of the treatment plant’s recycling process wasn’t as clean as it should have been because other things had been added we weren’t prepared for,” Ms. Weiss said. “That’s just not acceptable.”

The Rev. Wayne Bender of Shope’s Church in Hummels­town said he was disappointed that the Susquehanna Conference was not addressing what he considered more important issues that the Marcellus Shale activity had wrought on the region – particularly an influx of new workers coming into the region and what he called the “new homelessness” created because rents were being driven up in certain communities.

But, Joan Carey, a lay member from Clarks Summit, said she has a doctorate in biology, and “the bottom line was that if we don’t have clean water, we’re done.”

During the four-day conference attended by as many as 1,500 United Methodists about evenly divided between clergy and laity, the body also supported mental health ministries, envisioned an AIDS-free world by 2020 and openly discussed sexual ethics and reinforced the church’s mechanisms for accountability.

Celebrations also occurred in honor of retiring clergy and in memory of those deceased.

Bishop Jane Middleton presided over the body, and in her opening remarks Wednesday said those gathered needed “to stand in the water and choose life.”

She said individuals needed to be willing to give up anything that is not essential to their survival and challenged the conference to give up everything that is not essential to its mission “so we may go where God leads.”

On Friday, the body voted to cut back on its number of geographical districts from 11 to seven effective July 1, 2012, and reallocate resources that could better be directed at training and deploying transformational leaders.

The body also elected seven laity and seven clergy to represent the Susquehanna Conference at next year’s quadrennial meeting of the worldwide United Methodist Church, which would be meeting next spring in Tampa, Fla. Among the clergy elected was Scranton District Superintendent the Rev. Beth Jones.

The Susquehanna Conference includes 160 United Methodist churches in Northeast Pennsylvania that until a year ago were in the former Wyoming conference.

Contact the writer: bbaker@wcexaminer.com

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BP, Colorado wildlife officials reach agreement | The Associated Press | News | Washington Examiner

June 4, 2011

BP, Colorado wildlife officials reach agreement | The Associated Press | News | Washington Examiner.

BP, Colorado wildlife officials reach agreement

By: The Associated Press 06/03/11 7:10 PM
The Associated Press

The Colorado Division of Wildlife and BP America Production Co. have reached an agreement on lessening the impacts of natural-gas drilling on wildlife.

Under the agreement announced Thursday, BP will purchase private holdings suitable as wildlife habitat in exchange for drilling rights elsewhere.

Division of Wildlife spokesman Joe Lewandowski tells The Durango Herald that only willing sellers will be sought. He says the agreement applies largely to La Plata and Archuleta counties in southwest Colorado.

The agreement streamlines the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission permitting process by allowing energy companies to sign agreements with the wildlife division to address many drilling sites at one time instead of piecemeal.

BP will contribute $475,000 over the next six years for studies evaluating the effects of natural gas development on wildlife.

___

Information from: Durango Herald, http://www.durangoherald.com

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Howarth, Ingraffea Shale Gas Study on Global Warming Discredited by U.S. Department of Energy | Marcellus Drilling News

May 31, 2011

Howarth, Ingraffea Shale Gas Study on Global Warming Discredited by U.S. Department of Energy | Marcellus Drilling News.

Comment from Howarth:

We are working on a more detailed response, but in the meanwhile, I have
sent the following message out to some folks.  Feel free to share,
Bob
 “We are working hard to try to understand what the DOE/NETL analysis  is based upon.  This is not easy, as their data are not well documented in the PowerPoint from their talk.  Apparently, NETL is working towards publication of a technical report, which one would hope would have far better documentation.  But that is not yet available to us.  To date, the PowerPoint available to us and to the public has not seen any rigorous, independent peer review.
We have ascertained that the NETL analysis has an estimate for methane  emissions from coal  that is similar to ours.  Therefore, the reasons for the differences between their estimates and ours lie elsewhere.  At this point, we believe there are 4 major differences:
1) we believe they have underestimated the fugitive emissions of methane.  They apparently assume no emissions from storage and from distribution systems, and their estimate for >transmission losses are far lower than the estimates we developed for losses from transmission, storage, and distribution.  Their estimates are also far lower than those from the US EPA, which we also feel are too low (as is discussed in our paper).
2) they have a very high, optimistic estimate for the total amount of gas produced over the life of a well.  This has the effect of giving a low estimate for percentage losses from venting and leaks, particularly during the initial well completion period.  Only time will tell what the actual production of these wells will be, as the technology is too new to know.  However, we used the best available information on estimates of life-time production, thoroughly documented in our paper.  The NETL estimates are far higher.
3) they used a global warming potential for methane of 25, based on a 100-year time integral and the old data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.  We used values of 33 for a 100-year time integral and 105 for a 20-year time integral, based on more recent science (Shindell et al. 2009).  Their use of the older science results in significantly down-playing the importance of methane venting and leakage on the climate system.
4) they focused solely on generation of electricity.  We included generation of electricity in our study, and the analysis by David Hughes for the Post Carbon Institute took that even further.  HOWEVER, only 30% of the natural gas in the US is used for electricity.  The other 70% is used in home and commercial heating and for industrial processes.  To focus on just electricity provides the most optimistic view of natural gas, as that is the only use where natural gas has an efficiency advantage over other fossil fuels.
This focus on electricity generation by the NETL group is curious, as in their own talk, they emphasized that it was not likely that natural gas from shales would replace coal for electricity generation over coming decades.  Rather, they predict a DECREASE in the amount of natural gas used to generate electricity in the US.  The development of shale gas is expected largely to replace conventional gas in its current uses, and they predict some increase in the use of gas for industrial purposes.  Both the replacement of conventional gas by shale gas and the increased use of gas for industrial purposes will significantly increase the overall methane emissions from the US, and the overall greenhouse gas footprint of our nation.  The NETL study chose to ignore these aspects.”
_____________________________________
Robert W. Howarth, Ph.D.
David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology and
        Environmental Biology, Cornell University
Telephone:  1-607-255-6175

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