an introduction to hydrofracking
(Rusticus Garden Club, © 2011)
The Quest for Alternative Energy Sources
Natural gas is viewed by many as a transition fuel to help reduce reliance on coal and oil and to accelerate America's transition to wind, solar and geothermal energy. Shale gas reservoir developments have become a growing source of natural gas reserves across the United States. The use of horizontal wells and hydraulic fracturing (also known as hydrofracking or fracking) for gas shale development throughout the country is now being expanded to new areas, including the Marcellus Shale of the Appalachian Basin. The Marcellus Shale is considered to be one of the largest potential natural gas sources in the United States.
Why is Hydrofracking an Issue?
One of the reasons that hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale region of New York State has become a contentious issue is because the entire Catskill/Delaware New York City watershed is located within the Marcellus Shale region. The Catskill/Delaware watershed supplies drinking water to millions of people living in New York City, Philadelphia, the Hudson Valley, and parts of Westchester county, and there are real concerns that hydrofracking in this sensitive area may endanger the watershed, water quality and the communities surrounding the drilling sites.
What and Where is the Marcellus Shale?
The Marcellus Shale is a rock formation that underlies much of Pennsylvania and portions of New York and West Virginia at a depth of 5,000 to 8,000 feet and is believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. The formation had been considered prohibitively expensive to access, but recent advances in drilling technology, policy and rising natural gas prices have attracted growing interest in this previously untapped formation. Drilling activity is expected to focus on areas where the Marcellus Shale is deeper than 2,000 feet. The majority of natural gas wells in the Marcellus Shale are expected to be hydraulically fractured. The entire Catskill/Delaware NYC watershed is located within the Marcellus shale region.
catskillmountainkeeper.org
What are Horizontal Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing?
Horizontal drilling has been used in New York since the 1980s. A well is first drilled down vertically to a depth above the target gas-bearing rock formation. The well is then curved so that the hole is drilled horizontally within the gas-bearing rock. The horizontal extent of the well may reach several thousand feet. Horizontal drilling is believed to provide maximum contact with the gas-bearing rock formation, thereby allowing more gas to be produced from a single well. Some believe that by drilling multiple horizontal wells laterally from the same location may reduce surface disturbance.
Hydraulic fracturing (also known as fracking and hydrofracking) is a method of natural gas extraction used in deep natural gas well drilling of coalbeds and shale gas formations. Once a well is drilled, water, mixed with proppants (sand and synthetic beads) and chemicals, is forced down a well bore at extremely high pressure to create or expand fractures and release gas from the rock formation. The pressure fractures the formation and the proppants open the fissures enabling natural gas to flow more freely out of the well. Once the hydraulic fracturing process is completed, the recovered water must be properly treated to remove chemicals and minerals to avoid contamination.
Fracking Fluids - Chemicals account for approximately 2% the volume of fracking fluids -- an equivalent to an estimated 80-300 tons of chemicals- per fracked well. The natural gas industry is not required to disclose the chemicals used in fracking but some additives that have been identified include volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and known carcinogens such as benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and xylene.
As a result of hydrofracking, the natural gas comes up wet in [produced] water and is separated from the wastewater on the surface. Approximately 30-50% of the [water/fracking fluids] injected into a well as part of hyrdrofracking is typically recovered. Recovered fracturing fluids are referred to as flowback. Disposal options for fracking fluids that are not recycled can include surface water discharge via industrial water treatment plants or underground injection.
Well Sites - The process of hydraulic fracturing begins with building the necessary site infrastructure, including well construction. Production wells may be drilled in the vertical direction only or paired with horizontal or directional sections. Vertical well sections may be drilled hundreds to thousands of feet below the land surface, and lateral sections may extend 1000 to 6000 feet away from the well site.
Drilling pads may range in size from three to four acres for the deeper Marcellus Shale natural gas wells. The spacing for vertical wells in the Marcellus Shale region are predicted to start on 40 acre spacing, while horizontal wells are predicted to be spaced at intervals closer to 160 acres.
The average gas well requires 320 to 1,365 truckloads of equipment and supplies to bring a well into production.
savethewatertable.org
Current Regulatory Setting
At present, the process of hydrofracking is exempt from federal environmental regulation, leaving it to each state to regulate the process as it chooses. Regulation of the hydraulic fracturing process was exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act in 2005, however, the EPA has initiated a two-year, $1.9 million safety review of hydraulic fracturing, which may lead to future Federal oversight of the industry.
In New York, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) is in the process of reviewing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for natural gas drilling. Under the current structure, drillers that comply with the general terms of the EIS would not undergo individual review. Some have pressed New York to develop more detailed regulations and to hold off on issuing permits until the EIS, and those rules, are completed. In 2010, the New York State Assembly passed a bill that would have created a moratorium on both vertical and horizontal drilling in New York until June 2011 to allow further research and study of hydrofracking. Then Governor Patterson refused to sign the bill into law and instead issued an executive order imposing a moratorium only on horizontal drilling, leaving the door open to continued vertical drilling. The moratorium will expire in June 2011.
What are the Potential Benefits of Fracking?
Access to Natural Gas Reserves - Hydrofracking provides access to natural gas resources that were previously considered technologically and economically unviable. Geologists estimate that the entire Marcellus Shale formation contains between 168 and 516 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, which could equate to $2.6 trillion worth of natural gas. To put this into context, New York State uses about 1.1 trillion cubic feet of natural gas a year.
Job Creation and Employment – The construction operation of well sites as well as development of necessary infrastructure (e.g., roads) may result in new jobs and employment opportunities. Development of energy resources, including tight sands and shales, that is now possible due to hyrdrofracking technology has been a growing source of natural gas development in the United States. Since 1998, unconventional natural gas production has increased nearly 65%. In 2007, these methods accounted for 46% of total natural gas production.
Economic Development – Local economies benefit economically from individual lease and royalty revenue, local tax generation, employment and infrastructure facilitated by the industry.
Energy Independence – Today the United States is believed to hold 100 years worth of natural gas and has surpassed the Soviet Union as the leader in natural gas. According to the EPA, shale gas is projected to comprise over 20% of the total US gas supply by 2020.
What are the Potential Negatives of Hydrofracking?
Many are concerned that the hydraulic fracturing process will contaminate drinking water resources as well as the air and land surrounding the well sites and will negatively impact public health. Other negative environmental impacts have been noted in the vicinity of well sites and areas where fracking fluid waste or flowback have been deposited.
Depletion of Water Resources – It is estimated that 1 to 8 million gallons of water are needed to drill and hydraulically fracture a single horizontal well in the Marcellus Shale. A well may be fracked up to 18 times, potentially using 144 million gallons of water for a single well.
Water utilized in hydraulic fracturing is typically obtained through surface water withdrawals and trucked or piped to the well site. In addition, large volumes of chemical-laced waste water or flowback are generated as part of the drilling process.
Contamination of Surface Water and Surrounding Land – Failure of surface storage and containment ponds used to dispose of chemical-laced fracking fluids and spills associated with transporting fracking fluids may contaminate surface waters and surrounding land.
Contamination of Ground Water - Well casing leaks may release natural gas and/or chemical-laced fracking fluids into groundwater and potable water wells.
Increased Large Vehicle Transportation – In addition to construction and operational activities, water must be trucked from the source to the drill site. Impacts associated with these activities can include:
· Wear and tear on local roadways
· High Volumes of large vehicular activity
· Erosion and sedimentation when utilizing substandard/unimproved roadways
Deforestation - Natural gas well construction involves extensive earth disturbance and the building of infrastructure, including roads, drilling pads and pipelines that can speed erosion and fragment wildlife habitat.
Diminished Community Character – Increased traffic, visual, sound, water and air impacts have been identified as being negatively affected in areas surrounding the drilling pipelines and wells.
Poor Air Quality – In addition to the release of methane gases, VOCs and toxic chemicals are evaporated during the reclamation process. Diesel exhaust from trucks and generators can also produce ground level ozone.
For more information:
American Natural Gas Association – America’s Natural Gas Alliance exists to promote the economic, environmental and national security benefits of greater use of clean, abundant, domestic natural gas. We represent 30 of North America’s largest independent natural gas exploration and production companies and the leading developers of the shale plays now transforming the clean energy landscape.
www.anga.com
Croton Watershed Clean Water Coalition – The Coalition strives to protect and improve the waters of NYC's Croton Watershed as well as all New York State watersheds. We are an alliance of individuals and groups who believe that safe, clean and affordable drinking water is a basic human right.
http://www.newyorkwater.org/
Clean Water Not Dirty Drilling - Clean Water NOT Dirty Drilling is a network of organizations working to protect the rights and health of landowners and communities and one of our most precious environmental resources—water—from the dangers of irresponsible, poorly regulated, and under-inspected natural gas exploration and development.
http://cleanwaternotdirtydrilling.org/
Damascus Citizens for Sustainability(DCS) is a grassroots nonprofit, 501(c)(3), organization dedicatedto protecting the Upper Delaware River Basin and beyond from the ravages of deep-shale gas extraction and the threat posed by the natural gas industry.
http://www.damascuscitizens.org/
Environmental Advocates New York - Environmental Advocates of New York's mission is to protect our air, land, water and wildlife and the health of all New Yorkers. Based in Albany, we monitor state government, evaluate proposed laws, and champion policies and practices that will ensure the responsible stewardship of our shared environment. We work to support and strengthen the efforts of New York's environmental community and to make our state a national leader.
http://www.eany.org
EPA Regional Office- New York - "EPA's Region 2 office protects human health and the environment in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and seven tribal nations. EPA works hard to ensure clean air, pure water and better-protected land. Our efforts help provide for healthy communities and ecosystems, compliance with environmental regulations and environmental justice and stewardship."
http://www.epa.gov/aboutepa/region2.html
Marcellus-Shale.us - This Marcellus Shale gas drilling website is dedicated to providing photos, facts, opinions, stories and news about the Marcellus Shale gas play that you won't see other places. You'll find extensive photos of gas drilling sites, pipeline construction, well sites and compressor stations. News, facts and opinions about hydraulic fracturing.
http://www.marcellus-shale.us/
Marcellus Shale Coalition - Founded in 2008, the Marcellus Shale Coalition (MSC) is an organization committed to the responsible development of natural gas from the Marcellus Shale geological formation and the enhancement of the region’s economy that can be realized by this clean-burning energy source.
http://marcelluscoalition.org
Natural Resources Defense Council – The Natural Resources Defense Council's purpose is to safeguard the Earth: its people, its plants and animals and the natural systems on which all life depends. We seek to establish sustainability and good stewardship of the Earth as central ethical imperatives of human society. http://www.nrdc.org/newyork/
NRDC Blog
http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/ksinding/another_day_another_fracking_a.html
http://www.nrdc.org/land/files/marcellus.pdf
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation – Mission: "To conserve, improve and protect New York's natural resources and environment and to prevent, abate and control water, land and air pollution, in order to enhance the health, safety and welfare of the people of the state and their overall economic and social well-being."
http://www.dec.ny.gov/energy/46288.html
http://search.dec.ny.gov/query.html?qt=natural+gas+drilling+forests&Search.x=0&Search.y=0
http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/materials_minerals_pdf/GWPCMarcellus.pdf
New York League of Conservation Voters - NYLCV is a non-partisan, policy making and political action organization that works to make environmental protection a top priority with elected officials, decision-makers and the voters by evaluating incumbent performance and endorsing and electing environmental leaders to office in New York State.
http://www.nylcv.org/
Riverkeeper – NY’s Clean Water Advocate Riverkeeper’s mission is to protect the ecological integrity of the Hudson River and its tributaries, and to safeguard the drinking water supply of New York City and the lower Hudson Valley.
http://www.riverkeeper.org
http://dontfrackwithny.com/
Shaleshock Action Alliance - Shaleshock Action Alliance is a movement that works toward protecting our communities and environment from exploitative gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale region. Shaleshock is an alliance which include people who have signed leases, not signed leases, who have been compulsorily integrated, and people who don’t own land.