Natural gas developers, like the ones filing permits to drill in the Marcellus shale region of the Northeast, use a process called hydrofracturing to extract gas. The process will mean water withdrawals of up to 3 to 9 million gallons per well, some from areas near high-quality trout habitat. Even aside from the water consumption, the “fracing” process leaves behind toxic tailings to taint habitat and drinking water further with arsenic, hydrogen sulfide, mercury, benzene, toluene or xylene.
Check out this video to get a better sense of what gas development looks like, and why TU and volunteer staff are fighting so hard to make sure the development is done responsibly.
For more information on Marcellus shale drilling, we recommend visiting Catskill Mountainkeeper or Pro Publica.
By Dan Wheeler December 24, 2008 - 6:30 pm
This is a classic example of why we should not let the oil and gas companies trill in areas that are so fragile. The ones that used the water after they agreed not to should be banned from anymore drilling. The fine means nothing to them. A drop in the bucket compared to what they will earn. Either ban them or make very,very large fines that will hurt their pocket book and they may stop, maybe. Oversite of any drilling is paramount!
By Walt Mercincavage January 9, 2009 - 9:31 pm
The DRBC(delaware river basin comm.) is not doing its job to protect the upper Delaware river. We need to change the flexible flow plan to include more summer releases on the West Branch of the Delaware to protect the fishery. I hope they do a better job with the Marcellus Shale problem.
By Jon Burgess, P.E. January 26, 2009 - 9:55 pm
The collection pond, with a liner, for debris produced during the fracing process — I wonder what VOC (volatile organic compound) vapors may be emitted from the open liquid surface? Which could be a form of air pollution. If the collected liquid has some bad actors in it, it could be rated as hazardous waste, which increases the TLC involved in handling, transporting, storing, & disposing of it. I haven’t yet read any details about how these types of questions have been addressed by the drillers & regulators, but I would guess (hope) they already have appropriate answers.
By Hydrofracturing requires water - lots and lots of water | Trout Unlimited Blog « NY WELL WATCH February 27, 2009 - 2:57 am
[...] Hydrofracturing requires water – lots and lots of water | Trout Unlimited Blog. Tagged with: fracing fluids, trout, video, water « Read the winter issue online now [...]
By Bob Schmetzer March 7, 2009 - 5:57 am
At a recent meeting with my new State Representative from Pa.The subject came up at a public forum of gas drilling in the Marcellas Shale region.It seems that the opinion in Harrisburg is to drill in everyones back yard , get free gas, and get rich! I mentioned that ground water would be effected throughout the range, and a home is worthless without water.I doubt that the Pennsylvania government has considered the multi-million dollar trout fishing and tourist industry.We are still cleaning up from all the strip mining of coal from the 1940′s.Streams still run orange and kill everything in a stream.A certain few make lots of money, then bankrupt the company, then the taxpayer and clubs get to clean up their mess for generations.History always repeats itself when we fail to learn from the past.Please don’t let stupidity rule this time.
By Richard Jenkins April 8, 2009 - 5:57 am
We can’t mine coal, drill for oil or gas or cut trees. It’s going to be crowded in Florida in the winter!
By David Norman April 8, 2009 - 2:13 pm
It is always nice to see that the ignorant have educated opinions. Here in the US people enjoy the freedom to make unsubstantiated comments and conjure or extrapolate into areas we really don’t understand or take the evidence that may not be properly represented and use it to generate a simple prejudice.
Sure not everyone in industry is pure, drivers on the highway don’t all obey the traffic laws either. In both cases, people are injepardy and there are consequences associated with bad behavior. But my reading of the article and the blogs just makes me wonder about the thought process people have. Emotional outrage is not the way to solve problems. Everything done in this country is not bad. Regulations have to be obeyed and permits have to be obtained and are paid for just like your fishing licenses. We (fishermen) have introduced foreign species into water sheds, was this intentional? We add some of the same chemicals that are stated to be ‘bad’ into our PUBLIC water systems exposing our families to them, with the honorable intent to keep us from spreading sicknesses and disease. I think that before we expose this emotional and ignorant rage focused on a particular issue we should consider the mote in our own activities, urge those who are invovled to be good stewards of their ‘previlage’ to function to provide ‘affordable’ energy to light our home, work and recreational area; transport ourselves and families to school, work, and entertainment sites; as well as provide many of our percieved necessities to allow us to have fresh foods, clothing, sanitation and even filter our water. Our fly rods, line, and accessories are all dependent on this heirarchy.
Taking the word of someone simply with academic credentials yet ‘removed from the industry’ with limited exposure, or doing research, does not make them intimate with the real, not perceived, consequences of accepted regular practices.
I think this is a cheap pandering with emotional outrage as the intent. Thoughtful intimate ensight into the issues and the reality of what is happening is better than ‘Banning Felt’ and ‘Banning hydrofracing’ and using prejudicial inaccurate representations of something NOT understood by the public much less some of us ‘DUMB’ fishermen.
You are moving fast away from my purposes of my association with TU.
David N. – TX
By Hal Mattes April 16, 2009 - 4:32 pm
I’ve been simmering for too long. Below is a rant from my perspective:
In December 2007 I contacted Elizabeth Maclin (Eastern Conservation V.P.) about the coming gas storm. I also cc’d Charles Gauvin and the merry band of Central Park Casting Clinic Members (NYC Chapter 447).Elizabeth called back (no reply from anyone else). She said that this was the first time T.U. had heard of the threat posed by Chesapeake Appalachia and other gas drillers in the Upper Delaware watershed.I told her that there had been extensive leasing activity in the region since late 2005. How did I get to be Paul Revere?Was no one else paying attention?
In a couple of subsequent phone conversations she and I discussed the need for a T.U. person on the ground in the area. I told her it was done in the late 1990′s to monitor radio tagged fish in the East Branch (Delaware and lower Beaverkill) why not devote funding to a smart young scientist to this potentially catastrophic issue? She said she would look into it. 16 months later …..not much activity.I volunteered my services as “eyes and ears” and have not heard back.
My situation is delicate to say the least. I own a small home on the Lower East Branch and am considered a local by all my friends in the area to the point that they even tolerate the T.U. decal on my truck. They are pro drilling to a person as they either work in construction or have leased the family farm for gas exploration (Does Bentley make a pick up truck?).
As you may know hydraulic fracturing poses two problems.The first is the de-watering of springs,tributaries and the aquifer. The second and I think the more serious issue is the lagoons at each drill site with the contaminated water recovered from the well.The proposed spacing of the wells is astounding (a 5 acre site every 40 acres). You all may remember the flood of June 2006. What’s to prevent the overflow or rupture of hundreds of these ponds in a 24-48 hour period of intense rain? NOTHING. Welcome to West Virginia “in spades”.
The track record of exploratory drilling is dismal. Every hole punched in PA has led to contaminated drinking water with the Gas Co. denying it was their activity that did it.(see Dimmock PA).
Additionally one spill of 55 gallons at each well site of say Safety Clean or other organic solvent would also bloom and contaminate a vast amount of acreage’s ground water.
To believe that the energy companies will comply with regulations (there are precious few/see Energy Act of 2005) and be careful is Pollyanna smoking crack. PA has caught them de-watering streams (trout habitat) and shut down the operation more than once.
Other points. In the early leasing activity the land agents strove to keep lease terms in the area uniform, saying that was the only thing they were authorized to do. I suspected correctly that this was to facilitate assigning the leases for a secondary market. Chesapeake cleared over a half billion dollars re-selling leases to other late comers to the “play”without lifting a drill bit.Its a gold rush and the fish and the people are going to lose.
The insincere statements that this activity is for American energy independence is also a falsehood. We have just suffered through the replacement and upgrade of a major gas transmission pipeline (10″ main to a 30″ main)heading to the East Coast. An intensive search and debate as to the placement of a major Liquified Natural Gas Port is ongoing down here. This gas will never flow through our stoves or furnaces. Its all destined for export and $$$$.
I don’t want to ban anything. Just restore the oversight of the FERC and EPA that was removed by the previous administration’s actions in 2005.NY and PA do not have the resources (or inclination) to hire an adequate number of on-site inspectors. So far, if these people think no one is looking they do what they want.
Trout Unlimited has been slow in my opinion to apprehend the gravity of what is about to happen .I suspect that hopes were pinned on a change of administration. The present administration may be more sympathetic but must be pressured constantly and massively. Its time for us to step up and walk the walk before its ELF instead of TU.
In January 2008 I had dinner with a drilling worker from a rural part of Arkansas. He’s a nice guy.He has worked as a “roughneck” in 30 states and 2 other countries. He could not believe how beautiful the Upper Delaware region is given its proximity to so many urban population centers. I agreed with him and he replied quietly “Its a shame whats gonna’ happen to it. A real shame.”
Thanks for reading notes from a future Superfund site in Peas Eddy NY.
By Bradford April 9, 2010 - 8:47 am
Heads up TU-ers. The NEPA landowners are organizing to arrange better natural gas leases and the results of this organization is that 100s of thousands of private land owned by these landowners many be off limikts to TU members.
The organization of the landowners for the betterment of their finacial interest also allows for organizing restrictions to access of their land. A heavy TU anti-drilling stance has already resulted in restricted stream access on the Delaware River & tributaries and in many NEPA native trout streams.
By Hal Matttes June 22, 2010 - 6:33 pm
Hi Bradford,
You and Spring Twig should be proud. I have no problem if NEPA landowners restrict access to your soon to be not so pristine waters. Are you going to ask for a fisherman’s TU card to restrict access or are all fisherman going to be denied? Remember the constitution that you and your type allegedly champion. Your property won’t be worth the visit in 5 years .You’ll have the resources to move away. Look at the gulf of Mexico and say you believe these people are responsible parties. They will not look back as long as the money exceeds the cost of mitigation and litigation. I have friends working in your neck of the woods. Bedford Falls is rapidly turning into Pottersville.