Drilling For Natural Gas and the Environment
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2010-06-21/drilling-natural-gas-and-environment
Natural gas drilling equipment on the Pinedale Anticline, WY
Richard Waite viaWorld Resources on Flickr
The U.S. has been called the Saudi Arabia of natural gas. Supporters say it’s a step toward a cleaner energy future. But a new HBO documentary raises environmental and health concerns. The risks and rewards of drilling for natural gas.
Guests
Mike Soraghan
reporter for E&E Publishing, which publishes Greenwire and Energy & Environment Daily.
Josh Fox
director of the HBO documentary "Gasland."
C. Boyden Gray
founding member of the Energy Future Coalition, former White House counsel to Pres. George H.W. Bush, U.S. Ambassador to the EU and special envoy for Eurasian energy diplomacy.
John Hanger
Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection.
Comments
Please familiarize yourself with our Code of Conduct and Terms of Use before posting your comments.
Several months ago I was called by a polling telephone company and they asked my opinions of fracturing for gas/oil. They asked if I thought if they used water based chemicals that were not harmful to humans instead of their mysterious chemicals if that would be acceptable. I said no because it would seem that it's not the chemicals themselves but rather the hydrocarbons that are being released that may be causing harm. In other words, it's not just the chemicals they use to liberate the 'gas' but rather the liberation of these hydrocarbons into the aquifers and ground water that may be harmful. Is this a viable hypothesis?
The Texas TCEQ (Tx Council on Evironmental Quality) is embroiled in a controversy regarding the Barnett Shale here in north Texas. "Bryan Shaw, Chariman of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, published a letter in the Fort Worth Star Telegram assuring Fort Worth that there was no immediate health risk from contamination of air caused by oil and gas activities in the region. Shaw assured residents that "the TCEQ can state, without hesitation, that benzene levels in Fort Worth pose no immediate health risk." (http://www.oilandgaslawyerblog.com/2010/06/tceq-chairman-defends-barnett...). One of our local Congressional representatives has asked for an investigation. (U.S. Rep. Michael Burgess took some heat when he backed off of his call for the state attorney general to investigate why state regulators suppressed air-test results showing toxic emissions around gas drilling sites in Fort Worth.
Burgess, a Lewisville Republican, said it would be more appropriate to have the state legislature's Sunset Committee look into the problems at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. He sent a letter to the Sunset Commission on Wednesday, saying the whole affair "calls into question the agency's credibility."
(http://startelegram.typepad.com/barnett_shale/2010/06/burgess-follows-up...)
Even here in Texas, where energy production continues to be a major industry, responsibility and controversy reign. From industrial companies, to our state regulators, to our governor, no one seems to care much about the ordinary citizens of Texas.
We are in a gas lease boom here in Michigan. Is there anywhere I can get information on how this will effect out watershed?
I have now heard the Gas Land filmaker on several NPR shows and know that several things he has said today on your show are factually incorrect. I work as an oil company geologist in Texas so I don't want to debate any specific points since my perspective may be suspect and my motives questioned. All I would like to say is please get an independent fact-checker to listen to today's program and correct the errors to ensure the typical high quality of your show. The question that needs to be addressed here is what is the real risk of these problems happening? My guess is that the probability of an individual getting into an auto-accident (while burining imported oil) is at least 1000 times greater than gettting methane in their ground water. Remember, several thousands of these frac'd horizontal wells have been drilled in Texas and we still have good water here. It's a wonderful place to live. Lots of PA natives who move here for the jobs agree.
Please comment some more on legal obligations if someone has signed a lease, but is totally uninformed about these issues. I believe my Mother has recently done so in the Ft. Worth area.
How many accidents,spills and problems will it take until Sec Hanger admits it is a systemic problem?
First our ocean is polluted (Gulf Spill) and our scientist can't tell us by how much and how long. And now industry is polluting our aquifers. Good luck America.
Having natural gas in well water in Appalachia is nothing new and has nothing to due with well fracturing. As a kid 45 years ago we had so much natural gas in our well water we ran a space heater for quite a while with it. I know of one person that drilled a water well but got so much natural gas they used it to heat their house.
Natural gas is often found in the water table.
Even if everything in the movie is pure fiction, just look at these satellite shots at Google Maps and you'll be appalled:
(32°56'47.85"N 97° 3'5.47"W) ... North of DFW Airport
(32°20'17.71"N 97°29'53.95"W) ... West of Cleburne, TX
(27° 1'20.67"N 99° 7'17.55"W) ... South TX
Just copy and paste the (numeric coordinates) into the Google Map search box. You may need to click on "Satellite" if you get a plain map instead of pictures.
Seeing them through the airplane windows, I've been wondering what those pockmarks were for a long time. Now I know. You can see them in TX, CO, ... Coming soon to everyone's backyard :-(
I work with the WV Surface Owners' Rights organization and I enjoyed this segment on yesterday's show. I am glad to see more media coverage of about the perils of Marcellus Shale drilling. I look forward to seeing Gasland and I hope that Mr. Fox will bring his film to the Mountain State. One comment I have however, is that Mr. Fox did not seem to understand forced pooling. It is a complicated area of the law, and as Mr. Fox said the laws vary from state to state. However, generally it is better for almost everyone involved because it is a fairer and a more economically efficient way of producing resources that are not confined to boundaries of an individual driller’s or mineral owner’s property (or rights). Unfortunately in WV, where split estates are more common than not, the "rule of capture" applies to most wells. The "rule of capture’" authorizes legalized stealing from neighboring mineral owners, and results in other negative impacts for the rest of us. Because of the "rule of capture," more wells than are necessary are drilled to drain the pool gas. Every time a well is drilled there is some risk of groundwater pollution. Plus, every extra well means some surface owner gets an unnecessary well site and access road on their land. For more info. go to http://www.wvsoro.org/resources/pooling_unitization/index.html.