Marcellus Shale
The Marcellus Shale – America's next super giant
Down in Texas the big gas companies are talking about northeast Pennsylvania and New York as the place to be. The Catskills and the Delaware River Valley sit on top of Marcellus Shale. Marcellus Shale lies under much of northern Appalachia 6,000 to 8,000 feet below the surface; the pores in the shale contain large quantities of natural gas. The shale layer becomes thicker from west to east beginning at about 50 feet in Ohio to more than 100 feet thick in central PA and NY. Geologists have known about the gas here for years but now with the new technologies of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing, recovering the gas is now the big new "Shale Play" as the industry refers to it. We are seeing the "land men" knocking on doors to obtain gas leases for various companies, with Chesapeake leading the charge in our area (mostly the Delaware River Valley in PA, Sullivan and Delaware counties). Community groups are forming on both sides of the issue from landowner associations to better negotiate a lease to groups fighting drilling altogether.
What does this all mean to the average resident? It means that landowners, towns, counties and regional organizations have a very short time to come up to speed with all the issues involved with gas exploration. As a new "shale play" we don't have a history in this particular formation but we certainly have a history with gas exploration and the complexity of the issues involved. Here are a few topics we all need to look closer at:
• Hydraulic Fracturing: "Fracking” as it is called within the industry involves injecting water, sand and special chemicals into the shale layer at extremely high pressure. This then separates the pores in the rock and the sand particles "hold" the cracks open so the gas can flow back to the drill bore. Some of the injected fluids remain trapped underground. A number of these fluids qualify as hazardous materials and carcinogens, and are toxic enough to contaminate groundwater resources. There are cases in the U.S. where hydraulic fracturing is the suspected source of impaired or polluted drinking water. In Alabama, Colorado, New Mexico, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming, incidents have been recorded by people who have gas wells near their homes. They have reported changes in water quality or quantity following fracturing operations. Most of these incidences involve coal-bed methane production, which is a much shallower drilling process, but it highlights how poorly the gas companies are protecting the communities they are working in.
• Regulatory Issues: After decades of deal making between government and the industry it has resulted in exemptions for the oil and gas companies from protections in the clean water act, the environmental response, compensation, and liability act (CERCLA also known as the Superfund law), the resource Conservation and recovery act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Also, the gas industry is not covered by public right to know provisions, which mean companies can withhold information about the chemicals they use in the "fracking” process.
• Pollution: The pollution from oil and gas exploration and production has involved known carcinogens, reproductive toxicants, and other toxic chemicals like arsenic, hydrogen sulfide, mercury and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including benzene and xylene.
• Fragmentation: The Catskills and adjacent lands in Pennsylvania contain some of the largest contiguous forest blocks east of the Mississippi River. This area acts as an important species corridor between the Catskill Park, the Shawangunk Ridge, the Hudson Highlands and the Poconos. There are multiple species of either endangered or special concern and indicator species of healthy vibrant habitat found here. The number of roads and increased heavy truck traffic and cleared swaths for pipelines to connect the drilling pads to the millennium pipeline will dissect these important forest blocks and corridor.
• Air and Noise Pollution: Drilling for gas is a highly industrial undertaking which includes numerous truckloads of equipment, chemicals, sand and water along with generators, pumps, drilling rigs and hoists. All of which are running at all hours of the day producing noise and exhaust fumes. When gas is found there can be a release of the various gases in the formation.
• Normally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORMS): NORMS are found in many geological formations and can be brought to the surface on drilling equipment and in fluids. Once at the surface it can accumulate as sediments in holding tanks and ponds. This is an issue in the Barnett Shale, which are not the same rock. However, NORMS occur in NY at higher levels than in PA and have not been tested in the eastern part of the state.
• Development: Increased development in other rural areas of the country where there are productive Gas fields has resulted in large influxes of industry workers which will have multiple impacts to the respective communities.
There are some excellent web sites out there covering these issues more in depth such as The Oil and Gas accountability project By Earthworks www.ogap.org. A very important document they have produced is Oil and Gas at Your Door? A landowner’s guide to oil and gas development.
Another great document put out by the Natural Resources Defense Council is: NRDC Natural Gas Drilling Fact Sheet: Drillng Down: Protecting Western Communities from the Health and Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Production. (October, 2007 PDF)
Most of the National groups have information on this topic especially concerning public land.
There are two websites by community groups faced with gas drilling; FWCANDO.ORG from Fort Worth Texas, which is in the Barnett shale Similar to Marcellus and Damascus Citizens for Self Government at www.DamascusCitizens.org an organization based in Damascus PA dedicated to "preventing the dire effects of gas well drilling, such as polluted drinking water, carcinogens in the farmland and food chain, torn-up roads, risk of gas fires, plummeting real estate values, and screeching noise polution."
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all photo's courtesy of the New York Times**OTHER RESOURCES:
Article In The Times Herald Record: The Search for Natural Gas: Western Sullivan Might Contain Vast Reserves, April 14, 2008
Article In The New York Times: There's Gas in Those Hills, April 8, 2008
Article #1 In The River Reporter: A Primer on Gas Well Gold Rush: From the Marcellus Shale to Horizontal Drilling, February 28 - March 5, 2008
Article #2 In The River Reporter: Western PA Landowners Regret Deep Gas Wells Deals: Gasses Bubbling Out of the Ground and Into Drinking Wells and Ponds, April 10 - April 16, 2008
Editorial In The River Reporter: "?Nor Any Drop to Drink", April 10 - April 16, 2008
WNYC Radio: Natural Gas Could Transform Sullivan County, April 15, 2008
Elmira Star Gazette: Owners Have Way To Fight Landmen, March 30,2008
Times Herald Record: Drilling in Sullivan Raises Many Issues, May 9, 2008
Times Herald Record: Drilling in Sullivan Raises Many Issues, May 9, 2008
POST YOUR VIEWER COMMENTS BELOW
The Threat of Natural Gas Drilling in The Catskills Video
Submitted by Master Admin on Wed, 04/30/2008 - 3:30pm.
» reply
Horizontal drilling for natural gas
There is currently legislation under review in NYS Assembly (bill A10526) (and paralell in Senate) to essentially enable the deep horizontal drilling (and associated fracturing) to be readily permitted. The 2005 NYS oil and gas legislation did not clearly address horizontal drilling. Such drilling is essential for the most cost-effective capture of gas in the Marcellus. Th Oil/Gas lobbies have been weighing in on the legislation and the Farm Bureau has been watching. However, I am not aware of any "citizens" groups involved. The legislation is being pushed pretty hard and fast and as written will become effective immediately. I believe that it should be slowed down so that reasonably concerned individuals can have time to understand, reflect, and consider the many complex implications. In my checking around in the Broome and Cortland county area I am not finding any degree of knowledge or concern about this. It is completely clear that once this legislation passes the O&G Cos will have a green lite to rock and roll. I believe A10526 is flying largely under the radar and is moving way to fast. As best I can tell, the DEC is the only monitoring agency and they are seriously understaffed. Given the likely large number of drillings coming soon, there will be little or no substantive macro environmental protection. Lobbying to first slow down A10526 into at least the next legislative session (this one ends around June 15), and then understanding and lobbying for appropriate structuring so that there is as much environmental protection as possible is critical. Stan Scobie Binghamton, NY