04/22/24 - 117 New Stories - REAL Environmental & Conservation Leadership In PA: http://tinyurl.com/9bh4zbtr
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Opinion- Welcome to Pennsylvania: The State of Extraction
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By Paul Zeph, President, Appalachian Audubon Starting in the 1700s, iron furnaces began consuming vast quantities of trees as Pennsylvania began its growth as an industrial manufacturer of raw materials. In the mid-1800s, Pennsylvania lumber companies increased the rate of forest removal, then mining companies joined in by removing the hard, stout tree trunks growing on rocky-soiled ridges that were ideal for mine shaft support beams. Forests that weren’t yet cleared for farming were lumbered to help fuel building and industrial growth throughout the northeastern U.S. Oil was first drilled in 1859 in the northwest part of the state, resulting in forests of oil derricks springing up virtually overnight, with entire valleys greedily turned to vast regions of oily mud. Coal mining, begun in the 1700s, reached a feverish peak in the early 1900s and was removed with total disregard for the destruction of land and water above and below ground. These resources were again shipped out of Pennsylvania to help fuel the industrialization of the nation, at the expense of our lands and waters.
With mineral extraction laws enacted starting around 1870, safety and environmental protection slowed worker injuries and deaths; but waste piles and abandoned tunnels continued through the 1970s. Removal of the most accessible oil, gas and coal also helped to slow the ravages to our landscapes, river systems and water supplies. But we were left with vast regions of destroyed habitat and toxic piles above ground, miles of underground tunnels filled with highly polluted water, and cleanup and restoration costs currently projected at more than $5 billion.
Just as the federal government is beginning to pass legislation to begin addressing the cleanup need for our abandoned coal mines, another energy extraction boom is making it feel like the 1859 oil-drilling frenzy all over again.
A New Gold Rush
Marcellus Shale, deep underground, has a very pure natural gas locked in its layers. New drilling techniques have made this gas accessible, and landowners are being paid vast sums of money for land leases and extraction royalties throughout Pennsylvania’s northern tier. Gas drilling companies are clearing forests for drilling sites and a network of pipelines, resulting in severely fragmenting forests that had just recovered from the heydays of lumbering.
An article on Marcellus shale printed in the December 2009 issue of the Chesapeake Bay Journal succinctly describes the drilling process and the environmental problems that can result:
“To reach the gas in the Marcellus layer, drillers must bore through dozens of geological formations. Then, workers pump into the well millions of gallons of water mixed with sand, salt and a cocktail of chemicals to fracture the gas-bearing rock. This process, known as hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," was pioneered by energy giant Halliburton in the 1940s. The gas flows from the broken rock out of the well to a compressor. With it comes about one-fifth of the water that was pumped in, bearing the chemicals used in fracking and radioactive elements that occur naturally in the rock. The remainder of the water stays deep in the formation-well below drinking water aquifers, according to regulators and energy companies.
“The drilling and fracking process presents three water-related problems. The first is withdrawals. Gas companies need about 5 million gallons to frack each well. They pull the water from streams, and because nearly three-quarters of the Marcellus is in the Susquehanna River basin, much of that water has and will come from those feeding the Bay's largest tributary. The companies have occasionally pulled water from small headwater creeks that are slow to refill, which can change temperatures and oxygen levels and endanger fish.
“The second is the fracking wastewater, called flowback, which is usually stored in a plastic-lined impoundment before it can be trucked to a treatment plant. Critics worry that the wastes could spill during transit or operations and run into waterways or seep into groundwater. Earlier this year, Texas-based Cabot Oil Co. spilled 8,000 gallons of fracking waste into Stevens Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River in the northeast Pennsylvania hamlet of Dimock. Because fracking waste can have five times as much salt in it as ocean water, groups such as Trout Unlimited worry that accidents like that will forever change the ecology of fresh, coldwater streams.
“The third problem is groundwater contamination from methane accidentally released through the drilling. Today, at least 13 families in Dimock, home to more than 63 of Cabot's gas wells, can't drink their well water because it contains methane. Methane contamination has been reported in other states where drilling has occurred, and critics worry it could become a bigger problem in Pennsylvania.”
A Call to Action
The conservation community of Pennsylvania is extremely concerned about the impacts of this new “gold rush” to land and water resources of the state. From the map on page 4, you can see that this shale layer makes up an enormous part of the state and will be an issue of great concern for decades to come. Audubon PA is gearing up an action strategy for chapters and members statewide, and will be in contact with all of us in the near future.
Fortunately, it’s not just Audubon that is fired up about this issue. Public hearings and forums around the state have begun to be held by the PA Senate Environmental Resources and Energy Committee, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Pennsylvania Environmental Council. Governor Rendell has also pledged to include in his 2011 budget proposal an excise tax on Marcellus gas drillers to help pay for impacts to communities and natural resources.
If you would like to read more about the Marcellus gas drilling boom and the impact it has had so far on Pennsylvania landowners, the complete Chesapeake Bay Journal article is a good place to start.
Paul Zeph is President of the Appalachian Audubon Society, a local chapter of the National Audubon Society, based in Harrisburg. He can be contacted by sending email to: pzeph1@verizon.net or by calling 717-574-6668
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2/8/2010 |
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