Perspectives on the Marcellus Gas Resource
A blog from Cornell resource geologist Larry Cathles.
Wondering what benefits and risks are associated with Marcellus gas development? Click here.
"Frack-enstein"...
...countering
the distortions and myths
patched together
by pitchfork-wielding villagers.
Read our "natural gas novelette."
Enough is Enough
Suspect that the real story of Dimock is passed over by the media? Click on the image to learn "the rest of the story."
Contact us
For membership information or comments, email us at [email protected]
Dryden residence not required. The issues span many areas.
Privacy policy: We welcome new members. We recognize that in our community, the opposition to energy development is often intolerant of other people's views. To protect our members, you may choose to join as a public member or as a private one. The names of public members will be openly disclosed; private members will not have their names or identifying information distributed.
Position Statement
Useful sites
Articles
Dryden parcels over and under 2.5 acres
Confiscation of property by ban
$175,000,000 in Property Owner Rights
10,081 Adults Per 2000 Census
2,198 Parcels of 2.5 Acres or More
Fracking and groundwater contamination: the data
Submitted by admin on Sun, 07/31/2011 - 16:19
The MIT Energy Initiative’s recently released Future of Natural Gas study is a comprehensive and balanced examination of this essential resource. It contains much information that I will be digesting and using in future posts. Today, I want to focus on the report’s analysis of environmental risks associated with natgas fracking. I want to thank Robert Bryce, whose tweets (@pwrhungry) tipped me to this report.
The authors of the report acknowledge that there are risks associated with natural gas drilling in general, and fracking in particular, just as there are in any resource extraction activity. These risks need to be accounted for and the industry must take steps to mitigate them going forward, especially as drilling expands into regions of the nation that do not have experience with natural gas drilling and where, therefore, the regulatory and oversight functions will be underdeveloped. That being noted, it is also important to examine the actual occurrence rate of environmental problems. Over the past ten years, the authors note, there have been over 20,000 wells drilled and very few incidents of groundwater contamination. In those cases where contamination has occurred, it has usually been gas contamination not, as most commonly feared, contamination with fracking liquids (p. 39). The chart below (reproduced without permission) shows the low frequency of incidents over the 5 year period of 2005-2009.
So, in the thousands of wells drilled in that period, there have been just 20 incidents of groundwater contamination. Thus, while it is a legitimate concern and regulators and drillers alike must be aware of the issue, the fear (sometimes bordering on hysteria) surrounding groundwater contamination is simply not supported by the data. Can it happen? Yes. Is it likely to happen on any given well? Statistically, no. Is the reported level of incidence worth ceasing development of this vast resource? In our opinion, definitely not.
- Log in to post comments