Archive for June, 2009
Broad coalition calls the bill ‘emotionally driven’; ‘costly solution for a problem that does not exist’
Yesterday, CLUB 20 – “a coalition of individuals, businesses, tribes and local governments in Colorado’s 22 western counties” – sent this letter to Colorado’s congressional delegation urging opposition to Reps. DeGette and Polis’ anti-fracking, anti-energy production bill moving through Congress.
“Organized for the purpose of speaking with a single unified voice on issues of mutual concern,” and coined the “Voice of the Western Slope,” the group wrote this to their federal legislators:
- By ignoring 35 years of successful state regulatory precedence in protecting groundwater supplies, the FRAC Act demonstrates neither “responsibility” for good public policy nor “awareness” of the facts related to this issue.
- CLUB 20 believes that Colorado’s groundwater supplies are of critical importance and we applaud the decades-long work of the Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) for providing an appropriate state regulatory framework to assure the protection of our groundwater supplies from unintended contamination by oil & gas development.
- Hydraulic fracturing increases the efficiency and productivity of natural gas wells by 400-700%, especially in shales and tight sands which constitute the large majority of natural gas fields on the Western Slope of Colorado. Many of these wells would not be economically viable without the application of this technology.
- The FRAC Act is an emotionally driven attempt to preempt existing state authority and add an unnecessary and costly regulatory burden on one of our state’s most economically important industries. It represents a costly solution for a problem that does not exist, and will only result in driving up the cost (and thus discouraging development) of one of the cleanest sources of energy (natural gas) that we have available to us.
And while groups of concerned citizens who understand the facts, like CLUB 20, work to aggressively support environmentally-safe production of clean-burning natural gas, reports and figures continue to demonstrate the economic growth potential that shale gas holds.
In fact, in today’s Wilkes Barre Times-Leader, the paper reports that:
- ”As the natural-gas drilling industry ramps up in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, it could employ perhaps 13,000 workers by 2012, the vast majority of them general laborers with basic skill sets, according to a needs assessment released last week by the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center.
- “Using a multiplier created by the Pennsylvania Economy League, the report suggests that nearly 20,000 non-industry jobs would be created by industry activities in the Northern Tier and Central regions. … The report’s results jibe with the industry’s own assessment in 2006, according to Stephen Rhoads, the president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association.”
However, the DeGette bill poses an enormous threat to tens of thousands of new, good-paying American jobs, while further undercutting progress toward making our nation more energy secure.
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Club 20 opposes greater federal control of hyrdaulic fracturing at drill sites. Grand Junction Sentinel. “A measure that would give federal officials greater sway over drilling for natural gas has drawn opposition from Club 20. The legislation proposed by U.S. Reps. Diana DeGette and Jared Polis, Democrats from Denver and Boulder, would do away with an exemption for hydraulic fracturing from the 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act. Congress originally deferred monitoring of hydraulic fracturing to the states “because of the unique geologic formations and the complexity of monitoring groundwater,” said Club 20 Executive Director Reeves Brown. He said he thought it “offensive” that two representatives would introduce such a measure “without even checking with (U.S. Rep. John Salazar) and getting him on board.”
Report: Drilling may employ 13,000 by ‘12. Wilkes Barre Times-Leader. “As the natural-gas drilling industry ramps up in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale, it could employ perhaps 13,000 workers by 2012, the vast majority of them general laborers with basic skill sets, according to a needs assessment released last week by the Marcellus Shale Education & Training Center. “There’s going to be a significant amount of folks needed across many occupations, but the bulk of the activity when it’s in the drilling phase – up to 75 percent – is going to require some entry level of the industry, but not necessarily a degree, which is a good opportunity for most folks who are displaced … by the economy,” said Jeff Lorson, an industrial technology specialist at Penn College in Williamsport. … Using a multiplier created by the Pennsylvania Economy League, the report suggests that nearly 20,000 non-industry jobs would be created by industry activities in the Northern Tier and Central regions. … The report’s results jibe with the industry’s own assessment in 2006, according to Stephen Rhoads, the president of the Pennsylvania Oil & Gas Association.”
Documentary digs deep into gas industry. Shreveport Times. “For seven months, Gregory Kallenberg has been crafting a big story from inside a little executive suite in downtown Shreveport. The producer-director and his team just finished the first cut of “Haynesville,” a documentary about the natural gas drilling boom in northwest Louisiana. What started as an interest in personal stories about who’s winning and losing in the gas play has grown into an examination of where the Haynesville Shale fits into the global energy crunch. “We faced a huge learning curve coming into it,” Kallenberg said after spending another long day of fine-tuning their editing choices. By the looks of their well-ordered suite and the sound of precise self-critiques, it’s a good bet “Haynesville” kept pace with the demands of its subject. … The documentary doesn’t simply approach natural gas as a cleaner burning solution to the world’s reliance on fossil fuels – coal and oil burn dirtier – but instead approach it as an abundant, yet ultimately limited, resource that can bridge the world to cleaner power sources like solar and wind. Widespread use of “green” technologies may be 30 years away or more.”
Many await draft of DEC drilling rules. Ithaca Journal. “Those expecting an environmental overhaul of gas drilling regulations necessary to develop the Marcellus Shale – once expected this summer – are in for an indefinite wait. While a draft of the highly anticipated regulations is expected to be finished by late September, officials have not yet developed a timeframe for working through public comments and finalizing the document, said Maureen Wren, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation. … Thousands of area landowners, with millions of dollars in leases and royalties on the line, are advocating a timely completion of regulations so exploration and production can begin.”
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CLUB 20 Urges You To Oppose H.R. 2766
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Drilling done with care. (NY) Press & Sun-Bulletin, Op-Ed. “Let me set the record straight, from the perspective of New York’s decades-old oil and gas professionals. … At issue is the hydraulic fracturing process, which involves injecting a solution, consisting primarily of water, under high pressure into the shale deposit formation thousands of feet below the ground and fresh water aquifers. … Hydraulic fracturing process has been performed safely and successfully in New York for decades, and there are about 13,000 active wells in New York today. Companies that operate here have exemplary safety and environmental records. … The fluid used in hydraulic fracturing is 99.5 percent water and sand. The remaining 0.5 percent contains a friction reducer, similar to canola oil, which thickens the fluid, and a bactericide, like chlorine, which is used the same way chlorine is used to purify municipal drinking water. The fluid also contains a 0.1 percent portion of a micro-emulsion element similar to those found in personal care products, such as shampoos. It’s important to note that all additives will be disclosed to the DEC prior to any company being issued a permit for drilling.”
Hydraulic fracturing legislation not needed. Oil & Gas Journal, Op-Ed. “Hydraulic fracturing has been used for more than 60 years to access and increase oil and gas production of resources that otherwise would have remained trapped under miles of rock. It’s also been regulated by state agencies for at least that long. … Now, members of Congress who apparently believe that hydraulic fracturing is unsafe and unregulated want to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to regulate hydraulic fracturing as a form of underground injection under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Doing so would place an unnecessary financial burden on a critical American industry without any tangible environmental benefit. Hydraulic fracturing has been aggressively regulated by the states and the process has an impressive record of safety and performance. Imposing an additional burden on companies that employ the technique could conceivably result in the loss of thousands of jobs, billions of dollars in taxpayer revenue, and leave massive amounts of energy in the ground.
Report: U.S. gas reserves more than originally thought. Fort Worth Business Press. “New plays such as the Marcellus and Haynesville shales – whose true sizes were unknown years ago – have changed the landscape of natural gas in the U.S. “Our knowledge of the geological endowment of technically recoverable gas continues to improve with each assessment,” said John B. Curtis, a professor of geology and geological engineering at the Colorado School of Mines and director of the Potential Gas Agency at the school, which guides and assists the Potential Gas Committee. “Furthermore, new and advanced exploration, well drilling and completion technologies are allowing us increasingly better access to domestic gas resources – especially ‘unconventional’ gas – which, not all that long ago, were considered impractical or uneconomical to pursue.”
States Consider Gas and Oil Levies. Wall Street Journal. “Cash-strapped states are considering raising taxes on oil production to plug yawning budget gaps, but they face strong resistance from oil companies, which warn the moves could lead to lost jobs and higher energy prices. Lawmakers in Pennsylvania and California have proposed what are known as severance taxes on oil and natural gas produced in their states. A tax increase took effect in Arkansas at the beginning of the year, and Alaska last year raised its oil-production tax. Some lawmakers in Louisiana want to take the opposite tack, in a bid to attract more drilling. The state House of Representatives recently approved a package of tax cuts targeted at certain high-cost forms of oil and gas production.”
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Gas drilling in Bloss and Ward townships to start. Williamsport (PA) Sun-Gazette. “About 70 people turned out to hear Fortuna Gas Co. representatives discuss the specifics of natural gas drilling and answer questions about leasing during an open house here Thursday. Most were curious about the jobs expected to come to the area with the advent of drilling in the Marcellus Shale. According to Fortuna’s supervisor for community relations Janice Lobdell, Fortuna has eight producing wells in Tioga County and is permitted for 49 more, including several in Bloss and Ward townships set to commence as soon as possible. Over five years, Fortuna expects to see 4,200 jobs created from its drilling operations in Tioga County. … Protecting the water supply was also on people’s minds, so company engineer Tom Cassetta discussed how Fortuna uses steel casing surrounded by concrete all the way down to the shale, which is 5,000 to 7,000 feet below the surface. Aquifers are commonly 500 to 1,000 feet below the surface, he said.”
Pryor, Inhofe Want Increased Natural Gas and Propane Vehicles. Ozarks FOX-TV. “Senators Mark Pryor (D-AR) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK) today introduced legislation to increase the production and sale of natural gas and propane vehicles and develop natural gas and propane vehicle infrastructure across the country. … Using recent average retail gasoline and residential natural gas prices, fuel cost savings for natural gas vehicles could be nearly $500 a year. The Center for Business and Economic Research estimates that the production of natural gas in Arkansas’ Fayetteville Shale will result in about $17.9 billion dollars in economic impact and 11,000 jobs for the state over five years.”
DEC extends Marcellus shale study. News 10 Now. “Governor Paterson has placed a moratorium on drilling Marcellus shale in New York until the DEC completes a study to see how it will impact the environment. … Drilling Marcellus Shale is different than other types of natural gas drilling previously done in New York. Companies drill horizontally and use water and sand to break apart the rock. … The DEC expected to have the preliminary report done by this spring, but that’s changed to later this summer. … In the meantime, companies like Fortuna are moving resources elsewhere to Pennsylvania where drilling Marcellus is already permitted. “We have spent hundreds of millions of dollars in Pennsylvania and created a good number of jobs down there that otherwise might have been created here in New York,” said Scheuerman. … Representative Maurice Hinchey says it is vital that before any drilling is done, the time is taken to evaluate its impact on people and the environment. He commends the DEC for giving the matter the scrutiny it needs and deserves.”
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Earlier today, left-leaning think tank Center For American Progress (CAP) issued a web memo praising legislation, coined the FRAC Act, that will impede the production of clean-buring American-made natural gas. Surprisingly, or maybe not, the memo omits some important facts. Below, we do our level best to clean some of that up for them.
As laid out in this Energy In Depth Issue Alert, CAP senior fellow Tom Kenworthy – a former journalist who has been recognized by the Sierra Club for his excellent reporting – mixes a couple things up in trying to structure a defense of what increasingly is becoming a difficult bill to defend.
Here’s a quick synopsis of Mr. Kenworthy’s a few of the errors made in the piece:
CAP writes: “Re-establishing federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing seems a sensible precaution.”
We respond: Hydraulic fracturing has never been under the direct jurisdiction of federal law, rendering inaccurate the suggestion that “[r]e-establishing” such regulation would be a “sensible precaution.”
CAP writes: “The oil and gas industry has recently begun a multimillion campaign to defend the practice against the new legislation, which would force the industry to disclose the chemicals it uses and would make fracking subject once again to the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
We respond: While appreciative of Mr. Kenworthy’s generous characterization of the Energy In Depth coalition, the suggestion that the DeGette/Casey legislation “would make fracking subject once again to the Safe Drinking Water Act” is, as we’ve shown, mistaken. So too is the CAP description of the DeGette/Casey bill as an effort to “force industry to disclose the chemicals it uses,” a notion premised on the idea that state regulators have no access to information related to the materials used in local fracturing operations. The truth is, states do have access to that information. Some of them even post it on the Internet.
CAP writes: “Fracking is used in most U.S. oil and gas wells and involves pumping a combination of water, sand, and chemicals under high pressure deep into rock formations that hold oil and gas.”
We respond: While this definition of hydraulic fracturing is technically accurate, the author’s insistence on lumping together “water, sand, and chemicals” implies that the concentrations of each must be in equal, or at least similar, parts. The reality of the situation is quite a bit different, as water and sand on average comprise 99.51% of the liquids and materials used in the fracturing process (see graphic on page 62 of this report, issued in April by the Ground Water Protection Council and the U.S. Department of Energy). “[C]hemicals,” the vast majority of which you can find in your cupboard or under your sink, make up less than one-half of one-percent of the total mixture.
NOTE: To view the full Issue Alert, click HERE.
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Earlier today, the Center for American Progress (CAP), an influential, left-of-center public policy organization based in Washington, D.C., posted a memo on its website in support of the FRAC Act of 2009 – legislation that seeks to impede the development of America’s abundant shale gas resources by targeting the critical tools needed to bring those resources to market.
Naturally, the CAP memo chooses not to characterize the purpose or intent of the legislation as such. Instead, CAP senior fellow Tom Kenworthy describes the bill as an attempt to force the energy industry to “disclose the chemicals it uses and … make fracking subject once again to the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
Of course, hydraulic fracturing has never been subject to the Safe Drinking Water Act, making it both physically difficult and semantically impossible to “subject” it “once again” to an Act of which it was never the object of regulation in the first place.
Other errors of fact, characterization, omission and commission are identified and corrected below.
CAP: “Re-establishing federal regulation of hydraulic fracturing seems a sensible precaution.”
Response: As indicated above, hydraulic fracturing has never been under the direct jurisdiction of federal law, rendering inaccurate the suggestion that “[r]e-establishing” such regulation would be a “sensible precaution.”
That’s not to suggest, however, that the technology is now, or has ever been, free from regulation. States have been regulating and overseeing the fracturing process for more than 60 years. And in that time, they’ve compiled a record of safety that few oversight agencies – be they local, state or federal – can match.
Unfortunately, this error in understanding appears to be common, especially among those who believe that, since fracturing earned an “exemption” from federal regulation in the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (supported by then-Sen. Barack Obama), it must be the case that fracturing was covered by federal statute previous to that.
But the Energy Policy Act did not exempt hydraulic fracturing from federal regulation. It simply clarified the position of Congress with respect to whether hydraulic fracturing was ever intended to be regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). It was not — a judgment supported in full by the history of SDWA.
CAP: “The oil and gas industry has recently begun a multimillion campaign to defend the practice against the new legislation, which would force the industry to disclose the chemicals it uses and would make fracking subject once again to the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
Response: While appreciative of Mr. Kenworthy’s generous characterization of the Energy In Depth coalition, we must again take issue with his suggestion that the DeGette/Casey legislation “would make fracking subject once again to the Safe Drinking Water Act.” That assertion, as we’ve shown, is mistaken.
So too is the CAP description of the DeGette/Casey bill as an effort to “force industry to disclose the chemicals it uses,” a notion premised on the idea that state regulators have no access to information related to the materials used in local fracturing operations. The truth is, states do have access to that information. Some of them even post it on the Internet.
In spirit and in letter, H.R. 2766 is about EPA regulation, not disclosure – with section 2(a) of the bill clearly amending SDWA to include the regulation of hydraulic fracturing under its portfolio. With SDWA regulation comes EPA permit-authority of the process, a prospect that then-EPA administrator Carol Browner admitted was unnecessary in 1995.
For more information on what the DeGette bill actually does, please visit here.
CAP: “[ProPublica] asserts that more than 1,000 cases of water contamination near areas of oil and gas drilling have been documented by courts and government agencies across several states.”
Response: On this, Mr. Kenworthy is right: ProPublica does assert that. Left on the cutting-room floor is the following fact: Not a single documented case of drinking water contamination has ever been credibly tied to hydraulic fracturing. Not one. In 60 years.
From where does that “1,000 cases” figure arise? Last year, 452,000 wells produced natural gas in the United States. Recognizing the potential in that volume of activity, opponents of hydraulic fracturing have asked state regulators to produce detailed lists of each individual case in which a well was breached or any amount of methane compromised the integrity of the well. That none of these cases could be proved to have had anything to do with hydraulic fracturing is rarely mentioned.
In 2004, no less an authority than EPA itself undertook an exhaustive research project aimed at finding out, once and for all, whether hydraulic fracturing posed a legitimate risk to ground and drinking water. It found “no evidence” of any such risk. In his defense, Mr. Kenworthy references this study in his memo.
CAP: “Fracking is used in most U.S. oil and gas wells and involves pumping a combination of water, sand, and chemicals under high pressure deep into rock formations that hold oil and gas.”
Response: While this definition of hydraulic fracturing is technically accurate, the author’s insistence on lumping together “water, sand, and chemicals” implies that the concentrations of each must be in equal, or at least similar, parts.
The reality of the situation is quite a bit different, as water and sand on average comprise 99.51% of the liquids and materials used in the fracturing process (see graphic on page 62 of this report, issued in April by the Ground Water Protection Council and the U.S. Department of Energy). “[C]hemicals,” the vast majority of which you can find in your cupboard or under your sink, make up less than one-half of one-percent of the total mixture.
CAP: “Deep gas formations are ‘thousands of feet below the land surface and are separated from freshwater supplies by layers of steel casing, protected by concrete barriers as well as millions of tons of hard, dense solid rock geologic formations,’ said Chesapeake Energy Corporation Vice President Mike John during congressional testimony on July 4.”
Response: Not to pile on, but the hearing was held on June 4. Three weeks ago today.
More resources and materials from Energy In Depth:
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US Silica to expand Illinois plant’s production. Associated Press. “U.S. Silica Company is building a new process facility at its plant in Ottawa, Ill., to increase production of frac sand for the oil and gas industries. … Frac sand is used in a process called hydraulic fracturing, which involves injecting liquids, sand and chemicals underground to force open channels in tight sand and rock formations so that oil and gas will flow. U.S. Silica has 13 facilities in North America and employs 675 people.”
Natural Gas Drilling in NYS May Be Delayed. WETM-TV, NBC-NY. “The New York State Department of Conservation missed a deadline that could delay the creation of thousands of jobs in New York State. … Meanwhile, companies like Fortuna Energy of Big Flats are diverting their resources and their money to Pennsylvania. Drilling in the Marcellus Shale is already allowed there. “In the last two years the industry has created 26,000 jobs in Pennsylvania and people would be hopeful that could be replicated in New York,” says Jim O’Driscoll, Fortuna Energy President.”
Gas giant ramping up its projects in Piceance. Grand Junction Sentinel. “ExxonMobil says its reserves are some of the richest in the Piceance Basin, but also some of the deepest, requiring wells to be drilled 12,000 feet underground. To help reduce production costs, the company has been implementing proprietary technology such as a process that increases drilling speed by improving efficiencies. An approach it has been developing specifically for the Piceance Basin is its multi-zone stimulation technology. The technology enables the company to hydraulically fracture gas-producing zones at multiple depths down a well simultaneously, speeding up the process that unlocks gas from rock and causes it to flow. The approach also drains gas from a larger area, enabling ExxonMobil to get by with one well every 20 acres, rather than having to drill at 10-acre spacing as is common in the basin. That reduces the project’s costs and impacts.”
Sizing up seismic activity. Texas A&M The Battalion. “Beneath Cleburne is the Barnett Shale formation, one of the largest onshore natural gas fields in the nation. In the last several years, the city has received between $20 million and $25 million in drilling royalties, and some people are asking whether the drilling and the earthquakes are connected, Reynolds said. … There is currently no evidence to show that natural gas drilling causes earthquakes, Hayward said.”
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Tags: Add new tag, anti-hydraulic fracturing, Bob Casey, Diana DeGette, Energy In Depth, energyindepth.org, fracing, fracking, Haynesville, Jobs, natural gas, Rep. John Fleming, shale
24.June.2009admin
Last night, Congressman John Fleming, a freshman from northwestern Louisiana – where massive amounts of economic growth, jobs and government revenues have been created as a direct result of clean-burning natural gas production in the Haynesville Shale region – took to the House floor to tout the real-life impact that American energy production creates and to dispel untruths about the environmentally-safe energy production technique known as hydraulic fracturing.
And as Mr. Fleming’s time to speak expired, he was preparing to show the American people an Energy In Depth diagram displaying how hydraulic fracturing safely produces clean-burning natural gas. Seriously, Mr. Speaker: You couldn’t have given him an extra 10 seconds to do that?
Key Excerpts:
“[Haynesville Shale natural gas production has] pumped $4.5 billion into the economy in FY 2008. It’s created nearly $3.9 billion in household earnings in the same year. The greatest impact on indirect and household earnings was experienced by workers in the mining sector with new household earnings of $191.3 million in 2008. It’s created over $30 million in new earnings in seven separate sectors.”
“[Haynesville Shale natural gas production has] created directly and indirectly over 32,000 jobs.”
“Conservative estimates report that state and local tax revenues increased by at least $153.3 million in 2008.”
“I wanted to talk a moment about how we get the natural gas out of that shale that we are talking about, that’s two miles deep in the earth. The method is called hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracing is a more common term. This method has been used for over 60 years and responsible for 30 percent of America’s recoverable oil and gas. Of wells currently operating today, wells currently operating today, over 90 percent have been fractured at least once.
“Environmentalists and their allies in Congress are escalating their assault on affordable and reliable energy with legislation that would place regulation of hydraulic fracturing under the Safe Drinking Water Act, SWDA. A law that was never intended for this purpose.”
“This legislation would have a far-reaching negative impact on energy and energy producers and consumers alike. For years this process has been safely and effectively regulated by individual states. And of the more than one million wells fractured, not a single case, not a single case of drinking water contamination has ever been recorded.”
“In my state of Louisiana, three different agencies have oversight related to this process. So you see, it’s not an unregulated process.”
NOTE: Click HERE to watch this floor speech.
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Disguised drilling bill. NY Press & Sun-Bulletin, Energy In Depth’s Lee Fuller: “The June 16 editorial lays out a reasoned (and reasonable) defense of the paper’s support for a bill recently introduced in Congress targeting a process known as hydraulic fracturing – a safe and commonly used energy technology used to access and produce hard-to-reach natural gas deposits thousands of feet below the surface. Unfortunately, the paper’s support for this legislation is based on an understanding of the bill that is not entirely accurate. … Hydraulic fracturing is not dangerous; it has been around for more than 50 years; and it has proved itself to be a safe, effective technology. … This bill isn’t about reporting. It’s about regulating. And, as the paper points out, New York is already handling that charge.”
Geologists: US Has 100-Year Supply of Gas. Energy Intel. “Industry leaders say techniques such as hydraulic fracturing have led to the big increase in recoverable resources by releasing natural gas that was previously trapped in low-permeability sands and shales. “We’ve always known America’s shale regions held enormous energy potential, but without the proper tools in place, it wasn’t clear whether we could ever convert that potential into real-world production,” said Lee Fuller of the Independent Petroleum Association of America.”
Legislation to study hydraulic fracturing moves forward. SNL Financial Reporting. “Chris Tucker, spokesman for Energy In Depth, a coalition assembled by the Independent Petroleum Association of America and other groups to educate policymakers about fracturing activities, said his group does not oppose having an additional study. “Although a number of studies, some by EPA itself, have already found hydraulic fracturing to be safe, effective and well-regulated on the state level, adding one more report to the pile isn’t something we oppose. All we’d ask is that the study is driven by science, data and peer-review – and includes an honest examination of the history and technology involved in keeping our ground and drinking water supplies safe. If those conditions are met, there’s no reason for anyone to oppose a thing like that,” Tucker said.”
What is FRAC? Grand Junction Free Press, LTE. “The DeGette/Polis “FRAC ACT” is bad legislation. The Western Slope accounted for more than 70 percent of the State’s natural gas production, yet somehow legislators from Denver and Boulder feel they know better than Western Sloper’s when it comes to energy development. … So far this year, Mr. Salazar has declined support of the bill. Based on the geology of the Western Slope, we need to be able to utilize hydraulic fracturing in order to make gas production economically viable. … Rep. DeGette keeps trying to scare us into believing we’re at risk from fracturing fluids, but fracing has been used in the Rangely Field since the 1940s and its been used thousands of times without incident on the Western Slope. … Reps. DeGette and Polis need to get educated on the process of fracing before they start trying to regulate an industry that is already stringently regulated by two agencies in the State of Colorado. … Please continue to stand up for the people of Western Colorado, Rep. Salazar.”
Natural gas focus at forum. Cumberland Times-News. “Nearly 100 stakeholders, including property owners, business professionals, elected officials and others gathered on Tuesday to learn how best to take advantage of the natural gas deposit known as the Marcellus Shale. … Lou D’Amico, executive director of Independent Oil and Gas Association, said the drilling of the Marcellus Shale, which is under much of Garrett County and parts of Mineral and Allegany counties, will undoubtedly have an enormous economic impact. D’Amico said conservative projections show up to 100,000 jobs could be created in Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and New York. Some officials put the estimate closer to 250,000 jobs.”
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