EID Friday Fact Check: HF Opponents Say the Darndest Things
A Top 10 List of Errors, Half-Truths and Full-On Falsehoods Targeting Hydraulic Fracturing
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EID Friday Fact Check: HF Opponents Say the Darndest Things
NY state leaders push gambling as means for economic-develop, while actively working to impede job-creating, prosperity-generating clean natural gas production
Like many other states facing budget shortfalls and rising unemployment, New York’s fiscal troubles are daunting. Unfortunately, rather than focusing on safely and effectively and safely accessing clean-burning natural gas in the state’s Marcellus Shale region – which, according to a recent study, would create 16,000 good-paying jobs, $793 million in wages, and $15.3 billion in total economic output in tiny Broome Co. alone – state leaders are focusing on … gambling.
According to today’s Elmira Star Gazette:
- “With the state’s ongoing fiscal problems, Gov. David Paterson is renewing a push to allow Indian casinos in the Catskills, a long-stalled project that would boost revenue for the state and the region. Paterson’s aides and federal officials, including Sen. Charles Schumer and Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley, Ulster County, met Wednesday with Larry EchoHawk, head of the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs, in Sullivan County hopes of getting federal approval to build three casinos in the Catskills.”
A spokesperson for the governor added this:
- “There will be a renewed effort to rally stakeholders and make the case publicly that this is in the best interest of the state’s economy and specifically for economic-development efforts in the region.”
And while the governor has taken a step in the right direction toward increasing clean-burning natural gas production, if he and his administration, and the state’s congressional delegation were serious about closing the budget shortfall, safely delivering affordable, reliable energy to New Yorkers, and creating jobs at a time when they’re most needed, they would oppose the DeGette-Casey-Hinchey anti-fracking legislation and move forward quickly with a plan to access the state’s sea of clean natural gas.
The public understands this, and their voices are starting to be heard. This past weekend, according the Press & Bulletin,
- “About 2,000 people gathered in Bainbridge on Sunday afternoon to urge state officials to allow energy companies to drill for natural gas in their backyards. With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, landowners, bankers, lawyers and gas industry representatives filed into General Clinton Park and fanned out across the sprawling grounds along the Susquehanna River. Volunteers set up tables, collecting signatures on letters to federal representatives, including U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley. The lobbying effort opposes the Frack Act, legislation to tighten federal regulations on hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking. The controversial process stimulates well production by shooting millions of gallons of chemical solutions into the ground to fracture bedrock and release natural gas.”
Unlike many of their representatives, these thousands of working-class New Yorkers understand that the process used to access and produce natural gas from shale – hydraulic fracturing – is safe, reliable, well-regulated and environmentally sensible.
And as we mark the 150th Anniversary of energy production here in America today, the technological advancements made over the past century and a half have been overwhelming. The Mountaineer State’s Wetzel Chronicle highlights these advancements today in article, specifically horizontal drilling methods and hydraulic fracturing:
- “A common sight in the 1800′s in Wetzel County and the state of West Virginia, tall oil derricks doting the county side, are now being replaced by the new technology of drilling in the 21st century. … With the Marcellus Shale in the area as the next big natural gas shale basin, great-grandfathers of the past oil drilling boom days would shake their heads in disbelief of this new way of drilling for natural gas, horizontally. Horizontal drilling is the process of drilling a well from the surface down to targeted gas bearing formations, then turning the wellborne horizontal and continuing to drill sideways while staying within the formation.”
This Ain’t Woodstock… Thousands of NY’ers Rally for Safe, Well-Regulated Energy Production, Jobs
Buffalo Mo’ Hinchey Feeling Heat Over Out-of-Step Anti-New York Energy Stance
While many in New York recently observed the 40th anniversary of Woodstock, several thousand others over the weekend joined hands in the support for natural gas production in the state’s Marcellus Shale region. Frustrated with the state government’s unilateral de facto moratorium on clean-burning natural gas production, New Yorkers rallied by the thousands to send a clear and unified message to Albany and New York: Pass gas.
According to the Press & Bulletin:
- “About 2,000 people gathered in Bainbridge on Sunday afternoon to urge state officials to allow energy companies to drill for natural gas in their backyards. With hundreds of millions of dollars on the line, landowners, bankers, lawyers and gas industry representatives filed into General Clinton Park and fanned out across the sprawling grounds along the Susquehanna River. Some wore bright yellow T-shirts stating: “Pass gas. It’s a movement.”
- Volunteers set up tables, collecting signatures on letters to federal representatives, including U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, D-Hurley. The lobbying effort opposes the Frack Act, legislation to tighten federal regulations on hydraulic fracturing, also called fracking.”
Other news outlets covered the rally, too.
- “Pass Gas,” that’s the slogan for supporters of natural gas development, and thousands gathered at General Clinton Park to share their thoughts on how it might impact our area. “I think it’ll improve the economy in the area, I think it’s the safest form of resource for fuel in the country,” said Greg McKee of Bainbridge.
- “And with a struggling local economy, lawmakers say safe drilling is a no-brainer with all the money it will bring in. “Millions of dollars that could revitalize this community and individuals who have had tough times that are landowners,” Libous said.”
- “Hundreds of people from across the Southern Tier want New York to get busy and begin drilling for natural gas. Landowners rallied together to voice their dissatisfaction with months of delay.
- Their t-shirts say it all. Priority number one — start passing gas… Hundreds of people including members from 23 gas drilling coalitions held a rally at General Clinton Park Bainbridge. They’re pushing for drilling to begin.
- “They were supposed to come out in April. It’s been dragged out and they’re saying September now,” says Dan Fitzimmons with the Binghamton/Conklin Landowner’s group. Landowners and business owners expect gas drilling to begin as soon as possible. They want gas drilling to begin, well, months ago.”
- “A rally Sunday sponsored by supporters of natural-gas drilling in the area attracted hundreds of people to General Clinton Park in Bainbridge, according to organizers. “It went very well,” said Richard Downey, a member of the steering committee of one of the Unatego Area Landowners Association. The association was one of 25 groups from nine counties that comprise the Joint Landowner Coalition. … The rally was more of an informational meeting about the economic opportunities for the area that natural-gas drilling can provide, he said. “
Mind the O-GAP: Fact-Checking OGAP’s Assertion of HF-Related Contamination in Wyo. Drinking Water
Unwilling to oppose the responsible development of clean-burning natural gas – and the jobs and revenue that go with it – on its own merits or in those specific terms, anti-energy groups continue to focus their attacks on disparaging the essential tools of the trade, if not having the courage to confront the trade itself.
That strategy, such as it is, was on display again last week, as the Oil & Gas Accountability Project (OGAP) issued a breathless press release to national energy reporters stating categorically that EPA had “confirmed” that materials used in the hydraulic fracturing process in Fremont County, Wyoming had “contaminated” local “drinking water.”
No evidence to support that claim was offered; no links to relevant EPA studies or reports were provided; no EPA experts were cited, named or quoted. And none of that seemed to matter, claimed OGAP, since it had it on good authority that “a group of over 70″ had been told by EPA that the contamination did occur, and that activities related to hydraulic fracturing were to blame. Case closed. QED.
Having established its (unverifiable) version of the facts, OGAP was quick to offer up a resolution: Ban hydraulic fracturing. And one way to do it, the group suggests, is to convince Congress to pass the DeGette/Casey anti-fracturing bill – a “critical” tool for “prohibit[ing] endangerment of drinking water,” even though hydraulic fracturing has not once in 60 years been credibly linked to any such endangerment.
As it turns out, the “facts” presented in the OGAP press release don’t quite measure up to the facts on the ground in Wyoming. What follows is a quick Q&A laying out what we currently know of the situation, what we do not, and what’s being done to ensure we get it right:
Q: Did this EPA meeting actually take place? Did EPA officials say that fracturing activities contaminated local drinking water supplies?
A: Yes it did. And no — they most certainly did not. Earlier this year, EPA was asked by residents of Pavillion, Wyo. to study the quality and composition of area aquifers – aquifers known to contain water of high-turbidity (cloudiness), a natural phenomenon wholly unrelated to energy exploration.
Having tested 40 separate wells, initial results from EPA indicated that in a few of those wells at least one “tentatively identified compound” (TIC) was found. A TIC, generally understood, is a compound that can be picked up by the analytical testing method, but not confirmed or adequately identified without further investigation.
The facts of the meeting are these: EPA made no claim that these TICs were in any way related to drilling; that they were in any way related to hydraulic fracturing; or that they posed a serious and/or immediate threat to human health.
Q: When will EPA know for sure? Is it studying the issue further?
A: Yes it is. But estimates of how long EPA will need to conduct a thorough study of the aquifer vary – with some suggesting the agency can produce a final report in weeks, and others claiming it might take much longer.
To help facilitate the process of gathering, distributing and exchanging critical information related to this investigation, area energy producers are working closely with EPA to ensure the agency has everything it needs to make a final, accurate determination.
Q: The OGAP press release says this same thing happened in Colorado a few years back – causing the “Amos Well disaster.” Are they right?
A: Laura Amos, a resident of Garfield Country, Colo., alleged in 2001 that her water well was contaminated by materials used to fracture several natural gas wells located near her house. Ms. Amos specifically claimed these frac fluids contained the chemical 2-butoxyethanol (2-BE), and that she had been exposed to them.
On at least eight separate occasions between 2001 and 2005, staff from the Colorado Oil & Gas Compact Commission (COGCC) tested the Amos well for those materials, as well as for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylenes (BTEX). After years of thorough investigation by the agency, however, Ms. Amos’s allegations were dismissed – with COGCC reaching the conclusion that frac fluids never reached the well.
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Additional resources available at Energy In Depth:
- Press Release: Duplicative hydraulic fracturing rules could imperil U.S. economy
- GWPC Study: State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources
- Graphic: How Far Down Do We Frac?
- Graphic: What’s In Frac Fluids?
- Fact Sheet: New Federal Regulations Will Cost Americans Jobs, Revenue, and Security
- EPA Study: Study to Evaluate the Impacts to USDWs by Hydraulic Fracturing of Coalbed Methane Reservoirs
- Browner Memo: Letter of Support for Hydraulic Fracturing from Carol Browner, Fmr. EPA Administrator
For a technology that’s been around for more than 60 years, has been applied more than 1.3 million times, and has compiled an extraordinary record of safety and performance in that time – sure seems like a lot of folks seem to be doing a lot of talking about hydraulic fracturing these days, doesn’t it?
Most of the dialogue has been civil and relatively well-informed, but some of it, we’ve found, consistently fails to meet those standards. Thankfully, the Energy In Depth coalition is well-equipped to “Truth Squad” that misinformation and mischaracterization, put forward the facts as they actually exist, and engage the debate on platforms and in settings that might not have been as readily available to us in the past.
A couple of recent news hits linked to below underscore those efforts.
Energy In Depth – on the radio in New York (Aug. 20, 2009)
Energy In Depth – on the radio in Pennsylvania (Aug. 19, 2009)
Energy In Depth – on the news pages in Montana (Aug. 18, 2009)
Energy In Depth – in the editorial pages in Colorado (August 13, 2009)
With Congress set to reconvene in early September, and anti-energy groups prepared to discharge every arrow in their quiver to prevent the safe, responsible development of clean-burning natural gas, these next couple weeks figure to be as active and potentially contentious as any we’ve had.
We hope you check back to the site often, let us know how we can make it better, and stand with us as we continue to defend an absolutely non-negotiable energy technology in the development of America’s shale plays.
Mind the O-GAP: Fact-Checking OGAP’s Assertion of HF-Related Contamination in Wyo. Drinking Water
Unwilling to oppose the responsible development of clean-burning natural gas – and the jobs and revenue that go with it – on its own merits or in those specific terms, anti-energy groups continue to focus their attacks on disparaging the essential tools of the trade, if not having the courage to confront the trade itself.
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CRESTING: Broad Coalition of Casey-DeGette Opponents Continues to Grow
State legislatures, governors, congressmen, senators, county officials, and academics continue to overwhelmingly stand with independent energy producers in opposing efforts in Congress to usurp the long-established state regulation of hydraulic fracturing, an imperative technique in delivering affordable, clean-burning natural gas to American consumers.
And now, other industries are voicing strong opposition to these efforts in Congress. Enter Sandman.
The Industrial Minerals Association – North America (IMA-NA), who represent the “interests of North American companies that mine or process minerals used throughout the manufacturing and agricultural industries” – including sand, in the case of fracking – recently penned a strongly worded letter opposing the DeGette-Casey anti-fracking legislation.
Here are key excerpts from the IMA-NA letter:
- “The Industrial Minerals Association – North America (IMA-NA) opposes S. 1215 and H.R. 2766, legislation to eliminate the exemption for hydraulic fracturing in the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA). These bills, which were introduced by Senator Robert Casey Jr. (D-PA) and Representative Dianna DeGette (D-CO), would impose significant burdens on the businesses that enable the development of domestic energy production through hydraulic fracturing, and disrupt the marketplace of those who supply materials in support of this vital industry. The bills do so without scientific justification.
- “The industrial minerals industry is committed to operating its businesses in a manner that protects the environment and public health, and that permits a continuing ‘social license’ to operate.
- “We have a vested interest in the integrity of the hydraulic fracturing marketplace, and we therefore have taken an interest in the claims that the other components in the fluid could pose an environmental and public health risk by potential contamination of drinking water.
- “Hydraulic fracturing has been used to drill over one million wells during the past 50 years. During that time the process of hydraulic fracturing has been regulated by the states as part of their oil and gas regulatory programs. At the same time, there have been no verified incidents of water table contamination. The regulatory resources of the country should not be spent on issues where Federal research indicates no hazard, especially if a secondary result is the needless destruction of businesses that generate vital domestic energy, reduce energy costs, decrease dependence on foreign oil sources, employ thousands of people and contribute to an economy that remains unstable.”
Draft Energy Plan Released by Gov. Paterson a Step In the Right Direction for New York
