Biblio

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z 
D
Delaware Riverkeeper Network, Delaware Riverkeeper Network , Delaware Riverkeeper Network, (2010)

/frack_files/delawarewrverkeeper.jpg

Shale gas drilling is looming in the Upper Delaware River Watershed in NY and PA.
Why is this a threat to our water supplies?
What are the risks involved ?

Established in 1988 upon the appointment of the Delaware Riverkeeper, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization. DRN's professional staff and volunteers work throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed including portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York.

See Delaware River Keeper. (2009). "Natural Gas Well Drilling and Production in the Upper Delaware River Fact Sheet".

"...An increased risk of stillbirths linked to the flaring of natural gas with high levels of hydrogen sulfide has been reported in cattle in Canada. Incidents in Texas are increasingly reported, especially in the Fort Worth region.

There is a need for thorough study of the environmental and health impacts of well drilling and development; there is very little on record. For instance, in Colorado a Health Impact Assessment has been called for as part of an Environmental Impact Statement due to documented pollution problems from natural gas development in Garfield County that require scientific analysis.

To date, research has been impeded because fracking fluids are protected from disclosure by federal protections granted to the oil and gas industry despite health and environmental impacts..."

Desalination of Oil Field Brine, Burnett, D. B., and Vavra C. J. , The Future of Desalination in Texas, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, (2006)

/frack_files/gpri.jpg

"It is estimated that more than 5 million gallons of water per day are used in fracturing operations." ( p. 26 of 34. )

This 2006 Powerpoint may represent the only scholarly study found to date that indicates an accurate estimate of the amount of water used per day in hydrofracking. Further research into this estimated amount is required.

Presented at “The Future of Desalination in Texas,” Global Petroleum Research Institute, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas, Aug. 6-8, 2006.

Despite overhaul, gas wastewater still a problem, Caruso, David , The Mercury | PottsMerc.com, Pottstown, PA, (2011)

/frack_files/mercury.png

Pennsylvania's natural gas drillers are still flushing vast quantities of contaminated wastewater into rivers that supply drinking water, despite major progress by the industry over the past year in curtailing the practice.

/frack_files/fracwater.jpg

Photo: marcellus-shale.us

Under pressure from environmentalists and state officials, energy companies that have been drilling thousands of gas wells in the state's countryside spent part of 2010 overhauling the way they handle the chemically tainted and sometimes radioactive water that gushes from the ground after a drilling technique known as high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.

Until the second half of last year, Pennsylvania had been the only state to allow most of this wastewater to be discharged into rivers after only partial treatment. Other states required most or all of the brine to be disposed of by injecting it deep underground.

In recent months, though, the industry has boasted big gains in the amount of well wastewater that is reused, rather than trucked to treatment plants that empty into rivers and streams.

See: Articles on Fracking waste water.

See: Pittsburgh’s drinking water is radioactive, thanks to fracking. Only question is, how much?

Digging Deeper Investigation | Underfoot, Out of Reach, Gilbert, Daniel , TriCities.com, Online, (2009)

/frack_files/gilbert.jpg

/frack_files/tricities.jpg

Daniel Gilbert. "Underfoot, Out of Reach: A series on the conflicts over Southwest Virginia's natural gas wealth." Virginia Tri-Cities.com. (online).

Beneath the surface of seven Southwest Virginia counties lie pools of natural gas worth more than a billion dollars a year. Some of this gas belongs to landowners forced by the state to lease their mineral rights to private energy corporations to develop. But instead of putting royalties into the pockets of mineral owners, the state funnels thousands of dollars every month into an escrow fund that royalty owners cannot monitor or access without clearing enormous legal hurdles.

While the system has vastly expanded production of natural gas in Virginia, it has devoted scant resources to ensuring that companies make the required payments into escrow, which in recent years has ballooned to more than $24 million. The result is that companies can produce gas for years without ever filing the necessary paperwork for royalties to be escrowed, and virtually no one notices that hundreds of individual accounts in escrow each month receive no deposits even though the corresponding gas wells are producing gas, a Bristol Herald Courier investigation finds.

To view the special program "The Paper that Made a Difference", produced by WJHL 11Connects, click here for part one, and here for part two of the program.

Articles in this series:

Part One: The Money Prison

Part Two: No right of refusal

Part Three: The Virginia Supreme Court Weighs In

Part Four: Coal Goes on the Offensive

Part Five: From Crisis to Sustained Loss

Part Six: What is Missing from Escrow?

Part Seven: An Audit Long Delayed

Part Eight: Sue, Split or Do Nothing

Dig Deeper:Resources and links for more information

Do I have money in escrow? How to use our database and determine if you may have money in escrow.

View the members of and contact information for the Virginia Gas and Oil Board

Graphics:

Hydraulic Fracturing
Bristol Herald Courier
How Forced Pooling works

Search our Database for information on escrow accounts, with balances each month, current to March 2010.

See: Tom Vanderbilt. "Paper Trail." Time. Feb. 14, 2011.

/frack_files/paperboy.jpg

Dimock Natural Gas Drilling, CleanWaterActionPA , YouTube, (2009)

Natural gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale Formation is threatening our health, and our water quality. Local resident gives her account of drilling in her community.

Dirty Energy Money, Oil Change International , Dirty Energy Money | Oil Change International, (2011)

/frack_files/oilchange.jpg

What the heck am I looking at?

We've created maps of political campaign contributions from companies in the oil & gas and coal industries to congressional representatives. These are relationship map of the contribution network. That means that unlike a physical map, where points are positioned at a geographic location, the icons for the companies and representatives are placed so that they are as close as possible to whomever they contribute to or receive contributions from.

Think of it like a social networking site in which companies and politicians have become 'friends' by giving money.

This site is a project of Oil Change International, developed by Greg Michalec and Skye Bender-deMoll and designed by Diligent Creative. Earlier versions of the site were named 'Follow the Oil Money' and 'Follow the Coal Money'.

See: Budget Proposals Follow Energy Influence: Obama Goes After Producers, Sen. Paul Goes After Regulators | MAPLight.org - Money and Politics

Dish Mayor Calvin Tilman Testifies at Railroad Commission - Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog, McFarland, John , Oil and Gas Lawyer Blog, (2010)

/frack_files/oilandgaslawyers.jpg

/frack_files/mcfarland.jpg

The Mayor of tiny Dish, Texas, north of Fort Worth, continues to stir up controversy with his claims of air pollution from oil and gas activities causing health concerns in his community. The mayor appeared at the RRC's January 12 open hearing. You can watch his testimony here (go to item 17 on the agenda).

/frack_files/clvintillman.jpg

The mayor's appearance was prompted by an item placed on the agenda by Commissioner Michael Williams, which in turn had been prompted by a letter sent to the Commissioners by State Rep. Ron Burnam. Rep. Burnam's letter asked the RRC to place a moratorium on permits for wells in the Barnett Shale around Fort Worth until the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) has finished its investigation of air quality in the area.

In response, Commissioner Williams proposed that the Commissioners write a letter to the Texas Attorney General asking for a formal opinion whether the RRC has authority to issue such a moratorium. (Rep. Burnam has also asked the City of Fort Worth to issue a similar moratorium on well permits in the city limits.) I have written about the controversy concerning the town of Dish in a previous post.

John McFarland is a shareholder at Graves, Dougherty, Hearon & Moody in Austin Texas specializing in representation of landowners and mineral owners in oil and gas matters in Texas.

See: Health Issues Follow Natural Gas Drilling In Texas

See: How Should We Do the Mountain?: Who the heck is Calvin Tilman?

Dispatch - Powder Keg, Kloor, Keith , Audobon, (2002)

/frack_files/dispatch.jpg

Powder Keg

The gas industry has been busy in Wyoming's prairies and grasslands, building thousands of miles of roads and sinking more than 10,000 wells in the past three years. But in the Powder River basin, ranchers are joining environmentalists to try to still the drills.

See: C-Span Book TV Oct. 2, 2004. Bushwacked: Life in George W. Bush's America.  Chapter: "Dick, Dubya, and Wyoming Methane." (152)

See: Ed Swartz: The Grass Isn't Growing

Do the natural gas industry’s surface water withdrawals pose a health risk?, Ferrar, Kyle , Fractracker, (2010)

/frack_files/centerforhealthy.gif

/frack_files/centermap.jpg

Created Sep 15, 2010 by Kyle Ferrar

This map shows the multitude of surface water withdrawals in Pennsylvania that are permitted by the PA DEP. The many points exemplify the magnitude that the PA community and economy relies on the quality of our surface water resources. The red stars show the oil and natural gas industry withdrawal locations.

Click to see more details on this map.

The current water management practices of the natural gas industry during the regional dry season are likely to have contributed to higher TDS concentration in the Monongahela River...

...the water withdrawals in the Monongahela River watershed are potentially causing a cumulative impact on flow volume in the river that magnifies all forms of pollution by increasing the pollutant concentrations. Much more research needs to be conducted on this issue, to ensure safe and sustainable permitting practices for water withdrawals.

See: Urbina, Ian. “Regulation Is Lax for Water From Gas Wells.” The New York Times 26 Feb. 2011. Web. 27 Feb. 2011.

See: With Natural Gas Drilling Boom, Pennsylvania Faces an Onslaught of Wastewater

See: WATER: Gas drilling in huge Appalachia reserve yields foul, briny byproduct - AP

Dominion, Dominion Energy , Dominion, (2010)

In 2004, the Political Economy Research Institute ranked Dominion Resources 27th among corporations emitting airborne pollutants in the United States, the second highest rating behind Duke Energy.

Dominion has a web page citing its ecosystem conservation efforts and contributions.  It earned $15 billion in 2009.  Its main ecosystem project received funding of $500,000 in 2009.

Dominion operates the nation's largest natural gas storage facility with 975 billion cubic feet of storage capacity and serves retail energy customers in 12 states.

For this company's information resources on non-conventional production from coal bed methane and Marcellus shale gas, see the web page, Appalachian Gateway Project.

Includes Landowner's Rights, Source of Supplies, Project Schedule, Environmental Considerations.

Don't Give Up, Quercus, and Seagulls Fly , YouTube, (2008)

If You Give Up, They Give Up - Stop Global Warming.

A dark, moody animation that children may not like to watch.  A monkey, polar bear and kangaroo kill themselves because their world is ruined. TV Spot created by McCann Erickson Portugal for Quercus - National Association for Nature Conservation.

Produced by Seagulls Fly São Paulo.

See: The Tragedy of the Commons

See: Global Warming

See: Global Warming Frequently Asked Questions

See: U.S. Senator Boxer to Hold Press Conference on Murkowski Proposal to Overturn EPA Global Warming Endangerment Finding

See: Polar Bears (video)

See: Train (video)

See: Futurism Now (blog)

Draft Plan to Study the Potential Impacts of Hydraulic Fracturing on Drinking Water Resources (Updated 2011-04-09), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) , Volume EPA/600/D‐11/001, Washington, D.C., p.1 - 140, (2011)

/frack_files/draftplan2011cover.gif

/frack_files/new.gif EPA's Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan

/frack_files/new.gif Science Advisory Board Public Comments Letters from the Public. March 7, 2011. Posted to Web.

You can read all the form letters submitted from Texas, as well as my letter here:

Public comment submitted to the SAB Staff Office Public Comments submitted by Neil Zusman, Ithaca, NY-2-28-11. (PDF, 3 pp., 118,694 bytes)

"The States have not shown that they can adequately regulate gas drilling, especially in more populated areas. Federal Regulations are clearly needed.

Time and time again, as noted by a Pew Research Group report, a wide variety of industries, in seat belts, lead paint, cigarettes and many others, have fought federal regulation only to have history prove that it never hurt their bottom line." (Neil Zusman, 2011-02-28).

See: Pew Environment Group (PEG) Factsheet: Industry Opposition to Government Regulation (PDF), October 14, 2010.

See: Letter from Thomas Curtis, AWW.  Website below:

/frack_files/aww.jpg

In summary, AWWA supports protecting of sources of drinking water under any and all circumstances, including hydraulic fracturing. We appreciate the agency’s consideration of our comments. If there are any questions about these comments, please direct them to Alan Roberson, AWWA, at (202) 326-6127.

Yours Sincerely,
Thomas W. Curtis Deputy Executive Director

See this hand-written letter by Pamela Curtis of Trumansburg, New York:

/frack_files/curtisletter.jpg

See: Federal Register: Science Advisory Board Staff Office; Notification of a Public Meeting of the Science Advisory Board Panel for the Review of EPA's Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan. EPA Notice: 2/09/11.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or Agency) Science Advisory Board (SAB) Staff Office announces a public face-to-face meeting of the SAB Panel to conduct an independent review of EPA's Draft Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan.

The meeting will be held on March 7, 2011 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and March 8, 2011 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Eastern Time).

The Panel meeting will be held at the Westin Alexandria Hotel located at 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314.

Members of the public can submit comments for a federal advisory committee to consider as it develops advice for EPA. They should send their comments directly to the Designated Federal Officer for the relevant advisory committee.

Oral Statements: In general, individuals or groups requesting an oral presentation at this public meeting will be limited to five minutes per speaker. Interested parties should contact Mr. Edward Hanlon, DFO, in writing (preferably via e-mail), at the contact information noted above, by February 28, 2011 to be placed on the list of public speakers for the meeting.

Written Statements:

Written statements should be received in the SAB Staff Office by February 28, 2011 so that the information may be made available to the SAB Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan Review Panel for their consideration.

In its Fiscal Year 2010 budget report, the U.S. House of Representatives Appropriation Conference Committee identified the need for a focused study of this topic. EPA scientists, under this administration and at the direction of Congress, are undertaking a study of this practice to better understand any potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water and groundwater. EPA consulted with experts in the field through peer review, and technical workshops and engaged stakeholders in a dialogue about the study through facilitated public meetings.

EPA has submitted its draft study plan on hydraulic fracturing for review to the agency's Science Advisory Board (SAB).

The overall purpose of the study is to understand the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources. The scope of the proposed research includes the full lifespan of water in hydraulic fracturing, from acquisition of the water, through the mixing of chemicals and actual fracturing, to the post-fracturing stage, including the management of flowback and produced water and its ultimate treatment and disposal.

The SAB plans to review the draft plan March 7-8, 2011. Consistent with the operating procedures of the SAB, an opportunity will be provided for stakeholders and the public to provide comments to the SAB during their review. The Agency will revise the study plan in response to the SAB's comments and promptly begin the study. Initial research results are expected by the end of 2012 with a goal for a report in 2014.

See: Industry responds to public take on hydraulic fracturing | Fracking Resource Guide

See: EPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Plan Review Panel

See: Lisa P. Jackson, EPA (lisapjackson) on Twitter

See: U.S. Congress. Committee on Space, Science, and Technology. "Hearing Highlights Lack of Objectivity in Draft EPA Fracking Study--No Evidence of Drinking Water Contamination from Fracking, Witnesses Say"May 11, 2011

Drill here, drill now, pay less : a handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis, Gingrich, Newt , Washington DC, (2008)

Drill here, drill now, pay less : a handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis

Gingrich, Newt, and Vince Haley. 2008. Drill here, drill now, pay less: a handbook for slashing gas prices and solving our energy crisis. Washington, DC: Regnery Pub.

Drill, Baby, Drill!: The chant of the political naif, Paul, Donald , Magiric, (2011)

/frack_files/southafrica.jpg

From Magiric, Blog by South African freelance writer, Donald Paul.

/frack_files/paul.jpg
Donald Paul

Recently, the righteous voices of reason stepped into the fray regarding the use of hydraulic fracturing technology in prospecting for shale gas in the Karoo, One of the voices is journalist Ivo Vegter, who assumed the role of Devil’s advocate. Such a role requires a modicum of intellectual rigour otherwise you end up playing God’s advocate, endorsing that which you supposedly set out to question. It’s an easy back slide and reveals a penchant for controversy over a desire for coherency.

Lewis Pugh, a critic of environmental degradation and a spokesman for Treasure the Karoo Action Group (TKAG), challenged Shell—and other gas and oil companies—about its plan to frack in the Karoo and in so doing made a speech that was widely reprinted and replayed on various digital channels. For some it was rousing. For others, it was “propaganda” and “alarming”. The latter determined that what Pugh was saying was that there would be war over water...

The voices of reason fail to acknowledge the human rights dimension of this debate being more intent of disparaging—but not refuting—the arguments of those opposed to short-term corporate gains at the expense of the future...

The proponents of fracking cannot in any way show that fracking will not contaminate the Karoo aquifers. What they do say, repeatedly, is that there is “no known link” between fracking and aquifer and groundwater pollution. And they cite only their own expert testimony.

...The naivety continues. Vegter cited reams of outdated research regarding “signed statements from state officials representing Ohio, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Alabama, and Texas, responding to these allegations [water contamination]. As a result of our regulatory review and analysis, the GWPC concluded that state oil and gas regulations are adequately designed to directly protect water resources”.

This is so staggeringly naive it’s unbelievable. It is also shoddy research. These legislators were making a political argument, not a scientific one—in other words, they were covering their backs. The reason why the USA’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is re-opening the debate on the use of hydraulic fracturing—hearings are being conducted as this is being written—is because whistle-blowers within EPA confirmed that political pressure had been brought to bear on the original reports. As Wes Wilson, one of the E.P.A. whistle-blowers, said in a recent interview about that report, five of the seven members of the study’s peer review panel were current or former employees of the oil and gas industry.

Numerous complainants petitioned the USA government to get the EPA to review the earlier decision on hydraulic fracking. One of them, from Neil Zusman, Ithaca, NY, is particularly poignant:

I have read widely on this topic and it is of personal interest to me. I am not a scientist. I observe the events along the historical timeline that includes civil rights, anti-war protest, and the environmental movement....

Donald Paul is a freelance writer from South Africa.

See: Aragom Eloff.  Ivo Vegter vs. the Fracking Fringe. 2011-04-18.

See: Julienned DuToit. Fracking the Karoo - The People Say No! 2011-01-31.

See: Lewis Pugh. Frack Off, Shell!. 2011-04-05

See: Robert Brand. South Africa Endorses Plans For Karoo Gas-Drill Freeze, Ending Shell Hopes - Bloomberg. 2011-04-21.

Drilling Around the Law: Drinking Water Threatened by Toxic Natural Gas and Oil Drilling Chemicals, Horwitt, Dusty , (2009)

/frack_files/ewg.png

Dusty Horwitt. (2009). "Drilling Around the Law Report." Environmental Working Group. 24 pages.

/frack_files/drillingaround.jpg

Contains extensive bibliography.

Companies that drill for natural gas and oil are skirting federal law and injecting toxic petroleum distillates into thousands of wells, threatening drinking water supplies from Pennsylvania to Wyoming. Federal and state regulators, meanwhile, largely look the other way.

--The mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles. Includes the EWG Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.