| PHILADELPHIA • CITY COUNCIL VOTES FOR A BAN . . . Philadelphia Seeks Ban on Drilling Method Thu Mar 25, 2010 By Jon Hurdle http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2511677120100326?type=marketsNews PHILADELPHIA, March 25 (Reuters) - Philadelphia officials asked a state regulator on Thursday to ban the natural-gas drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing until its environmental effects, especially on drinking water, are studied. The City Council urged the Delaware River Basin Commission to deny a drilling permit to Stone Energy Corp (SGY.N), a Louisiana-based oil and gas company, or to any other company that wants to use the technique to extract gas in the watershed that supplies the city's drinking water. Stone Energy began operations in a protected area of the river basin without the necessary approvals, and now has applied for permits to drill for gas, extracting water it needs from a tributary of the river, the council said. "We call on the Delaware River Basin Commission to halt Stone Energy's operations, and not approve their application, or any other applications, until a full environmental impact assessment of fracking in the Delaware River Basin has been conducted," the council said in a unanimous resolution. A spokesman for Stone Energy, Tim O'Leary, said fracking posed no threat to water supplies. "Stone Energy believes that hydraulic fracturing technologies are a safe and proven method of accessing ample domestic sources of clean natural gas needed by the United States," O'Leary said. He said the company complied with all local, state and federal regulations governing gas development. The commission, consisting of representatives from Delaware, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, plus federal officials, is charged with protecting the river over about 330 miles from its headwaters to the Delaware Bay. Concern about possible ground water contamination from hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," has led New York City to call on state authorities to prevent drilling in the city watershed. U.S. Congress members have introduced a bill that would require energy companies to disclose chemicals they use in fracking. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which has expressed "serious reservations" about the prospect of fracking in the New York City watershed, said on March 18 it will conduct a national study of the process. Critics of the technique say gas drilling in the Delaware River basin threatens the drinking water of 15 million people, 2 million in the Philadelphia region. "I knew the responsible thing to do was to send a strong message that drilling should not occur without an environmental impact statement," said Philadelphia City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown, who sponsored the resolution. Energy companies exploiting vast reserves of shale gas in Pennsylvania and other states say there has never been a proven case of water contamination from fracking, and that the toxic chemicals are injected through layers of steel and concrete thousands of feet below drinking-water aquifers. The Delaware River Basin Commission did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment  MEETING REPORT SOON TO COME http://www.temple.edu/environment/NRDP_shale_schedule.htm Deterioration of water and air quality is a serious problem threatening the healthy functioning of our nation. Our focus is large-scale studies accompanied with advanced modeling to provide the best available technology. The Center for Natural Resources Development and Protection (NRDP) The center has been in existence since 1999 in the College of Engineering at Temple University. Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Stewardship Understanding the Environmental Impact A Temple University Summit The Marcellus Shale formation is around 7,500 feet deep and covers 50% of Pennsylvania along with the neighboring states of West Virginia, Maryland, and New York. Recent estimates of the amount of natural gas recoverable using newly developed horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing methods approach 50 trillion cubic feet, a volume that could supply the entire United States for about two years. The extraction of natural gas from the formation has attracted great attention within the last year due to environmental concerns. Please join us for a one-day summit on the issues related to utilization of this natural resource. A wide range of experts representing environmental groups, government, industry and scientists will discuss the various aspects of gas drilling. The summit will include lectures, panel discussions, and poster sessions, and will make its proceedings public and communicate them to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the City of Philadelphia. http://www.temple.edu/environment/nrdp_shale.htm For further information, contact Michelle Smith (EMAIL:ceed@temple.edu, tel: (215) 204-7814). Temple University and the College of Engineering Founded in 1884, Temple University is a public research university with more than 34,000 students. Since 1969, the College of Engineering has been providing first- rate engineering education. Facilities such as wireless classrooms, an engineering library and numerous research laboratories and centers can be found within the engineering building. The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering offers undergraduate and graduate engineering programs including online graduate coursework in areas as diverse as Lifecycle Analysis and Carbon Footprinting; Urban Streams and Stormwater Management; and Water and Wastewater Systems Design, among others. In addition, the Department offers a Master of Science in Environmental Engineering (MSEnvE) and a Master of Science in Civil Engineering (MSCE). Students may also take course work and conduct research leading to a PhD in Engineering. Research is conducted by widely published faculty working in several labs and centers including the Environmental Hydrology and Hydraulics Laboratory; the Geotechnical and Sustainable Geomaterials Laboratory; and the Water and Environmental Technology (WET) Center For more information on our course offerings, degree programs and research areas please visit our webpage: http://www.temple.edu/engineering/cee or contact Dr. Robert Ryan at: rjryan@temple.edu Summary of December 10, 2009 Public Meeting. Summary of Public Meeting on Protecting Our Waters Temple University, December 10, 2009 Reported by Dr. Sandra Folzer “We’re fighting for our lives.” were the words of Pat Carullo, Cofounder of Damascus Citizens, who has been working tirelessly to inform the public about the potential danger of gas wells. He set the stage for the panel of experts who spoke at the public meeting hosted by the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department of Temple University. Al Benner of POW (Protecting Our Waters, Philadelphia) illustrated the personal nature of gas drilling by showing pictures of his family along the pristine Dyberry River, a tributary of the Delaware River. He spoke of our rivers which are vulnerable to hazardous pollution from gas wells. Robert Ryan, Ph.D., a hydrologist at Temple University, said that gas companies are considering drilling 25,000 gas wells in Pennsylvania, though others predict more. Gas drilling causes increased runoff because the water used in drilling will not be returned to streams to replenish them. There will be more erosion, and the water quality will worsen, for oxygen will be depleted so fish and other wildlife will suffer. “ What Is Clean Water Worth?” asked Barbara Arrindell, the founder of Damascus Citizens. Along with the 1.5 to 9 millions of gallons of fresh water, which are pumped into the earth at each well, are numerous toxic chemicals. Twenty to thirty percent returns to the surface as brine which is 3-6 times more salty than the ocean. Presently, we have no way to treat this industrial fluid. When we put the wastewater in “dry lakes”, it leaks and moves deep into the ground, polluting any water below the surface. The EPA lists 240 chemicals being used. Since the gas companies won’t divulge the chemical makeup of what they inject into the ground, we don’t know the quantity or combination of chemicals. Dr. Theo Colborn, the world’s foremost expert on the health effects of gas drilling, has used the analysis of the chemicals from spills and blowouts to tabulate their health effects. She says 92% of the chemicals used cause health problems; most cause multiple problems. For example, she found 900 mg. per liter of bromide, a precursor to carcinogenic chemicals, in private water wells near the gas wells. This is 10,000 times higher than what is considered safe. There are 20 tons of toxic chemicals for every million gallons of water. One gallon of toxic chemicals can contaminate one million gallons of water. Since PCB’s can travel 200 miles, we know these other toxic chemicals are coming our way. It would cost $20 billion to build a water filtration system in New York City. No wonder the gas companies want to dump their wastewater into our rivers and streams. “Gas drilling or ‘fracking’ is not economically viable without being subsidized through the externalization of its environmental costs.” says Al Appleton, former New York City water commissioner and watershed expert. Remember, these companies may be gone in five years, by the time citizens recognize their water has become undrinkable. Already Pittsburgh has had three bottled water alerts in one year, meaning their public water was not safe. In North Texas many communities near wells must buy bottled water as their water is not potable. Like polluters in the past, the gas companies may transfer ownership or go bankrupt so cannot be held responsible when billions of dollars are needed for cleanup in the future. Meanwhile Halliburton gets a royalty on every well when their chemicals are used. The question was asked, “What is local?” since gas drilling may seem far away. Sixty percent of Philadelphia’s water comes from the Delaware River, where the gas companies want to dump hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic wastewater. The other 40% comes from the Schulykill which also would be polluted. The Delaware River Basin Commission is having hearings for permits to allow water withdrawal, drilling, fracking, and “treating” by dumping the industrial fluid in our waterways. “Wastewater” is no longer water; it becomes industrial fluid. We can learn from other locations who have had drilling. Near the Jonah gas field in Wyoming, there was a drop in wildlife of 50%. An increase in crime, loss of businesses, a drop in property values, accidents like wildfires, more traffic, a loss of tourism and hunting and a greater need for emergency services are some of the impacts of gas drilling. Wastewater is volatile, which means we breath these carcinogenic fumes. Not only do we inhale the toxic additives; we also inhale diesel fumes since it takes 800 gallons of diesel fuel to run each well every day. People near wells report illnesses. Some have been diagnosed with brain lesions, which are irreversible and have symptoms like M.S. Not only do people in Philadelphia get their water from the Delaware River, but they also will be breathing the toxic air, which can travel hundreds of miles. Wes Gillingham of Catskills Mountainkeeper reminded participants that the Catskills is only one of ten places in the Northeast that has over 50,000 acres of wilderness. Globally it is important to have contiguous wild areas. It is a pristine area. He warns people not to believe the regulators when they say, “We have everything under control.” or “We have the best regulations already.” Regulators disregard any cumulative impact because “doing a cumulative study is too difficult.” Thus, there is no monitoring of chemicals from the wells, of the ozone, of the health impact, or of changes under ground. And no one maps the discharge. Twenty-seven environmental organizations have asked the governor of N.Y. to throw out the generic impact statement on the present study and start over again. Even the hired experts are confused by the 800 page draft supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (ds GEIS). The changes in this document will effect the N.Y. side of the Delaware River. People have been lied to across the U.S. by the gas companies. Chesapeake said they had no interest in drilling in the N.Y. watershed; three days later they filed requests to drill there. Geologists report that these companies make geologically incorrect assumptions about the impact of drilling. Unfortunately, the state of PA and the drilling companies have made a formal partnership to dispose of the highly toxic contaminants. Paul Schmidt Esq, a lawyer representing plaintiffs suing in Dimock, PA, said we need to be distrustful. He represents 45 people who live close to the gas wells whose groundwater has been contaminated. He said there are numerous health problems, people’s life savings are gone, and property values are down. Yet, people stay in their homes with no potable water because they can’t afford to move elsewhere. There are similar complaints elsewhere. Groundwater pollution, spills, and other problems are happening everywhere near gas wells. The gas companies say they are not polluting wells and streams, only because they, or the state, are not testing the water. It is very difficult and expensive to sample streams and rivers accurately because we don’t know the composition of the chemicals used. The EPA is NOT taking care of us, and the DEP says our concerns have no merit. Gas companies do not need a permit to inject toxins into the ground to get the gas because they are exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act., according to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. However, they do need a permit to inject the chemicals back into the earth after they have resurfaced. Gas companies are exempt from regulations for toxic runoff in areas under five acres, which is why well pads are just under five acres. Bob Wendelgass, director of PA’s Clean Water Action, believes 100,000 wells are planned in PA. These will use tremendous amounts of clean water. This writer estimated that 100,000 wells x 3,000,000 gallons (a low estimate since each well takes between 1.5 and 9 million gallons of water) = 300,000,000,000 gallons of fresh water, which will be converted into toxic industrial fluids by the added chemicals. That is at least 300 billion gallons of our precious fresh water which will be polluted, then possibly poured in rivers and streams to endanger entire waterways. Large areas in PA will be in grave danger as a result. We don’t have enough fresh water to dilute all the fracking fluids. Our sewerage plants can’t handle these harsh chemicals, and the gas industry doesn’t want to treat the water. They want the public to pay for any treatment. Thus, PA’s DEP needs standards for discharge since the waste fluids contain large amounts of salt, toxic chemicals and radioactivity. Unfortunately these multimillion dollar companies have enormous resources to lobby against any regulations. Michel Boufadel, Chair of Temple Civil & Environmental Engineering Department, spoke of the long term effects of drilling. As a hydrologist and geologist, Dr. Boufadel has been working to document the effects of the Exxon-Valdez spill for twenty years, which still has not been cleaned up. Dr. Boufadel demonstrated how brine is 20% heavier than fresh water, so it moves downward into the earth more rapidly, sinking to the bottom and spreading, potentially polluting our aquifers. We need to look at the persistence of contamination which will continue over many years, well after the gas companies depart. Any study of impact will take years though we should do studies to quantify the risk before the drilling. Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the Delaware Riverkeepers, said the east and west branches of the Delaware meet at Hancock to form the main stem of the Delaware river. The Schulykill is a tributary of the Delaware. The Delaware flows for 330 miles before reaching the ocean. Five percent of the U.S. population drinks from the Delaware River, which is being threatened since the headwaters are over the Marcellus Shale. Fifteen to seventeen million people rely on the Delaware River for their water. The Delaware is the largest free flowing river east of the Mississippi. New York City alone uses 800 million gallons each day. This is “consumptive use”, meaning this water doesn’t come back. Thus, there should be an analysis of every major action on the Delaware in order to ascertain the impact downstream, especially in Philadelphia. Yet, there is no mention of any analysis of the impact of dumping into the Delaware and no analysis of the cumulative effect. We must force the issue to prevent damage. The dumping of industrial fluids into the Delaware should not move ahead before an analysis of effect is done. Samples of salt and radioactivity taken in N.Y. state from gas wells were well over safe levels. All this “wastewater” or industrial fluid is definitely coming here to Philadelphia, for there is not enough water to dilute it. The Schulykill river is already chemically challenged with TDS’s (Total Dissolved Solids). How will we deal with all the carcinogenic chemicals, the salt, and the radioactivity? Reverend Dr. Horace Strand, director of the Chester Environmental Partnership, was the last speaker. Chester, a poor area, has the fourth largest incinerator in the U.S. Previously Dr. Strand’s group sued the PA DEP because there were so many waste facilities in Chester. It went all the way to the Supreme Court, but was dismissed when one of the companies went bankrupt. When Strand learned that a wastewater treatment plant in Chester had been granted a permit for waste disposal, which would bring hundreds of trucks into the community daily, delivering 50 million gallons of industrial fluid. He was shocked because the DEP was obliged legally to give his group that information, which they didn't. The community organized and bombarded the press to rescind this permit. They succeeded because of the pressure from so many community groups working together. Temporarily, they have succeeded but fear that the gas companies will try again. They want the companies to put into writing that they will not pursue this in the future. Our Pennsylvania Constitution says “The people have a right to clean air, pure water, and the preservation of the natural, scenic, historic and esthetic values of the environment. Pennsylvania’s public natural resources are the common property of all the people, including generations yet to come.” (Article 1. Section 27) Unfortunately, some have forgotten these rights or choose to ignore them. People have an obligation to themselves and to future generations to submit comments to strengthen the wastewater regulations. Comments may be sent to cleanwater.org/pa or regcomments@state.pa.us before February 12. The comment period for standards of discharge ends February 12.  |