Marcellus Shale 101

Wednesday, 04 May 2011 15:15

Marcellus Shale 101

Written by Scott LaMar, Director of Radio Smart Talk

Radio Smart Talk for Thursday, May 5:

You have questions. We'll try to provide answers.

As part of WITF's Real Life | Real Issues project for May, Thursday's show will afford you an opportunity to ask anything at all about natural gas extraction underneath the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania. From the science to the industry, from environmental to economic impacts, the hour is yours.

We'll have two guests with us: David Yoxtheimer is a hydrogeologist and extension associate with Penn State's Marcellus Center for Outreach and Research. He has expertise in water supply development, geophysical surveying, environmental permitting, natural gas geology, and integrated water resource management. We'll also be joined by Matt Pitzarella, Director of Public Affairs for Range Resources, one of the largest natural gas drillers in the state.

As part of witf's Real Life | Real Issues project this month, this is the first of several programs that will explore the different aspects of Marcellus Shale gas extraction.

We'll welcome any and all questions. I hope you can join us.

LISTEN TO PROGRAM:

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# Al Cohen 2011-05-04 22:20

1. What are ALL of the hydro-fracturing chemicals that are and will be used by ALL of the drilling companies and specifically is each one toxic or non-toxic. I know that there are hundreds of these chemicals but anyone who drinks or otherwise uses water that flows in Pa. needs to know this information.
2. Specifically how many jobs, what salary ranges and how long will they last, that will be created in Pa. for each hundred wells drilled?
3. How can Pa. citizens make the decision to allow drilling even one well without knowing the answers to the first 2 questions?

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# Jeremy 2011-05-05 08:11

Given the immense amount of water used in the fracturing process coupled with the fact that the hydrologic cycle is a closed cycle, I find it next to impossible to believe that the chemicals being used in this process are not being integrated into the hydrologic cycle.

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# Robert Colgan 2011-05-05 09:24

WHY?, if you can't even scrape the ground in PA for a factory without a wetland or groundwater study, are we introducing this huge industrializati on of our PA landscape without having first done a full Environmental Impact Study ?

The reason is simple: such a study would slow or stop altogether the drilling, and the oil/gas money doesn't want that to happen.

The risks are ultimately severe to us and future generations.
And the gas people know it.

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# Susan 2011-05-05 09:35

1. Neither Range Resources nor Penn State are unbiased sources of information.
2. What are ALL the chemicals used in a typical horizontal well? Are ALL these chemicals removed when treated at water treatment plant?
3. STOP calling the stuff that comes back up as "WATER"! It is a chemical stew mixed with radiation. It is toxic waste. You are taking fresh water and turning it into industrial waste!
4. Greenhouse gas emissions are at least as high as with coal!!
5. We have an obligation to leave the world in at least as good a condition as we inherited it from our parents; are we doing that?

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# Nathan Sooy 2011-05-05 09:36

I would like to know why an opponent or skeptic of hydraulic fracturing was not invited to be on this show?

Please contact me. I can give you a list.

Nathan Sooy
Clean Water Action, Harrisburg
founder, GAS TRUTH of Central PA
717-233-1801 office

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# Jim 2011-05-05 09:38

I remember a recent news story that stated there will be so much gas generated from the Mar-Shale that there will be a surplus of gas, the market will be oversaturated, and prices will be depressed, and to make up the lost profits the gas companies will export gas to foreign markets. In this day of the U.S. being starved for energy, how can this be permitted? Why not slow down the gas production so we can use all of it domestically, over a longer period. The industry is just looking at maximizing profits in the present. I really think we're going to regret this Mar-Shale onslaught, and the long-term environmental consequences will outweigh the short-term energy gains.
In listening to the Range Rsources man on today's show, everything is just rosy, rosy, rosy. I'm extremely skeptical. This is permanent altering of our bedrock, and quite probably our groundwater.

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# Pamela 2011-05-05 09:39

What kind of air quality standards must the Gas Drilling Industry maintain at the their drilling sites?

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# robin 2011-05-05 09:42

Aren't the chemicals released by the process as relavant as those introduced by the process - will my well water taste the same??

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# Lisa 2011-05-05 09:42

Regarding the answer about eminent domain, while the drillers don't have the rights of eminent domain who can tell where in the world they are drilling? First they drill about a mile down and then go horizontally. What is to prevent them from going horizontally a mile into a neighboring property that has not signed a lease with them? Does the state have any way to monitor this?

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# Susan 2011-05-05 09:45

6. Have the drillers mapped every single abandoned and orphaned well in PA? These are potential sources of methane and flowback fluids migration.
7. Have the drillers taken into account the highly folded and fractured geology of PA when drilling? These also are potential sources of methane and flowback fluid migration.
8. How many decades will the average cement job last? When the cement ultimately fails, what happens to the integrity of the well and it's contents?

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# Keith 2011-05-05 09:46

How did you choose today's guests? It strikes me as rather unbalanced. What opponents of fracking did you invite? Just because one is skeptical of the process does not mean that one is not knowledgeable about the drilling process works and what the potential problems are. I really sense that BOTH of today's guests are supportive of drilling. I want to ask questions about the potential downsides and I don't think either of these folks would give me a straight answer. They want to see drilling happen.

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# Carol 2011-05-05 09:53

Could the guest please comment on the front page/3 part New York Times series on this issue? It seems really different from what I am hearing on the program. Pleas explain.

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# Jeremy 2011-05-05 09:54

A rural community in Wyoming was graded as having OZONE at greater levels than Los Angeles just this winter as a direct result of oil and gas production. Is this to be expected in rural northeastern Pa?

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# Scott LaMar 2011-05-05 10:02

This is a note from Scott LaMar, the Executive Producer of Radio Smart Talk. Several of you have commented that today's program is unbalanced. We anticipated these kind of comments. As part of witf's Real Life Real Issues project that focuses on Marcellus Shale this month, we will produce several Radio Smart Talk programs in May that will include discussion of the environment, specifically water, jobs, health and infrastructure. If we attempted to produce a pro and con show every time we address this topic, it wouldn't be much more than a debate and that's not our mission. I encourage all of you listen to the programs as a whole and not judge each show on it's own. We also see this format as a good opportunity for listeners to ask questions or make comments.

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# Carol 2011-05-05 10:02

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html

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# Susan 2011-05-05 10:05

9. Drillers REMOVE water from the hydrologic cycle; they don't "use" it, they remove it! There is a difference!
10. Drilling will HIGHLY fragment the remaining forests in PA. That will have a MAJOR impact on the flora and fauna.

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# Ryan 2011-05-05 10:07

Great show! Thank you for bringing this topic to discussion. It isn't really even necessary to have an opponent on the show because today's guests make it clear to me that this extraction technique is not without risks. To me, the economic benefit does not outweigh the potential environmental and health risks. It seems like a really short sighted practice that has great potential to destroy the Pennsylvania landscape.

Looking forward to hearing further conversation on this topic.

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# Dale 2011-05-05 10:15

A caller, an advocate for gas drilling, offered a comment to the effect of, "a thing man makes breaks." In lieu of this fact, his point was that the industry takes adequate measures to prevent accidents, but this is precisely where I take issue. I believe citizens are entitled to failsafes in regard to our technologies. In other words, technology made safe from failure. We should accept nothing less. In an ideal world there would be far less profit for companies and more expense towards failsafes to accommodate this end. The BP spill and nuclear accidents serve to illustrate this necessity, and any environmental impact caused by gas drilling should receive equal attention, but that's the point, isn't it? Sadly, we currently do not insist upon a higher standard, and we have only ourselves to blame. As long as we allow our government and representatives to turn a blind eye, industry profits will continue to supersede the interests and rights of the individual citizen.

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# Chris Lilienthal 2011-05-05 10:39

Mr. Pitzarella at one point in the show cited a recent analysis by the state Department of Revenue on state tax contributions by the drilling industry. It's important to note that this analysis broadens the definition of drilling companies from what was reported in the Governor’s budget book just two months ago. The definition was expanded to include companies that do not drill at all and would not be subject to a drilling tax, such as pipeline operators and suppliers of sand used in the fracking process. It also counts taxes paid by individuals and customers as taxes paid by the industry. Finally, it is unclear where some of the taxes are even coming from, with the largest tax contributions in each category coming from a group of taxpayers identified as “other,” which is not defined. The Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center released a statement on the Department's analysis: http://www.pennbpc.org/department-revenue-analysis-goes-well-beyond-taxes-paid-drillers.

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# Janet 2011-05-05 11:25

Flowback frack fluid is now being mixed with sawdust to be transported by dump trucks to landfills, such as the landfill in McKean County. Does this eliminate the tanker trucks transporting the frack fluid to wastewater treatment plants? What about the waste fluids carried by trucks that is accidentally or intentionally released along the rural roads of PA? In McKean County, the landfill (which happens to be in the vicinity of a Girl Scout camp) has installed a radiation detector since accepting the flowback frack fluid.

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# Janet 2011-05-05 11:34

Only some of the gas companies are providing replacement water to only some of the PA families who have had their well water or springs go bad. They provide a water buffalo in some instances. My questions: Where does the replacement water come from? Is the replacement water tested for contamination before the victim families use it? Those that have had their springs or wells go bad just from the pre-drilling activity in their area & don't have any plans to drill on their property have to bear the expense of replacement water themselves, which may cost $250-$500 monthly, are bearing an extreme burden that most of us can ill afford.

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# Kyle 2011-05-06 23:42

For all those concerned, I suggest you join the Chesapeake Bay Foundation in calling for a cummulative environmental impact analysis on gas drilling in the region. http://www.cbf.org/Page.aspx?pid=2438

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