User:Lshi543/Marcellus Shale Fracking

Marcellus Shale is a natural formation located under areas of New York, West Virginia, and mostly Pennsylvania. This buried accumulation of shale rock contains a high percentage of natural gas within its pores and cracks of the shale. Marcellus Shale was generally considered to possess little amounts of natural gas, but with more recent technological innovations and progress, drilling corporations are able to access deeper layers of the shale. The formation is spread across 48,000 square miles. With a combination of both hydraulic fracking and deep horizontal drilling, corporations have been attracted to the potential of high profits from the natural gas. Many of these companies have gained access to acres of land from citizens who live in the Marcellus Shale area. Hydraulic fracking, or formally known as fracturing, has been used as a common way of gaining access to the natural gas. By shooting gallons of water, chemicals, and sand under high amounts of pressure and heat opens the cracks and pores within the shale, eventually leading to the capture of natural gas. On an estimated note, it's assumed that about 363 trillion cubic feet of extractable natural gas could power the entire United States for about 14 years, if the rates of consumption don't increase or decrease.

Marcellus Shale on a Map

For several of the chemicals in the fracturing process, their purpose is to prevent the growth of microorganisms, upkeep the fluid viscosity, and prevent the dissolving of the metallic pipes. Proppants, a material that is made up of sand or ceramic beads and has a porous characteristic, is added so that the fractures created within the shale stay open. About 3 million to 5 million pounds of proppants are used per well in addition to chemicals that are meant to reduce the friction between the fluids and pipes called slickwater. The slickwater mixture is able to allow a faster pumping in lower pressure settings.

Fracking Facts and Marcellus Shale

Western Pennsylvania was part of a large inland sea 390 million years ago. Organisms and bio matter fell to the sea floor and mixed with sediments from other landmasses. Over the time span of millions of years, landmasses moved where mountains were formed and layers of rock compressed the layers of bio matter, sediments, and organisms. Extreme pressure and heat combined with the layers of organic and inorganic material transformed the matter into hydrocarbons. Some of these hydrocarbons were components that made up natural gas and were distributed throughout the shale rock in thin layers and pores, which is the reason why the rock must be destroyed and broken apart in order for the gas to escape. This natural process ultimately created the Marcellus Shale we have today.

Data reports from FracTrackerAlliance state that about 6,400 wells have been drilled in Marcellus Shale since August 2012. These wells have been specifically drilled in Pennsylvania and about 2,500 permits have been given for this drilling. In terms of land acreage, drilling has encompassed about 20,800 acres of land in Marcellus Shale, which is comparatively .07% of the total area of land in Pennsylvania. On average, a well made for fracking would be drilled both vertically and horizontally 5,000 to 9,000 feet and 10,000 feet respectively.

According to Pennsylvania law, it is illegal to drill within 500 feet of private water supplies and structures for unconventional gas wells. Drilling is not allowed within 300 feet of wetlands or streams for unconventional wells. Companies are able to drill within these limits with other protective measures if they have waivers. For every fracturing event, about 3 to 5 million gallons of water is used. In 2011, about 1,500 horizontal wells were fracked and Marcellus Shale drilling utilized around 12-20 million gallons of water. Considering that Pennsylvania uses 9.5 billion gallons of water daily, the 12-20 million gallons of water was about 0.5-0.8% of that amount. The water used for fracking procedures have been linked back to sources from lakes, rivers, and other sources of water bought from different communities by the fracking corporations. Water is also collected from rainwater and abandoned mines. Water is sometimes transported by vehicles and pipelines underneath the ground leading towards the shale drilling location. About 72% of water comes from natural sources of water, while the remaining 28% is derived from purchasing and other methods.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) measured in 2010 that 70-140 billion gallons of water are used on average for the hydraulic fracturing of about 35,000 wells every year in the United States. The amount of water used is equal to what 40 to 80 cities of 50,000 people each use annually. Deeper horizontal shale wells use about 2 million to 10 million gallons of water for the fracking of one well. For 2 to 5 million gallons of water, around 1,400 truck trips are needed to transport this water to the drilling site. There are currently more than 500,000 natural gas wells that considered to be "active" in the United States.

Marcellus Shale Gas Drilling Tower

On average, a well drilled in Marcellus Shale is around 5,000 to 9,000 feet deep and can be around 10,000 feet wide. For horizontal drilling, the direction for the extraction is in the general direction of the natural shale rock patterns. Between the months of January and June in 2011, the drilling wells extracted about 432.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas. From January to June 2012, about twice as much was extracted, estimated at about 895 billion cubic feet.

Consequences of Fracking

Marcellus Shale Bank

Environmental

Around 35 national parks are either nearby or lie over the area of the Marcellus Shale formation. When it comes to national parks nearby the Delaware River watershed. Because the Delaware River Watershed expects about 15,000 to 18,000 natural gas wells to be built, the consequences could be very severe. The possible effects from the Marcellus Shale fracking could lead to the primary concern of water contamination, especially relating to the drilling itself and how the drilling fluids and liquids are discarded. There may be lower ground water levels, along with serious impacts to the thousands of plants and animal species that reside in the shale area.

During the fracking process, chemicals and methane gas are known to leak out of the fracturing site and contaminate nearby water sources and groundwater. The methane concentration is comparatively 17 times higher in water wells for drinking that are near fracking sites than wells that are not. Contaminated well water has been used for the purpose of being drinking water for citizens who reside in local areas by the contamination site. Over 1,000 cases were documented describing the water contamination nearby fracking areas. Of all of the fracking chemicals and fluids pumped into the ground, only 30-50% of the chemical mixture is regained while the remaining non-biodegradable toxins lie in the ground. After the fracking processes are completed, the leftover chemicals are usually left in open air pits and eventually evaporate. Once they have evaporated, these toxic fluids release environmentally damaging VOCs (Volatile organic compounds) into the air and contaminating it. This toxic air has been known to release harmful occurrences of acid rain and ground level ozone which are detrimental to the environment and human health.

For Marcellus Shale Fracking, statistics show that about 10-30% of the entire amount of water that was used for fracking actually returned to the surface along with the natural gas that was pumped out, while the rest of the water and chemical mixture remains underneath the ground. The toxic fluid mixture is absorbed primarily by the shale formation, which is far away from the water table. The flowback, or water that returns to the surface after being pumped and shot into the ground, is handled by the drilling companies and stored for disposal or treatment. Metal tanks and pits are meant to capture the flowback and then is either treated, transported for disposal, or reused for a different fracturing site. The flowback generally contains chemicals and other ingredients such as shale and rock particles that were part of the mixture shot into the ground. Flowback generally occurs within 10 days of the fracturing, but there have been many cases where flowback occurred for up to 4 weeks.

According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency), there are three ways of water contamination through Marcellus Shale drilling: Surface spills, Methane migration, and inadequate water management plans. Surface spills mainly consist of chemical mixtures of water such as slickwater, flowback, and fracking fluids. As stated before, these fluids are able to flow into nearby water sources, whether it be a river or stream. The seepage may also contaminate water sources within the ground. DEP has reported some of these spills. Methane migration is the result of natural methane rising from the ground towards the surface. The methane could potentially contaminate the groundwater supply and even enter private wells owned by citizens in the area. In the past, DEP has issued fines to gas companies for the methane migration, however, because tracking methane movements is very difficult, there are doubts with relating methane migration to the fracking. In 2011, 5 counties reported clearer cases of methane migration, where methane has risen up in spaces around well casing. The methane rose because of shaky cementing procedures, which represents a clearer sign of the migration. Finally, inadequate water management plans are a huge cause of water contamination. Fracking companies are expected to follow BMPs (Best Management Practices) for management of stormwater during the maintenance and initial construction of the fracking site, however, if regulations aren't followed, then surface run off results. Debris and other materials will run off the site and into water sources and commonly possesses mud, as the DEP documents.

Health

On average, about 40,000 gallons of chemicals are used for every fracturing site, and up to 600 different chemicals are used in the fracking fluid mixture such as lead, uranium, mercury, ethylene glycol, radium, methanol, hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde, and more. In many of the documented cases of water contamination, there have also been links to documented cases of neurological, respiratory, and sensory damage with drinking the unknown contaminated water.

According to experts, exposure to many fracking chemicals possess many dangers to human health. Types of exposure include the ingestion of chemicals that have contaminated water sources meant for drinking, direct contact with human skin by the toxic chemicals or wastes, and breathing in harmful vapors from the flowback caused by the drilling. It was found that 353 different types of chemicals used for drilling and fracking all had different degrees of harmful effects, ranging from moderate to severe consequences. These chemicals affected several parts of the human body, including eye, skin, respiratory, gastrointestinal, liver, brain, nervous system, immune system, kidney, blood, and more.

In 2011, Kim McEvoy, a resident of the Woodlands, a rural community in Butler County, Pennsylvania, noticed that her water slowly turned darker as time went by, where eventually her water turned pitch black. There were numerous instances of health issues where Kim's hair would fall out in clumps and her conditions stopped when she stopped drinking water from her own well. Reports and incidents weren't the first ones to be cited, which thereby illustrates the impact that nearby fracking activities have been influencing the livelihood and health of citizens around drilling areas.

Regulation and Policies

Three main organizations and committees are responsible for regulating the water use for the Marcellus Shale fracking in Pennsylvania: The DEP (Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection), Delaware River Basin Commission, and the Susquehanna River Basin Commission. As part of their responsibilities, these organizations require that companies obtain permits in order to have access to drilling areas. For the application process, the fracturing companies must explicitly state which water sources they plan to obtain their water supply from and illustrate the impacts of taking the water. These companies have been known to obtain water from streams, lakes, rivers, and sometimes municipalities, although a specific river basin commission must approve of them first.

As required by the regulating authorities, fracking corporations must clearly find where flowback will be treated or stored during the permit process. These companies must also strictly follow the rules of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection when it comes to water disposal. According to the DEP, the flowback must have a TDS (total dissolved solids) concentration of no more than 500 ppm (parts per million) in order for the DEP to deem it safe to release the diluted flowback into bodies of water. This idea adheres to the Pennsylvania drinking water standards. There is only one facility in Williamsport that is allowed to treat water of the standard as stated in August 2011. According to ExploreShale, there are many methods in which flowback is able to be treated. Some of these methods include the dilution with fresh water on the fracturing site and reused for another potential well, being treated on site and used for a different fracking site, and the dispoal of the flowback for treatment or through deep injection wells that aren't nearby any water source.

These drilling companies also have to comply with regulations that are placed so that surface runoff of harmful toxins and spills are prevented. In 2012, Pennsylvania Act 13 was passed where unconventional, fracking wells must be set back at least 300 feet from streams and other water sources. If a flood plain possesses a well pad built by a drilling company, then the storage pits can not be located inside anywhere of the floodplain. It is required that surface storage tanks be surrounded by containment berms. This precaution is a method of contain spills whenever the tank leaks and the storage pits are placed with membranes that are very had to penetrate, in the case of spills or failures. According to Pennsylvania law, if any water source (public or private) is contaminated with fracking fluid or chemicals, then the corporations that fracked in the area are responsible to replace and pay the cost for cleanup and damages that are linked back to the waste.

On February 25th, 2015 a bill was created to ensure the forming of a health advisory panel in response to the Marcellus Shale fracking actives. Senate Bill 375 was introduced by Senate Pro Tempore Joseph Scarnati that would create a nine member panel for advising legislation on the health impacts in regards to shale gas production. Although the bill failed last year, the rise in health issues ensured the bill's success this year. The board was to be headed by Pennsylvania's health secretary and the head of the DEP. For the remaining seven seats, the General Assembly is responsible for appointing the right people who have dealt with public health issues in the past, especially if they have expertise with shale gas extraction effects or natural gas experience. The panel is responsible for meeting and reviewing health statistics regarding the Marcellus Shale fracking and drilling and talking to researchers on the activities and document the issues related to the drillings.