COMMENTARY | Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, remains a controversial topic in regards to public safety. The government even seems to be playing both sides of this coin.
The Associated Press reported Friday that the Environmental Protection Agency has found chemicals used in the process of fracking in ground water in Pavillion, Wyo.
The EPA stopped short of blaming fracking directly for the pollution.
A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences states, "In aquifers overlying the Marcellus and Utica shale for mations of northeastern Pennsylvania and upstate New York, we document systematic evidence for methane contamination of drinking water associated with shale-gas extraction ."
Yet the Ohio Department of Natural Resources issued a release, Environmental Safety at the Well Site, proclaiming the safety of the process.
"The steel-and-cement casing process prevents any contamination of the groundwater," the release claims.
On the other hand, the Ohio EPA lists several ways groundwater can become contaminated by the process, including damage to well casings or even through the drilling process itself.
Logically, one way the casing may be damaged is through earthquakes and tremors. The problem with this scenario is that the process of brine injection has been found to cause earthquakes and tremors.
A 1990 report from the Department of the Interior, Earthquake Hazard Associated With Deep Well Injection, describes this risk and proposes the potential for these small quakes and tremors to cause larger, more damaging earthquakes.
Further, the report states that these quakes could cause fissures and cracks that "conceivably could permit hazardous materials to migrate upward toward potential drinking water supplies."
But is the potential for danger being exaggerated?
The Ohio EPA also reports, "It's important to know that there have been thousands of oil and gas production wells drilled throughout Ohio without significant adverse impacts to drinking water resources."
As for the earthquakes, ODNR records show that from 1776 to 2010, there were no earthquakes in Mahoning County, Ohio, registering over 2.0 on the Richter Scale. As a point of reference, according to a table published by Michigan Technological University, an earthquake registering 2.5 or less is usually not felt by people.
In 2011, there were eight recorded earthquakes in Mahoning County between March and October. The epicenter of the quakes were in northwest Youngstown, near where D&L Energy placed a brine injection well completed in May 2010, according to an ODNR report. Youngstown is in northeastern Mahoning County.
These factors must be weighed carefully against the potential economic growth the shale boom will absolutely bring to Ohio, Pennsylvania and other cash strapped states.
An estimated 203,138 jobs will be gained, according to a recent report. The study also shows a dramatic increase in tax revenue for the state and royalties to land owners, as well as many other benefits.
Citizens must decide whether the gains are worth the risks, and fight to ensure elected officials act in their best interests.
22 comments