What Is Hydraulic Fracturing In America
Fracturing of America
Even though Hydraulic Fracturing is changing our dependence on fossil fuels, it could very well be changing our most precious resource, our water supplies. The average fracturing site uses an estimated 70 to 140 billion gallons of water to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States annually. This is approximately the yearly water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50,000. This water is infused with chemicals that seep back into our groundwater and contaminate our water supplies.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process used to extract the earth’s natural gas from shale formation found throughout the United States. The largest shale formation in the United States is the Marcellus Shale which is located …show more content…
in Pennsylvania. Natural gas itself is a very clean domestic energy, but there are many allegations that the water sources around these drilling sites are becoming contaminated. The first natural gas hydraulic drilling began in 1940, but just recently has become the rising technology to extract the natural gas from the shale formations.(Coman) To really understand how this fracturing thing works let’s look at the process that is used to release the gas from the shale formation:
“Hydraulic fracturing creates fractures in the shale beds that stimulate the flow of natural gas, this increases the amount of gas that can be recovered.
Wells are drilled vertically hundreds to thousands of feet below the land surface. Fractures are created by pumping large quantities of fluids at high pressure down a wellbore and into the target rock formation. Hydraulic fracturing fluid commonly consists of water, proppant and chemical additives that open and enlarge fractures within the rock formation. These fractures can extend several hundred feet away from the wellbore. The proppants - sand, ceramic pellets or other small incompressible particles - hold open the newly created fractures. Once the injection process is completed, the internal pressure of the rock formation causes fluid to return to the surface through the wellbore. This fluid is known as both "flowback" and "produced water" and may contain the injected chemicals plus naturally occurring materials such as brines, metals, radionuclides, and hydrocarbons. The flow back and produced water is typically stored on site in tanks or pits before treatment, disposal or recycling. In many cases, it is injected underground for disposal. In areas where that is not an option, it may be treated and reused or processed by a wastewater treatment facility and then discharged to surface water.” (“The Process of Hydraulic …show more content…
Fracturing”) So now that we understand how the gas is extracted the next big question is how much water is being used to inject into these sites, how much land is being consumed and what is being done with the “produced water” after the drilling is finished. “The Marcellus wells are long lived and they will remain active for decades, up to 40 years”. (Industry Sources) Marcellus wells can be spaced in 40-acre units or 16 wells per square mile. An average town could contain up to 1,500 wells. (Draft Scoping Document for Horizontal Drilling and High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop Shale and Other Low Permeability Gas Reservoirs) In 2010, the EPA estimated that up to 140 billion gallons of water are used to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States each year. This is approximately the annual water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50,000. Fracture treatments in coal bed methane wells use from 50,000 to 350,000 gallons of water per well, while deeper horizontal shale wells can use anywhere from 2 to 10 million gallons of water to fracture a single well. (“Hydraulic Fracturing 101”) The produced water is dealt with several different ways, it can be stored in tanks or pits before being treated, disposed or recycled. A lot of times it is injected underground for disposal. If this is not an option, it can be treated, and re used by a wastewater treatment facility and then discharged to surface water. (“The Process of Hydraulic Fracturing”) The only problem with these options of reusing the water, is there is no proven way to treat the water that is contaminated with all these chemicals. The gas companies that produce this water are exempt from many of our laws and regulations that protect our environment. They are exempt from: 1972 Clean Water Act, 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, The Clean Air Act formed by the EPA in 1970. They do not have to disclose the names of the chemicals that they are polluting our water sources with, so how could they possibly know how to decontaminate the water supply. Here is a list of some of the chemicals used in the fracking solution:
Proppant “Props” Sand [Sintered bauxite; zirconium oxide; ceramic beads]
Hydrochloric acid Peroxydisulfates
Gluteraldehyde;
2-Bromo-2-nitro-1, 2-propanediol Sodium or potassium carbonate; acetic acid
Salts (e.g., tetramethyl ammonium chloride) [Potassium chloride]
Methanol; ammonium bisulfate for Oxygen Scavengers
Potassium hydroxide; borate salts
Sodium acrylate-acrylamide copolymer;
Polyacrylamide (PAM); petroleum distillates
Guar gum; petroleum distillate
Ammonium chloride; ethylene glycol; polyacrylate
Various aromatic hydrocarbons
Methanol; isopropanol; ethoxylated alcohol Fluid chemicals used in fracturing solutions are toxic to humans and wildlife, and several are known to cause cancer.
Toxic substances include petroleum distillates known as kerosene, and diesel fuel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; methanol; formaldehyde; ethylene glycol; glycol ethers; hydrochloric acid; and sodium hydroxide. Very small quantities of some fracking chemicals are capable of contaminating millions of gallons of our public water resources. If you consider these chemicals and how little of them it takes to contaminate the water supply, it is scary to think that 40 trillions gallons of water is used to drill at these fracking sites and are improperly being released back into the
groundwater.
The most common technique to dispose the waste water is by Deep Well Injection Disposal, this is where waste is forced underground at high pressure into dry gas wells. Along with the water pollution, there is also noise and air pollution released from these drilling sites. There was a water study done for Pennsylvania and upstate New York where they tested the water for increased levels of methane contamination associated with shale-gas extraction. They results indicated that maximum methane concentrations in drinking-water wells increased with proximity to the nearest gas well. (Osborn) The people could literally light their water on fire. In the documentary Gasland, a young man travels investigating these claims of fire water. He quickly finds out that there are many communities that have leased their land to these gas and oil companies, only to find once they start drilling there water is unfit to drink, bath, or use for anything. Some people have tried reverse osmosis, but this will not filter out all the harmful chemicals used in the fracking process. The land owners are having health problems, cancer is increasing, the wildlife is dying and sick. You can clearly see that this is no way to live, they are constantly worried for their health and safety.
The EPA admits that they have dropped the ball with keeping tabs on these gas companies, but they are exempt from so many clean air and water acts they are virtually unregulated. The storage of the produced water can also be sealed in a clay backfill. The only problem with this is, clay is susceptible to fracturing due to local excessive fluid pressure, so this is not a great option either. (Osborn) So what do we do with the produced water? Well first of all the gas and oil companies need to be held accountable for their actions. No one should ever have to worry if their water is unsafe to drink. Many of these families have to bring their water in from another source and store it in big tanks. The EPA should be allowed to regulate the sites where this hydraulic fracturing is taking place. There should be strict guidelines that these companies must follow and there should be constant reporting and testing to the public water sources. There needs to be a better way of extracting the gas, without using so many harmful chemicals but if this can’t be accomplished there needs to be a better way of disposing the produced water.
“Wastes generated by the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas are “exempt” by Federal law from being regulated as hazardous waste. The Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1980 prohibits EPA from regulating drilling fluids, produced water and other waste associated with the exploration, development or production of crude oil or natural gas as RCRA Subtitle C (hazardous) waste. Therefore, oil and gas wastes are referred to as regulated at the state level as “non-hazardous waste”” (Subra)
These companies should never have exemption for destroying the environment. Halliburton is one of the major companies that does hydraulic fracturing and guess who they are owned by, former Vice President Dick Cheney. Big corporate businesses like this are polluting our environment every day and they are walking away scott free, because of who they know and because they produce millions and trillions of dollars every year. I know that hydraulic fracturing is not such a big issue in our small town or region yet, but if we do not stand up for the environment it will affects us eventually. We will all suffer the consequences of the water pollution, noise pollution, and the air pollution. If we do not hold big corporations accountable for their pollution, they will find ways to pollute even more just for the profits they receive from cutting corners at our expense. We must make sure that procedures and policies are in place to minimize potential damage to the public’s air quality and to protect essential water resources. “We need to make sure that extraction of the gas from shale and its transport does not result in a significant increase in emissions of methane which is 10 times more powerful as a climate-altering agent, than carbon dioxide”. (McElroy)
Reference
Coman, Hannah. "Balancing the Need for Energy and Clean Water: The Case for Applying Strict Liability in Hydraulic Fracturing Suits." Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review 39.1 (2012): 131-60. ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Draft Scoping Document for Horizontal Drilling and High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop Shale and Other Low Permeability Gas Reservoirs, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2008. EPA- United States Environmental Protection Agency. “The Process of Hydraulic Fracturing” May 21, 2013.
Earthworks. “Hydraulic Fracturing 101” Web.
: //www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101#.Uoj-nOwo7mU.
Industry Sources.
McElroy, Michael. "Fracking’s Future." Harvard magazine. (2013): n. page. Print. . Osborn, Stephen G., et al. "Methane Contamination of Drinking Water Accompanying Gas-Well Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 108.20 (2011): 8172-6. ProQuest. Web. Subra, Wilma. "Hydraulic Fracturing, Fracking Dangers by Wilma Subra." Dixeyland.wordpress.com. Word Press, 09 Jan 2012. Web. 26 Oct 2013. McElroy, Michael. "Fracking’s Future." Harvard magazine. (2013): n. page. Print. .
Even though Hydraulic Fracturing is changing our dependence on fossil fuels, it could very well be changing our most precious resource, our water supplies. The average fracturing site uses an estimated 70 to 140 billion gallons of water to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States annually. This is approximately the yearly water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50,000. This water is infused with chemicals that seep back into our groundwater and contaminate our water supplies.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process used to extract the earth’s natural gas from shale formation found throughout the United States. The largest shale formation in the United States is the Marcellus Shale which is located …show more content…
in Pennsylvania. Natural gas itself is a very clean domestic energy, but there are many allegations that the water sources around these drilling sites are becoming contaminated. The first natural gas hydraulic drilling began in 1940, but just recently has become the rising technology to extract the natural gas from the shale formations.(Coman) To really understand how this fracturing thing works let’s look at the process that is used to release the gas from the shale formation:
“Hydraulic fracturing creates fractures in the shale beds that stimulate the flow of natural gas, this increases the amount of gas that can be recovered.
Wells are drilled vertically hundreds to thousands of feet below the land surface. Fractures are created by pumping large quantities of fluids at high pressure down a wellbore and into the target rock formation. Hydraulic fracturing fluid commonly consists of water, proppant and chemical additives that open and enlarge fractures within the rock formation. These fractures can extend several hundred feet away from the wellbore. The proppants - sand, ceramic pellets or other small incompressible particles - hold open the newly created fractures. Once the injection process is completed, the internal pressure of the rock formation causes fluid to return to the surface through the wellbore. This fluid is known as both "flowback" and "produced water" and may contain the injected chemicals plus naturally occurring materials such as brines, metals, radionuclides, and hydrocarbons. The flow back and produced water is typically stored on site in tanks or pits before treatment, disposal or recycling. In many cases, it is injected underground for disposal. In areas where that is not an option, it may be treated and reused or processed by a wastewater treatment facility and then discharged to surface water.” (“The Process of Hydraulic …show more content…
Fracturing”) So now that we understand how the gas is extracted the next big question is how much water is being used to inject into these sites, how much land is being consumed and what is being done with the “produced water” after the drilling is finished. “The Marcellus wells are long lived and they will remain active for decades, up to 40 years”. (Industry Sources) Marcellus wells can be spaced in 40-acre units or 16 wells per square mile. An average town could contain up to 1,500 wells. (Draft Scoping Document for Horizontal Drilling and High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop Shale and Other Low Permeability Gas Reservoirs) In 2010, the EPA estimated that up to 140 billion gallons of water are used to fracture 35,000 wells in the United States each year. This is approximately the annual water consumption of 40 to 80 cities each with a population of 50,000. Fracture treatments in coal bed methane wells use from 50,000 to 350,000 gallons of water per well, while deeper horizontal shale wells can use anywhere from 2 to 10 million gallons of water to fracture a single well. (“Hydraulic Fracturing 101”) The produced water is dealt with several different ways, it can be stored in tanks or pits before being treated, disposed or recycled. A lot of times it is injected underground for disposal. If this is not an option, it can be treated, and re used by a wastewater treatment facility and then discharged to surface water. (“The Process of Hydraulic Fracturing”) The only problem with these options of reusing the water, is there is no proven way to treat the water that is contaminated with all these chemicals. The gas companies that produce this water are exempt from many of our laws and regulations that protect our environment. They are exempt from: 1972 Clean Water Act, 1974 Safe Drinking Water Act, The Clean Air Act formed by the EPA in 1970. They do not have to disclose the names of the chemicals that they are polluting our water sources with, so how could they possibly know how to decontaminate the water supply. Here is a list of some of the chemicals used in the fracking solution:
Proppant “Props” Sand [Sintered bauxite; zirconium oxide; ceramic beads]
Hydrochloric acid Peroxydisulfates
Gluteraldehyde;
2-Bromo-2-nitro-1, 2-propanediol Sodium or potassium carbonate; acetic acid
Salts (e.g., tetramethyl ammonium chloride) [Potassium chloride]
Methanol; ammonium bisulfate for Oxygen Scavengers
Potassium hydroxide; borate salts
Sodium acrylate-acrylamide copolymer;
Polyacrylamide (PAM); petroleum distillates
Guar gum; petroleum distillate
Ammonium chloride; ethylene glycol; polyacrylate
Various aromatic hydrocarbons
Methanol; isopropanol; ethoxylated alcohol Fluid chemicals used in fracturing solutions are toxic to humans and wildlife, and several are known to cause cancer.
Toxic substances include petroleum distillates known as kerosene, and diesel fuel, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; methanol; formaldehyde; ethylene glycol; glycol ethers; hydrochloric acid; and sodium hydroxide. Very small quantities of some fracking chemicals are capable of contaminating millions of gallons of our public water resources. If you consider these chemicals and how little of them it takes to contaminate the water supply, it is scary to think that 40 trillions gallons of water is used to drill at these fracking sites and are improperly being released back into the
groundwater.
The most common technique to dispose the waste water is by Deep Well Injection Disposal, this is where waste is forced underground at high pressure into dry gas wells. Along with the water pollution, there is also noise and air pollution released from these drilling sites. There was a water study done for Pennsylvania and upstate New York where they tested the water for increased levels of methane contamination associated with shale-gas extraction. They results indicated that maximum methane concentrations in drinking-water wells increased with proximity to the nearest gas well. (Osborn) The people could literally light their water on fire. In the documentary Gasland, a young man travels investigating these claims of fire water. He quickly finds out that there are many communities that have leased their land to these gas and oil companies, only to find once they start drilling there water is unfit to drink, bath, or use for anything. Some people have tried reverse osmosis, but this will not filter out all the harmful chemicals used in the fracking process. The land owners are having health problems, cancer is increasing, the wildlife is dying and sick. You can clearly see that this is no way to live, they are constantly worried for their health and safety.
The EPA admits that they have dropped the ball with keeping tabs on these gas companies, but they are exempt from so many clean air and water acts they are virtually unregulated. The storage of the produced water can also be sealed in a clay backfill. The only problem with this is, clay is susceptible to fracturing due to local excessive fluid pressure, so this is not a great option either. (Osborn) So what do we do with the produced water? Well first of all the gas and oil companies need to be held accountable for their actions. No one should ever have to worry if their water is unsafe to drink. Many of these families have to bring their water in from another source and store it in big tanks. The EPA should be allowed to regulate the sites where this hydraulic fracturing is taking place. There should be strict guidelines that these companies must follow and there should be constant reporting and testing to the public water sources. There needs to be a better way of extracting the gas, without using so many harmful chemicals but if this can’t be accomplished there needs to be a better way of disposing the produced water.
“Wastes generated by the exploration, development and production of crude oil and natural gas are “exempt” by Federal law from being regulated as hazardous waste. The Solid Waste Disposal Act of 1980 prohibits EPA from regulating drilling fluids, produced water and other waste associated with the exploration, development or production of crude oil or natural gas as RCRA Subtitle C (hazardous) waste. Therefore, oil and gas wastes are referred to as regulated at the state level as “non-hazardous waste”” (Subra)
These companies should never have exemption for destroying the environment. Halliburton is one of the major companies that does hydraulic fracturing and guess who they are owned by, former Vice President Dick Cheney. Big corporate businesses like this are polluting our environment every day and they are walking away scott free, because of who they know and because they produce millions and trillions of dollars every year. I know that hydraulic fracturing is not such a big issue in our small town or region yet, but if we do not stand up for the environment it will affects us eventually. We will all suffer the consequences of the water pollution, noise pollution, and the air pollution. If we do not hold big corporations accountable for their pollution, they will find ways to pollute even more just for the profits they receive from cutting corners at our expense. We must make sure that procedures and policies are in place to minimize potential damage to the public’s air quality and to protect essential water resources. “We need to make sure that extraction of the gas from shale and its transport does not result in a significant increase in emissions of methane which is 10 times more powerful as a climate-altering agent, than carbon dioxide”. (McElroy)
Reference
Coman, Hannah. "Balancing the Need for Energy and Clean Water: The Case for Applying Strict Liability in Hydraulic Fracturing Suits." Boston College Environmental Affairs Law Review 39.1 (2012): 131-60. ProQuest. Web. 21 Oct. 2013.
Draft Scoping Document for Horizontal Drilling and High Volume Hydraulic Fracturing to Develop Shale and Other Low Permeability Gas Reservoirs, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 2008. EPA- United States Environmental Protection Agency. “The Process of Hydraulic Fracturing” May 21, 2013.
Earthworks. “Hydraulic Fracturing 101” Web.
: //www.earthworksaction.org/issues/detail/hydraulic_fracturing_101#.Uoj-nOwo7mU.
Industry Sources.
McElroy, Michael. "Fracking’s Future." Harvard magazine. (2013): n. page. Print. . Osborn, Stephen G., et al. "Methane Contamination of Drinking Water Accompanying Gas-Well Drilling and Hydraulic Fracturing." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA 108.20 (2011): 8172-6. ProQuest. Web. Subra, Wilma. "Hydraulic Fracturing, Fracking Dangers by Wilma Subra." Dixeyland.wordpress.com. Word Press, 09 Jan 2012. Web. 26 Oct 2013. McElroy, Michael. "Fracking’s Future." Harvard magazine. (2013): n. page. Print. .