Mike Shuster, left, and Lisa Zaccaglini, both of Sharon Springs, N.Y., hold signs during a rally against hydraulic fracturing for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale region of the state, at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y., on Monday, April 11, 2011. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (Associated Press)
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This is one of Chesapeake Energy's hydraulic fracturing operations over the Eagle Ford shale formation near Carrizo Springs, Texas. Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a practice used to coax natural gas and petroleum from rock formations like shale. The head of the well is the red, vertical extension on the bottom right corner. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
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Dust permeates the air at a Chesapeake Energy Co. fracking operation at a well site near Carrizo Springs, Texas Thursday May 5, 2011. The site is over the Eagle Ford shale formation where oil and gas is being extracted in the area. Fracking is also known as hydraulic fracturing. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
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An oil worker walks pass the manifold (right) and frac pumps (left) at a Chesapeake Energy hydraulic fracturing operation near Carrizo Springs, Texas Thursday May 5, 2011. Hydraulic fracturing is a method of removing oil and gas from rock formations such as the Eagle Ford shale formation in south central Texas. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
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A natural gas well operated by Northeast Natural Energy on Saturday, Aug. 6, 2011. The well is the subject of a dispute over a drilling ban recently enacted by the city of Morgantown, which is directly across the Monongahela River from the well. (AP Photo/David Smith) (Associated Press)
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Helge Lund (left), CEO of Norwegian energy company Statoil, speaks with Statoil Joint Venture Manager Cesar Alvarez (facing away) and Talisman Energy Frac Specialist Nabila Larsen (right) at a Talisman Energy fracking site near Cotulla, Texas. Statoil is working with Talisman energy to develop oil and gas ventures in the Eagle Ford shale formation in south central Texas. (Wednesday September 7, 2011) JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS (jdavenport@express-news.net) (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
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An oilfield employee works at a Talisman Energy fracking site near Cotulla, Texas. Talisman Energy is working with Norwegian energy company Statoil to extract oil and gas from the Eagle Ford shale formation in south central Texas. (Wednesday September 7, 2011) JOHN DAVENPORT/SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS/jdavenport@express-news.net (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
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Sandstone is washed and tumbled and put through a series of screens and sieves Wednesday August 31, 2011 until it is broken down into sand particles at the Frac Tech Services sand mining operation near Brady, Texas. Sand from the mine is being used nationwide by drilling companies using the hydraulic fracturing process. JOHN DAVENPORT/jdavenport@express-news.net (SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS)
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Protestors scale a shale gas rig at Banks, near Southport, England bringing a halt to work at the Cuadrilla Resources site Wednesday Nov. 2 , 2011. Cuadrilla Resources, which is drilling for gas in northwestern England, said Wednesday that independent experts concluded that the tremors were due to an unusual combination of geology and operations, and were unlikely to happen again. The company said local geology would limit any future seismic events to around magnitude 3 on the Richter scale. The tremor on April 1 measured 2.3 on the Richter scale. Local campaigners have mounted a "Frack Off" campaign to oppose the drilling technique that cracks open rock layers to free natural gas. (AP Photo/Peter Byrne/PA) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE (Associated Press)
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In western New York state near the Pennsylvania border, many signs can be found expressing support for both sides in the hydraulic fracturing debate. (August 2011)
BILL MONTGOMERY : CHRONICLE (staff)
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FILE - In this April 22, 2008 file photo, a natural gas well pad sits in front of the Roan Plateau near Rifle, Co. The director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, David Neslin, said Monday, Dec. 5, 2011, that requiring drilling companies to publicly disclose what chemicals they use in hydraulic fracturing is only one tool for protecting public health and the environment. The comment was made during a hearing regarding a proposal to require public disclosures of fracking fluids that aren't trade secrets. More than 100 people packed the hearing. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) (Associated Press)
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FILE- In this photograph taken April 15, 2009, an unidentified worker steps through the maze of hoses being used at a remote fracking site being run by Halliburton for natural-gas producer Williams in Rulison, Colo. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced Thursday Dec. 8, 2011 in Wyoming, for the first time that fracking - a controversial method of improving the productivity of oil and gas wells - may be to blame for causing groundwater pollution. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File) (Associated Press)
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In this July 27, 2011 photo, Range Resources workers stand near the rig that drills into the shale at a well site in Washington, Pa. The company is one of many drilling and "fracking" in the area to release natural gas. The three different diameters of pipe at bottom are the casing tubings that each go inside the other to line the well. Experts say Marcellus Shale natural gas production is expected to keep rising in 2012, yet landowners may find that signing lease deals isn't as easy as in years past. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Associated Press)
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In this July 27, 2011 photo, Range Resources site manager Don Robinson stands near the well head by the drill that goes into the shale at a well site in Washington, Pa. The company is one of many drilling and "fracking" in the area to release natural gas. Experts say Marcellus Shale natural gas production is expected to keep rising in 2012, yet landowners may find that signing lease deals isn't as easy as in years past. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Associated Press)
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NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 11: Opponents of hydraulic fracturing in New York state attend a news conference and rally against hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, on January 11, 2012 in New York City. The event, which was held on the steps of City Hall, called for an end to the controversial gas drilling method as environmental groups increasingly warn about contamination of the state's aquifers that could poison its drinking water. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
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NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 11: New York Senator Tony Avella speaks at a news conference and rally against hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in New York State on January 11, 2012 in New York City. The event, which was held on the steps of City Hall, called for an end to the controversial gas drilling method as environmental groups increasingly warn about contamination of the state's aquifers that could poison its drinking water. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) (Getty Images)
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In this photo made on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, a worker walks through a maze of pies connecting storage tanks and pumps in the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas was underway at a Range Resources site in Claysville, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Associated Press)
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In this photo made on Wednesday, July 27, 2011, a worker shovels the powder used to make a mixture with water used in the hydraulic fracturing process in the Marcellus Shale layer to release natural gas b at a Range Resources site where the process was underway in Claysville, Pa. (AP Photo/Keith Srakocic) (Associated Press)
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Daniel Morrissey of Latham leads anti-fracking demonstrators organized by Occupy Albany protest in front of the DEC building in Albany,NY Thursday, Jan.12, 2012. ( Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) (Albany Times Union)
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Abram Loeb of Afton dressed in a decontamination suit joins anti-fracking demonstrators organized by Occupy Albany protest in front of the DEC building in Albany,NY Thursday, Jan.12, 2012. ( Michael P. Farrell/Times Union) (Albany Times Union)
House Republicans are ramping up their investigations into the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Energy regarding hydraulic fracturing and its safety.
In a letter to EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson, two top Republicans question the attitude the agency has taken toward fracturing as it mulls possible regulations relating to the process, in which mixtures of water, sand and chemicals are blasted underground to break up shale rock and free up trapped oil and gas.
“We write to better understand EPA’s views on hydraulic fracturing and whether you have prejudged that hydraulic fracturing poses an environmental threat, even before the agency has completed a congressionally mandated review of the practice,” wrote House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and technology subcommittee Chairman James Lankford, R-Okla.
In a pointed question, the lawmakers ask the EPA if it can “cite a single instance where the practice of hydraulic fracturing has led to groundwater contamination?”
EPA is in the midst of a congressionally mandated, multi-year study of fracturing’s effect on water safety. The agency is seeking peer reviewers for a controversial draft study that suggested a likely link between fracturing and groundwater pollution associated with wells in Pavillion, Wyo. The EPA also is looking to write rules governing the disposal of the briny, chemical-laden byproducts of hydraulic fracturing.
Environmentalist critics of fracturing have pointed to numerous anecdotal instances where they claim the practice contaminated water supplies. But the oil and natural gas industry insists that the practice is safe and that no conclusive causal link has been established.
Issa also sent a letter to the Department of Energy requesting interviews with senior officials and accusing the department of not complying with a committee subpoena for documents. The committee has probed how DOE formed an expert panel tasked with advising the department on hydraulic fracturing.
“I hope you will cease these obstructive efforts and immediately comply with the Committee’s subpoena,” Issa wrote.
What is the obsession with the phrase “mixtures of water, sand and chemicals are BLASTED underground”? There is no blasting, or explosion, or catastrophic earthquake. You simply increase the pump pressure until you “get a break” and then you pump away.
exactly trail_tramp…however that doesn’t sound as exciting and chaotic as “blasting” chemicals and sand. My favorite is the often showed animations of frac jobs on news channels explaining the process…apparently the fractures are many feet wide and reach miles above the wellbore according to their depictions.
Is creating a doubt the same as establishing reasonable doubt? One man says to another ” Every time it rains I see a cloud, without clouds you don’t get rain” . The other replies ” have you been present every time it rains so you really don’t know that do you ?” America let’s be smart. In car safety development we use crash dummies so we don’t harm ourselves trying to save ourselves. What crash dummies do we want to use for fracking safety?
What is the obsession with the phrase “mixtures of water, sand and chemicals are BLASTED underground”? There is no blasting, or explosion, or catastrophic earthquake. You simply increase the pump pressure until you “get a break” and then you pump away.
exactly trail_tramp…however that doesn’t sound as exciting and chaotic as “blasting” chemicals and sand. My favorite is the often showed animations of frac jobs on news channels explaining the process…apparently the fractures are many feet wide and reach miles above the wellbore according to their depictions.
y’all don’t feel like the anecdotes point commonalities in all oil and gas drilling… cementing/casing/well integrity for deep wells?
the lack of coordination, communication, education and cooperation between government, industry, and the public points to cultural weaknesses
we could improve overall performance if we chose to discuss in public
Is creating a doubt the same as establishing reasonable doubt? One man says to another ” Every time it rains I see a cloud, without clouds you don’t get rain” . The other replies ” have you been present every time it rains so you really don’t know that do you ?” America let’s be smart. In car safety development we use crash dummies so we don’t harm ourselves trying to save ourselves. What crash dummies do we want to use for fracking safety?
Go Issa go.