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Gasland



This is a short clip of a documentary I saw on HBO on demand. Hopefully it's a dupe, but basically it chronicles a guy's trip across the country to interview families whose groundwater had been poisoned by a gas drilling method called hydraulic fracking. These poor people had their water turned flammable and had all kinds of god forsaken chemicals found in it, and they live all across the country. Any thoughts on this, or maybe stories or something to help my calm? Considering they're drilling hundred if not thousands of new gas wells in the south central Texas area, maybe some of you guys have as big a problem with this as I do.



Also posted this in GD, but would rather get some thoughtful replies from the hometown forum.

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In Texas, only problem is: most people's water wells are about 100' to 400' deep..and those evil gas wells (around the Barnett Shale basin) are about 8000-9000 feet and by law have to be cased off with steel casing cemented into the well bore. There is a steel casing tube all the way down, right through the water well formations people get their drinking water from. It seals the gas well off from the water-bearing formations

As to the frac-ing, it isn't a gas drilling 'method' per se, it is a way to crumble the shale formations in which the gas is found. That serves to release the gas from the shale. The formations that are being fractured, again, are 8000 - 9000 feet deep and are isolated from the water bearing formations by the casing. There are thousands of feet, (think miles), of separation and layers upon layers of various different types of rock formations between the shale gas deposits and those water well formations.

It may well be plausable that their water wells have been invaded by flamable chemicals which have been illegally dumped, but commercial gas wells are not leaking into peoples water wells.

I work in the oil business and have heard all kinds of absurd shit about oil wells and gas wells and 99.999% of it is either pure non-sense or a conglomeration of partial truths used to formulate an opinion....ignorance at it's finest.

On one project I worked on in the Barnett Shale, I actually had a guy who was concerned that his house would disappear into a sink-hole if there was a lateral drilled near his property. I tried to explain that the well was going to be a couple of miles down in solid rock...but there's no fixin' stupid.

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In Texas, only problem is: most people's water wells are about 100' to 400' deep..and those evil gas wells (around the Barnett Shale basin) are about 8000-9000 feet and by law have to be cased off with steel casing cemented into the well bore. There is a steel casing tube all the way down, right through the water well formations people get their drinking water from. It seals the gas well off from the water-bearing formations

As to the frac-ing, it isn't a gas drilling 'method' per se, it is a way to crumble the shale formations in which the gas is found. That serves to release the gas from the shale. The formations that are being fractured, again, are 8000 - 9000 feet deep and are isolated from the water bearing formations by the casing. There are thousands of feet, (think miles), of separation and layers upon layers of various different types of rock formations between the shale gas deposits and those water well formations.

It may well be plausable that their water wells have been invaded by flamable chemicals which have been illegally dumped, but commercial gas wells are not leaking into peoples water wells.

I work in the oil business and have heard all kinds of absurd shit about oil wells and gas wells and 99.999% of it is either pure non-sense or a conglomeration of partial truths used to formulate an opinion....ignorance at it's finest.

On one project I worked on in the Barnett Shale, I actually had a guy who was concerned that his house would disappear into a sink-hole if there was a lateral drilled near his property. I tried to explain that the well was going to be a couple of miles down in solid rock...but there's no fixin' stupid.

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Nice to hear some good info from the other side.  What about those water holding "tanks" he was talking about?... We're looking for some acres and I've looked at several (6-8?) pieces of land that have had those right next to them.  Seems like they've all had a liner from what I could see.

Rob

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Sounds like you're talking about reserve pits. They hold drilling "mud" (it's usually called mud, but is actually a carefully engineered fluid), and they all have liners that look like this. If they didn't, then most of the mud would soak into the ground and be lost. Drilling mud is usually water mixed with controlled amounts of various weighting additives such as barite and other naturally occurring minerals. Sometimes various lubricants and anti-corrosion additives are used, most of which have Material Safety Data Sheets available online. Sometimes oil/diesel fuel is used as the base for drilling mud, but it's less common because it's more expensive and the handling/cleanup requirements are stricter.

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Here's an industry response to some of HBO's questionable assertions.  I get so tired of HBO's politics...



http://www.energyindepth.org/2010/06/debunking-gasland/.

The truth about “Gasland"



Movie claim: In the film’s signature moment, Mike Markham, a landowner ignites his tap water. The filmmaker leaves the viewer with the impression the flaming tap water is a result of natural gas drilling even though he acknowledges that tests of Markham’s well revealed only naturally occurring methane. Truth: The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission tested Markham’s water in 2008, finding his water well had been drilled into a natural gas pocket. The film leaves a clear—and false—perception that hydraulic fracturing was to blame. This is simply not true. A second depiction of a flaming faucet in the home of Renee McClure in Colorado also leaves viewers with a false impression about the connection between gas industry activities and methane in water wells. McClure’s well was sampled by the state and it, too, showed only naturally occurring methane.

Movie claim: The film flashes the words, “35 mile fish kill, Drunkard Creek. Washington County, PA.”

Truth: The Environmental Protection Agency has tied the fish kills in Dunkard Creek to coal mine run-off. Here is the official report and a story on it in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

Movie claim: The natural gas industry is exempted from ``The Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act the Safe Drinking Water Act the Superfund law and about a dozen other environmental and democratic regulations.’’

Truth: The natural gas production is subject to federal, state and local regulations that cover everything from initial permits to well construction to water disposal. The natural gas community is committed to being good neighbors and responsible stewards of the land, and we are committed to answering the public’s questions and concerns in a factual and science-based way.

Movie claim: “Just a few short months after this interview, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection suffered the worst budget cuts in history, amounting to over 700 staff either being fired or having reduced hours and 25 percent of its total budget cut.”

Truth: A DEP press release issued January 28, 2010: “Governor Edward G. Rendell announced today that the commonwealth is strengthening its enforcement capabilities. At the Governor’s direction, the Department of Environmental Protection will begin hiring 68 new personnel who will make sure that drilling companies obey state laws and act responsibly to protect water supplies. DEP also will strengthen oil and gas regulations to improve well construction standards.”

Movie claim: The film highlights the town of Dish, Texas, where the mayor has complained about benzene in his blood because of exposure to natural gas operations.

Truth: The fact is a Texas Department of State Health Services investigation in Dish showed that residents’ exposure to contaminants “was not greater than that of the general U.S. population.”



In rare cases where incidents have occurred, companies have worked with the appropriate regulatory authority to identify and correct the issue, and to implement measures to ensure they don’t recur. ANGA member companies understand and respect people’s concerns about the safety of their water and air, and we are committed to engaging in dialogue with community members, policymakers and stakeholders to talk about the safety of natural gas production and the opportunities natural gas offers communities across our country.

Natural gas is a clean, abundant and domestic energy source that has created 2.8 million American jobs and is vital to our nation’s clean-energy future and economy. Hydraulic fracturing is a proven technology that has been refined over 60 years. It has allowed companies to safely produce natural gas from more than 1 million U.S. wells. The Environmental Protection Agency, Ground Water Protection Council, Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission and others have all examined the process and found it to be safe.

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This isn't especially useful.  It doesn't acknowledge they are exempted from the clean air and water acts, which they are.   The testimony on the video of the execs was clear that they were using some wild chemicals including carcinogens.  I don't think you need to be a gas expert to understand there is a problem here.
What about the dozens of people interviewed in the show?  Did they really make all that up for fun?
 

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If anyone didnt think this was going to happen, they're an idiot.



I hate the gas drilling around here.....

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When I lived up in IN, it was not too uncommon for people to have gas in their water wells.  This came from the well being drilled through  a coal seam, and a shitty install by the water well driller.  I would bet that if the real facts were known, this is the case in most of these wells, since coal seams are usually around 30' or less.

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In Texas, only problem is: most people's water wells are about 100' to 400' deep..and those evil gas wells (around the Barnett Shale basin) are about 8000-9000 feet and by law have to be cased off with steel casing cemented into the well bore. There is a steel casing tube all the way down, right through the water well formations people get their drinking water from. It seals the gas well off from the water-bearing formations

As to the frac-ing, it isn't a gas drilling 'method' per se, it is a way to crumble the shale formations in which the gas is found. That serves to release the gas from the shale. The formations that are being fractured, again, are 8000 - 9000 feet deep and are isolated from the water bearing formations by the casing. There are thousands of feet, (think miles), of separation and layers upon layers of various different types of rock formations between the shale gas deposits and those water well formations.

It may well be plausable that their water wells have been invaded by flamable chemicals which have been illegally dumped, but commercial gas wells are not leaking into peoples water wells.

I work in the oil business and have heard all kinds of absurd shit about oil wells and gas wells and 99.999% of it is either pure non-sense or a conglomeration of partial truths used to formulate an opinion....ignorance at it's finest.

On one project I worked on in the Barnett Shale, I actually had a guy who was concerned that his house would disappear into a sink-hole if there was a lateral drilled near his property. I tried to explain that the well was going to be a couple of miles down in solid rock...but there's no fixin' stupid.

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Saw this in the news in the DFW area. They have the flammable water too.



http://www.wfaa.com/video?id=97994344&sec=553117