Whenever there are conversations about the relationship between fracking and groundwater, safety and precaution must be considered. And, we all know that when corporate and government officials provide guarantees, we can take them to the bank.
I have created more than a few posts about fracking which contain views about the safety of the process. Here is just one excerpt from one post which shows just how serious people can be in guaranteeing process safety.
Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge: The Natural Gas Industry is Committed to Getting ‘It Right’ “We work hard every single day to make sure we’re doing this in a way I would insist on had I been governor,” Ridge said. “We only get one chance to do it right. At the end of the day, we have an extraordinary opportunity to build more miles of rail lines, have more Pennsylvanians employed and invest in Pennsylvania.”
Why is this an issue again?
From a draft EPA report on tainted groundwater in Pavillion, WY:
“The presence of synthetic compounds such as glycol ethers … and the assortment of other organic components is explained as the result of direct mixing of hydraulic fracturing fluids with ground water in the Pavillion gas field,” the draft report states. “Alternative explanations were carefully considered.”
Some of the findings in the report also directly contradict longstanding arguments by the drilling industry for why the fracking process is safe: that hydrologic pressure would naturally force fluids down, not up; that deep geologic layers provide a watertight barrier preventing the movement of chemicals towards the surface; and that the problems with the cement and steel barriers around gas wells aren’t connected to fracking.
It appears that some of the concerns over fracking process are justified. Just because there are trillions of cubic feet underground and the burning of natural gas is a cleaner option and development of domestic fields will have a gigantic impact on US energy industry and, the reasons go on, and on, and on.
Just because of those reasons, the safety justifications are solid? I don’t think so. I believe we heard similar support for the shut-off valve technology in the Deepwater spill in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s why I remain just a bit more skeptical this time than before.
Here’s the article. You decide.
Feds Link Gas Fracking to Drinking Water Pollution for the First Time