Earthworks Report Released: Gas Patch Roulette: How Shale Gas Development Risks Public Health in Pennsylvania

Recently, Earthworks a pro-environmental "nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting communities and the environment from the impacts of irresponsible mineral and energy development while seeking sustainable solutions," released a report titled, Gas Patch Roulette: How Shale Gas Development Risks Public Health in Pennsylvania (2012). The 51-page report available here is alleged to be "[t]he largest health survey to-date of Marcellus Shale residents living near oil and gas development . . . [as the report] surveyed 108 residents in 14 Pennsylvania counties, and conducted air and water tests at more than half of the households were surveys were completed."  According to the website the main conclusions of the report are as follows;

1. Contaminants associated with oil and gas development are present in air and water in many communities where development is occurring.

2. Many residents have developed health symptoms that they did not have before—indicating the strong possibility that they are occurring because of gas development.

3. By permitting widespread gas development without fully understanding its impacts to public health—and using that lack of knowledge to justify regulatory inaction—Pennsylvania and other states are risking the public’s health.

U.S. Geological Survey Report Released: Dissolved Methane in New York Groundwater, 1999—2011

Yesterday the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released a report, titled Dissolved Methane in New York Groundwater, 1999—2011, Open-File Report 2012-1162. In the brief six page report available here, and authored in conjunction with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the survey was designed to monitor naturally occurring instances of methane in drinking water in "low-permeability bedrock such as the Marcellus and Utica Shales."  The justification for this report stems from,

newly developed techniques involving horizontal drilling and high-volume hydraulic fracturing [which] have made it possible to extract previously inaccessible natural gas . . . The use of hydraulic fracturing to release natural gas from these shale formations has raised concerns with water-well owners and water-resource managers across the Marcellus and Utica Shale region (West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York and parts of several other adjoining States).  In order to manage water resources in areas of gas-well drilling and hydraulic fracturing in New York, the natural occurrence of methane in the State’s aquifers needs to be documented.

The information contained in this report was compiled from information available from the
USGS's National Water Information System (NWIS). In particular the link for information on Groundwater should be helpful.

Related Resources

New York, Hydraulic Fracturing (Hydrofracking), Pace L. Libr. LibGuides (Sept. 5, 2012), http://libraryguides.law.pace.edu/aecontent.php?pid=227170&sid=2082504.

Science and the Reasonable Development of Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Resources in Pennsylvania and New York

This article by Lynn Kerr McKay, Ralph H. Johnson, and Laurie Alberts Salita appeared in Energy Law Journal (35 Energy Law Journal 125) and concludes "The success of efforts to explore and develop Marcellus Shale natural gas resources progress depends on continued critical and scientific evaluation of information concerning all aspects of this enterprise. Claims regarding water well contamination and NORM arising from Marcellus Shale operations will likely continue. Reasoned and technically-informed assessment of available data is vital to determining the appropriate level of regulation, industry best practices, and allocation of resources to address environmental impacts and potential health effects."