The EPA has proposed examining every aspect of hydraulic fracturing, from water withdrawals to waste disposal, according to a draft plan the agency released Tuesday. If the study goes forward as planned, it would be the most comprehensive investigation of whether the drilling technique risks polluting drinking water near oil and gas wells across the nation.
Hydraulic fracturing is a process in which large volumes of water, sand and chemicals are injected at high pressures to extract oil and natural gas from underground rock formations. The process creates fractures in formations such as shale rock, allowing natural gas or oil to escape into the well and be recovered. Over the past few years, the use of hydraulic fracturing for gas extraction has increased and has expanded over a wider diversity of geographic regions and geologic formations.
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Not only does Governor Kasich want to posion your back yard with fracking, but our state parks as well.
When the fracking is done, between 15 and 20 percent of the water, called flowback or wastewater, is forced to the surface. Along the way, it picks up minerals such as barium and sulfur as well as suspended solids and soluble salts. Flowback may also contain small amounts of radium, a radioactive element.
Three options exist for dealing with the wastewater. It can be reused in other fracking operations, stored in injection control wells or sent through a wastewater treatment facility, said Mike Settles, spokesperson for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency.
An article published on June 21, 2010 in Vanity Fair titled "A Colossal Fracking Mess" related the alleged devastation that hydraulic fracturing had in Dimock, Pennsylvania. According to the article, the water for many citizens of the town began turning brown and making them sick due to a leak in the fracking fluid supply pipes.
An April 26, 2009 article from ProPublica told the story of a Cleveland, Ohio house that exploded because of hydraulic fracturing. An Ohio Department of Natural Resources study found that fracking had pushed methane into an aquifer, which caused the explosion. A Jan. 5 ProPublica article stated that waterways near fracking sites contained high levels of a carcinogen that could form from combining chlorine used in drinking water treatment plants and the bromide found in fracking wastewater.
Kasich has defended fracking as a source of revenue and jobs. He has said drilling in the Marcellus Shale will be a "Godsend" for Ohio. The governor's office did not return repeated emails and phone calls for comment.
The Ohio Chapter of the Sierra Club is against hydraulic fracturing and is concerned with Kasich's plans, said Matt Trokan, Ohio chapter conservation coordinator.
"It doesn't seem like he sees the value in our natural resources," Trokan said.
The Ohio Sierra Club is pursuing legal avenues. One legal strategy is aimed at protecting someone's water from contamination if his or her neighbors allow fracking on their property, Trokan said.
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