Dimock PA water woes continue

[Curmudgeoness]

with a decision to let them down..... again. First Cabot Oil was able to get out of their obligation to furnish water after fracking tainted the water from their wells. Now the EPA has put them on the spot with no notice.


From the link:

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency abruptly changed its mind on Saturday about delivering fresh water to residents of a Northeastern Pennsylvania village where residential wells were found to be tainted by a natural gas drilling operation.

Only 24 hours after promising them water, EPA officials informed residents of Dimock that a tanker truck would not be coming after all -- an about-face that left them furious, confused and let down and once again scrambling for water for bathing, washing dishes and flushing toilets.

Agency officials would not explain why they reneged on their promise or say whether water would be delivered at some point.



Read more: EPA cancels water delivery to drilling-tainted Dimock - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review http://pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/regional/s_775609.html#ixzz1itgm6w4d

[limpyhobbler]

1. Being from eastern Ohio I was quite interested in this as well.

Hope it's OK, I posted a link to this post from the Ohio forum. Thanks.

[Curmudgeoness]

2. I am in western PA, so I understand

your concerns. I am within 20 miles of the injection well that has been causing earthquakes in the Youngstown area and have been fighting fracking for years now. From all the leases being bought up in Ohio, there is much to be concerned about there.

Thanks for the cross-post.

[cmd]

3. Tusc. Co OH here and very concerned

I grew up in the middle of strip mines and watched as fresh water streams became polluted. Fresh water was a very limited at my home. My brother and I carried all our drinking and cooking water up a hill for several years. I learned early to value fresh water and hate to see it poured down a hole so Americans can continue to waste fuel.

Water is Ohio's greatest resource, not the gas in shale. We have to raise peoples attention to what's happening before it's too late.

[Kolesar]

4. Kasich said that Ohio is going to implement the "toughest standards" for drilling

Double-casings on well bores, diligent inspections, etc.
I doubt that the energy party will stop drilling if there is any contentions about the fine details, though.

[cmd]

5. I don't believe a word Kasich says

He'll sell off as much of Ohio as he can.

Off topic, but do you think we are ever going to have winter this year?
I love snow.`

[Curmudgeoness]

7. Long commute here....I hate snow.

I am so happy with the winter so far. All winter could be just like this and I will shed no tears.

[Curmudgeoness]

6. Tough standards only work if

you have the manpower to do all the inspections. And from what I know of Kasich, he is only interested in cutting government jobs, not adding them. And he would have to add a bunch of inspection jobs to be able to keep up with the numbers of wells, if Ohio is anything like PA.

Besides, the drilling is already starting, so if he "intends" to implement these tough standards, he had better get moving. In PA, the drilling is fast and furious to get ahead of any regulations and taxes that may come someday.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. You are right about the water requirements for fracking.

It takes from 2 to 8 million gallons of water to frack one well. And every gallon of that water used is now contaminated. The waste is incredible.

And on a side note, the gas that they are producing is not necessarily staying here. They have great plans to ship it overseas---so much for making us "energy independent". We will continue to waste fuel, but we will not necessarily benefit from Marcellus and Utica Shale gas.

[Kolesar]

9. The "answer" to more gas drilling is an efficiency program to conserve natural gas

The energy industry is campaigning that energy development is an urgent national need. The counter move is utility-based efficiency programs to reduce demand.

We can delay much of the drilling until there are safer drilling techniques.

[Curmudgeoness]

10. Have you heard that they are trying to do just the opposite?

Instead of conserving natural gas (or any other energy source for that matter), they are trying to get municipalities to convert buses to run on natural gas, and to put in gas stations for natural gas----and all at the expense of subsidies from the state of PA. And I am sure this will continue to move to other states with shale gas.

All of this at the same time that they are building or trying to build compression plants so they will be able to ship the gas overseas. So much for energy independence for us!

And yes, there is no rush to get all this gas today----prudence should prevail and we should take this slower and make sure we have a safe way to do it, if that is even possible. I am not so sure it is possible.....with the massive amounts of water required, chemicals that could ruin drinking water, and no way to clean that water and problems disposing it.