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Over the last century, the United States has become dependent on oil, gas, and coal for electricity, heat, and transportation. Now a race for new domestic energy sources is on, and another fossil fuel, shale gas, is the newest industry target.
As the gas rush sweeps the nation, it leaves water and air pollution, health problems, and scarred landscapes in its wake.
The many stages of gas development have big impacts, especially when they aren’t done responsibly: land clearing; building roads and pits; seismic testing; drilling; waste production, storage, and disposal; laying pipeline; and site clean up. Many large trucks transport water, chemicals, materials, and industrial equipment (such as compressor stations and dehydrators) to process the gas and wastes, all of which cause traffic, noise, air pollution, and the risk of toxic spills.
The gas boom is possible because of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” This technology is widely used to force the production of oil and gas, especially from deep formations like the Marcellus and Utica Shale formations. But fracking is dirty because it:
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Graphic: ProPublica
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- Requires millions of gallons per well
Unlike traditional drilling, high-volume fracking requires at least two to four million gallons of fresh water and thousands of gallons of chemicals per frack job.
- Injects toxics through the water table
A mix of dozens of chemicals (including some known carcinogens) are added to the water and forced down the well at high pressure to break up the shale and free the gas, putting our water at risk if wells are drilled improperly or when accidents happen.
- Uses chemicals and causes pollution that goes unreported
The gas industry is exempt from key provisions of the nation’s bedrock environmental laws (including the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts).And the regulations and laws of most states (including New York) are outdated and inadequate to deal with current drilling.
- Produces pollution that isn’t easily treated
In New York (and many other states) traditional water treatment facilities and landfills are not currently equipped to fully treat contaminated wastewater and waste (such as drill cuttings) that result from fracking.
- Leaves most toxics underground
After fracking, most of the toxic fluids are left underground, where they may migrate to pollute other water resources. The water that is recovered contains chemicals, and also heavy metals, salts, and naturally occurring radioactive materials picked up in the process. Such “produced water” is often stored in open, plastic-lined pits and transported in trucks, with risks to air, soil, and water.
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