High Hopes For Marcellus Shale Drilling

A few weeks ago I took a trip home to Renovo. Located in central PA, Renovo is at the epicenter of the Marcellus Shale drilling. There seems to be a lot of optimism and hope surrounding the drilling and it's promises of jobs and economic growth. I can understand- I remember when I was younger, there was a rail repair industry as well as more restaurants and shops. Sadly, most of that is gone now. I've moved away with most of other college-educated friends. Small towns like this seem to be headed in the wrong direction though time.

So with the influx of business and money the drilling could possibly provide, communities like Renovo seem a bit starry-eyed about the benefits. This may encourage some decision-makers to overlook the risks associated with drilling in your own backyard. I previously touched upon this in my position paper, but let's drill further into this discussion.

From DEP Marcellus Shale FAQ

What is Marcellus Shale and why the sudden interest in it?
The Marcellus Shale is a rock formation that underlies much of Pennsylvania and portions of New York and West Virginia at a depth of 5,000 to 8,000 feet and is believed to hold trillions of cubic feet of natural gas. This formation has long been considered prohibitively expensive to access but recent advances in drilling technology and rising natural gas prices have attracted new interest in this previously untapped formation. The geology of the Marcellus formation suggests that areas in the northcentral and northeastern regions of Pennsylvania that have not traditionally seen much gas well drilling might be especially productive.

How is Marcellus Shale different from other natural gas extraction?
Extracting natural gas from the Marcellus Shale formation requires horizontal drilling and a process known as ‘hydraulic fracturing’ that uses far greater amounts of water than traditional natural gas exploration. Drillers pump large amounts of water mixed with sand and other proponents into the shale formation under high pressure to fracture the shale around the well, which allows the natural gas to flow freely. Once the hydraulic fracturing process is completed, the used water, often referred to as “frac fluid,” must be treated to remove chemicals and minerals.

Water Contamination is a huge risk to the surrounding communities.

From Duane Morris:

"…Two principal concerns about groundwater contamination have been expressed. The first is that the fracing process itself will cause fracing fluids and/or natural gas to contaminate drinking water aquifers. The second is that fracing fluid mismanagement or other aboveground activities at the drilling site could result in surface spills or other events that in turn will cause groundwater or surface water contamination."

Overlooking how this could affect the nearby communities would be ignorant. Cleanup could cost in the millions of dollars, and often the drilling companies are not held responsible. When they are, often the lawsuits can take years to settle. I'm hoping that for the sake of friends and family back home, the right steps are taken and no decisions are rushed, all in order to give a shot of adrenaline to a small town.