It is probably safe to assume that most readers have an idea of what this means, but a short recap is in order. The process, commonly known as “ fracking”, is a relatively new method of natural gas extraction that involves drilling vertically through the water table into the Marcellus Shale, a geologic formation with gas trapped in it. Each well is then drilled horizontally thousands of feet. Millions of gallons of chemical laced water are used to fracture the shale, releasing the gas. Over 200 chemicals used in this process are kept secret because fracking is exempt from The Safe Drinking Water Act and the Safe Air Act. The gas industry will not disclose what chemicals are used, saying they are “ proprietary” but many are thought to be known carcinogens. Generally, between 1-8 million gallons of “water” are used to frack a well one time and each well can be fracked up to 10 times. In Pennsylvania, where drilling is underway, the DEP estimates that each well requires 1,000 tanker truck trips. There are usually six wells per pad, 16 wells per square mile. Water will be withdrawn from lakes, rivers, streams, ponds and wells. All of this “water” is then considered toxic waste. Some of it stays underground – approximately 50% of the “water” is recovered and is then held in football field size ponds where the VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) evaporate. Scientists have identified compounds in this highly toxic vapor, as benzene, toluene, and xylene and other carcinogens. The remaining wastewater is then trucked to wastewater treatment plants that, according to an investigative series in The New York Times, are not equipped to safely process such a toxic brew. The same series revealed that “recovered water” also contains radioactive materials brought up from deep within the earth.
Fracking has been occurring in many western states and in Pennsylvania. There are a number of landowners who eagerly signed leases with the gas companies, who now have polluted water wells.
The many issues raised by fracking include constant tanker truck traffic, road use, the transformation of a pristine countryside into an industrial landscape, how the noise of drilling 24/7 affects citizens and wildlife, as well as the potential pollution of waterways and contamination of drinking water. All of these issues are connected to the loss of property values in fracked areas. Furthermore, citizens harmed by fracking, who have to contend with illness in their families or animals or polluted water find that they are powerless against gigantic corporations.
These are some of the issues that I will explore in future columns. The column will have a clear point of view, one that comes from my concern for our community, families, our way of life, land values, ecology, and health. This column will be a place to distribute information that I feel is timely as the Town of Alfred will decide at the end of the moratorium year whether to ban the practice within its jurisdiction or not. I would also like to travel to communities in Pa. and report back on the effects of drilling.
As we make a choice about our future, I think it would be appropriate to take a look back to the recent history of Allegany County. Many readers will remember, in late 1989, that New York State announced its intention to establish a nuclear waste dump here. In summary, the State was met by a resolute citizens’ resistance that involved legal challenges that went ultimately and successfully to the Supreme Court, as well as, widespread non-violent civil disobedience in the roads and fields of Allegany County. There were many inspiring individuals and moments in this conflict, but for me probably the most inspiring and the event that still has the power to bring tears to my eyes occurred on April 5, 1990. A line of senior citizens chained themselves together across the bridge in Caneadea to block an army of state troopers trying to accompany representatives from Albany who were in Allegany County to inspect a possible site for the dump. They sat under a banner that read, “Grandparents For The Future”. Those elders faced jail time and large fines and yet there they calmly sat. When finally their chains were cut and they were arrested, each was asked their name and each responded, “My name is Allegany County.”
I feel the onslaught of drilling and the technology it encompasses poses a far greater threat to our town than the nuke dump ever would have. I also believe the dangers to human health, water and the environment far outweighs the boom and bust cycle that would be part of some land owners’ temporary economic gain.
All the “Grandparents For the Future” are gone now. There is no nuke dump in Allegany Co. But as I sat in the town board meetings when considerations about enacting a fracking moratorium were taking place, I couldn’t help but remember them and notice that the town board sitting at the table in front of us formed another kind of line, one that could also protect us and alter our history in the same way the grandparents did. The Future is now.
It is in their name and memory that I dedicate this column.
That brought tears to my eyes, Graham. Thanks for doing this.
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