Sharon Wilson, Texas OGAP Organizer was flown to EPA headquarters in North Carolina to present four case studies of health impacts caused by natural gas extraction in the Barnett Shale. She met with the top rule makers in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards who are working on new rules for the oil and gas industry.
For six years, Sharon has been documenting impacts in the Barnett Shale. The following are four case studies out of hundreds.
You can access these case studies and all the documents from EARTHblog:
Poisoned families: four case studies of the impacts of dirty drilling in the Barnett Shale
These brave people have made their stories and documentation available in the hopes that they might help others from suffering as they have.
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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How did thse case studies folks come to this point in their lives? I'd like to share with my correspondance with one of our(re) elected officials… Dear Joe Barton 10/30/2010, thank you for your response…"Any oil shale drilling project in Texas is subject to environmental guidelines mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as any additional requirements mandated by the Texas Council on Environmental Quality (TCEQ)." Joe, there are no state regulations on hydraulic fracturing. I assumed you knew that. http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_9TzK4b0yCrw/TDn7wXlhf5I/AAAAAAAAD24/I8j4m6yFO4Q/s1600/HF_reg_Texas.png The EPA is doing a water study that will not be complete until 2012. When the EPA approved fracing as safe back in 2004, those studies used coal bed methane trials. Also the Bush EPA was serving the interests of big business. I quit my job to learn everything I can about drilling and the lack of laws to protect citizens and have five good months of 10 hour days soaking this up and I'm raging mad. Read my comments on the article circulating regarding Arlington’s public transportation issues and how I tie those decisions in with other air quality issues and then I make a damning case about how this can derail the whole healthcare insurance system http://blogs.sfweekly.com/thesnitch/2010/10/arlington_world_series_no_publ.php
Just days ago retired oil and gas executive John Northrup (know him?) bashed the hydrofracting technology being used in shallow shale formations when Haliburton developed this technology in a different, more dense shale formation. He calls the industry "corrupt". I have an another article http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/10/photogalleries/101022-energy-shale-gas-drilling-pictures/#/energy-marcellus-shale-environment-hallowich01_27145_600x450.jpg
"And in September, the DEP requested that one of the largest gas producers, Chesapeake Energy, inspect 171 well casings in northeastern Pennsylvania because natural gas had been found in six private water wells." The DEP reported.. "On Sept. 9, DEP issued Chesapeake a notice of violation for failing to prevent gas migration to fresh ground water and for allowing an unpermitted natural gas discharge into the state’s waters. DEP will determine future enforcement actions based in part on the speed with which Chesapeake eliminates the migrating gas." The DEP said that these wells had YET to be fracked, so either way you slice it, old technology (drilling) is harmful and the new technology (horizontal frac with toxic gels) is exponential trouble.
Please don't respond to me hiding behind regulations that do not exist (TCEQ-frcing) and those that are under review (EPA/water study). If you didn't know then, you know now. Now that you know, the right thing to do before the election is to come clean and push for a state wide moratorium on hydrofracing until the EPA can prove it is safe and there are existing state regulations on fracing. An adequate regulation would mandate 100% physical casing inspections at every site while the cement is surfacing-not later. I have heard that some land men have bragged (to the wrong people) that by the time an inspector comes around to view the casing, that cement was "added" to make the appearance of a good casing.
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So if the emissions aren't enough to worry us, the prospect of eventual contaminated water should.